Evernham Motorsports

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Evernham Motorsports
Evernham logo.png
Owner(s)Ray Evernham
George N. Gillett Jr.
BaseMooresville, North Carolina
SeriesNASCAR Cup Series
Opened2000
Closed2008
Career
DebutCup Series
2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 (Richmond) (as Evernham Motorsports)[1]
2007 Centurion Boats at the Glen (Watkins Glen) (as Gillett Evernham Motorsports)
Xfinity Series
2003 Target House 200 (Rockingham)
Craftsman Truck Series
2006 GM Flex Fuel 250 (Daytona)
Latest raceCup Series
2007 Pennsylvania 500 (as Evernham Motorsports)
2008 Ford 400 (as Gillett Evernham Motorsports)
Craftsman Truck Series
2006 Ford 200 (Homestead)
Races competedTotal: 760
Cup Series: 626
492 (as Evernham Motorsports)
134 (as Gillett Evernham Motorsports)
Xfinity Series: 109
Craftsman Truck Series: 25
Drivers' ChampionshipsTotal: 0
Cup Series: 0
Xfinity Series: 0
Craftsman Truck Series: 0
Race victoriesTotal: 20
Cup Series: 15
13 (as Evernham Motorsports)
2 (as Gillett Evernham Motorsports)
Xfinity Series: 5
Craftsman Truck Series: 0
Pole positionsTotal: 32
Cup Series: 27
23 (as Evernham Motorsports)
4 (as Gillett Evernham Motorsports)
Xfinity Series: 5
Craftsman Truck Series: 0

Evernham Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing organization that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2000 by former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a two-car operation in 2001 and fielding additional full-time entries in alliances with Ultra Motorsports and the Valvoline corporation. The organization was renamed Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2007 after former Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool F.C. owner George Gillett bought a controlling interest from founder Evernham, and merged with Petty Enterprises in 2009 to become Richard Petty Motorsports.[2][3]

Team history[]

The Evernham Shop in 2005.

Evernham Motorsports was founded in 2000 by former crew chief Ray Evernham, who won three championships atop the pit box for Jeff Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports. Evernham was named a team manager and owner for Daimler Chrysler's return to NASCAR's top level through their Dodge brand, leading the development of the Intrepid R/T race car that debuted in 2001. The team also operated with direct factory backing and sponsorship from Dodge.[4][5] The team originally operated out of the former facility of Bill Elliott Racing.[6]

In August 2007, then Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool F.C. owner George N. Gillett Jr. purchased a majority stake in the race team. The operation was renamed Gillett Evernham Motorsports, with Ray Evernham retaining substantial ownership and the role of CEO. Evernham stated the partnership would allow him to focus on "racing operations and team performance", with the Gillett family handling the business end of the operation.[7] GEM proceeded to hire several financial executives to assist with corporate marketing, including former chairman of LendingTree Tom Reddin to replace Evernham as CEO.[8]

At the beginning of the 2008 season, GEM signed a technical and marketing agreement with independent driver Robby Gordon, with plans to eventually absorb Robby Gordon Motorsports into the GEM stable.[9] Under the terms of the alleged merger, Gordon would sell his one-car-operation to GEM for $23.5 million, then receive a four-year contract worth $12 million to drive for the team.[10] The deal fell through, with GEM suing Gordon for violating the terms of the agreement.[10]

After the 2008 season, turmoil emerged when A. J. Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson were signed to drive for the team,[11][12] while Elliott Sadler was released from his ride in the 19 car and planned to sue the team to keep his job.[13] In the midst of a struggling economy, in January 2009 GEM merged with fellow Dodge team Petty Enterprises, which could no longer find sponsors for any of its cars, thus expanding the team to four cars. The organization was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports in the process. Ray Evernham was not involved in the merger negotiations, and both he and Richard Petty only maintained minority shares in the new team.[2][3][14]

NASCAR Cup Series[]

Car No. 7 history[]

