Bill Davis Racing

Bill Davis Racing was a racing team that participated in all three of NASCAR's top divisions until 2009.

Bill Davis Racing

Owner(s)	Bill and Gail Davis
Base	High Point, North Carolina
Series	Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, Craftsman Truck Series
Race drivers	Dave Blaney, Johnny Benson Jr., Ward Burton, Scott Wimmer, Michael Waltrip, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Mike Skinner, Jacques Villeneuve, Bill Lester, Jeremy Mayfield, Kenny Wallace
Sponsors	AT&T, Caterpillar, Siemens, Maxwell House, MBNA, Amoco, Baby Ruth, 360 OTC
Manufacturer	Dodge Ford Pontiac Toyota
Opened	1989
Closed	2008
Career
Debut	1993 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Latest race	2008 Ford 400 (Homestead)
Drivers' Championships	1 (Craftsman Truck Series)
Race victories	Cup Series: 5 Xfinity: 11 Camping World Truck Series: 24

The team had run Toyota-branded stock cars and trucks in the Camping World Truck Series (Toyota Tundra) since 2004 and Sprint Cup Series (Toyota Camry) since 2007. Dodge, Pontiac and Ford previously backed the team. The team was notable for running the No. 22 since its inception and its long relationship with Caterpillar, Inc. BDR was competitive throughout the 1990s and early 2000s with Ward Burton before fading due to an increase in competition and a fallout with manufacturer Dodge.^[1] The team was sold to Triad Racing Technologies in late 2008, which shut down the team's racing entries and now produces engines and chassis for various Toyota NASCAR teams.

Beginnings

BDR was formed by then-truck rental owner Bill Davis, who himself was a former motocross racer. Davis helped his friend and business partner Julian Martin develop his son Mark's ASA racing program. When Martin signed with J. D. Stacy, Davis took a break from racing, but returned to hire Martin to drive his Busch Series car for 15 races with sponsorship from Carolina Ford Dealers. In 1990, Davis moved the team to High Point, North Carolina, while his wife Gail stayed in Arkansas to oversee the trucking operation.

Sprint Cup Series

Car No. 22 history

Bobby Labonte (1993–1994)

Upon arriving in Carolina, Davis was asked by Ford to hire up-and-coming Midwest driver Jeff Gordon, who won the NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year in 1991 and won eleven pole positions the next year. Davis was hoping to move him and crew chief Ray Evernham to the Winston Cup Series, but they were lured away by Rick Hendrick. Davis still moved up to the Cup Series full-time in 1993 however, with 1991 Busch Series champion Bobby Labonte, who finished 2nd to Gordon for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year driving the No. 22 Maxwell House-sponsored Ford. The team switched to Pontiac the following season. After 1994, Labonte left to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing. MBNA replaced Maxwell House as the sponsor.

Randy LaJoie (1995)

Originally, Davis went with another rookie — Busch Series standout Randy LaJoie — to drive the car. Midway through the year, LaJoie was fired from the team and replaced by a series of rotating drivers including Wally Dallenbach Jr., who finished second at Watkins Glen. Finally, Ward Burton was hired to finish out the year. He scored the team's first win at North Carolina Motor Speedway in late 1995.

Ward Burton (1995–2003)

With Burton driving, the No. 22 team slowly began to improve, despite not winning any races. In 1998, the No. 22 team cracked the top ten in the final Winston Cup points standings and matched those results in 1999 (by which time Caterpillar, Inc. was their sponsor) and in 2000, when the team finally returned to victory lane at the spring Darlington race. Burton's second career win was team's last victory in a Pontiac as they joined several teams in switching to Dodge Intrepids for the following season.

Burton returned to victory lane the following season, winning the 2001 Southern 500. This would become Dodge's second win since returning to NASCAR, but the team's streak of consecutive top ten points finishes was broken at three, as the No. 22 finished fourteenth. Burton added 2 more wins in 2002, scoring a victory in the Daytona 500 (Dodge's first Daytona 500 win in twenty-eight years) and later in the year at the New England 300 at New Hampshire, but a series of inconsistent finishes dropped the team to twenty-fifth place in the points standings. Burton's win at New Hampshire, in addition to being his last win in the Cup series, was also BDR's last in Cup racing (although they won races in other series before folding).

Scott Wimmer (2003–2005)

The team's struggles continued in the 2003 season, and with four races left in the season Burton, who had already signed on to drive the No. 0 for Haas CNC Racing the following season, departed for that team and was replaced with Davis's Busch driver Scott Wimmer, who raced full-time in 2004 and finished third in the first race of his rookie season. In late-2005, BDR announced it would part ways with Wimmer at the end of the year.

