On September 21, 2017, Premium Motorsports' owner, Jay Robinson announced that he has acquired all assets from Tommy Baldwin Racing. The acquisition includes Baldwin's entire cup series inventory including everything from the team's race vehicles to their equipment. It also includes the trucks that were leased by TBR to the No. 52 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Team but Baldwin says there remain a few obligations from his No. 7 team to be fulfilled in future races.[2]Justin Marks drove the car at Talladega, Hermie Sadler drove at Martinsville and Joey Gase drove at Texas and Phoenix.
On January 22, 2018, Danica Patrick was announced to drive the No. 7 in the Daytona 500 in her final NASCAR start. She brought sponsorship from her former sponsor, GoDaddy. The team fielded a car prepared by Richard Childress Racing, and used the charter that the No. 15 car used in 2017.[3] Following the race, the charter went back to the No. 15. The No. 7 next appeared fielded by NY Racing Team in partnership with Premium Motorsports, originally supposed to be crew-chiefed by Brian Keselowski. However, Keselowski and a few other crew members declined to work under NY Racing owner John Cohen, and were dismissed from Premium before the 2018 Coca-Cola 600 the debut for the team. The #7 Steakhouse Elite Chevrolet would be driven by JJ Yeley at Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600 and Pocono for the Pocono 400. It was then fielded under the Premium Motorsports banner utilizing what had been the No. 55 crew. D. J. Kennington would be behind the wheel at Michigan, and Reed Sorenson was scheduled to drive at Sonoma but the team withdrew midweek and entered Chicagoland with Sorenson instead. Jeffrey Earnhardt was brought on for the next race at Daytona, bringing home an 11th-place finish in the crash filled race. Part-time Truck Series driver Jesse Little made his Cup Series debut at Kentucky with the team. The #7 team was closed down at year's end, with the 7 being assigned to NY Racing and Premium retaining their #15.
Ross Chastain's No. 15 Chevrolet at Sonoma in 2019
In 2017, Premium Motorsports bought the charter from the No. 15 HScott Motorsports team, and the car number was changed to No. 15 as a result. The team got a career-best 8th in Michael Waltrip's final race in the Daytona 500, able to avoid the carnage in the 2nd half of the race. After Daytona, Reed Sorenson went to the No. 15. At Talladega and Indianapolis Joey Gase drove the No. 15 finishing 21st and 25th respectively. At Dover, Ross Chastain made his Cup Series debut, where he finished 20th which is the team's best non-super-speedway finish. Road Course Ringer Kevin O'Connell drove the No. 15 at Sonoma finishing 33rd, Gray Gaulding drove the No. 15 in the 2017 Overton's 400. Derrike Cope drove the No. 15 at Michigan.
The No. 15 team returned in 2018 with Chastain driving at Atlanta. Chastain was to run every race in the No. 15 for the rest of the season. It was later announced that road course ringerJustin Marks would pilot the car at Sonoma and the Charlotte Roval with sponsorship from the Sufferfest Beer Company.[4] This resulted in Chastain missing the Sonoma race, and driving the No. 7 at the Charlotte Roval.
Chastain returned to the team in 2019, running the full season.[5] After running two laps down at one point, Chastain would earn his first top-ten finish in a wild Daytona race and finished 10th.
On November 27, 2019, NASCAR imposed penalties to Premium Motorsports, Rick Ware Racing, and Spire Motorsports for manipulating their finishing order at Homestead. Each team was docked 50 owners' points and fined US$50,000. In addition, competition directors Scott Eggleston of Premium Motorsports and Kenneth Evans of Rick Ware Racing were suspended indefinitely and fined US$25,000 each.[6]
On December 11, 2019, it was announced that Brennan Poole would race full-time in the No. 15 for 2020.[7]
Just three weeks into the season, rumors began circulating that Robinson was selling his team. Later, it was confirmed that Rick Ware Racing purchased Premium from Robinson.