On November 16, 2001, Ultra Motorsports announced they had entered into a joint venture with Evernham Motorsports where the team would switch to Dodge Intrepids from Ford. Casey Atwood, who had been driving Evernham's No. 19 and needed a ride once Jeremy Mayfield became the team's second driver, would take over the 7 car for the 2002 season. The venture was known as Ultra-Evernham Motorsports, with Ultra owner Jim Smith handling day-to-day operations and Evernham handling technical and competition aspects of the team. Ray Evernham described it as "doing two and a half teams."[15][16] In January 2002, Sirius Satellite Radio was named as the sponsor for the 7 car.[17] In his sophomore season, Atwood struggled severely, with a 29.4 average finish for the year and a best finish of 11th. The poor performance was attributed to a lack of competitive equipment (with the team using second-hand Evernham machines), and a lack of effort on driver Atwood's part.[18][19] The partnership was dissolved after Smith decided to remove Atwood from the car with two races left in the season. Ultra Motorsports Truck Series driver Jason Leffler was named the interim driver.[20][21] Jimmy Spencer would take over the car in 2003 for the once again independent Ultra Motorsports Dodge.[19]

Car No. 7 results[]

Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Owners Pts
2002 Casey Atwood 7 Dodge DAY
35
CAR
39
LVS
41
ATL
32
DAR
26
BRI
18
TEX
35
MAR
38
TAL
26
CAL
28
RCH
22
CLT
17
DOV
14
POC
11
MCH
39
SON
21
DAY
20
CHI
28
NHA
36
POC
28
IND
38
GLN
27
MCH
42
BRI
18
DAR
28
RCH
24
NHA
34
DOV
32
KAN
42
TAL
34
CLT
30
MAR
21
ATL
38
CAR
29
PHO HOM 35th 2621

Car No. 9 history[]

Bill Elliott (2001–2003)[]

The No. 9 debuted in the 2001 Daytona 500 with Dodge's return to NASCAR. After half a decade as a driver and owner, 1988 Winston Cup Series champion Bill Elliott joined Evernham as a driver and re-assumed the No. 9 that he drove with Melling Racing.[22] Elliott won the pole for the Daytona 500 and finished fifth. He marked the season with his first win in seven years at Homestead-Miami Speedway and finished 15th in points. Elliott would score two wins and finish 13th in points in 2002. He scored his final career win at North Carolina in fall 2003. After a ninth-place finish in the points that season, Elliott announced that due to the pressures of a full Nextel Cup schedule, he would step down from his full-time ride and would race the team's research and development car.[23]

Kasey Kahne (2004–2008)[]

Kasey Kahne's 9 car in his rookie season of 2004.

Elliott was replaced by rookie driver Kasey Kahne, a successful open-wheel racer just starting to gain respect in the Busch Series, who left a development contract with Ford to sign with Evernham's Dodge team for the 2004 season. Tommy Baldwin, Jr. would serve as crew chief for the No. 9 team.[23][24] Kahne was arguably the least accomplished driver in a strong rookie class that included Busch Series winners Brian Vickers (the 2003 Champion), Scott Riggs, Scott Wimmer, and Johnny Sauter as well as Craftsman Truck Series winner Brendan Gaughan.[25] Kahne would have the strongest performance out of all the young drivers, earning three second-place finishes through the first eleven races[24] and five on the season, including two close finishes with Matt Kenseth and Elliott Sadler. Kahne earned four poles and 14 Top 10 finishes to score a 13th-place finish in points, winning the Rookie of the Year honors by over 100 points.[25] In 2005, he won the spring Richmond race, but finished a disappointing 23rd in the final point standings.

Near the end of the 2005 season, Evernham initiated a crew swap between his teams, citing performance issues with both cars.[26] As a result, Kahne received most of what was Mayfield's team from 2005. In 2006, Kahne won six races, including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May. He also made his first Chase for the Nextel Cup, finishing eighth in the standings at the end of the season. His six wins were a series high in 2006 and he also tied for the most pole awards with Kurt Busch at six. On September 18, 2007, it was announced that Budweiser would sponsor the No. 9 car beginning in 2008,[27] after Dodge Dealers/Mopar/UAW had sponsored the team since 2001. In his first year with the Budweiser sponsorship, Kahne had two wins and finished 14th in points.