 

The No. 22 Caterpillar car in 2008

Dave Blaney (2006–2008)

Dave Blaney, who previously drove the No. 93 for BDR, was hired to drive the No. 22 beginning with the 2006 season. He had two top tens and finished twenty-sixth in the points standings. In 2007, the team switched to Toyota. Blaney won the pole for the 2007 Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire, making this the first pole for Toyota in the Sprint Cup Series.^[2] Blaney scored his first top ten with Toyota at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29 and later that season, he finished third at Talladega, the best finish of any Toyota in 2007. Additionally, Blaney was the only Toyota driver in the top thirty-five in owner points after the 2007 season. The team had a rough start to the 2008 season, as they missed the Aaron's 499 which was a hard hit for the team. They returned the next week at Richmond to finish in eighteenth. The following week at Darlington, they finished ninth, scoring their best of the year. In June of that year, Caterpillar announced that it would leave the No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota to sponsor the Richard Childress Racing's No. 31 car, starting in 2009. On December 22, 2008, it was announced that Bill Davis sold majority ownership of his NASCAR teams to Mike Held, a California businessman, and Marty Gaunt, an executive with BDR. That same day, Gaunt and Held announced that they would also be buying into Triad Racing Technologies. Blaney would leave TRT to drive for Prism Motorsports, and Penske Racing would buy the owners points of the No. 22 and transfer them to the No. 77 of Sam Hornish Jr. The addition of Davis would change the team name to Penske Championship Racing.

Car No. 22 results

Bill Davis Racing No. 22

Year	Driver	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	Owners	Pts
1993	Bobby Labonte	22	Ford	DAY 20	CAR 33	RCH 29	ATL 18	DAR 18	BRI 24	NWS 25	MAR 12	TAL 35	SON 16	CLT 8	DOV 19	POC 20	MCH 36	DAY 41	NHA 10	POC 15	TAL 15	GLN 7	MCH 8	BRI 15	DAR 14	RCH 13	DOV 7	MAR 32	NWS 12	CLT 28	CAR 22	PHO 8	ATL 14							19th	3221
1994			Pontiac	DAY 16	CAR 19	RCH 24	ATL 15	DAR 39	BRI 6	NWS 26	MAR 19	TAL 22	SON 17	CLT 40	DOV 20	POC 25	MCH 15	DAY 22	NHA 13	POC 13	TAL 12	IND 16	GLN 18	MCH 5	BRI 31	DAR 36	RCH 24	DOV 17	MAR 31	NWS 15	CLT 42	CAR 28	PHO 16	ATL 37						22nd	3038
1995	Randy LaJoie			DAY 29	CAR 25	RCH 27	ATL 39	DAR 16	BRI 12	NWS 23	MAR DNQ	TAL 13	SON 32	CLT 23	DOV 23	POC 40	MCH 41																							30th	2448
	Jimmy Hensley																	DAY 30	NHA 41	POC 32	TAL DNQ	IND 32		MCH 22
	Wally Dallenbach Jr.																						GLN 2
	Ward Burton																								BRI 34	DAR 4	RCH 11	DOV 21	MAR 21	NWS DNQ	CLT 7	CAR 1	PHO 42	ATL 5
1996				DAY 26	CAR 41	RCH 13	ATL 15	DAR 38	BRI 33	NWS DNQ	MAR DNQ	TAL 27	SON 10	CLT 11	DOV 16	POC 35	MCH 35	DAY 41	NHA 25	POC 22	TAL 33	IND 36	GLN 32	MCH 35	BRI 8	DAR 40	RCH 37	DOV 7	MAR DNQ	NWS DNQ	CLT 7	CAR 17	PHO 22	ATL 12						33rd	2411
