Circle Bar Racing
Encyclopedia
Circle Bar Racing is an auto racing
team that competes in the NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series. The team is owned by Tom Mitchell, and they hold the distinction of having one of the longest lasting teams in the Truck Series. They field the #14 Ford F-150
. The team is also known for their long relationship with the Ford Motor Company
.
in late model
s. The team officially started out as Circle Bar Auto Racing Inc., with Fillip as their driver. The team qualified for the 1982 Indianapolis 500
, finishing 24th in a Gurney Eagle with a Cosworth
power plant. Fillip also qualified for the 1983 Indianapolis 500
before DNQ-ing for the 1985 Indy 500
with a Lola chassis. The next week at Milwaukee
, the team finished 10th with Fillip and sold their equipment to Al Unser Jr., who would take the championship. CBR made its NASCAR debut with Fillip in 1985
, in the #31 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford at Atlanta Motor Speedway
. Fillip ran sixteen races for Mitchell in 1986, and had a best finish of twelfth in the #81. At the end of the year, Mitchell sold his equipment to Fillip. Afterwards, Circle Bar sponsored the late model efforts of John Kelly
in 1989, with the shop based in San Antonio, Texas
. Moving to Ozona
, the team picked up the championship in 1990. The next year, CBR moved to the All-Pro Series with Kelly, but Alabama
native Rick Crawford took his place in 1992. Together, they attempted the 1993 Coca-Cola 600
, but failed to qualify. Using Circle Bar's equipment, Crawford had great success in the All-Pro Series, beginning a partnership between Mitchell and Crawford to race in the series until 1996.
drove the #74 at Fontana. She finished 35th after an early exit due to handling problems. The next attempt came in 2004, when Greg Biffle
drove the #44 Ford Racing
truck to an eighth-place finish at the Ford 200
.
CBR added on the #10 Truck in 2007, with David Starr
behind the wheel. Picking up both Navistar International
sponsorship and the owners points of ppc Racing
's old Truck Series team, the team had a moderately successful year, finishing 10th in points in their first year. Starr left at the end of the season to return to Red Horse Racing
. Brendan Gaughan
took over the #10 truck in 2008, leaving his defunct family owned team South Point Racing
. Gaughan earned two top fives and five top tens and finished 15th in points. At the end of the season, Gaughan departed the team, and rookie driver James Buescher
was signed to the 10 truck full time in 2009 with Jamie Jones as his crew chief. Buescher had three top-tens and a fourteenth-place points finish but departed the team as well at the end of the year. The team was eventually sold to Jennifer Jo Cobb
.
, specifically its all-new Craftsman Truck Series
. Continuing his partnership with Crawford and Ford, Mitchell debuted the #14 Ford at the Chevy Trucks Challenge in 1997 with Circle Bar sponsoring. Crawford made every race and finished 12th in points, runner up to Kenny Irwin Jr. for Rookie of the Year. 1998 brought the team's first win at Homestead Miami Speedway, but inconsistency put them at 18th in points. Crawford would not win for the next four years, but had two top ten points finishes in between, including a runner-up points finish to Mike Bliss
in 2002
. Crawford would take his second, and arguably biggest win at the season opening Florida Dodge Dealers 250, with a last lap pass on Travis Kvapil
. The win propelled him to a seventh place points finish. Rick would win again in 2004
at Martinsville
, but dropped to twelfth in points. The 2005 season
was a mixed bag, as the team won again at Loudon, but Crawford was forced to miss the first race of his career due to a crash during qualifying at Kentucky Speedway
. Road racer Boris Said
took his place, but was taken out in an early wreck. Rick won again at ORP in 2006
and finished ninth in points. Although the 2007 season
was a winless one for the #14 team, they added on a second truck with David Starr
who brought along sponsorship from Navistar International
for both trucks. The added equipment resulted in a near win at Mansfield Motorsports Park and a fifth place points finish for Crawford. Crawford slipped to seventh in points in 2008, and tenth in 2009 with twenty top-tens in between both seasons. Longtime crew chief Kevin "Cowboy" Starland left Circle Bar after 2009 for Panhandle Motorsports and International departed both the #10 and the #14 for Randy Moss Motorsports. Despite the lack of sponsorship, Circle Bar gained a new crew chief in Blake
Bainbridge and ran the first four races of the season before having to release Rick before Kansas and having to wait on additional sponsorship to continue running the season. The team has not been heard from since.
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
team that competes in the 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...
Camping World Truck Series. The team is owned by Tom Mitchell, and they hold the distinction of having one of the longest lasting teams in the Truck Series. They field the #14 Ford F-150
Ford F-Series
The F-Series is a series of full-size pickup trucks from Ford Motor Company which has been sold continuously for over six decades. The most popular variant of the F-Series is the F-150...
. The team is also known for their long relationship with the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
.