Car No. 9 results[]

Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Owners Pts
2001 Bill Elliott 9 Dodge DAY
5
CAR
23
LVS
14
ATL
16
DAR
23
BRI
17
TEX
14
MAR
14
TAL
32
CAL
14
RCH
37
CLT
26
DOV
40
MCH
9
POC
27
SON
9
DAY
35
CHI
10
NHA
21
POC
4
IND
8
GLN
24
MCH
3*
BRI
19
DAR
5
RCH
17
DOV
30
KAN
40
CLT
15
MAR
42
TAL
20
PHO
27
CAR
40
HOM
1
ATL
14
NHA
22
15th 3824
2002 DAY
11
CAR
11
LVS
8
ATL
35
DAR
10
BRI
21
TEX
9
MAR
31
TAL
19
CAL
4
RCH
14
CLT
9
DOV
2
POC
30
MCH
11
SON
8
DAY
17
CHI
7
NHA
34
POC
1
IND
1*
GLN
21
MCH
22
BRI
17
DAR
3
RCH
16
NHA
23
DOV
18
KAN
5
TAL
19
CLT
35
MAR
42
ATL
33
CAR
39
PHO
30
HOM
7
13th 4158
2003 DAY
32
CAR
32
LVS
14
ATL
39
DAR
9
BRI
18
TEX
43
TAL
13
MAR
13
CAL
4
RCH
20
CLT
26
DOV
22
POC
19
MCH
24
SON
4
DAY
16
CHI
11
NHA
31
POC
17
IND
5
GLN
20
MCH
15
BRI
16
DAR
5
RCH
37
NHA
4
DOV
14
TAL
13
KAN
2*
CLT
4
MAR
9
ATL
4
PHO
14
CAR
1*
HOM
8*
9th 4303
2004 Kasey Kahne DAY
41
CAR
2
LVS
2
ATL
3
DAR
13
BRI
40
TEX
2*
MAR
21
TAL
30
CAL
13
RCH
28
CLT
12
DOV
21
POC
14
MCH
2
SON
31
DAY
25
CHI
36
NHA
8
POC
3
IND
4
GLN
14
MCH
5
BRI
21
CAL
2
RCH
24
NHA
4
DOV
42
TAL
27
KAN
12
CLT
32*
MAR
15
ATL
5
PHO
5
DAR
5
HOM
38
13th 4274
2005 DAY
22
CAL
40
LVS
38
ATL
5
BRI
14
MAR
2
TEX
35
PHO
17
TAL
24
DAR
3
RCH
1*
CLT
26
DOV
35
POC
27
MCH
18
SON
41
DAY
16
CHI
41
NHA
6
POC
27
IND
2
GLN
17
MCH
29
BRI
42
CAL
6
RCH
8
NHA
38
DOV
16
TAL
13
KAN
19
CLT
23
MAR
17
ATL
35
TEX
42
PHO
27
HOM
16
23rd 3611
2006 DAY
11
CAL
4
LVS
4
ATL
1
BRI
10
MAR
35
TEX
1
PHO
6
TAL
39
RCH
34
DAR
21
CLT
1
DOV
7
POC
7
MCH
1
SON
31
DAY
25
CHI
23
NHA
8
POC
31
IND
36
GLN
22
MCH
4
BRI
12
CAL
1*
RCH
3
NHA
16
DOV
38
KAN
33
TAL
2
CLT
1*
MAR
7
ATL
38
TEX
33
PHO
7
HOM
4*
8th 6173
2007 DAY
7
CAL
38
LVS
35
ATL
39
BRI
19
MAR
25
TEX
20
PHO
31
TAL
12
RCH
40
DAR
20
CLT
23
DOV
11
POC
22
MCH
32
SON
23
NHA
25
DAY
9
CHI
32
IND
40
POC
27
GLN
26
MCH
31
BRI
2*
CAL
10
RCH
8
NHA
20
DOV
32
KAN
9
TAL
16
CLT
8
MAR
15
ATL
9
TEX
18
PHO
40
HOM
24
19th 3489
2008 DAY
7
CAL
9
LVS
6
ATL
28
BRI
7
MAR
17
TEX
25
PHO
36
TAL
23
RCH
10
DAR
22
CLT
1
DOV
31
POC
1*
MCH
2
SON
33
NHA
30
DAY
7
CHI
15
IND
7
POC
7
GLN
14
MCH
40
BRI
40
CAL
8
RCH
19
NHA
11
DOV
26
KAN
21
TAL
36
CLT
2
MAR
33
ATL
33
TEX
24
PHO
13
HOM
6
14th 4085