1997				DAY 8	CAR 23	RCH 24	ATL 12	DAR 18	TEX 7	BRI 18	MAR 18	SON 10	TAL 42	CLT 36	DOV 34	POC 38*	MCH 35	CAL 28	DAY 26	NHA 36	POC 15	IND 19	GLN 41	MCH 28	BRI 17	DAR 27	RCH 7	NHA 23	DOV 22	MAR 7	CLT 8	TAL DNQ	CAR 26	PHO 42	ATL 9					24th	2987
1998				DAY 25	CAR 11	LVS 18	ATL 24	DAR 11	BRI 17	TEX 15	MAR 28	TAL 8	CAL 12	CLT 34	DOV 29	RCH 19	MCH 8	POC 24	SON 40	NHA 23	POC 34	IND 34	GLN 21	MCH 37	BRI 37	NHA 31	DAR 12	RCH 28	DOV 33	MAR 11	CLT 2	TAL 30	DAY 7	PHO 14	CAR 7	ATL 14				16th	3352
1999				DAY 24	CAR 28	LVS 2	ATL 8	DAR 8	TEX 16	BRI 9	MAR 27	TAL 32	CAL 6	RCH 9	CLT 8	DOV 22	MCH 4	POC 29	SON 35	DAY 7	NHA 15	POC 40	IND 6	GLN 43	MCH 43	BRI 9	DAR 2	RCH 34	NHA 8	DOV 11	MAR 13	CLT 5	TAL 4	CAR 2	PHO 13	HOM 14	ATL 11			9th	4062
2000				DAY 8	CAR 3	LVS 23	ATL 8	DAR 1*	BRI 3	TEX 14	MAR 11	TAL 10	CAL 6	RCH 6	CLT 13	DOV 8	MCH 6	POC 27	SON 21	DAY 7	NHA 18	POC 28	IND 28	GLN 22	MCH 9	BRI 11	DAR 6	RCH 8	NHA 30	DOV 40	MAR 43	CLT 10	TAL 22	CAR 8	PHO 12	HOM 39	ATL 3			10th	4152
2001			Dodge	DAY 35*	CAR 16	LVS 21	ATL 11	DAR 12	BRI 5	TEX 21	MAR 22	TAL 33	CAL 42	RCH 21	CLT 9	DOV 14	MCH 38	POC 40	SON 6	DAY 4	CHI 20	NHA 20	POC 38	IND 6	GLN 41	MCH 33	BRI 12	DAR 1	RCH 12	DOV 33	KAN 41	CLT 3	MAR 3	TAL 21	PHO 13	CAR 6	HOM 13	ATL 5	NHA 42	14th	3846
2002				DAY 1	CAR 13	LVS 21	ATL 7	DAR 31	BRI 25	TEX 43	MAR 14	TAL 15	CAL 18	RCH 30*	CLT 42	DOV 37	POC 33	MCH 42	SON 40	DAY 9	CHI 41	NHA 1	POC 14	IND 30	GLN 20	MCH 29	BRI 37	DAR 6	RCH 8	NHA 38	DOV 43	KAN 43	TAL 10	CLT 33	MAR 5*	ATL 16	CAR 40	PHO 19	HOM 12	25th	3362
2003				DAY 38	CAR 18	LVS 25	ATL 18	DAR 29	BRI 33	TEX 12	TAL 7	MAR 25	CAL 21	RCH 11	CLT 10	DOV 37	POC 8	MCH 30	SON 16	DAY 30	CHI 19	NHA 25	POC 19	IND 26	GLN 6	MCH 14	BRI 13	DAR 19	RCH 15	NHA 39	DOV 29	TAL 14	KAN 21	CLT 28	MAR 18					21st	3550
	Scott Wimmer																																			ATL 32	PHO 9	CAR 26	HOM 12
2004				DAY 3	CAR 15	LVS 39	ATL 27	DAR 16	BRI 13	TEX 33	MAR 29	TAL 18	CAL 30	RCH 30	CLT 28	DOV 9	POC 35	MCH 14	SON 25	DAY 32	CHI 23	NHA 18	POC 11	IND 32	GLN 19	MCH 18	BRI 36	CAL 21	RCH 38	NHA 36	DOV 23	TAL 31	KAN 36	CLT 26	MAR 20	ATL DNQ	PHO 26	DAR 22	HOM 13	27th	3198
2005				DAY 33	CAL 16	LVS 27	ATL 20	BRI 27	MAR 31	TEX 42	PHO 32	TAL 38	DAR 25	RCH 20	CLT 23	DOV 31	POC 36	MCH 16	SON 25	DAY 32	CHI 17	NHA 35	POC 25	IND 26	GLN 21	MCH 23	BRI 14	CAL 31	RCH 24	NHA 26	DOV 36	TAL 17	KAN 27	CLT 20	MAR 25	ATL 27	TEX 27	PHO 21	HOM 11	32nd	3122
2006	Dave Blaney			DAY 22	CAL 30	LVS 31	ATL 32	BRI 23	MAR 17	TEX 29	PHO 27	TAL 24	RCH 20	DAR 27	CLT 32	DOV 30	POC 27	MCH 30	SON 39	DAY 27	CHI 17	NHA 13	POC 16	IND 29	GLN 40	MCH 24	BRI 14	CAL 28	RCH 4	NHA 9	DOV 12	KAN 21	TAL 28	CLT 26	MAR 33	ATL 18	TEX 32	PHO 23	HOM 26	27th	3255
2007			Toyota	DAY 34	CAL 39	LVS 42	ATL 27	BRI 23	MAR 37	TEX 21	PHO 39	TAL DNQ	RCH 11	DAR 32	CLT 18	DOV DNQ	POC 43	MCH 18	SON 41	NHA 29	DAY 23	CHI 40	IND 9	POC 20	GLN 35	MCH 6	BRI 31	CAL 38	RCH 34	NHA 35	DOV DNQ	KAN 15	TAL 3	CLT 6	MAR 36	ATL 38	TEX 21	PHO 31	HOM 12	31st	2781
2008				DAY 28	CAL 30	LVS 26	ATL 34	BRI 34	MAR 43	TEX 21	PHO 30	TAL DNQ	RCH 18	DAR 9	CLT 17	DOV 9	POC 22	MCH 39	SON 20	NHA 33	DAY 19	CHI 23	IND 35	POC 31	GLN 41	MCH 41	BRI 38	CAL 29	RCH 22	NHA 33	DOV 12	KAN 31	TAL 22	CLT 27	MAR 22	ATL 41	TEX 29	PHO 20	HOM 22	30th	2851