Reed Sorenson's No. 27 Chevrolet at Sonoma in 2019
At the 2019 Daytona 500, Casey Mears drove a No. 27 Chevy Camaro ZL1 that was built and crewed by Premium, but entered as a Germain Racing entry. Pat Tryson was the crew chief. This was Mears's first Cup start since 2016.[8] The No. 27 was next entered at Auto Club Speedway, this time as a Premium entry driven by Reed Sorenson with Tommy Baldwin as crew chief.
In 2016, Premium Motorsports purchased the Hillman Racing No. 40 team and brought Mike Hillman as competition director. Hillman and Robinson attempted to field the No. 40 CRC Industries Chevrolet in the 2016 Daytona 500 for Reed Sorenson but failed to qualify. The 40 did not make another attempt for 2016.[10]
In 2012, the team announced its intent to compete in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The team planned to race the full series schedule, running Toyotas,[11] using the No. 49. J. J. Yeley and Tony Furr served as the driver and crew chief, respectively.[12] The team had sponsorship for the Daytona 500 from America-Israel Racing, in order to educate people about Israel. One of the sponsors said that "being brought up Southern Baptist, I was always taught we stand behind Israel. This is a way I felt I could give back to society. It's something I believe in."[13] Yeley also stated that JPO Absorbents will sponsor for about 8–10 races throughout the season. In its first outing, the team missed the field for the Daytona 500.[14]
On October 22, 2012, the team sold off its Cup Series equipment in an auction to NEMCO Motorsports and Joe Nemechek, with Robinson becoming a partner in the renamed NEMCO-JRR Motorsports.
In October 2014, Mike Wallace, the regular driver for the Robinson-affiliated Identity Ventures Racing, ran the No. 49 Royal Teak Collection Toyota at Talladega.
Mike Hillman, who was partnered with Joe Falk and his team was named as a partner for 2016, purchasing equipment from Hillman-Circle Sport LLC. The team returned in Martinsville for their 2016 debut. The number was changed from No. 62 to No. 55 with Reed Sorenson. The team made the race qualifying 40th out of 40 cars. The team would then make the races at both Texas and Bristol due to only 40 cars entered for both races, at Richmond there were 41 cars entered for the race but when qualifying was rained out and the field was set by practice speeds, the 55 team made the race due to being third fastest of the non-charter teams in practice. The 55 was driven by Michael Waltrip at Talladega; his 12th place would remain Robinson's best ever in Cup until the next restrictor plate race. Sorenson drove the next several races before being placed in the No. 98 starting at Pocono, with 98 driver Cole Whitt taking his place at this race and at Michigan, while Cody Ware drove at Sonoma;[15] however, Ware failed to qualify. Sorenson returned at Daytona. Sorenson sat out Watkins Glen as well, with Alex Kennedy running the No. 55. The team has been forced to run many races without sponsorship; however, they did pick up PEAK Antifreeze for Talladega with Waltrip, the World Record Striper Company for Dover, the Sprint Showdown and the Coca-Cola 600 with Sorenson, long-time Robinson sponsor Vydox Plus at Pocono with Whitt, Carport Empire with Ware,[15] and another longtime Robinson partner, Royal Teak Collection, with Sorenson at Daytona. In the second Talladega race, they surprised many by being the fastest in the first round of qualifying, then in the race, went to the garage at the opening laps to get the car ready for racing due to the car being impounded after qualifying.
The team got to a bad start in 2017, crashing out and not qualifying for the Daytona 500. After the Daytona 500, Derrike Cope came back to the Cup series to drive the No. 55, starting at Atlanta. The No. 55 team originally planned to run full-time, but skipped three races along the process.
The team made its 2018 season debut with driver Joey Gase driving the car at Las Vegas. Reed Sorenson returned to the No. 55 machine at Auto Club. After running 6 more races with Sorenson, one with J. J. Yeley at Martinsville and one with Jeffrey Earnhardt at the Coca-Cola 600, the 55 crew was moved to the No. 7 at Michigan with D. J. Kennington as driver.