Car No. 19 history[]

Casey Atwood (2000–2001)
Casey Atwood in the No. 19 at Dover International Speedway in 2001

The No. 19 car was Evernham Motorsports' first foray into racing in the Cup series. It debuted in the 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond International Raceway as the No. 19 Motorola-sponsored Ford with 20-year-old Busch Series driver Casey Atwood as the driver. In that race, the car scored a 19th-place finish.[1] The abbreviated season was capped off by Atwood's tenth-place finish at Homestead that year.

For Evernham's full-time debut in 2001, Atwood was named as the driver of the 19 car, teammate to Bill Elliott in the No. 9. The team was part of Dodge's return into NASCAR, with Dodge Dealers sponsoring the entire season.[28] The year was off to a sluggish start when Atwood failed to qualify at the spring Atlanta race, but picked up steam towards the end of the year, winning the pole at Phoenix International Raceway, and almost winning the Homestead race before relinquishing the lead to teammate Elliott late in the race. Atwood barely missed wrestling the rookie of the year crown away from Kevin Harvick, despite Harvick finishing much higher in the points (ninth) and winning twice.

Jeremy Mayfield (2002–2006)

At the end of the year, though, Evernham made a change. He signed Jeremy Mayfield, who had recorded three wins for Penske Racing but who had been fired in September 2001 and had not run since, to join Elliott and drive the No. 19.[16] As part of the move, Evernham agreed to the aforementioned deal with Ultra Motorsports which gave Atwood a car to drive. Mayfield struggled in his initial year with Evernham, posting just four top tens and finishing 26th in points. He won a pole at Talladega Superspeedway the next year however, and improved to 19th in points. 2004 was even better, winning at Richmond and barely making the cut for the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup. He claimed one more win in 2005 and qualified once again for the Chase.

However, after the 2006 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, where an early-race crash dropped the No. 19 team out of the top-35 in owner points (thus requiring the team to qualify for each race on time), owner Ray Evernham replaced Mayfield with Bill Elliott for the race at Watkins Glen, citing a lack of performance through the 2006 season. However, in affidavits filed in court Mayfield blamed his lack of performance and subsequent termination from the team on Evernham's heavy involvement with development driver Erin Crocker, and the "close personal relationship" that developed between the two.[29][30][31]

Elliott Sadler (2006–2008)

On August 16, Elliott Sadler, after leaving Robert Yates Racing, was officially named the driver of the No. 19 car for the remainder of the 2006 season, as well as being named the driver for the 2007 season.[29] In his first race, Sadler qualified second and finished tenth. This was the No. 19 car's best finish of the 2006 season until Sadler scored a sixth-place finish at New Hampshire several weeks later. Sadler finished 22nd in driver points, while the No. 19 team finished 34th in owner points, guaranteeing it a spot in the first five races of the 2007 season. Sadler would score only two top tens in 2007, finishing 25th in points.

Elliott Sadler in the No. 19 in 2008.

In November 2007, Best Buy was announced as the new sponsor for fifteen races in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Later Stanley and McDonald's were announced as the two other primary sponsors on the No. 19.[8] In May, Sadler reached a two-year contract extension with the team.[32] However, on December 27, 2008, GEM announced that A. J. Allmendinger, who drove the team's No. 10 car at the end of the season, would be replacing Sadler in the No. 19 for the 2009 season.[12] At the same time the team also announced several of its sponsors were considering leaving the team and that Ray Evernham had cleared his personal belongings out of the team's race shop, but it was not clear whether it was related to the hire.[32] On January 3, 2009, Sadler's attorney announced that he would be seeking a breach of contract lawsuit against GEM for the dismissal.[13] Looking to avoid the lawsuit GEM and Sadler's attorneys reached a settlement six days later that would return Sadler to the No. 19 for 2009 while keeping Allmendinger with the team.[33]

Car No. 19 results[]

Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Owners Pts
2000 Casey Atwood 19 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH
19
NHA DOV MAR
25
CLT TAL CAR PHO HOM
10
ATL 54th 328
2001 Dodge DAY
20
CAR
18
LVS
24
ATL
DNQ
DAR
26
BRI
20
TEX
36
MAR
26
TAL
30
CAL
39
RCH
12
CLT
42
DOV
29
MCH
30
POC
38
SON
41
DAY
28
CHI
28
NHA
12
POC
15
IND
41
GLN
22
MCH
10
BRI
17
DAR
25
RCH
27
DOV
9
KAN
43
CLT
24
MAR
25
TAL
39
PHO
14
CAR
20
HOM
3
ATL
20
NHA
16
26th 3132
2002 Jeremy Mayfield DAY
39
CAR
29
LVS
2
ATL
23
DAR
16
BRI
14
TEX
18
MAR
11
TAL
36
CAL
38
RCH
5
CLT
39
DOV
35
POC
36
MCH
36
SON
28
DAY
13
CHI
34
NHA
19
POC
38
IND
39
GLN
15
MCH
16
BRI
25
DAR
20
RCH
10
NHA
24
DOV
20
KAN
9
TAL
20
CLT
28
MAR
28
ATL
27
CAR
21
PHO
25
HOM
33
26th 3309
2003 DAY
8
CAR
41
LVS
21
ATL
22
DAR
30
BRI
23
TEX
25
TAL
18
MAR
40
CAL
35
RCH
25
CLT
43
DOV
21
POC
15
MCH
13
SON
10
DAY
8
CHI
10
NHA
34
POC
38
IND
41
GLN
16
MCH
28
BRI
10
DAR
6
RCH
2
NHA
11
DOV
2
TAL
38
KAN
3
CLT
12
MAR
33
ATL
7
PHO
43
CAR
3
HOM
6
19th 3736
2004 DAY
25
CAR
11
LVS
14
ATL
2
DAR
9
BRI
17
TEX
34
MAR
36
TAL
21
CAL
14
RCH
22
CLT
8
DOV
8
POC
2
MCH
19
SON
30
DAY
22
CHI
5
NHA
10
POC
9
IND
11
GLN
7
MCH
11
BRI
22
CAL
16
RCH
1*
NHA
35
DOV
7
TAL
38
KAN
5*
CLT
30
MAR
6
ATL
26
PHO
21
DAR
19
HOM
35
10th 6000
2005 DAY
23
CAL
28
LVS
20
ATL
13
BRI
17
MAR
15
TEX
11
PHO
13
TAL
4
DAR
33
RCH
13
CLT
4
DOV
14
POC
14
MCH
22
SON
7
DAY
12
CHI
6
NHA
19
POC
18
IND
4
GLN
11
MCH
1
BRI
18
CAL
26
RCH
6
NHA
16
DOV
7
TAL
14
KAN
16
CLT
11
MAR
28
ATL
38
TEX
35
PHO
24
HOM
10
9th 6073
2006 DAY
36
CAL
22
LVS
25
ATL
41
BRI
16
MAR
26
TEX
31
PHO
26
TAL
13
RCH
32
DAR
38
CLT
15
DOV
18
POC
23
MCH
36
SON
22
DAY
36
CHI
24
NHA
29
POC
37
IND
41
34th 2983
Bill Elliott GLN
27
Elliott Sadler MCH
10
BRI
39
CAL
16
RCH
13
NHA
6
DOV
16
KAN
40
TAL
29
CLT
35
MAR
38
ATL
21
TEX
37
PHO
17
HOM
36
2007 DAY
6
CAL
24
LVS
14
ATL
18
BRI
27
MAR
24
TEX
17
PHO
34
TAL
15
RCH
27
DAR
21
CLT
36
DOV
26
POC
21
MCH
35
SON
14
NHA
33
DAY
33
CHI
33
IND
28
POC
32
GLN
17
MCH
32
BRI
29
CAL
35
RCH
27
NHA
38
DOV
17
KAN
8
TAL
24
CLT
41
MAR
40
ATL
14
TEX
12
PHO
27
HOM
38
25th 3140
2008 DAY
6
CAL
24
LVS
12
ATL
43
BRI
19
MAR
15
TEX
26
PHO
41
TAL
29
RCH
20
DAR
42
CLT
8
DOV
42
POC
34
MCH
9
SON
19
NHA
5
DAY
39
CHI
12
IND
4
POC
27
GLN
15
MCH
9
BRI
32
CAL
34
RCH
37
NHA
24
DOV
27
KAN
10
TAL
10
CLT
20
MAR
41
ATL
25
TEX
35
PHO
30
HOM
28
24th 3364


