The Masterminds Behind NASCAR That Keep Us On The Edge Of Our Seats
For anyone who doesn't know, a NASCAR team can compete in all three national NASCAR series: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (the premier series), the Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. A team is limited to four cars in each of the NASCAR series and they often share a single manufacturer for all of the team's cars.
Each car will have an independent driver, number, and crew chief. Also, these NASCAR teams are worth insane amounts of money. For example, Joe Gibbs Racing team is worth over $150 million, while Roush-Fenway is nearing $190 million. In this article, we take a deeper look into the NASCAR racing teams that make the motorsport the fastest event in the world.
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi has been a huge fixture in the auto racing industry for over 30 years and is considered to be one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has. Ganassi decided to create his own Indy one-car team in 1990 and 29 years later, they're as strong as ever.
His Indy car teams have over 100 wins, and his NASCAR teams have 33 wins, including a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and eight trips to the NASCAR playoffs. His NASCAR drivers currently include Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson.
Germain Racing
Bob Germain Jr. is a third generation automobile dealer and decided he wanted to build a championship caliber NASCAR racing team. His team made their debut in September 2004, and they came in with a bang. They started and finished the event in the top-five of that race. The young team would go on to win its first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship just two years after joining the big boys.
They have since won 22 times in the Truck Series. Germain Racing teamed up with marketing giant and longtime motorsports sponsor GEICO in 2008, and by 2009 they joined the NASCAR cup series. They have been competing exclusively in the premier racing division since 2012. They currently have one driver, Ty Dillon, racing for them.
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports has been a NASCAR powerhouse since 1984. They have earned a record 12-car owner championships in NASCAR's premier division. Rick Hendrick is the mastermind behind the organization and has been able to turn his passion for the automobile into legendary championships like none other.
His team has 252 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victories which are absolutely insane. The team has won a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on every track on the current circuit except for the Kentucky Speedway which has only been on the circuit since 2011. They currently have four full-time drivers in the premier division — Chase Elliot, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson, and Alex Bowman.
JTG Daugherty Racing
JTG Daughtery Racing is the definition of a family-run business that started 25 years ago in a barn. Now, thanks to the incredible leadership and knowledge of owners Tad and Jodi Geschickter, they've been able to create a business that has more than 100 employees. Interestingly enough, Brad Daugherty (who is currently an ESPN analyst) is also a co-owner of the racing team.
Right now their field consists of full-time drivers Chris Buescher, and Ryan Preece. They used to have AJ Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose, and Bobby Labonte.
Premium Motorsports
Premium Motorsports owner Jay Robinson announced in late 2017 that he had acquired all assets from Tommy Baldwin Racing. The acquisition included Baldwin's entire cup series inventory including everything from the team's race vehicles to their equipment. They also bought the charter from the No.15. After a few races were driven by Michael Waltrip, Reed Sorenson and Joey Gase in the No.15, Ross Chastain made his Cup Series debut in it in late 2017.
After briefly leaving the No.15, Chastain has since returned to the Premium Motorsports team in 2019 running the full season. He earned his first top-ten finish in a wild Daytona race.
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing was founded in 1969 and is one of the largest and most storied organizations in NASCAR competition. They currently field three drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR series, two teams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and two entries in the new eNASCAR Heat Pro League.
RCR has accumulated a total of 15 championships and more than 200 victories across NASCAR's top circuit. They've captured three Daytona 500s and three Brickyard 400 victories. This team's success is even more impressive when you take into account that Richard Childress established the racing team in his garage over five decades ago. They currently have two drivers in premier NASCAR series, Austin Dillon and Daniel Hemric.
Richard Petty Motorsports
Richard Petty Motorsports is co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty. It's one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsport. RPM is the winningest team in NASCAR Cup history with 273 wins. Today, the race operation fields the famed No. 43 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with driver Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr.
The team was actually founded as Evernham Motorsports in 2000 and then renamed Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2007 after Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool F.C owner George Gillett bought a controlling interest in the team. It switched owners again in 2009 and was dubbed Richard Petty Motorsports.
Spire Motorsports
Spire Sports and Entertainment is actually a talent management agency and sports ownership firm founded in 2010. They represented drivers, sponsors, and teams in NASCAR before deciding to form its own team, Spire Motorsports. They represented clients including Kyle Larsen, Ross Chastain, and James Hinchcliffe.
They served as official consultants for racing teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing. The team purchased the No.77 charter in late 2018 from the now-defunct Furniture Now Racing team. They fielded the No.40 driven by Jamie McMurray for one race, and also have Garret Smithley, and Quin Houff in the No.77.
StarCom Racing
StarCom Racing was founded in 2017 and fields the No. 00 and the 99 cars in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Even though they're a new team, they're very eager to win and succeed in the premier series of motorsports. StarCom acquired a NASCAR charter and is currently running a full season with the 00.
They're led by former Daytona 500 Champion, Derrike Cope as their team manager. Since 2018, the No.00 car has seen drivers Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joey Gase, Tomy Drissi, and Landon Cassill get behind the wheel.
Front Row Sports
Front Row Motorsports was founded in 2004 and is owned by Tennessean Bob Jenkins. The team currently fields three full-time entries, the No. 34 Michael McDowell, the No. 36 Matt Tifft and the No. 38 David Ragan. Even though it hasn't been around long in the grand scope of racing teams, they were able to capture their first win at Talladega Superspeedway in 2013 as David Ragan won the race.