Beginnings
Although Mitchell's team has found its home in NASCAR, the team originated in 1978 with Circle Bar sponsoring Chet FillipChet Fillip
Chet Fillip , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. Fillip raced stock cars and a modified during his teens and early twenties at Arena Park Raceway in Lubbock, Texas. His father Marvin Fillip also raced at this track...
in late model
Late model
A "late model car" is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. The term is broadly used in car racing, and often appears in common use, as in "The officer was driving an unmarked, late model sedan."There is no precise...
s. The team officially started out as Circle Bar Auto Racing Inc., with Fillip as their driver. The team qualified for the 1982 Indianapolis 500
1982 Indianapolis 500
The 66th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30, 1982. Gordon Johncock, who had previously won the rain-shortened 1973 race, was the winner...
, finishing 24th in a Gurney Eagle with a Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
power plant. Fillip also qualified for the 1983 Indianapolis 500
1983 Indianapolis 500
Results of the 1983 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 29, 1983.-Recap:Three-time runner up Tom Sneva is stuck behind the lapped car of Al Unser, Jr., who is helping protect the lead of his father Al Unser despite being shown the blue "move-over" flag...
before DNQ-ing for the 1985 Indy 500
1985 Indianapolis 500
The 69th Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis, United States on Sunday, May 26, 1985. Due to a dramatic spin by eventual race winner Danny Sullivan, the race is known in auto racing lore as the "Spin and Win".-Recap:...
with a Lola chassis. The next week at Milwaukee
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a -long oval race track in West Allis, Wisconsin that seats about 40,000 spectators. It operated as a dirt track until 1953. The track was paved in 1954....
, the team finished 10th with Fillip and sold their equipment to Al Unser Jr., who would take the championship. CBR made its NASCAR debut with Fillip in 1985
1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Season began on Sunday February 10 and ended on Sunday November 17. Darrell Waltrip, driving for Junior Johnson, was crowned champion at the end of the season...
, in the #31 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway is a track just outside Hampton, Georgia, twenty miles south of Atlanta. It is a quad-oval track with a seating capacity of over 125,000. It opened in 1960 as a standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track...
. Fillip ran sixteen races for Mitchell in 1986, and had a best finish of twelfth in the #81. At the end of the year, Mitchell sold his equipment to Fillip. Afterwards, Circle Bar sponsored the late model efforts of John Kelly
John Kelly
- People :* John Kelly of Killanne , leader of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 in Wexford* John Kelly , Congregational minister* John Larry Kelly, Jr. , originator of the Kelly criterion...
in 1989, with the shop based in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. Moving to Ozona
Ozona, Texas
Ozona is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Crockett County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,436 at the 2000 census...
, the team picked up the championship in 1990. The next year, CBR moved to the All-Pro Series with Kelly, but Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
native Rick Crawford took his place in 1992. Together, they attempted the 1993 Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, formerly known as the World 600, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held each year at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend...
, but failed to qualify. Using Circle Bar's equipment, Crawford had great success in the All-Pro Series, beginning a partnership between Mitchell and Crawford to race in the series until 1996.
#10 Truck History
Circle Bar Racing fielded a second truck for the first time in 1997, when Tammy Jo KirkTammy Jo Kirk
Tammy Jo Kirk is a racecar and motorcycle racer. She was the first woman to race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and later returned to NASCAR to run the Busch Series. She has not driven in NASCAR since 2003....
drove the #74 at Fontana. She finished 35th after an early exit due to handling problems. The next attempt came in 2004, when Greg Biffle
Greg Biffle
Gregory Jack "Greg" Biffle is a NASCAR driver who drives the #16 3M Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. After racing in the NASCAR Winter Heat Series in the mid-90s, he was recommended to Jack Roush by former announcer Benny Parsons...
drove the #44 Ford Racing
Ford Racing
Ford Racing is the Ford Motor Company's racing division and the multinational name used for its motorsport activity.-History:* 1896 - Henry Ford reached a top speed of 20 mph in his first car, Quadricycle....
truck to an eighth-place finish at the Ford 200
Ford 200
The Ford 200 is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race that takes place at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The races of 1996-2001 were scheduled 250 miles.It has served as the final event of the season for the Truck Series since 2002.-Past winners:...
.
CBR added on the #10 Truck in 2007, with David Starr
David Starr
David Starr is an American stock car driver. He currently drives the #95 WRL General Contractors/TWD Drywall/B&D Electrical/Fenton Motor Group Ford Fusion for Leavine Fenton Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series part-time and the #81 Zachry Holdings, Inc. Toyota Tundra for SS-Green Light Racing...
behind the wheel. Picking up both Navistar International
Navistar International
Navistar International Corporation is a United States-based holding company that owns the manufacturer of International brand commercial trucks, MaxxForce brand diesel engines, IC Bus school and commercial buses, Workhorse brand chassis for motor homes and step vans, and is a private label...
sponsorship and the owners points of ppc Racing
Ppc Racing
ppc Racing was a NASCAR racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team was owned by Greg Pollex. ppc Racing came about from a merger of Pollex's Busch Series team with a car owned by Steve DeSouza and Ted Campbell in 1999. The team shut down in 2007 due to a lack of funding...
's old Truck Series team, the team had a moderately successful year, finishing 10th in points in their first year. Starr left at the end of the season to return to Red Horse Racing
Red Horse Racing
Red Horse Racing is an American racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina. It is co-owned by business executive Tom DeLoach and NASCAR on Fox broadcaster Jeff Hammond...
