Bang! Racing - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bang! Racing is a former NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

team. It was owned by entrepreneur Alex Meshkin, as well as Larry McReynolds

Larry McReynolds

Lawrence Joseph McReynolds III is a former NASCAR crew chief and currently serves as a racing analyst on Fox Sports, TNT and a columnist on Foxsports.com. He currently lives in Mooresville, North Carolina...

and fielded entries in the NASCAR

NASCAR

Craftsman Truck Series

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing...

. It only ran one season, in 2004

2004 in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

The 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season began on February 13 and ended on November 19. Bobby Hamilton of Bobby Hamilton Racing won the championship.See also: 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, 2004 NASCAR Busch Series- Full-time 2004 teams :...

.

Meshkin started the operation in 2003, and it made its debut at Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...

the following season. Its two drivers were Travis Kvapil

Travis Kvapil

Travis Kvapil is an American race car driver. He currently drives for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.-Early career:...

in the #24 Line-X Truck and Mike Skinner

Mike Skinner (NASCAR)

Mike Skinner is an American driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He is the primary driver of the #60 Big Red Soda Toyota Camry for Germain Racing. He is the father of former NASCAR drivers Jamie and Dustin Skinner...

in the #42 Truck. Kvapil finished second in the race, while Skinner finished 28th due to a crash. From then on, Bang! lived up to its namesake, with Kvapil racking up two victories, including the first NASCAR win for a Toyota at Michigan, and an eighth place finish in points, and Skinner, despite not winning a race, had two poles and an eleventh place finish in the championship hunt. What drove the team even further was Meshkin's salesmanship abilities, as he recruited major sponsors and investors to throw money at his growing operation, which they did, as companies such as Line-X and Ebay

EBay

eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...

jumped on board as sponsors. It wasn't long before Meshkin set his sites on moving his operation up to the higher levels of NASCAR. He announced he would field the #82 Dodge

Dodge

Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....

in the Busch Series in 2005

2005 in NASCAR Busch Series

The 2005 season of the NASCAR Busch Series began with the Hershey's Take 5 300 at Daytona International Speedway and concluded with the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Martin Truex Jr...

, with Kvapil at the wheel, and possibly expand into Nextel cup that same year, with NetZero

NetZero

NetZero is an Internet service provider based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. It is a subsidiary of United Online, owner of Juno Online Services and BlueLight Internet Services. The current chairman, president, and CEO of United Online is Mark Goldston.- History :NetZero launched in...

sponsoring the #28 Dodge driven by Ward Burton

Ward Burton

John Edward Burton III is an American NASCAR auto racer, who has a total of five career Sprint Cup wins. He last drove the #4 State Water Heaters Chevrolet Impala SS for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in 2007. He is the older brother of fellow NASCAR driver Jeff Burton, against whom he first...

.

However, trouble soon began brewing within the organization. Despite the team's richoted success, money was tight, and McReynolds and other partners began growing suspicious of Meshkin. Meshkin continued to insist that all is well. But after the season, several key executives at Bang resigned, and in early 2005

2005 in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

The 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season began February 18 and ended November 18. Ted Musgrave of Ultra Motorsports was crowned the season's champion.A rule change affected the qualification process in 2005...

, Bang let all of its help go and closed down its shop. Bang and Meshkin are facing several lawsuits from unhappy investors and employees, including Kvapil.

External links

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