In 2015, upon the team's return to the Cup Series full-time, Premium began fielding a second car, the No. 62 Chevrolet for Brian Scott and Brendan Gaughan and Reed Sorenson. 62 was the number Gaughan used for the majority of his racing career. The team used the owner's points and equipment of Tommy Baldwin Racing's former No. 36 team, sold to Robinson at the beginning of the year.[16][17] The No. 62 had collaborative agreements with both TBR and Richard Childress Racing (both Scott and Gaughan were RCR drivers). Scott drove an RCR-prepared car at the Daytona 500 with family sponsor Shore Lodge[16][18] but crashed in his Budweiser Duel and failed to qualify. Gaughan planned to take over for the rest of the season, though without direct RCR support.[16][19] Gaughan qualified the next week in Atlanta, finishing 28th. Gaughan would subsequently qualify at Las Vegas, with South Point Hotel and Casino (owned by his father Michael) appearing on the car.[20] Gaughan qualified for the next two races in an unsponsored entry.
However, the team then failed to qualify for the next four consecutive races, three of which were supposed to be fully sponsored. Gaughan finally qualified at Talladega with DiaThrive (who originally signed on at Martinsville) sponsoring, but blew a tire and crashed after 90 laps, finishing 40th. Gaughan failed to qualify for the fifth time at Kansas, and again the following race in Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600. Gaughan was able to make the field at Dover, and made it to the end without incident, finishing 34th. Gaughan would also qualify at Pocono, due to the entry list having only 43 cars, but suffered electrical problems throughout the race and finished 40th. Gaughan failed to qualify at Michigan and Sonoma, but qualified at Daytona (due to cancellation of qualifying) with Vydox Plus (first signed on at Bristol) on the hood, and matched his season best 28th-place finish. After only qualifying for 8 of the first 16 races, and feeling like he could not give the effort to the team he wanted to, Gaughan left the team.[16]
Reed Sorenson took over the No. 62 at Kentucky, which qualified for the second week in a row (due to another qualifying rainout) finishing in 36th place. Sorenson failed to qualify at New Hampshire and Indianapolis.[16] Sorenson was reassigned to the No. 98 at Pocono, with Timmy Hill moving over to the No. 62 for this race, which ran as a Ford from the former Phil Parsons Racing stable. The 62 made the show due to the entry list having only 43 cars, and finished 36th. T. J. Bell was entered in the No. 62, once again a Chevy, at Watkins Glen, but failed to qualify.[16] Sorenson returned to the No. 62, once again as a Ford, at Michigan, but failed to qualify again, and also failed to qualify at Bristol. Hill would return to the No. 62 at Darlington, but this time failed to qualify, and failed to qualify the next week at Richmond as well. The No. 62, with Hill, qualified for Chicagoland, snapping a five-race DNQ streak since Pocono, due to a third rained-out qualifying session. Hill finished 41st. Hill made the next race at New Hampshire as well, finishing 36th, and qualified for the third week in a row at Dover, due to the entry list having only 43 cars; he finished 39th. This three-race start streak was broken when Hill failed to qualify at Charlotte. He missed the race again at Kansas. Hill was able to qualify at Talladega, with Royal Teak Collection on the hood for the first time in 2015 (the company had sponsored several races on the No. 98); this was also just the second time the No. 62 had qualified on speed when all cars ran a lap (the first time was with Gaughan at the spring Talladega race). Unfortunately, the car was plagued by electrical issues and finished 41st. Hill qualified at Martinsville, due to the entry list having only 43 cars. Due to Ryan Preece running the No. 98 at Texas, Sorenson returned to the No. 62, but posted the slowest speed and failed to qualify. Hill would run the car at Phoenix, making the field due to the entry list having only 43 cars, but suffered non-terminal engine problems and finished last. Sorenson ran the car at Homestead, but yet again posted the slowest speed and failed to qualify. The No. 62 missed 20 of 36 races and finished 2015 45th in the owners points, lowest among teams that attempted the full schedule and also behind the part-time No. 21 and No. 95 teams.