. Brendan Gaughan
Brendan Gaughan
Brendan Gaughan is an American stock car driver. Gaughan is the grandson of Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan and son of Michael Gaughan, a hotel and casino magnate. Gaughan currently drives the #62 South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota Tundra for Germain Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck...
took over the #10 truck in 2008, leaving his defunct family owned team South Point Racing
South Point Racing
Orleans Racing , was a NASCAR team that competed in the Craftsman Truck Series and the NASCAR West Series. It was owned by businessman Michael Gaughan for most of its existence, although others have had a partial interest in the team...
. Gaughan earned two top fives and five top tens and finished 15th in points. At the end of the season, Gaughan departed the team, and rookie driver James Buescher
James Buescher
James Buescher is a NASCAR driver currently running full-time in its Camping World Truck Series. He drives the No. 31 Wolf Pack Rentals/Exide Chevrolet Silverado for Turner Motorsports in the Truck Series. He also runs part-time for Turner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, driving the No...
was signed to the 10 truck full time in 2009 with Jamie Jones as his crew chief. Buescher had three top-tens and a fourteenth-place points finish but departed the team as well at the end of the year. The team was eventually sold to Jennifer Jo Cobb
Jennifer Jo Cobb
Jennifer Jo Cobb is a race car driver and team owner. She has competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series along with the ARCA Remax Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. She drives the 13 Ford Mustang for her own team Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing in the Nationwide Series-History:She started...
.
#14 Truck History
In 1997, CBR focused its operations towards NASCARNASCAR
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...
, specifically its all-new Craftsman Truck Series
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...
. Continuing his partnership with Crawford and Ford, Mitchell debuted the #14 Ford at the Chevy Trucks Challenge in 1997 with Circle Bar sponsoring. Crawford made every race and finished 12th in points, runner up to Kenny Irwin Jr. for Rookie of the Year. 1998 brought the team's first win at Homestead Miami Speedway, but inconsistency put them at 18th in points. Crawford would not win for the next four years, but had two top ten points finishes in between, including a runner-up points finish to Mike Bliss
Mike Bliss
Michael Bliss is a NASCAR driver who has run in all three major series. He currently drives the #19 Chevrolet Impala for TriStar Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He began racing at age 10...
in 2002
2002 in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
The 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Season began February 15 and endedNovember 15. Mike Bliss of Xpress Motorsports was crowned the champion at season's end.See also: 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 2002 NASCAR Busch Series- 2002 Team Chart :...
. Crawford would take his second, and arguably biggest win at the season opening Florida Dodge Dealers 250, with a last lap pass on 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:...
. The win propelled him to a seventh place points finish. Rick would win again 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 :...
at Martinsville
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, near Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved...
, but dropped to twelfth in points. The 2005 season
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...
was a mixed bag, as the team won again at Loudon, but Crawford was forced to miss the first race of his career due to a crash during qualifying at Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned...
. Road racer Boris Said
Boris Said
Boris Said is an American race car driver from Carlsbad, California but considers his hometown to be Stamford, Connecticut. His father, Bob Said, was a Formula One race driver and US Olympic bobsled driver in 1968 and 1972. He drove the #26 Ford Fusion for Latitude 43 Motorsports in the NASCAR...
took his place, but was taken out in an early wreck. Rick won again at ORP in 2006
2006 in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
The 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season began on February 17, 2006 at Daytona International Speedway with the GM Flex Fuel 250, and ended on November 17, 2006 with the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Todd Bodine of Germain Racing was declared champion...
and finished ninth in points. Although the 2007 season
2007 in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
The 12th season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season set off on February 16, 2007 at Daytona International Speedway with the Chevy Silverado HD 250, and ended on November 16, 2007 with the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway...
was a winless one for the #14 team, they added on a second truck with David Starr
David Starr
David Starr is an American stock car driver. He currently drives the #95 WRL General Contractors/TWD Drywall/B&D Electrical/Fenton Motor Group Ford Fusion for Leavine Fenton Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series part-time and the #81 Zachry Holdings, Inc. Toyota Tundra for SS-Green Light Racing...
who brought along sponsorship from Navistar International
Navistar International
Navistar International Corporation is a United States-based holding company that owns the manufacturer of International brand commercial trucks, MaxxForce brand diesel engines, IC Bus school and commercial buses, Workhorse brand chassis for motor homes and step vans, and is a private label...
for both trucks. The added equipment resulted in a near win at Mansfield Motorsports Park and a fifth place points finish for Crawford. Crawford slipped to seventh in points in 2008, and tenth in 2009 with twenty top-tens in between both seasons. Longtime crew chief Kevin "Cowboy" Starland left Circle Bar after 2009 for Panhandle Motorsports and International departed both the #10 and the #14 for Randy Moss Motorsports. Despite the lack of sponsorship, Circle Bar gained a new crew chief in Blake
Bainbridge and ran the first four races of the season before having to release Rick before Kansas and having to wait on additional sponsorship to continue running the season. The team has not been heard from since.