Jasper Motorsports
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| Owner(s) name | D. K. Ulrich, Doug Bawel, Mark Wallace, Mark Harrah, Bobby Hillin, Jr. |
| Racing series | Winston Cup |
| Number of championships | 0 |
| Number of wins | 0 |
| Car number(s) | #2, #6, #41, #55, #77 |
| Notable driver(s) | Tim Richmond, Ernie Irvan |
| Notable sponsor(s) | Kodak, Jasper Engines & Transmissions |
| Manufacturer | Ford Thunderbird, Ford Taurus, Dodge Intrepid, Chevrolet |
| Shop location | Statesville, North Carolina |
| Year opened | 1971 |
| Year closed | 2006 |
Jasper Motorsports is a former NASCAR Winston Cup/NEXTEL Cup team. It was owned by a variety owners including D.K. Ulrich and Doug Bawel.
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[edit] 1970's-1980's
The car started in 1971 at what turned out to be the only Winston Cup race at Smoky Mountain Raceway as the #41 Ford owned and driven by Ulrich, who finished 29th out of 30 cars for heating problems on the 4th lap. Ulrich ran full-time for a couple of years, but normally he stepped aside and let other drivers race for him. During his tenure as an owner, he employed many younger drivers. Sterling Marlin, Tim Richmond, Morgan Shepherd, and Mark Martin all went on to successful careers after piloting Ulrich's car.
In 1987, Ulrich noticed a young short track driver from California named Ernie Irvan, who qualified 20th in a Dale Earnhardt-sponsored car for a race that Ulrich didn't make. Ulrich put the aggressive young Irvan in his car for three races that year, with Irvan's partner Marc Reno as crew chief. When Ulrich was able to get Kroger as a full-time sponsor for the team, he fielded the car full-time in 1988 with Irvan competing for NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year in the #2 Chevrolet/Pontiac, finishing 59 points behind Ken Bouchard for Rookie of the Year. In 1989, Irvan posted 4-top ten finishes and ending the season 22nd in points, three better than the previous year. Unfortunately, Kroger decided not to renew its contract, and Irvan had no choice but to leave the team. Ulrich was able to get several different sponsorships together for 1990, and the team ran most of the races.
[edit] 1990's
The car returned full-time for 1991 as the #55 Pontiac piloted by rookie driver Ted Musgrave. The team disappeared for a couple of years before returning in 1994 as #77 USAir Ford with veteran journeyman Greg Sacks handling the driving chores. During this time, Doug Bawel, an executive from Jasper Engines & Transmissions, became a business partner with Ulrich, and co-sponsored the team for the 1995 season, with the car originally piloted by rookie Davy Jones and later Bobby Hillin Jr.. After the season, Bawel bought the entire team from Ulrich and started a partnership with Jasper salesmen Mark Wallace and Mark Harrah, with team changing its name to Jasper Motorsports. Hillin continued to drive the car for 1996, and the first part of 1997, before being replaced by Robert Pressley and Morgan Shepherd.
Pressley was hired the car for 1998, during which he had a then-career-best finish of 3rd at Texas. 1999 was a tumultulous year for the team, struggling with qualifying and finishing 39th in points. For the 2000 season, Ryan Pemberton came aboard as crew chief and made a huge difference as Pressley finished 25th in points the next two years, finished 2nd at the 2001 Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland.
[edit] 2000's
Pressley and Jasper parted ways after the season, and former sprint car champion Dave Blaney was tabbed to replace him. But Blaney, while competitive in some races, was average at best, and was gone at the end of 2003.
At the end of the year, Wallace sold his share of the team, and Roger Penske took his place, causing the team to merge with Penske's team and switching to Dodge. The team also got a new sponsor in Kodak, as well as a new driver in rookie Brendan Gaughan. Despite grabbing 4 top finishes, Gaughan was replaced to the shock of fans by another rookie, Travis Kvapil. In his first year in the Cup circuit, he finished 32nd in points with two top-10 finishes. When the season came to a close, it was announced the #77 car would not run the 2006 season.
Not long after the announcement, the team sold its owner's points to Michael Waltrip, which resulted in a new team, Waltrip-Jasper Racing. It is unknown if the team will return in 2007 as planned.