In 2014, Robinson was involved in a collaboration called Identity Ventures Racing, owned by James Hamilton and Mark Bailey, to field the No. 66 LandCastle Title/Royal Teak Toyota for a rotation of Toyota drivers as a Michael Waltrip Racing affiliate, a rotation which included Waltrip himself.[21][22] Near the end of the season, Robinson took full control of the No. 66 after legal issues with principal partner Nat Hardwick.[23][24][25]
In 2015, Robinson announced his plan to return to the Cup Series full-time out of his own shop for the first time since 2012, this time under the name Premium Motorsports. Robinson brought over the remaining equipment from Identity Ventures Racing, and also brought over the No. 66 and the associated owner points. The team's driver was announced as Mike Wallace. Wallace ran the Daytona 500 with Crazy Vapors and X8 Energy Gum sponsoring.[26] Wallace raced his way into the Daytona 500, and finished 36th in the race.[23] However, Wallace failed to qualify for the next two races.[20][23] Wallace was then released in favor of Tanner Berryhill, who took over at Phoenix and applied to be a Rookie of the Year contender.[23] Berryhill also failed to qualify in his only attempt. Wallace was placed on the entry list for Auto Club Speedway, but the team withdrew midweek, with Robinson announcing no current plans for a return due to the qualifying struggles and lack of sponsorship.[20] The team didn't return again until the non-points-paying Sprint All-Star Race's Sprint Showdown with Berryhill. Berryhill failed to win either Showdown segment in the No. 66.[27] The team was later merged with the No. 98.[16]
In early May 2015, it was reported that Phil Parsons Racing with Mike Curb would be selling their No. 98 team driven by Josh Wise to Premium owner Jay Robinson.[16][28] Evidence for the change in ownership included the removal of the logos of PPR sponsor Phoenix Construction (owned by former team owner James Finch) from the car prior to the GEICO 500 at Talladega, replaced with Premium sponsor Royal Teak Collections.[29] The ownership change was announced on May 5, the Monday after the race, on the team's Twitter.[30] Premium Motorsports officially took over the No. 98 team at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, with Royal Teak once again sponsoring the car, and Wise remaining as the driver. Dogecoin returned to the 98 car at Sonoma, where the team ran a Chevrolet.[31]Big Red Soda signed on as sponsor for four races beginning at Kentucky in July,[32] where Wise was taken out early in a crash, finishing 43rd. Wise announced the following week that he had left Premium Motorsports, due to differences in opinion about the direction the team was going in comparison to Phil Parsons Racing. This was the second driver that left the team in a span of three days after Brendan Gaughan announced his departure Friday, July 10. Robinson later stated the move was due to sponsorship circumstances.[16]
Timmy Hill, part-time driver of Premium's Truck Series entry, drove the No. 98 at New Hampshire and Indianapolis.[16] Hill switched to the No. 62 at Pocono, with Sorenson switching over to the No. 98, which ran as a Chevy at this race. Hill returned to the No. 98 at Watkins Glen, with the car once again running as a Chevy. Hill also ran Michigan and Bristol in the No. 98, before returning to the No. 62 at Darlington, with T. J. Bell running the No. 98. Sorenson returned to the No. 98 at Richmond and ran it again at Chicagoland. Tommy Baldwin Racing leased the No. 98 at New Hampshire in the fall, fielding Ryan Preece. After Sorenson ran the No. 98 for the next several weeks, Premium again leased the owner points, this time to Michael Waltrip Racing at Talladega in the fall, where Waltrip himself drove. Preece then returned to the No. 98, with Premium itself this time, for Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix. TBR again fielded the car for Preece at Homestead-Miami.
