R&J Racing
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Owner(s) Name | Roger Craven, John Carter, Dale Davis |
Racing Series | NEXTEL Cup |
Number of Championships | 0 |
Car Number(s) | #37 |
Driver(s) | Bill Elliott |
Primary Sponsor(s) | None |
Shop Location | Dawsonville, Georgia |
Homepage | None |
R&J Racing is a NASCAR Nextel Cup team. It fields the #37 Dodge Charger for Bill Elliott. It is owned by Roger Craven, John Carter and NBA player Dale Davis. The team uses Ernie Elliott's shop and Elliott's motors to power the cars.
The team made its debut in 2004 at the Coca-Cola 600, originally as an offshoot of the #89 Victory In Jesus Racing team and working out of a shop previously occupied by Frank Cicci Racing with Jim Kelly. Todd Bodine was the driver, but the team failed to qualify for the race. After DNQ-ing the next week at Dover International Speedway, the team made the Pocono 500, but finished 42nd after suffering overheating problems. After finishing 36th at the DHL 400, Bodine left the team, and was replaced by Chad Blount. After failing to qualify for the Pepsi 400, Blount made the field at Chicagoland Speedway, where he finished last after suffering electrical failures. Andy Hillenburg and Stanton Barrett came on to attempt races with the team, but failed. Kevin Lepage took over at the Sharpie 500, and ran the rest of the season with the team, his best finish being 27th at Phoenix International Raceway.
In 2005, the team signed sponsors BOSpoker and Patron Tequila and planned to run the full year. Lepage finished ninth in the Daytona 500 but was released midway through the season. After Anthony Lazzaro ran Watkins Glen, Tony Raines took over the ride, and led two laps at Michigan before running out of fuel in the final laps. Following his release after the UAW-Ford 500, Mike Skinner, Mike Garvey, and Jimmy Spencer shared the ride for the balance of the season.
Blount returned to the #37 in 2006 for the Daytona 500, but missed the race. Skinner has attempted most of the races with this season, along with Carl Long. In June 2006, a press release said Terance Mathis bouight out the operation and renamed it Victory Motorsports, however only Dale Davis joined the ownership of the team. Skinner piloted the car at Indianapolis, and Bill Elliott started 39th and finished 16th at Kansas Speedway, the team's best showing to date. He will drive in at least one more race for the team this season.