Car No. 91 history[]

2002–2005: No. 91 Research & Development Dodge[]

The 98 car started as the 91 car in 2002. Three drivers drove the No. 91: Dick Trickle at Talladega Superspeedway (failing to qualify);[34][35][36] Hank Parker, Jr. at Rockingham Speedway with sponsorship from USG Corporation;[34][37] and Casey Atwood at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a sponsorship from Mountain Dew (after being released from the No. 7 car).[20] The car returned in 2003 at Pocono Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with Atwood driving the 91 Mountain Dew Live Wire-sponsored Dodge at Pocono and an unsponsored entry at Indy.[38][39] In 2004, Bill Elliott relinquished his full-time duties to drive the No. 91 in a part-time deal at Las Vegas, Texas, and Indianapolis.[23] Elliott also ran three races in a No. 98 Dodge under his own Bill Elliott Racing banner, utilizing Evernham equipment and crew members and the owners points of Mach 1 Racing, in part to avoid conflict with sponsor Coca-Cola (Evernham's No. 9 and No. 19 cars were both sponsored by Mountain Dew).[40] He returned to drive the 91 in a part-time deal in 2005 in nine races held at Fontana, Atlanta, Texas, Charlotte, Michigan, Indianapolis, Michigan, Fontana, and Texas.[41] Elliott had sponsorships from UAW, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Stanley Tools, Auto Value / Bumper to Bumper, and Visteon.

Scott Riggs drove the 10 for Evernham from 2006 to 2007.

2006–2008: No. 10 Valvoline-Evernham Racing Dodge[]

Scott Riggs (2006–2007)
Riggs (right) at Las Vegas in 2007.

In 2006, the team became full-time and was renumbered as the No. 10 car, as Scott Riggs and his Valvoline sponsorship moved over from struggling MB2 Motorsports. In addition to sponsoring 22 races in 2006, Valvoline also maintained an ownership stake in the team through Senior Vice President James Rocco (like with MBV), called Valvoline-Evernham Motorsports (also written as Valvoline-Evernham Racing).[42] The team nearly won on several occasions including Charlotte, Talladega, and Texas — where he crashed out in second place with two laps to go. He finished 18th in the final standings despite missing the Daytona 500. Going into 2007 with high hopes, Evernham's performance suffered; Riggs failed to qualify for six races and had five DNF's with only one Top 10 finish all season. He was released with two races remaining in favor of former CART driver Patrick Carpentier,[43] who had also replaced him at Watkins Glen.[44]

Patrick Carpentier (2007–2008)
Patrick Carpentier at Daytona in 2008.

Carpentier, who was 36 years old at the time, became the full-time driver for 2008, part of a unique rookie class stacked with open wheel veterans all trying to emulate the success found by Juan Pablo Montoya the previous year. This included IndyCar Series Champions Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish, Jr., and CART and Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve, as well as DEI development drivers Regan Smith and Aric Almirola.[45] With Valvoline taking a backseat role in 2008[46] and Stanley Tools moving to the No. 19 car, GEM signed LifeLock for eight races, an identity security company making a large entrance investment into NASCAR.[47] Charter Communications and Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper also sponsored several races. Carpentier won the pole at Loudon but otherwise struggled, as did his fellow open-wheel counterparts. He had no Top 10s, missed five races — including the Daytona 500 — and was out of the Top 35 in points when he was released after Kansas. Second-year driver A. J. Allmendinger replaced Carpentier, after being released from Red Bull Racing in favor of Scott Speed.[48] In his five races for GEM, Allmendinger was impressive, posting three Top 15s and often outrunning his teammates. Allmendinger was initially rewarded with a full-time ride in the No. 19 car, replacing Elliott Sadler.[12] This was derailed when Sadler intended to sue the team and Allmendinger to keep his job,[13] when Reed Sorenson was signed as a third driver,[11] and when several sponsors threatened to leave the team in response to the recent moves.