Car No. 27 history

Dave Blaney (2000–2001)

The second full-time team made its debut in Winston Cup as the No. 93 with an Amoco sponsorship in 2000, with Dave Blaney driving. Despite failing to qualify at the spring Rockingham race, Blaney finished 3rd in the Rookie of the year standings. The team flirted with victory lane a few times in 2001, but Amoco decided not to renew its contract, and Blaney left for Jasper Motorsports.

Hut Stricklin (2002)

The car returned for the 2002 season with a new sponsor, number and driver. Hut Stricklin moved over from Donlavey Racing and brought sponsorship from Hills Brothers Coffee with him. Stricklin started off 2002 by failing to qualify for the Daytona 500 and was inconsistent for much of the season. He recorded five top twenty finishes, but also finished 35th or worse 6 times and did not even attempt the race at Watkins Glen. Stricklin left the team after the Sharpie 500 at Bristol, and Hills Brothers announced they would be pulling sponsorship.

Kenny Wallace (2002–03)

Around this time, there was another driver looking for a full time ride that had a sponsor ready to back him. Kenny Wallace had not raced a full season in Cup since Andy Petree released him following the 2000 season, and had been racing primarily in the Busch Series for Innovative Motorsports in their #48 Stacker 2 Chevrolet. However, he had been active as a long-term injury replacement for Steve Park in the #1 Pennzoil Chevrolet at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. earlier in 2002 and had also made several starts in Cup races for his Busch Series team in the #98 car.

Davis and Wallace began to negotiate terms since both sides had ends that each other was desiring, as Wallace was able to bring his backing from Stacker 2 to his new team and Davis needed a driver for his second car. First, Wallace would immediately join BDR and run the #23 for the remainder of the 2002 season with Hills Brothers Coffee remaining as sponsor. When the new season began, Stacker 2 would come aboard to sponsor the #23 with Wallace driving.

Wallace ran at the Southern 500 and nine other races in the #23 to close out the year. He missed the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville due to conflicts with the Busch race weekend at Memphis Motorsports Park, and he had already agreed to run the EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway for Andy Petree in conjunction with a promotion by AT&T. In those ten starts, Wallace's best finish was eleventh at Phoenix. Scott Wimmer and Geoffrey Bodine ran the #23 in the other two events, with Wimmer recording a 17th-place finish at Talladega.

Wallace ran all 36 races in 2003 with one top ten finish, which he recorded at Bristol. After the season, BDR moved Wallace and Stacker 2 to the Busch Series full-time to replace Wimmer, who was promoted to Cup racing. Following the year, Davis shut down his second-full time operation.

Part-time (2004–05)

Dave Blaney made several starts for the team in 2004, including the Daytona 500. In 2004 and 2005 the car ran mostly unsponsored, with a couple of drivers running selected events. Shane Hmiel, Tony Raines, and Blaney ran the car in 2004. Mike Skinner ran six events in 2005.

Michael Waltrip (2006)

In the fall of 2005, it was announced that the team would return to full-time competition as the No. 55 car in 2006 with Michael Waltrip driving and NAPA sponsoring. Plans changed, however, in January 2006, when it was announced that Jasper Motorsports owner Doug Bawel would sell the owner's points of his No. 77 team to Waltrip and Davis to form Waltrip-Jasper Racing.^[3] Although this helped the No. 55 get into the first five races of 2006, it did not help the team, as BDR's expansion was painful and occurred without Dodge support, with Waltrip failing to qualify several times and failing to finish in the top 35 in points. The Waltrip-Jasper name was later dropped mid-season, as Bawel was never truly involved with the racing operations. With Waltrip starting his own Toyota team in 2007, and BDR also switching to Toyota, Waltrip took the points with him to MWR.

Jeremy Mayfield (2007)

Jeremy Mayfield was hired drive the car full-time in 2007, with the car renumbered No. 36 for a new sponsorship from 360 OTC. Due to Waltrip taking the team's points, Mayfield needed to qualify on time for the first five races of 2007. After four consecutive failed qualifying attempts, the No. 36 car made its first start of 2007 in the Food City 500 at Bristol. Mayfield drove the car at every track except for Infineon Raceway, when the team did not enter but the R&D team used the No. 36 points. In October, Mayfield departed to Haas CNC Racing, and was replaced by Skinner and Benson for the balance of the season.^[4]

Jacques Villeneuve (2008)

The car was then scheduled to continue full-time racing, once again in a renumbered car. Jacques Villeneuve planned to drive the No. 27 in 2008, but the deal fell through after sponsorship could not be found. Benson and Skinner were hired to take over in the interim, before the team folded four races into the season after continued financial difficulties.

