Travis Carter Motorsports
Encyclopedia
Haas-Carter Motorsports is a former NASCAR
and USAR Pro Cup team. It was mostly owned by former crew chief Travis Carter
and Carl Haas
. The team previously fielded entries in the Winston Cup Series before closing. It returned in 2007 to field a full-time entry for rookie Kyle Krisiloff
.
from Hal Needham
following the 1989 season, Travis Carter Enterprises debuted at the 1990 Daytona 500
, as the #98 Chevrolet
sponsored by Winn-Dixie. Butch Miller
was the driver, who finished 22nd. Miller drove the car in 23 races that year, posting one top-ten finish before he was replaced by Rick Mast
, who finished out the year and garnered an additional top ten. In 1991, Jimmy Spencer
took over as Banquet Foods
was the sponsor, and finished 25th in points. Spencer ran just seven races with the car in 1992, before the team suspended operations temporarily.
as the #23 Camel Cigarettes Ford Thunderbird
driven by Hut Stricklin
. After posting one top ten finish that year, Stricklin was removed as Spencer returned to the team again. Spencer ran in the car for several years, the big change coming when Winston
became the sponsor in 1998. That year, Spencer looked poised for a top-ten finish in points, but injuries kept him from doing that as he was replaced by Ted Musgrave
and Frank Kimmel
while he nursed his wounds. At the end of the year, Carter announced he would expand his team to a multi-car operation, with three-time champion Darrell Waltrip
driving the #66 Kmart
Ford and Haas coming on board as a partner. The new team had previously been the #27 owned by David Blair Motorsports
. Waltrip amassed the largest number of DNQ's he had ever had during his career. In 2000, he retired from the Winston Cup, his lone highlight being an outside-pole qualifying effort at the Brickyard 400. Kmart also sponsored Spencer's car beginning in 2000, after the team's previous sponsorship agreement with R.J. Reynolds
expired, with the team switching to #26 after acquiring the number from Roush Racing. Waltrip's replacement was Todd Bodine
who won three pole positions and finished twenty-ninth in points. After 2001, Spencer departed, and Joe Nemechek
signed on to replace him. Unfortunately, during the offseason, Kmart went into bankruptcy
, and the team's status was in danger. Nemechek ran a mere handful races that year before his team was folded, and after subbing in several races afterward he signed with Hendrick Motorsports
to drive the #25 car. Bodine attempted the first few races in the #66 and qualified on the pole for the Las Vegas race, but he eventually was parked for several weeks while the team looked for sponsorship. Frank Kimmel returned for six races in the #26 with his National Pork Board
sponsorship from the ARCA series. Bodine eventually returned to race the #26 after Haas-Carter found full time sponsorship from Discover Card
and split time in the ride with his older brother Geoffrey]. The 66 car returned part-time later in the year, with Japanese racer Hideo Fukuyama
running a handful of races.
to form BelCar Motorsports. The #26 switched to #54 with the U.S. National Guard as sponsor. Bodine struggled, posting one-top ten finish and finishing 31st in points. Fukuyama made an attempt at Rookie of the year
honors in the #66, but that was soon aborted due to a lack of funding. At the end of the season, the Army/National Guard and Belnavis left for Roush Racing
. Still, the team looked like it might come back. Carter teamed up with a British
-based motorsports group called TorqueSpeed. The team was to be known as TorqueSpeed Carter and run a limited Cup schedule in 2004
with John Mickel
as the driver. However, this new alliance never saw the track.
who was working his way up the stock car ranks in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series
. For two years, Carter drove for other teams while under his father's guidance. In 2007, Travis Carter announced his return to NASCAR with the help of Newman/Haas Racing co-owner Carl Haas
, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
chairman Mari Hulman George
, and Mi-Jack Company founder Michael A. Lanigan. Their driver was Kyle Krisiloff
and they carried the #14 with ppc Racing
's #22's owner points from 2006. Sponsorship was originally limited to Clabber Girl
, owned by Hulman & Company
. Later in the season Walgreens
and Eli Lilly and Company
signed on to sponsor the car. At one point in the 2007 campaign, the team was to be merged with Yates/Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing as a part of a deal between team owner Carl Haas and NEXTEL Cup owner Robert Yates. The team was to be the second Busch team for YNHL until Robert Yates announced his retirement following the 2007 season and ended the partnership with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
. Krisiloff was released at the end of the season, and the team lost its sponsors as well. The team began the 2008 season under the banner of Richardson-Haas Motorsports, and the team ran at Daytona in 2008 with David Gilliland
sponsored by Music City Illinois but crashed out. The team was to run at Auto Club Speedway with Eric Norris
but withdrew.