Car No. 91 results[]

Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Owners Pts
2002 Dick Trickle 91 Dodge DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL
DNQ
CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL 66th 111
Hank Parker Jr. CAR
33
PHO
Casey Atwood HOM
37
2003 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX TAL MAR CAL RCH CLT DOV POC
40
MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND
31
GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL PHO CAR HOM 61st 113
2004 Bill Elliott DAY CAR LVS
20
ATL DAR BRI TEX
36
MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND
9
GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL PHO DAR HOM 48th 595
2005 DAY CAL
43
LVS ATL
22
BRI MAR TEX
33
PHO TAL DAR RCH CLT
20
DOV POC MCH
35
SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND
23
GLN MCH
11
BRI CAL
40
RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL TEX
32
PHO HOM 45th 695
2006 Scott Riggs 10 DAY
DNQ
CAL
19
LVS
28
ATL
11
BRI
41
MAR
10
TEX
7
PHO
38
TAL
9
RCH
14
DAR
31
CLT
13
DOV
20
POC
8
MCH
29
SON
27
DAY
20
CHI
15
NHA
10
POC
22
IND
21
GLN
23
MCH
14
BRI
4
CAL
17
RCH
10
NHA
35
DOV
34
KAN
34
TAL
19
CLT
17
MAR
30
ATL
22
TEX
31
PHO
22
HOM
7
20th 3619
2007 DAY
37
CAL
41
LVS
23
ATL
43
BRI
31
MAR
8
TEX
27
PHO
42
TAL
11
RCH
30
DAR
DNQ
CLT
20
DOV
23
POC
18
MCH
33
SON
DNQ
NHA
DNQ
DAY
41
CHI
DNQ
IND
29
POC
24
MCH
36
BRI
18
CAL
DNQ
RCH
40
NHA
32
DOV
34
KAN
13
TAL
DNQ
CLT
36
MAR
16
ATL
29
TEX
13
37th 3125
Patrick Carpentier GLN
22
PHO
33
HOM
40
2008 DAY
DNQ
CAL
DNQ
LVS
40
ATL
35
BRI
DNQ
MAR
29
TEX
28
PHO
33
TAL
31
RCH
43
DAR
40
CLT
37
DOV
29
POC
32
MCH
24
SON
23
NHA
31
DAY
14
CHI
30
IND
18
GLN
20
MCH
30
BRI
DNQ
CAL
18
RCH
25
NHA
31
DOV
41
KAN
29
TAL
DNQ
37th 2625
Terry Labonte POC
32
Mike Wallace CLT
31
A. J. Allmendinger MAR
15
ATL
14
TEX
26
PHO
16
HOM
11

Xfinity Series[]

Car No. 9 history[]

Tommy Baldwin Racing (2002–2004)

The No. 9 Ultimate Chargers Busch team started as the No. 6 Pepsi-sponsored Dodge Intrepid for Tommy Baldwin Racing. The team made its debut in 2002 at the fall Michigan Busch Series race, where Wally Dallenbach drove the team to a 14th-place finish. Dallenbach finished in the top ten in his other two starts in the car that year, splitting the car with Damon Lusk. Lusk took over on a limited basis for 2003 but did not finish in the top 10.

In 2004, primary sponsor Unilever backed the Hungry Drivers program to allow for young drivers to compete for a full-time seat in NASCAR. Four drivers were chosen to compete for the seat and the chosen drivers were Scott Lynch, Mark McFarland, Tracy Hines, and Paul Wolfe. Each driver was given three races to prove their talent. After scoring 2 top-20 finishes, including a 12th-place effort at New Hampshire, Wolfe was awarded the No. 6 Busch seat for the 2005 season.

Evernham Motorsports (2005–2008)

In October 2004, Evernham Motorsports acquired Tommy Baldwin Racing, and with it, the Hungry Drivers program.[49] Paul Wolfe started out the 2005 season, but was let go after the first four races due to poor performance. Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield took the brunt of the driving duties of the No. 6 team with Kahne scoring the team's first win at Kansas in October. Other drivers would also share in the driving duties of the car, including Mike Wallace, Tracy Hines, Bill Elliott, Casey Atwood, and also Paul Wolfe for three races. Erin Crocker would also make her Busch Series racing debut with the team at Richmond.