In 2016, after the merger with the former No. 40 team, Cole Whitt was announced as the new driver of the No. 98, running the full season. The team inherited a charter from the No. 62 (formerly Baldwin's 36) but leased it to HScott Motorsports for 2016, leaving them without a guaranteed starting spot in races under NASCAR's new qualifying system. Whitt missed the Daytona 500 after spinning and breaking his transmission in his Can-Am Duel race. However, due to a shortage of entries for the next 3 races with only 39 cars at Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Fontana, Whitt and the 98 team made all of the races. The team would later miss the race at Richmond due to the field having 41 cars, a qualifying rainout and Whitt's practice speed being the slowest of the Open teams. Whitt bounced back at Talladega, posting an 18th-place finish despite being involved in a last-lap crash. Later, starting at Pocono, Whitt was moved to the No. 55, with Sorenson coming over from that team to field the No. 98 there and at Michigan. Whitt returned to the No. 98 at Sonoma, with Sorenson sitting out the weekend due to Cody Ware running the 55. The next week at Daytona, Whitt posted Premium's best ever finish after coming home 11th. After finishing 21st at Kentucky, Whitt sat out New Hampshire due to sponsorship issues, with Ryan Ellis running the No. 98. Whitt returned at Indianapolis. Timmy Hill drove the car at Dover. Whitt returned at Charlotte, however Whitt was released by the team after Kansas for a lack of sponsorship. Sorenson drove the car at Kansas (Whitt was in No. 55) after that the team skipped some races. Sorenson returned at Phoenix.
In 2017 the No. 98 was renumbered to No. 15.
Xfinity Series
Car No. 28 history
The 28 at Darlington in 2006.
The No. 28 car made its debut at the 2004Charter 250. It was sponsored by Yahoo! and driven by Mark Green, who finished 35th in the car. Green piloted the car in six more races that season, before departing for Keith Coleman Racing. Shane Hall drove the car on a limited basis for the rest of the year. Derrike Cope was named the driver for 2005, with sponsorship from Radioshack and Motorola. Cope struggled and was replaced by Shane Hall. Hall only ran on a part-time basis, and did not finish a race. The No. 28 was driven part-time by Hall in 2006. He ran six races and had a best finish of 36th.
For 2007, the team acquired the assets of the former Haas CNC Racing Busch team and ran the No. 28 Chevy full-time with Robert Richardson and Blake Bjorklund. Jeff Green and Johnny Sauter originally drove as well, before leaving to concentrate on their Cup rides. Sponsorship came from Checkers/Rally's Drive-In, U.S. Border Patrol, and Affordable Band Instruments during the 2007 racing season. Their best finish came at Montreal where Swedish road ringerNiclas Jonsson started 8th, led 5 laps and finished 12th after briefly contending to win the race.
In 2008, Kirk Shelmerdine drove the No. 28 at Daytona with sponsorship from Lilly Trucking of Virginia in a one race deal for Daytona. Brian Keselowski was named the driver of the No. 28 after Daytona, however he was released after Bristol. Kenny Wallace was named the driver of the No. 28 for the rest of the year starting at Nashville with the United States Border Patrol providing sponsorship. He provided the team with its career-best third-place finish at Memphis Motorsports Park and finished sixteenth in points. In 2009, he had two top ten finishes and placed eleventh in points, the team's highest finish. The Border Patrol left at the end of the season, and the team was forced to rotate sponsors for 2010. Wallace left the team for RAB Racing, and Robinson hired Derrike Cope to drive full-time in 2011 with sponsorship from Maxelence. Cope ran all the races except for Iowa, in which Dennis Setzer drove. Cope would finish 20th in points with a best finish of 17th at Road America. J. J. Yeley drove the No. 28 in the 2012 season opener at Daytona. David Green and Cope ran one race each with sponsorship from JPO Absorbents. Kevin Lepage took over the No. 28 car with manufacturer support from Chevrolet.[33] However, the team began to focus on its Cup program with Yeley, and returned at Charlotte with Tony Raines.
JRR started 2002 by switching to Ford and Kirk Shelmerdine finishing 31st at Daytona. Faggart returned the next week with sponsorship from Rent-A-Wreck, where he finished 35th, and Craig Raudman at Las Vegas, who finished 32nd. Joe Buford took over the next two races, before David Starr took over at Texas. After that, Kirby returned to the team, finished 6th at Talladega, and ran until the Kroger 300, when he was killed in a motorcycle accident two days after. They made one race with Nick Woodward, then with Dan Pardus. Buford, Troy Cline, and Derrike Cope finished out the year for the team. In 2003, the team hired Bingham and Cope to share the driving duties of the 49. Bingham struggled finishing races and soon moved over to the No. 39 team, while Cope would eventually be released. Shane Hall took over for two races, along with Carlos Contreras. At New Hampshire, Tammy Jo Kirk and sponsor Advil signed on. She ran 15 races that season with a best finish of 21st at Pikes Peak.