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...
and USAR Pro Cup team. It was mostly owned by former crew chief Travis Carter
Travis Carter
Travis Carter is a former car owner and crew chief in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He served as crew chief for two decades, winning championships with Benny Parsons and Cale Yarborough in 1973 and 1978, respectively. Carter was the winning crew chief when Parsons won the 1975 Daytona 500. He...
and Carl Haas
Carl Haas
Carl A. Haas is an American auto racing impresario. He co-owned the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team in the IndyCar Series with the late Paul Newman and Mike Lanigan. He also owned Carl A...
. The team previously fielded entries in the Winston Cup Series before closing. It returned in 2007 to field a full-time entry for rookie Kyle Krisiloff
Kyle Krisiloff
Kyle Krisiloff is an American race car driver. He is the son of former Champ Car racer, Steve Krisiloff, the nephew of Tony George, and the grandson of Mari Hulman George. He became the youngest BMX rider in the United States, when he began racing BMX bicycles at just three years old...
.
Beginnings
After purchasing Mach 1 RacingMach 1 Racing
Mach 1 Racing is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series team. It was owned by Hollywood stuntman Hal Needham and actor Burt Reynolds. A team owned by Chris Edwards ran under this name from 2004 until 2006....
from Hal Needham
Hal Needham
Hal Needham is an American stuntman and film director.-Early years:Needham was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Edith May and Howard Needham. He was raised in Arkansas and Missouri...
following the 1989 season, Travis Carter Enterprises debuted at the 1990 Daytona 500
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
, as the #98 Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
sponsored by Winn-Dixie. Butch Miller
Butch Miller (racing driver)
Butch Miller is a racecar driver. He drives the #07 Toyota Tundra part time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on a limited basis, and is also a crew chief for SS-Green Light Racing. He is a multiple champion in the now-defunct American Speed Association stock car series...
was the driver, who finished 22nd. Miller drove the car in 23 races that year, posting one top-ten finish before he was replaced by Rick Mast
Rick Mast
Rick Mast is a former NASCAR driver. He competed in both the Winston Cup and Busch Series before retiring in 2002...
, who finished out the year and garnered an additional top ten. In 1991, Jimmy Spencer
Jimmy Spencer
Jimmy Spencer is a current television commentator, and a former NASCAR driver. He formerly hosted the NASCAR inspired talk show, “What’s the Deal?”, on SPEED. He is the former co-host, with John Roberts and Kenny Wallace, of the SPEED's pre-race and post-race NASCAR shows NASCAR RaceDay and...
took over as Banquet Foods
Banquet Foods
Banquet Foods is a subsidiary of ConAgra Foods that sells various food products, notably frozen pre-made entrées, meals, and desserts.Banquet was founded in 1953, with the introduction of frozen meat pies. Banquet first hit the store shelves in 1955, offering frozen dinners. Soon after that,...
was the sponsor, and finished 25th in points. Spencer ran just seven races with the car in 1992, before the team suspended operations temporarily.
Multi-Car
TCE returned in 19941994 in NASCAR
The 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Season began on Sunday February 20 and ended on Sunday November 13. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing was crowned champion at season's end, winning consecutive Winston Cups for the third time in his career and tying Richard Petty for the record of most top-level...
as the #23 Camel Cigarettes Ford Thunderbird
Ford Thunderbird
The Thunderbird , is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005...
driven by Hut Stricklin
Hut Stricklin
Waymond Lane "Hut" Stricklin is a former NASCAR race car driver. He was born on June 24, 1961, in Calera, Alabama. He married Pam Allison, the daughter of NASCAR legend Donnie Allison after they were introduced by her cousin Davey. Hut was the last member of the Alabama Gang.In 1986, Stricklin won...
