Bang! Racing

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**BANG Racing**

Owner(s) name	Alex Meshkin
Racing series	Busch Series Craftsman Truck Series
Number of championships	0
Number of wins	2
Car number(s)	24, 42-Craftsman 82-Busch
Notable driver(s)	Travis Kvapil, Mike Skinner
Notable sponsor(s)	Line-X
Manufacturer	Toyota/Ford
Shop location	Charlotte, North Carolina
Year opened	2003
Year closed	2005

Bang! Racing is a former NASCAR team. It was owned by entrepreneur Alex Meshkin, as well as Larry McReynolds and fielded entries in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. It only ran one season, in 2004.

[edit] Success

Meshkin started the operation in 2003, and it made its debut at Daytona International Speedway the following season. Its two drivers were Travis Kvapil in the #24 Line-X Toyota and Mike Skinner in the #42 Toyota Tundra. Kvapil finished second in the race, while Skinner finished 28th due to a crash. From then on, Bang! became a phemomeon in the sport, with Kvapil racking up two victories 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 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 in the Busch Series in 2005, with Kvapil at the wheel, and possibly expand into Nextel cup that same year, with NetZero sponsoring the #28 Dodge driven by Ward Burton.

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, Bang! let of all its help go and closed down its shop. Bang! and Meshkin are facing several lawsuits from angry investors and employees, including Kvapil. In addition, U.S. authorities are reportedly looking for Meshkin due to his illegal business dealings. ^{[verification needed]}

[edit] External links

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