Car No. 27 results

Bill Davis Racing No. 27

Year	Driver	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	Owners	Pts
1999	Dave Blaney	93	Pontiac	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	TEX	BRI	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	MCH 33	POC	SON	DAY	NHA 40	POC	IND 28	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV	MAR	CLT	TAL	CAR	PHO	HOM 23	ATL 37			51st	332
2000				DAY 27	CAR DNQ	LVS 22	ATL 20	DAR 26	BRI 35	TEX 22	MAR 41	TAL 30	CAL 38	RCH 34	CLT 40	DOV 25	MCH 25	POC 30	SON 29	DAY 24	NHA 34	POC 18	IND 23	GLN 35	MCH 24	BRI 43	DAR 20	RCH 18	NHA 26	DOV 39	MAR 30	CLT 28	TAL 28	CAR 42	PHO 8	HOM 9	ATL 18			31st	2656
2001			Dodge	DAY 42	CAR 9	LVS 26	ATL 34	DAR 22	BRI 29	TEX 6	MAR 29	TAL 17	CAL 29	RCH 33	CLT 33	DOV 33	MCH 8	POC 11	SON 32	DAY 21	CHI 12	NHA 37	POC 22	IND 40	GLN 28	MCH 6	BRI 18	DAR 19	RCH 26	DOV 35	KAN 10	CLT 41	MAR 29	TAL 30	PHO 28	CAR 14	HOM 6	ATL 41	NHA 11	22nd	3303
2002	Hut Stricklin	23		DAY DNQ	CAR 27	LVS 24	ATL 43	DAR 32	BRI 35	TEX 27	MAR 15	TAL 11	CAL 40	RCH 16	CLT 22	DOV 26	POC 22	MCH 17	SON 33	DAY 26	CHI 36	NHA 31	POC 31	IND 17		MCH 36	BRI 38													32nd	3077
	Tom Hubert																								GLN 24
	Kenny Wallace																											DAR 25	RCH 14	NHA 18	DOV 27	KAN 16		CLT 25		ATL 36	CAR 13	PHO 11	HOM 23
	Scott Wimmer																																TAL 17
	Geoff Bodine																																		MAR 39
2003	Kenny Wallace			DAY 16	CAR 38	LVS 30	ATL 26	DAR 23	BRI 10	TEX 23	TAL 17	MAR 12	CAL 22	RCH 29	CLT 42	DOV 23	POC 29	MCH 25	SON 29	DAY 15	CHI 24	NHA 38	POC 32	IND 24	GLN 34	MCH 42	BRI 15	DAR 24	RCH 23	NHA 36	DOV 28	TAL 20	KAN 31	CLT 32	MAR 16	ATL 30	PHO 25	CAR 31	HOM 22	30th	3061
2004	Dave Blaney			DAY 15	CAR	LVS	ATL 11	DAR	BRI	TEX 11	MAR	TAL 39	CAL	RCH	CLT 17	DOV 33	POC	MCH	SON																					43rd	986
	Tony Raines																			DAY DNQ	CHI	NHA	POC	IND 30	GLN	MCH	BRI
	Shane Hmiel																											CAL 39	RCH 29	NHA	DOV	TAL	KAN 24	CLT	MAR	ATL 24	PHO	DAR	HOM 41
2005	Mike Skinner			DAY 30	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL 42	DAR	RCH	CLT 41	DOV DNQ	POC	MCH 34	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND 29	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	NHA	DOV	TAL	KAN	CLT	MAR					52nd	459
	Johnny Benson																																			ATL 28	TEX	PHO	HOM
2006	Michael Waltrip	55		DAY 18	CAL 36	LVS 35	ATL 20	BRI 32	MAR 29	TEX 26	PHO 42	TAL 25	RCH 31	DAR 35	CLT DNQ	DOV 32	POC 28	MCH 25	SON 23	DAY 38	CHI 30	NHA 36	POC 40	IND DNQ	GLN 36	MCH 23	BRI 16	CAL 31	RCH DNQ	NHA 23	DOV 28	KAN 35	TAL 14	CLT 38	MAR 34	ATL 33	TEX 43	PHO 42	HOM DNQ	37th	2350
2007	Jeremy Mayfield	36	Toyota	DAY DNQ	CAL DNQ	LVS DNQ	ATL DNQ	BRI 34	MAR 40	TEX DNQ	PHO DNQ	TAL 23	RCH DNQ	DAR DNQ	CLT 25	DOV 38	POC DNQ	MCH DNQ	SON	NHA 40	DAY DNQ	CHI 26	IND DNQ	POC 31	GLN 27	MCH DNQ	BRI 37	CAL 36	RCH DNQ	NHA DNQ	DOV DNQ	KAN 22	TAL DNQ	CLT 39	MAR DNQ					44th	1568
	Mike Skinner																																			ATL DNQ	TEX 24
	Johnny Benson																																					PHO 36	HOM 43
2008	Jacques Villeneuve	27		DAY DNQ																																				53rd	130
	Mike Skinner				CAL DNQ	LVS 30
	Johnny Benson						ATL DNQ	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	NHA	DAY	CHI	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	TAL	CLT	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM

R&D Car history

Bill Davis fielded a third part-time team for R&D purposes on numerous occasions. This car switched numerous times between No. 23 and No. 27. .

The No. 23 car made its debut at the season finale NAPA 500 in 2000 with Scott Wimmer driving the No. 23 AT&T sponsored Pontiac.

In 2001, the car once again did not appear until the final Atlanta race of the year. There, Hut Stricklin, preparing for his 2002 ride with the team, raced to an impressive 11th-place finish.

The following year, Stricklin and the No. 23 car moved to the full-time spot, while the R&D car was renumbered to No. 27. Wimmer returned to the team, attempting seven races. He qualifies for two races, finishing neither.

For the 2003 season, the third BDR team experimented with manufacturers, running Chevrolets as opposed to the standard Dodges. Wimmer attempting three starts for the team before switching taking over for Ward Burton in the No. 22. In the fall Atlanta race, Shelby Howard made his only Cup attempt, failing to qualify. The R&D team merged with the second full-time team in for 2004-05 as Davis scaled back to a two car operation.

With Michael Waltrip reviving the second full time team in the 2006 season, the No. 23 returned running as the third team for Davis. Mike Skinner failed to qualify for the 2006 Daytona 500, but Bill Lester became the first African-American since Willy T. Ribbs to compete in a Cup race at the Golden Corral 500. He started nineteenth and finished thirty-ninth. Lester attempted two more races that season, finishing thirty-second at Michigan International Speedway, but failing to qualify at California Speedway.

The No. 23 car attempted the Daytona 500 in 2007 with Mike Skinner, but did not qualify. Veteran road racing specialist Butch Leitzinger ran the No. 23 car with special CAT sponsorship at Infineon Raceway. In the later stages of 2007, the renumbered No. 27 made the UAW-Ford 500 and the Checker Auto Parts 500 with Jacques Villeneuve driving.