. After posting one top ten finish that year, Stricklin was removed as Spencer returned to the team again. Spencer ran in the car for several years, the big change coming when Winston
Winston (cigarette)
Winston cigarettes are manufactured by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company or its newer incarnation as RJR Nabisco and/or its affiliates.The brand was introduced in 1954, and became the best-selling brand of cigarettes in the United States...
became the sponsor in 1998. That year, Spencer looked poised for a top-ten finish in points, but injuries kept him from doing that as he was replaced by Ted Musgrave
Ted Musgrave
Theodore Musgrave is an American race car driver.-Pre-NASCAR:Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukegan, and Wilmot, Wisconsin before moving into asphalt late models in the American Speed Association and...
and Frank Kimmel
Frank Kimmel
Franklin James Kimmel is an American stock car driver/owner. He drives the #44 Ansell Gloves/Menards Ford in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. Kimmel has won the ARCA championship nine times, including eight consecutive...
while he nursed his wounds. At the end of the year, Carter announced he would expand his team to a multi-car operation, with three-time champion Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...
driving the #66 Kmart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
Ford and Haas coming on board as a partner. The new team had previously been the #27 owned by David Blair Motorsports
David Blair Motorsports
David Blair Motorsports is a former NASCAR Winston Cup team. It was formed in 1995 by attorney David Blair. It only ran a few years in the circuit, and never could hang on to a regular sponsor.- 1996 :...
. Waltrip amassed the largest number of DNQ's he had ever had during his career. In 2000, he retired from the Winston Cup, his lone highlight being an outside-pole qualifying effort at the Brickyard 400. Kmart also sponsored Spencer's car beginning in 2000, after the team's previous sponsorship agreement with R.J. Reynolds
R.J. Reynolds
Richard Joshua "R. J." Reynolds was an American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company....
expired, with the team switching to #26 after acquiring the number from Roush Racing. Waltrip's replacement was Todd Bodine
Todd Bodine
Todd Bodine is a NASCAR driver. Todd is the younger brother of former racers Geoff Bodine and Brett Bodine. Bodine is known for his bald head, which has given him the nickname The Onion...
who won three pole positions and finished twenty-ninth in points. After 2001, Spencer departed, and Joe Nemechek
Joe Nemechek
Joseph Frank Nemechek III is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and owner of NEMCO Motorsports. He won the 1992 Busch Series championship...
signed on to replace him. Unfortunately, during the offseason, Kmart went into bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, and the team's status was in danger. Nemechek ran a mere handful races that year before his team was folded, and after subbing in several races afterward he signed with Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports , originally named All Star Racing, is a current American auto racing team created in 1984 by Rick Hendrick. The team currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Chevrolet Impalas...
to drive the #25 car. Bodine attempted the first few races in the #66 and qualified on the pole for the Las Vegas race, but he eventually was parked for several weeks while the team looked for sponsorship. Frank Kimmel returned for six races in the #26 with his National Pork Board
National Pork Board
The National Pork Board, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa is a quasigovernmental body of the United States government that was established under the terms of the Pork Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act of 1985, also known as the Pork Act, which was included as part of the 1985...
sponsorship from the ARCA series. Bodine eventually returned to race the #26 after Haas-Carter found full time sponsorship from Discover Card
Discover Card
The Discover Card is a major credit card, issued primarily in the United States. It was originally introduced by Sears in 1985, and was part of Dean Witter, and then Morgan Stanley, until 2007, when Discover Financial Services became an independent company. Novus, a major processing center, used to...
and split time in the ride with his older brother Geoffrey]. The 66 car returned part-time later in the year, with Japanese racer Hideo Fukuyama
Hideo Fukuyama
, is a former NASCAR driver. He raced on road courses in his native Japan before driving a NASCAR exhibition race at Suzuka in 1997 for Travis Carter Motorsports. In 2002, Fukuyama made his Winston Cup debut for TCM at Dover International Speedway, finishing 39th due to transmission failure...
running a handful of races.
BelCar Motorsports
In 2003, HCM merged with minority owner Sam BelnavisSam Belnavis
Sam Belnavis is an African American executive in automobile racing. He is one of the few minority persons to have owned a NASCAR racing team...
to form BelCar Motorsports. The #26 switched to #54 with the U.S. National Guard as sponsor. Bodine struggled, posting one-top ten finish and finishing 31st in points. Fukuyama made an attempt at Rookie of the year
NASCAR Rookie of the Year
The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year....
honors in the #66, but that was soon aborted due to a lack of funding. At the end of the season, the Army/National Guard and Belnavis left for Roush Racing
Roush Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is a racing team competing in NASCAR racing. As one of NASCAR's largest premier racing teams, Roush runs teams in the Sprint and Nationwide Series, and formerly in the Camping World Truck Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series.Roush first entered NASCAR competition in 1988, but had...
