Vision Racing (NASCAR)

Vision Racing
Owner(s) Adrian Berryhill
Base Mooresville, North Carolina
Series Xfinity Series
Car numbers 17, 37
Race drivers 17. Benny Gordon
Manufacturer Toyota
Opened 2006
Career
Debut 2006
Latest race 2015 Winn-Dixie 300 (Talladega)
Drivers' Championships 0
Race victories 0
Pole positions 0

Vision Racing was a race team formerly having competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team currently fields the No. 17 Toyota Camry for Benny Gordon in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team previously used Dodge Challenger cars and engines previously run by Team Penske before 2012, as well as Toyotas from Joe Gibbs Racing. After Berryhill failed to qualify Daytona Xfinity race in 2015,[1] the team decided to shut down due to lack of sponsorship, running its final race at Talladega in May with Benny Gordon.[2]

Following Talladega, Gordon and business partner Larry Mostoller purchased the team to form Performance Energy Group.[3][4]

History

Vision Racing ran in the ARCA Racing Series in 2005, running at Nashville and Kentucky with Zach Chappel and at Pocono with Damon Lusk. Lusk also ran the season opening ARCA race at Daytona in 2006. Will Vaught ran a #13 car at Kansas, then the #37 at Gateway. The team began running the #37 Chevy in the then-Busch Series in 2006, debuting with Josh Krug at Richmond International Raceway in September. Randy LaJoie drove at Kansas in September and Texas in November, before Krug ran at Phoenix.

In 2010, Berryhill ran the ARCA race at Iowa in the #7 Nation Cash Lenders Chevy. In 2011, he ran 7 races in the K&N Pro Series East in the #97 Chevy.

2012

The Nationwide team did not run again until 2012. At Richmond in April, JJ Yeley ran the #17 Toyota Camry, while Tanner Berryhill ran the #24 Chevrolet Impala, both with sponsorship from New Gulf Resources. Berryhill finished 29th while Yeley finished 37th. Berryhill ran three more races in the #17 with a best finish of 26th at Chicago.

2013

Berryhill's 2013 car at Richmond

The team ran the #17 and #37 in a limited schedule with sponsorship from National Cash Lenders. Berryhill ran 5 races in the 17 and one in the #37. Matt DiBenedetto ran 5 races in the #37. The team's best finish was a 28th at Richmond in April with Berryhill. Midway through the season, the team switched to Dodge, which had pulled factory support from NASCAR, and began running R6 engines from former Dodge team Team Penske at Charlotte.

2014

Berryhill's 2014 car at Road America

In 2014, Tanner Berryhill ran the full season for Rookie of the Year in the #17. BWP Bats sponsored the first six races of the season. The 17 and DiBenedetto in the #37 both missed the season opener at Daytona. At Talladega, Chad Boat and Billy Boat Motorsports missed the race, then made a deal to run the 17 in the race using their own car, finishing 25th. At Mid-Ohio, Berryhill got the team's best finish of 2014 with a lead-lap finish of 17th.

Ryan Ellis tweeted on August 19 that he would run the 37 car at Bristol,[5] but failed to qualify. Berryhill would finish 22nd in points.[6]

2015

The #17 and driver Berryhill planned to run the full 2015 season pending sponsorship, with the team purchasing Toyota Camrys from Joe Gibbs Racing. After crashing in qualifying for the season opener at Daytona, however, the team shut down due to financial woes. The team was later put up for sale by owner Adrian Berryhill.[6][1][7]

In April, the team announced it would be fielding the 17 Toyota at Talladega in May, if a driver with $45,000 of sponsorship funds could be found.[8] The car would be run by Benny Gordon and VSI Racing, qualifying 25th and finishing 13th.[2][3] Benny Gordon has since bought the team and rebranded it as Performance Energy Group.[3][4]

References

  1. 1 2 Long, Dustin (February 24, 2015). "Tanner Berryhill says Daytona qualifying crash will sideline his Xfinity team". nascartalk.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 Press Release (April 29, 2015). "Benny Gordon to make NASCAR XFINITY Series Talladega Start". Catchfence.com. Mooresville, North Carolina: Catchfence.com. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Wilson, Steven B. (May 2015). "BENNY GORDON FINISHES 13TH AT TALLADEGA". speedwaydigest.com. Speedway Digest, VSI PR. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Benny Gordon and Larry Mostoller Establish NASCAR Xfinity Team: Performance Energy Group". pegracing.com. Mooresville, North Carolina: Performance Energy Group. June 10, 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  5. ↑ twitter.com. August 19, 2014 https://twitter.com/ryanellisracing. Retrieved 20 August 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. 1 2 Rittenoure, John (January 18, 2015). "Bixby's Tanner Berryhill has a blast at Chili Bowl". tulsaworld.com. Tulsa World. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Dator, James (March 24, 2015). "Here's your chance to buy an ENTIRE NASCAR TEAM". sbnation.com. SB Nation. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Mobile Uploads". facebook.com. Mooresville, North Carolina: Facebook, Vision Racing Team. April 19, 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.

External links

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