Cope returned to the 49 in 2004, running 30 out of 34 races, and finishing 27th in points. Vahsholtz made one start at Kentucky, where he finished 36th.
Kertus Davis in the No. 49 at New Hampshire in 2008.
For the 2009 season, Kertus Davis began the season as the driver of the No. 49 again in 2009 with GetMoreVacations.com as sponsor. After several races, Mark Green returned to the team as driver. During the season, this team ran as a start and park team. [citation needed]
In 2010, Green ran both the No. 49 and No. 70 cars for JRR under an agreement with ML Motorsports. This same deal was formed for 2010. Brad Teague ran the No. 49 at Bristol in March.
In 2011, this team was entered on occasion, and mostly used to Start and Park which helps fund the primary No. 28 car, with Derrike Cope.
Other teams
The 39 cars were purchased from Robert Yates Racing in 2003, who had repossessed the equipment from Angela's Motorsports. The team's first race was at the Koolerz 300, with Mike McLaughlin driving a fan-supported ride. He qualified fourth, but was involved in a crash late in the race, and finished 29th. Joe Buford and Clint Vahsholtz ran the next two races. Jason White began running the 39 with Three Stooges Beer as the sponsor. Eventually, road racer Chris Bingham was moved to the 39 car after struggling in the 49 car. Following his release, Jamie Mosley and Dana White finished out the year. For the 2004 season Andy Ponstein began the year in the 39 with sponsorship from Yahoo!, but wrecked several times during his tenure and was released. Tina Gordon came on after that, and had a best finish of 26th at Pikes Peak, before she was released. The 39 has not run since.
JRR revived its third team in 2008 as the No. 49. Derrike Cope first attempted a race with the car at Mexico City, but failed to qualify. The car next ran at Nashville Superspeedway, when Shane Hall finished last after an early vibration problem. Kertus Davis joined the team at Kentucky and ran the rest of season in No. 49 after leaving his family owned JD Motorsports team, his best finish being 35th. JRR has not run a third car since then.
Camping World Truck Series
Truck No. 15 history
In 2017, the team fielded another Truck Series entry, using the No. 15. Gray Gaulding was signed to drive part-time and began racing at Chicagoland finishing 25th. In 2018, the team expanded to full-time with driver Robby Lyons, who previously drove in a couple races for the team in 2017. Lyons would be replaced by Cup driver Reed Sorenson in a few races midseason, and by JR Heffner for the race at Eldora Speedway. Phil Parsons son Stefan will make his truck series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway.
In 2015, the team fielded a full-time Truck Series entry, using the No. 94 (inverse of the 49). Wendell Chavous was signed to drive the full season, except the season opener at Daytona where he was not approved to run. Former Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil was hired to drive at Daytona. Kvapil started on the outside pole, but finished 15th after sustaining damage in a wreck. Chavous made his Truck Series debut at Atlanta. The team suffered their first DNQ at Martinsville. Chavous was replaced by Timmy Hill beginning at Dover, though he returned to the team to drive at Eldora, and drove the next three races before being released again. T. J. Bell drove at Mosport, then Hill returned once again, although Wayne Edwards drove a single race at Las Vegas (due to Hill's Cup Series commitments to the team).
In 2016, Hill was announced as the full-time driver of the Truck, which switched numbers to Robinson's traditional No. 49. The team later struck a deal with JR Motorsports to loan them the Truck for use with Nick Drake. Edwards also drove in Hill's place at Texas. Spencer Boyd drove at Gateway. Hill returned at Kentucky, but has not run the Truck since and later moved to MBM Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. Drivers of the No. 49 since then have included Edwards, Sorenson, D. J. Kennington and Bryce Napier.
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