Bill Davis Racing R&D

Year	Driver	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	Owners	Pts
2000	Scott Wimmer	23	Pontiac	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	MCH	POC	SON	DAY	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV	MAR	CLT	TAL	CAR	PHO	HOM	ATL 22			56th	68
2001	Hut Stricklin		Dodge	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	MCH	POC	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MAR	TAL	PHO	CAR	HOM	ATL 11	NHA	54th	130
2002	Scott Wimmer	27		DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI DNQ	NHA	POC	IND DNQ	GLN	MCH	BRI 40	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV DNQ	KAN	TAL	CLT DNQ	MAR	ATL DNQ	CAR	PHO 42	HOM	56th	192
2003			Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	TAL	MAR	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI 24	DAR	RCH	NHA 24	DOV DNQ	TAL	KAN	CLT	MAR					53rd	220
	Shelby Howard																																			ATL DNQ	PHO	CAR	HOM
2006	Mike Skinner	23	Dodge	DAY DNQ	CAL	LVS																																		62nd	111
	Bill Lester						ATL 38	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH 32	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL DNQ	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	TAL	CLT	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM
2007	Mike Skinner		Toyota	DAY DNQ	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH																						55th	140
	Butch Leitzinger																		SON 28	NHA	DAY	CHI	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN
	Jacques Villeneuve	27																															TAL 21	CLT	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO 41	HOM

Busch Series

Mark Martin (1988–1990)

BDR began fielding cars in the Busch Series in 1988, when Mark Martin drove thirteen races in the No. 06 Carolina Ford Dealers Ford, posting two top-tens and one win. The team switched to No. 1 the following season with Martin continuing to drive winning the spring race at Bristol. Geoff Bodine ran one race at Martinsville in the fall. Martin won one race at Mytrle Beach in 1990 running twelve races.

Jeff Gordon (1991–1992)

In 1991, the team went full-time with a young Jeff Gordon. Although he did not win, and even failed to qualify for the Goody's 300, he had five top fives, taking Rookie of the Year honors and an 11th place points position. Martin ran in a second car at Hickory in the spring. Baby Ruth became the main sponsor in 1992 with Gordon winning three races including the spring race at Atlanta where Rick Hendrick took notice of Gordon's talents. Gordon and the team were going to move up to the Winston Cup in 1993 but Gordon signed with Hendrick.

Dave Blaney (1998–1999)

In 1998, the team returned full-time fielding the No. 93 Amoco Pontiac piloted by sprint car ace Dave Blaney. Running a limited schedule, Blaney finished in 6th place 3 times. Blaney had an even better 1999 season, winning the pole position several times and finished eighth in points. That same year, Davis fielded a second car for Burton, the No. 02 sponsored by Polaris. He finished in the top-ten in every race and won a pole at Darlington.

Mike Borkowski (2000)

In 2000, Davis opened the No. 20 ride sponsored by AT&T. Rookie Mike Borkowski started the year in the ride, but after the Busch 200, he was released. Dave Blaney and Tom Hubert shared the ride for the year before Scott Wimmer took over in the final part of the season. Burton's team changed to the No. 22 and had two top-five finishes, then closed up.

Scott Wimmer (2000–2003)

Wimmer took over the No. 20, renumbered the No. 23, for 2001, posting eight top-tens and finishing eleventh in points in a Jani-King sponsored car. Siemens became a part-time sponsor in 2002, but the team threatened to shut down to a lack of finances. However, it remained open, and Wimmer won four races in the second half of the season, finishing 3rd in points. For 2003, Stacker 2 came on board as sponsor, and he picked up a win at Pikes Peak.

Kenny Wallace (2004)

At the end of the season, Wimmer moved to Cup, and Kenny Wallace took his place, posting ten top-ten finishes and finishing ninth in points. After Wallace and Stacker 2 left for ppc Racing, Davis sold the equipment to Keith Coleman Racing. The team still remained involved in Busch supplying engines to MacDonald Motorsports.