Incredibly, that same race, FRM driver and teammate to Ragan at the time, David Gilliland finished second in a monumental run for this racing team. Chris Buescher returned the team to the victory lane in 2016 at Ponoco Raceway launching the team into the NASCAR playoffs.
Go FAS Racing
Originally called FAS Lane Racing, Go Fas was established in 2011 when Latitude 43 Motorsports closed its doors. It was founded by legendary crew chief Francis Allen Stoddard who decided to start up his own racing team. FAS stands for Stoddard's initials and ended up choosing the No. 32 car because his racing mentor Stub Fadden had the same number.
In 2014, Stoddard merged the team with Go Green Racing which is when the Go Fas Racing brand was created. There have been a lot of drivers in the No. 32 car since 2011, like Bobby Labonte, Joey Gase, Terry Labonte, Matt DiBenedetto and now Corey Lajoie.
Roush Fenway Racing
For over 50 years, Jack Roush has been a winning machine. He won 31 championships and more than 400 races in drag racing, sports car and stock car racing. Roush Fenway Racing boasts eight championships in NASCAR's top three divisions and has established itself as a dominant force in the sport.
The racing company began in 2007 when Roush Racing and Fenway Sports Group (the owners of the Boston Red Sox) formed Roush Fenway Racing. They currently run the No. 6 Ryan Newman car, and No. 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr charter.
Stewart-Haas Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing is co-owned by three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. It was originally founded as Haas CNC Racing, who was a main sponsor of the Hendrick Motorsports team decided he wanted his own.
In 2009, Tony Stewart decided that he was going to leave Joe Gibbs Racing and made a deal to drive for the Haas team and in return receive a 50% stake in it. They currently field the No.4 Kevin Harvick car, the No.10 Aric Almirola, the No. 41 Daniel Suarez and the No.14 Clint Bowyer. The team has 57 race victories and two driver championships under their belt. The team has won in the three national touring divisions joining Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, and two other teams as the only ones to accomplish that feat.
eam Penske
It would be hard to argue with the fact that Roger Penske is the most recognized name in American motorsports. He has been racing and winning since 1958 and has scored victories in every series he's competed in. His team has 34 national championships, including 15 Indy car trophies.
Penske Racing made its NASCAR debut in 1972 and won the Indy 500 that same year. At one point, there were 16 straight years that a Penske Racing car won at least one NASCAR race. The team has 15 drivers' championships and 175 race victories. They currently field the No. 2 Brad Keselowski, the No. 12 Ryan Blaney, and the No. 22 Joey Logano.
Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing holds the Guinness World Record for the longest active NASCAR racing team. They are the oldest operating NASCAR Cup Series team and they've ALWAYS raced Ford products. In fact, Edsel Ford (the grandson of Henry Ford) considers the Wood Brothers Racing one of their closest partners.
Their racing story began 69 years ago when Glen Wood decided to try racing and despite his car blowing up and almost killing him that first time, he loved it. 20 of NASCAR's greatest drivers have been on the Wood Brothers Racing team. The list includes Curtis Turner, Buddy Baker, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, and Bill Elliot to name a few. They have 99 race victories in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing first started in the racing circuit in 1991. It's owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs. In total, they have 300 race victories and 6 drivers' championships under their belt which makes them one of the most legendary racing teams of all time.
The team currently fields four full-time entries: the No. 11 Denny Hamlin, the No.18 Kyle Busch, the No. 19 Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 20 Erik Jones. the team also has a very strong development program which saw drivers like Joey Logano and Aric Almirola get groomed in their early racing years.
Leavine Family Racing
The Leavine Family Racing team is very new to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series as they made their debut with the No. 95 Matt DiBenedetto in 2011. They are currently in a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. The team previously fielded Fords with a technical alliance with Team Penske but has since switched over to Toyota.
They have participated in 120 MENCS races but don't have anything to show for it yet. They used to field the No.59 car which was driven by Michael McDowell.
Rick Ware Racing
Rick Ware Racing has been known as the "biggest little team in motorsports," led by owner Rick Ware. He founded the organization in 1994 but they didn't make their big moves until the early 2000s when they had three truck teams in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. But, it was their success in motocross racing that put Rick Ware Racing on the come up.
They were cross-sport marketing geniuses and they were making a huge splash. RWR tried to make attempts to make their rounds into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2004 but failed.
Rick Ware Racing
In 2011, Rick Ware Racing formed an alliance with the No.37 Front Row Motorsports Sprint Cup Team. The driver of the car wasn't able to get times fast enough to qualify for NASCAR competition. By 2012, they tried the same thing with the No.37 car but once again missed qualifying for five of six races.
They were able to make it back to the premier series with the No.51 car and Tommy Hill driving. After being unable to find a full-time driver for their car, by 2018 RWR ended up racing all three manufacturers which are incredibly rare.
Rick Ware Racing
It hasn't been the start that they've wanted in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, but they're continuing to battle it out. During the 2019 Daytona 500, both their No.51 and No.52 cars ended up colliding with each other causing a huge crash near the pit stops.
They've competed in 276 races, but RWR still doesn't have any drivers' championships, race victories, or pole positions. 2019 is going to be a big year for this team to really gauge where they stand in comparison to all of their competition. They're currently racing Cody Ware and B.J McLeod in their No.51 and No.52 cars.
