JTG Racing
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Owner(s) Name(s) | Tad Geschickter, Jodi Geschickter |
Racing Series | Sprint Cup Nationwide Series |
Number of Championships | 0 |
Car Number(s) | #47 (Cup & Nationwide) #59 (Nationwide) |
Driver(s) | Kelly Bires (#47-Nationwide) Marcos Ambrose (#47 Sprint & #59-Nationwide) Scott Lagasse Jr. (Development) Coleman Pressley (Development) |
Primary Sponsor(s) | McKee Foods (#47-Sprint) Clorox (#47-Nationwide) Kingsford Charcoal (#59-Nationwide) |
Shop Location | Harrisburg, North Carolina |
Homepage | ST Motorsports |
JTG Racing is a NASCAR Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series team owned by former advertising executive Tad Geschickter and his wife Jodi. It currently fields the #47 Clorox Ford Fusion driven by Kelly Bires, the #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford driven by Marcos Ambrose in the Nationwide Series. The team had merged with Wood Brothers Racing during the 2006 season, but split from the Wood Brothers early in 2008. The two teams still share resources and work out of the same shop.
Contents |
[edit] Nationwide Series
[edit] Car #47 History
The second team in theJTG stable made its debut in 1996 at the All Pro Bumper To Bumper 300. The car was #46, sponsored by Stanley Tools and driven to a 22nd place finish by Larry Pearson. Pearson drove two more races for the team that year, each one getting regressively worse. ST would not run a second car again until 2004, when they fielded the #47 Ford Taurus driven by Robert Pressley. Pressley had two top ten finishes that year, and finished 15th in points. He was replaced by rookie Jon Wood in 2005. Wood posted six top-ten finishes and finished 15th in overall championship points. He was to continue to drive the 47 car in 2007, before medical problems forced him to exit the ride. Former American Speed Association champion Kelly Bires took his place for most of the year, garnering two top-ten finishes. Andy Lally took his place on road courses, finishing tenth at Watkins Glen International. Bires will drive full-time in 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series.
[edit] Car #59 History
JTG's Racing (then known as ST Motorsports) made its debut at the 1995 Goody's 300. Jeff Fuller drove the Sunoco-sponsored Chevrolet to an eleventh place finish. Fuller ran the full season with ST, and had six top-ten finishes en route to a tenth-place finish in points. He was named Rookie of the Year for the Busch Series that year. Fuller returned again in 1996. While he dropped seven points in the standings due to missing two races, he had four top-ten finishes and won from the pole at the Food City 250. Fuller was 18th in points after the 1997 GM Goodwrench/Delco Batteries 200, when he was released from the ride and replaced by Robert Pressley. Pressley had two-top fives and finished 32nd in points despite missing half the season. Pressley could only run half of the season in the newly renumbered #59 due to Winston Cup commitments with Jasper Motorsports. He ran 18 races and had two pole positions, finishing 31st in points with sponsorship from Kingsford. Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Lepage, Ron Hornaday and Rich Bickle filled in when Pressley was unavailable. Adam Petty drove a second car for the team, the #22 Spree Chevy in three races during the season and his best finish was 27th (twice).
For 1999, ST hired Mike Dillon as its new driver. Dillon had a seventh-place finish at the Lysol 200 and finished 16th in points that year. Dillon left for Richard Childress Racing after the season was over and ST replaced him with Phil Parsons. Parsons qualified for all 32 races, had two top-tens and finished 12th in points. In 2001, he was replaced by Bickle again. However, Bickle struggled in the ride and was replaced by Mark Green and Jeff Purvis after the MBNA.com 200.
In 2002, ST hired Stacy Compton to drive the #59, and he drove until the end of the 2006 season. His best finish being 9th. The only major change from 2002 until 2007 was the team's switch to the Ford Motor Company in 2004. Australian driver Marcos Ambrose was hired to compete in the #59 during the 2007 season, finishing in the top-ten six times and ending the year sixth in points.
[edit] Craftsman Truck Series
The #20 truck debuted in 2006 at the GM Flex Fuel 250 as the #20 truck. Jon Wood drove the truck for two races, due to Marcos Ambrose not being cleared to run the first two races due to limited experience. Bobby East running the event at Atlanta. Ambrose finally took over the ride at Martinsville, winning one pole and posting two third-place finishes during the season. In 2007, the truck switched numbers to 09. Joey Clanton brought Zaxby's as a sponsor and would share the ride with ex Busch Series veteran Stacy Compton. Clanton, despite running a partial schedule, was third in the Rookie of the Year standings. Clanton would take both the 09 and Zaxby's with him to Roush Fenway Racing for 2008, allowing JTG to switch back to the #20 and hire Scott Lagasse as their new driver. After eight races, JTG closed its truck team due to a lack of funding.
[edit] External links
Ford in NASCAR | |
Sprint Cup Series teams | JTG Racing | Roush Fenway Racing | Wood Brothers Racing | Yates Racing |
Nationwide Series teams | Baker Curb Racing | JTG Racing | Roush Fenway Racing | Specialty Racing | Team Rensi Motorsports |
Craftsman Truck Series teams | Circle Bar Racing | MB Motorsports | Roush Fenway Racing | Wood Brothers Racing |
Driver development program participants | Bobby East | Alison MacLeod | Stephanie Mockler |
Wood Brothers Racing | |
Sprint Cup drivers | Bill Elliott (21) | Jon Wood (#21) |
Craftsman Truck Series drivers | Jon Wood (#21) | Keven Wood (#21) |
Development drivers | Marcos Ambrose | Jonathan Cash | Jon Wes Townley |
Owners | Glen Wood | Wood Brothers |
Notable former drivers | Donnie Allison | Neil Bonnett | A. J. Foyt | Dale Jarrett | Kyle Petty | Morgan Shepherd | Michael Waltrip | Cale Yarborough |
Partnerships & Alliances | JTG Racing | Roush Fenway Racing |