Busch Series Results

Bill Davis Racing No. 23

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	NNSC	Pts
1988	Mark Martin	06	Ford	DAY 4	HCY	CAR 1	MAR	DAR 9	BRI 23	LNG	NZH	SBO	NSV	CLT 33	DOV	ROU	LAN	LVL	MYB	OXF	SBO	HCY	LNG	IRP 7	ROU	BRI 10	DAR 38	RCH 9	DOV 35	MAR 18	CLT 36	CAR 39	MAR					30th	1211
1989		1		DAY 21	CAR 31	MAR 9	HCY	DAR 2	BRI 2	NZH 35	SBO	LAN	NSV	CLT 39	DOV 4	ROU	LVL	VOL	MYB 26	SBO	HCY	DUB	IRP 2	ROU	BRI 1^*	DAR 42	RCH 8^*	DOV 2^*	MAR 17	CLT 20	CAR 24	MAR						21st	1832
1990				DAY	RCH 35	CAR 8	MAR	HCY	DAR 36	BRI 4	LAN	SBO	NZH	HCY	CLT 31	DOV 24	ROU	VOL	MYB 1	OXF	NHA	SBO	DUB	IRP	ROU	BRI 6	DAR 28^*	RCH	DOV 34	MAR	CLT 16	NHA	CAR 4^*	MAR				31st	1321
1991	Jeff Gordon			DAY DNQ	RCH 17	CAR 24	MAR 14	VOL 13	HCY 15	DAR 9	BRI 32	LAN 2	SBO 23	NZH 5	CLT 18	DOV 2	ROU 9	HCY 2	MYB 13	GLN 6	OXF 29	NHA 15	SBO 20	DUB 12	IRP 18	ROU 11	BRI 3	DAR 28	RCH 13	DOV 8	CLT 35	NHA 19	CAR 37	MAR 8				11th	3582
1992				DAY 23	CAR 9	RCH 8	ATL 1*	MAR 6	DAR 26	BRI 5	HCY 28	LAN 10*	DUB 5	NZH 26	CLT 1	DOV 18	ROU 5	MYB 5*	GLN 19	VOL 18*	NHA 29	TAL 11	IRP 14	ROU 9	MCH 19	NHA 4	BRI 19*	DAR 3	RCH 17	DOV 12	CLT 1*	MAR 14	CAR 2	HCY 11				4th	4053
1998	Dave Blaney	93	Pontiac	DAY 35	CAR 42	LVS	NSV 14	DAR DNQ	BRI 22	TEX 34	HCY	TAL 37	NHA	NZH	CLT 43	DOV 36	RCH 23	PPR	GLN	MLW 14	MYB	CAL	SBO	IRP 33	MCH DNQ	BRI 29	DAR 18	RCH 12	DOV 6	CLT 11	GTY 6	CAR 20	ATL 14	HOM 6				29th	1915
1999				DAY 43	CAR 11	LVS 20	ATL 2	DAR 42	TEX 8	NSV 31	BRI 24	TAL 14	CAL 28	NHA 19	RCH 10	NZH 4	CLT 19	DOV 8	SBO	GLN 8	MLW 6	MYB 13	PPR 24	GTY 8	IRP 38	MCH 3	BRI 9	DAR 2	RCH 39	DOV 24	CLT 20	CAR 3	MEM 11	PHO 19	HOM 16			7th	3582
2000	Mike Borkowski	20		DAY 22	CAR 40	LVS 40	ATL 28	DAR 43	BRI DNQ		NSV 42	TAL 10			NHA 21																							20th	2564
	Dave Blaney									TEX DNQ			CAL 18	RCH 22		CLT 36	DOV 8											DAR 9	RCH 21	DOV 3	CLT 3
	Tom Hubert																	SBO 29	MYB 21	GLN 37	MLW 24	NZH 36	PPR 34	GTY 34	IRP 38	MCH 29	BRI DNQ
	Scott Wimmer																															CAR DNQ	MEM 18	PHO 19	HOM 43
2001		23		DAY 15	CAR 31	LVS 11	ATL 14	DAR 12	BRI 29	TEX 15	NSH 3	TAL 42	CAL 19	RCH 7	NHA 17	NZH 30	CLT 35	DOV 7	KEN 17	MLW 30	GLN 23	CHI 13	GTY 10	PPR 20	IRP 31	MCH 23	BRI 6	DAR 12	RCH 15	DOV 12	KAN 17	CLT 11	MEM 8	PHO 7	CAR 13	HOM 4		11th	3773
2002				DAY 13	CAR 19	LVS 13	DAR 34	BRI 3	TEX 21	NSH 4	TAL 28	CAL 12	RCH 8	NHA 11	NZH 16	CLT 18	DOV 4	NSH 7	KEN 5	MLW 3	DAY 26	CHI 13	GTY 21	PPR 6	IRP 3	MCH 7	BRI 2	DAR 7	RCH 9	DOV 1	KAN 24	CLT 43	MEM 1	ATL 13	CAR 17	PHO 1	HOM 1	3rd	4488
2003			Chevy	DAY 12	CAR 11	LVS 10	DAR 28	BRI 25	TEX 8	TAL 38	NSH 36	CAL 14	RCH 5	GTY 8	NZH 13	CLT 19	DOV 15	NSH 8	KEN 5	MLW 14	DAY 16	CHI 15	NHA 5	PPR 1	IRP 12	MCH 26	BRI 32	DAR 18	RCH 16	DOV 14	KAN 7	CLT 20	MEM 6	ATL 14	PHO 7	CAR 8	HOM 39	9th	4059
2004	Kenny Wallace			DAY 12	CAR DNQ	LVS 25	DAR 12	BRI 16	TEX 37	NSH 18	TAL 6	CAL 9	GTY 33	RCH 9	NZH 9	CLT 9	DOV 11	NSH 18	KEN 33	MLW 25	DAY 30	CHI 36	NHA 7	PPR 14	IRP 9	MCH 19	BRI 14	CAL 13	RCH 33	DOV 20*	KAN 15	CLT 9	MEM 13	ATL 7	PHO 22	DAR 7	HOM 19	9th	3851

Craftsman Truck Series

Truck No. 5 history

Mike Skinner (2004–2008)

 

The No. 5 truck.

The No. 5 truck started out in 2004 at Bang! Racing as the No. 42 driven by Mike Skinner. Skinner started the year with two top-fives, but his performance began to decline, and his team was sold to Davis, changing to the No. 5, starting at the Las Vegas 350. He won two poles and had a sixth-place run at the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In 2005, he won seven poles and two races, at Bristol and Richmond respectively, finishing fifth in points. In 2006, he had thirteen top-tens including a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and almost won the 2007 championship before suffering tire failures in the season finale. Skinner was signed to drive for TRT through the 2009 season. However, due to concerns over the economy, the team shut down the entire truck program, with Skinner taking the number 5 with him to Randy Moss Motorsports.