For the 2006 season, a number of changes were made to the team. First, a number switch with Roush Racing gave Evernham the No. 9 to use for his team while the No. 6 went with Mark Martin's Busch team. Also, Unilever's sponsorship of the team was expanded. Now called the Ultimate Chargers team, it would feature Kasey Kahne, Jeremy Mayfield, and Scott Riggs as the main drivers of the car throughout the year. Crocker, who competed under the No. 98 with sponsorship from General Mills, and Boris Said also shared driving duties in the car. Kahne, who drove the majority of races for the team, won twice at Las Vegas in the spring and Fontana in the fall. In 2007, Kahne won the spring race at Charlotte and the fall race at Bristol with sponsorship again from Unilever. Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Scott Riggs, Boris Said, and Chase Miller shared the brunt of the driving duties in the car. Deac McCaskill drove for the team in a single race at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

In 2008, Unilever, along with additional backing from AutoValue/Bumper-to-Bumper and Ingersoll Rand, continued sponsorship of the team with Kahne, Sadler, Patrick Carpentier, and Chase Miller sharing driving duties in the car through the year. Results were mixed for the Nationwide GEM team. For the first time since the program's inception, the team failed to record a win. The car's best results were two second-place finishes. The first was recorded by Kasey Kahne in the spring race at Bristol while Patrick Carpentier finished 2nd in the race at Montreal.

Later in the year, it was announced that primary sponsor Unilever would move to the No. 5 of JR Motorsports.[50] As a result of the loss of the sponsor, the organization announced that the car would move to a part-time schedule for the 2009 season. With the cutback, the team also let go about 65 employees, some of whom were also from the engine shop.[51]

Car No. 19 history[]

Evernham No. 79 (2003, 2005)

In the 2003 season, the team debuted with Jeremy Mayfield driving the No. 79 Dodge Intrepid, with Mountain Dew sponsoring, at Rockingham. He finished 4th in the only race for the team that year. The team returned for the 2005 season, operating as a 2nd Busch team. Sponsorship for this car came mainly from Trus Joist and Auto Value. Kahne and Mayfield shared the driving duties for the three races the team ran with a best finish of 4th at Richmond in May. Kahne also drove the car to a 12th-place finish at New Hampshire and Mayfield had a best finish of 29th at Charlotte. While the team didn't run in 2006, a couple of the chassis from the No. 79 were run by Erin Crocker in her first couple of races.

Evernham No. 19 (2007–2008)

In the last race of the 2007 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Patrick Carpentier made his second Busch Series start. The car was the No. 19 sponsored by Stanley.

Chase Miller drove the car as a second GEM car in select Nationwide Series races in 2008, with sponsorship from Cellco Partnerships (a joint venture of Verizon and Vodafone) on the car. The team was retired once the Braun-Petty deal was announced.

Truck Series and ARCA[]

Casey Atwood (2002)[]

In 2002, Casey Atwood ran a Dodge-sponsored No. 19 car at Pocono Raceway in the ARCA Racing Series, winning the race from the pole.[38]

Erin Crocker (2005–2007)[]

In 2005, Erin Crocker made her ARCA Racing Series debut in a No. 98 Dodge at Nashville Superspeedway. Crocker won the pole, and finished 12th after leading 28 laps. Crocker would run six more races with another pole at Kentucky and five top five finishes. Crocker ran seven more ARCA races in 2006, and moved up to NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series full-time with sponsorship from General Mills brands Cheerios and Betty Crocker.[52] Crocker would score another Kentucky pole and three top tens in ARCA, but the success would not translate in the Truck Series, with a best finish of 16th twice leading to a 25th finish in the championship standings.[30] General Mills would leave at the end of the season, leading the Truck Series team to close.[30] Crocker returned to ARCA for 12 races in 2007, with Mac Tools sponsoring five races.[53][54] Crocker won the pole at Daytona[55] and her third consecutive Kentucky pole, scoring six top fives and eight total top ten finishes.

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External links[]

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