Travis Carter Motorsports
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| Owner(s) name | Travis Carter, Carl Haas, Sam Belnavis(2003 only) |
| Racing series | NEXTEL Cup |
| Number of championships | 0 |
| Number of wins | 0 |
| Car number(s) | 23/26/54/98, 66 |
| Notable driver(s) | Darrell Waltrip, Geoffrey Bodine Jimmy Spencer |
| Notable sponsor(s) | Winston, Kmart |
| Manufacturer | Chevy/Ford Motor Company |
| Shop location | Statesville, North Carolina |
| Year opened | 1990 |
| Year closed | 2004 |
Travis Carter Motorsports is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series team and current USAR Pro Cup team. It was owned by former crew chief Travis Carter. Although it never won a race, TCM fielded cars for drivers such as Geoffrey Bodine, Darrell Waltrip, and Jimmy Spencer.
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[edit] Beginnings
TCM 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 was the sponsor, and finished 25th in points. Spencer ran just seven races with the car in 1992, before the team suspended operations temporarily.
[edit] Multi-Car
TCM returned in 1994 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. The new team had previously been the #27 owned by David Blair Motorsports. The result was a disaster however, as Waltrip amassed the biggest pile 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. As for Spencer, his team received sponsorship from Kmart as well, and the team changed its number from 23 to 26 in 2000. 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 the ride. 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 signing with Hendrick Motorsports, and Kimmel returned to run a few races. Bodine, who had lost his #66 ride despite winning a pole, took over with Discover Card sponsoring the car full-time, with his brother Geoffrey subbing on occasion. The 66 car returned part-time later in the year, with Japanese racer Hideo Fukuyama running a handful of races.
[edit] BelCar Motorsports
In 2003, TCM merged with minority owner Sam Belnavis 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.
[edit] Rebirth
In 2004, Carter left NASCAR's top division to focus on mentoring his son Matt Carter 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. Carter re-opened Travis Carter Motorsports to field cars for his son. They have intentions of returning to NASCAR's top divisions with Matt Carter at the wheel.[citation needed]
