- Jasper Motorsports
NASCAR former team
Company_Name = Jasper Motorsports
Owner(s) Name =D. K. Ulrich ,Doug Bawel , Mark Wallace,Mark Harrah ,Bobby Hillin, Jr.
Racing Series = Winston Cup
Championships = 0
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 = 2006Jasper Motorsports is a former
NASCAR Winston Cup /NEXTEL Cup team. It was owned by a variety of owners includingD.K. Ulrich andDoug Bawel .1970s-1980s
The car started in 1971 at what turned out to be the only
Winston Cup race atSmoky 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 namedErnie Irvan , who qualified 20th in aDale 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 partnerMarc Reno ascrew chief . When Ulrich was able to getKroger as a full-time sponsor for the team, he fielded the car full-time in 1988 with Irvan competing forNASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year in the #2Chevrolet /Pontiac , finishing 59 points behindKen 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.1990s
The car returned full-time for 1991 as the #55
Pontiac sponsored by Jasper Engines and piloted by rookie driverTed Musgrave . During the 1992 and 1993 NASCAR seasons, Ulrich formed a partnership with Ray DeWitt to formRaDiUs Motorsports which continued with Musgrave behind the wheel. During the 1992 season, the team ran various makes fromGeneral Motors before switching to Ford halfway through the year. In 1994 Musgrave left forRoush Racing and Ulrich and DeWitt ended their partnership. DeWitt formed a new team with the RaDiUS name and #55 while Ulrich retained the Jasper sponsorship on the newly renumbered #77. New to the team for 1994 was veteran journeymanGreg Sacks handling the driving chores as well as a major co-sponsorship fromUSAir . 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 laterBobby Hillin Jr. . After the season, Bawel bought the entire team from Ulrich and started a partnership with Jasper salesmenMark Wallace andMark 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 byRobert Pressley andMorgan 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, finishing 2nd at the 2001Tropicana 400 atChicagoland Speedway .2000s
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 struggled with consistency and was gone at the end of 2003.At the end of the year, Wallace sold his share of the team, and
Roger Penske , who was already providing engines and support to the Jasper team, took his place. The team got a new sponsor inKodak , as well as a new driver in rookieBrendan Gaughan and a new manufacturer inDodge . Despite grabbing 4 top-10 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 . This team merged withMichael Waltrip Racing at the end of the 2006 season.External links
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=baweldo01 Doug Bawel Winston Cup/Nextel Cup Owner Statistics]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=ulricd.01 D.K. Ulrich Winston Cup Owner Statistics]
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