. Still, the team looked like it might come back. Carter teamed up with a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based motorsports group called TorqueSpeed. The team was to be known as TorqueSpeed Carter and run a limited Cup schedule in 2004
2004 in NASCAR
The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season began on Saturday, February 7 and ended on Sunday, November 21. Kurt Busch with Roush Racing driving a Ford was the Nextel Cup champion....
with John Mickel
John Mickel
John Mickel , is a stock car racer and commentator. He has raced in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Pickup Truck Racing with TorqueSpeed...
as the driver. However, this new alliance never saw the track.
Rebirth
In 2004, Carter left NASCAR's top division to focus on mentoring his son Matt CarterMatt Carter (racer)
Matt Carter is an American race car driver and the son of former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car owner Travis Carter. He is currently drives the #68 Ford Mustang for Fleur-de-lis Motorsports.-Early career:...
who was working his way up the stock car ranks in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series
USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series
CARS Pro Cup Series is a stock car auto racing series in the United States. It is sanctioned by the Championship Auto Racing Series. The series races throughout the United States primarily on short tracks.-History:The sanctioning body was formed by Hooters owner Robert Brooks...
. For two years, Carter drove for other teams while under his father's guidance. In 2007, Travis Carter announced his return to NASCAR with the help of Newman/Haas Racing co-owner Carl Haas
Carl Haas
Carl A. Haas is an American auto racing impresario. He co-owned the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team in the IndyCar Series with the late Paul Newman and Mike Lanigan. He also owned Carl A...
, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....
chairman Mari Hulman George
Mari Hulman George
Mari Hulman George, born Mary Antonia Hulman on December 26, 1934, in Terre Haute, Indiana, is the daughter of the late Anton "Tony" Hulman and Mary Fendrich Hulman, prominent Indiana philanthropists and business owners...
, and Mi-Jack Company founder Michael A. Lanigan. Their driver was Kyle Krisiloff
Kyle Krisiloff
Kyle Krisiloff is an American race car driver. He is the son of former Champ Car racer, Steve Krisiloff, the nephew of Tony George, and the grandson of Mari Hulman George. He became the youngest BMX rider in the United States, when he began racing BMX bicycles at just three years old...
and they carried the #14 with 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 #22's owner points from 2006. Sponsorship was originally limited to Clabber Girl
Clabber Girl
Clabber Girl is a brand of baking powder, baking soda and corn starch popular in the United States, manufactured by Hulman & Co., which also owns and operates the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League. The Clabber Girl name brand comes from the word clabber which means clabbered milk...
, owned by Hulman & Company
Hulman & Company
Hulman & Company is a private, family-owned, company founded in 1850 by Francis Hulman as a wholesale grocery, tobacco, and liquor store in Terre Haute, Indiana. Throughout the early half of the 20th century, Hulman & Co. became nationally known for its Clabber Girl baking powder which it began...
. Later in the season Walgreens
Walgreens
Walgreen Co. , doing business as Walgreens , is the largest drugstore chain in the United States of America. As of August 31st, the company operates 8,210 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901, and has since expanded...
and Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States...
signed on to sponsor the car. At one point in the 2007 campaign, the team was to be merged with Yates/Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing as a part of a deal between team owner Carl Haas and NEXTEL Cup owner Robert Yates. The team was to be the second Busch team for YNHL until Robert Yates announced his retirement following the 2007 season and ended the partnership with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
Newman/Haas Racing was a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed when actor Paul Newman and long-time racer Carl Haas, competitors in the Can-Am championship, each began looking to Champ Car racing...
. Krisiloff was released at the end of the season, and the team lost its sponsors as well. The team began the 2008 season under the banner of Richardson-Haas Motorsports, and the team ran at Daytona in 2008 with David Gilliland
David Gilliland
David Gilliland is a NASCAR driver and he currently drives the #34 Taco Bell Ford Fusion for Front Row Motorsports. He is the son of former Cup and West Coast driver Butch Gilliland. He was born in Riverside, California....
sponsored by Music City Illinois but crashed out. The team was to run at Auto Club Speedway with Eric Norris
Eric Norris
-Biography:Norris was born in Redondo Beach, California, the son of Dianne and Walker, Texas Ranger star Chuck Norris. He won the 2002 NASCAR Winston West Championship during a limited schedule in major league NASCAR racing....
but withdrew.