Truck No. 22 history

Bill Lester (2004–2006)

BDR's original foray into the Truck Series, it debuted in 2004 at the Florida Dodge Dealers 250, where Bill Lester drove it to a sixteenth-place run. He posted just one top-ten that year and finished 22nd in points. The next season, he won two poles (back-to-back at Kansas and Kentucky), had a best finish of fifth and moved up to seventeenth in points. Lester failed to finish in the top-ten during the 2006 season and dropped to twentieth in points.

Tyler Walker and Ryan Matthews (2007)

Tyler Walker began the season driving the renumbered No. 36 truck full-time in 2007, with sponsorship from 360 OTC. Six races into the season, rookie Ryan Mathews replaced Walker after it was learned that Walker was suspended for violating NASCAR's substance abuse policy, and the team had lost its sponsor, 360 OTC (which wanted No. 36). Mathews, in his short season, posted two top tens, one top five, and one pole at Kentucky Speedway. Mathews then stepped out of the truck for the debut of 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1997 Formula One Champion Jacques Villeneuve. In preparation for this, the truck was renumbered No. 27, which Villeneuve used in his 1995 CART and Indy 500 championship season, as a tribute to his father Gilles.

Phillip McGilton, Scott Speed and Michael Annett (2008)

The Truck switched back to the No. 22 in 2008 and began the year with Phillip McGilton as the driver, before he was replaced by Scott Speed and Michael Annett. The team had the most successful season 2008, with Speed winning his first NASCAR victory at Dover, and Annett scoring two top-tens in seven races. This team was shut down after the 2008 season due to economic concerns.

Truck No. 23 history

Shelby Howard (2004)

 

The 23 truck in 2007.

The No. 23 truck began in 2004 when Davis purchased its equipment from Phil Bonifield. The truck was piloted by Shelby Howard. Howard ran eight races before he was released, and Johnny Benson Jr. took over.

Johnny Benson (2004–2008)

Despite running a limited schedule, Benson finished 25th in points. He became the full-time driver in 2005, and had six top-fives en route to a tenth-place points finish. Benson went on to collect five wins during the 2006 season with additional backing from Exide Batteries and finished runner-up to Todd Bodine for the championship. 360 OTC sponsored the 23 for ten races during the 2007 season. Benson won four races and finished third in points. In 2008 Benson was considered a title favorite. Benson and crew chief Trip Bruce won five races that year and held off defending champion Ron Hornaday Jr. to win the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship, the first ever NASCAR championship for BDR. Before winning the championship, it was announced that Benson would not return in 2009. Both Benson and Trip Bruce have since been named to the No. 1 truck of Red Horse Racing. ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Tayler Malsam was intended to drive this truck for Rookie of the Year Honors, but he later moved to Randy Moss Motorsports with Skinner after the abrupt closure of Bill Davis Racing.

Truck No. 24 history

The No. 24 truck entered as a research and development entry for BDR in 2005. Steve Park drove the No. 67 South Padre Island entry in a pair of races towards the end of the year following his release from Orleans Racing. His best finish was 16th at Texas. In 2006, A. J. Allmendinger drove the newly renumbered 24 for three races, posting a fifth-place run at Talladega Superspeedway. ARCA Re/MAX Series driver Phillip McGilton was to make his NASCAR debut in this truck at Homestead-Miami Speedway before going full-time with the No. 22 team in 2008, however plans were changed as Blaney was put in the No. 22 truck sponsored by Caterpillar. This truck has made only one start, which came at the 2008 Ford 200 with Tayler Malsam driving to a 21st-place finish. This team was also shut down after the 2008 season concluded.

Controversy

Fallout with Dodge

In 2003, Dodge parent company DaimlerChrysler filed a lawsuit against Bill Davis Racing after they "found the race team to be building (Truck Series) trucks for Toyota," in preparation for entering the Truck Series in 2004.^[5][6] In addition, BDR continued to run Pontiacs in the Busch Series through 2002, and Chevrolets in 2003 and 2004 due to Dodge not giving any manufacturer support in the Busch Series. Bill Davis Racing had built a prototype for Toyota's Truck program to present to NASCAR, which Chrysler viewed as a breach of contract. Dodge proceeded to pull manufacturer support from BDR in October 2003.^[7] The team continued to run Dodges through 2006; they stopped running Dodge logos on the cars that year after a District Court judge in Detroit ruled in favor of DaimlerChrysler, requiring Davis to pay $6.5 million to the manufacturer in February 2006.^[1] Davis switched to Toyota in the Sprint Cup Series in 2007. Although there was a ruling against the team, Davis and Dodge settled out-of-court in November 2006, with the terms not released.^[8]

References

1. . Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
2. . Archived from the original on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
3. Redmayne, Tim (January 21, 2006). "Waltrip-Jasper Racing formed". Autosport. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
4. . www.nascar.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24.
5. "Dodge, Bill Davis Racing Reach Settlement In Lawsuit". Sports Business Daily. November 17, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
6. "DaimlerChrysler Motors v. Bill Davis Racing". Casetext. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
7. Jenkins, Chris (June 2, 2003). "Dodge files suit seeking money back from Davis". USA Today. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
8. Rogers, Steve (2007-02-17). "Davis has 'something to prove'". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-08-05.

External links

• Bill Davis Racing owner statistics at Racing-Reference