BACE Motorsports

BACE Motorsports was a championship-winning NASCAR team. It was owned by entrepreneur Bill Baumgardner, who also founded Staff America. Baumgardner was inspired to start his own team after Staff America was a sponsor in the Busch Series for two years. The team was famous during its tenure for always running its familiar No. 74.

Beginnings (1993) BACE made its debut in 1993 at the season opening race at Daytona International Speedway. Jack Sprague was the driver, and he finished 44th after the engine expired. After that less-than-stellar debut, Sprague and BACE made a good turn around, and they soon became a consistent top-20 contender, and had three top-10 finishes. After the fall race at Dover International Speedway, BACE and Sprague parted ways, and Winston Cup star Ernie Irvan occupied the car for one race, but another driver took the reins as well, a young short-track driver named Johnny Benson.

Championship years (1994–98) With Steve "Birdie" Bird as the crew chief, Benson's rookie year with BACE started off slow, as he originally didn't finish higher than 16th. After a long string of finishes 22nd or worse, Benson put together two consecutive top-5 finishes at The Milwaukee Mile and South Boston Speedway, then had three more top-ten finishes before winning his first race at Dover. At the end of 1994, Benson was named the Busch Series Rookie of the Year and was sixth in points. Benson's momentum carried over into the following year. Along with Lipton Tea coming on board as sponsor, Benson won twice early in the season, and finished outside of the top-ten only nine times. The consistency was enough for him to clinch that year's championship. When Benson signed on with Bahari Racing for 1996, veteran Randy LaJoie was tabbed his replacement along with a new sponsor in Fina. LaJoie had no problem adjusting, and he won five times as well as a second straight championship for BACE; then he repeated the performance in 1997. 1997 also saw the appearance of a second BACE car, the No. 33 Kleenex team driven by Tim Fedewa. In two seasons, Fedewa won twice and finished 7th in points in 1998. After a seemingly disappointing 1998 season that saw just one victory and a fourth-place finish in points, LaJoie left for Phoenix Racing while Fedewa signed with Cicci-Welliver Racing, and sponsor Kleenex departed for Progressive Motorsports.

Later years (1998–2005) BACE had an entirely different look in 1999. Alka-Seltzer and Bayer sponsored the 33 car driven by Jason Jarrett, while the rookie Tony Raines drove the unsponsored No. 74. The results were mixed. Raines showed consistency and came out of left field to win Rookie of the Year, while Jarrett was released after the race at California Speedway, and was replaced by a series of rotating drivers including Mike Wallace, Hermie Sadler, and Benson returning to the team briefly. For 2000, Raines slid over to the No. 33, while rookie P. J. Jones signed to drive the 74 car. Raines finished second at South Boston, and finished 15th in points, while the 74 team disappeared briefly due to operating expenses, before Chad Little became the driver towards the end of the year. Raines (No. 33) and Little (No. 74) returned in 2001, and both drivers finished in the top ten in points (Raines-6th, Little-9th). Raines finished 12th in point for the 2002 season in the No. 33. Little started the season out in the unsponsored No. 74 but after the first couple of races that season, BACE decided to make the move to Winston Cup running a part-time schedule in the No. 74 Monte Carlo. After missing several races, Little left the team. Raines drove the rest of the part-time schedule in 2002 and made the move to full-time Winston Cup in 2003. Raines got a sixth-place finish at North Carolina Speedway, but was left in the dust for the Rookie of the Year running. BACE returned to the Busch Series for 2004, but this time, Raines was not their original driver until later in the year, when he replaced Damon Lusk. BACE was forced to cut back to a part-time schedule because of their decreasing finances, and put Jimmy Spencer in the car with a few races to go in the season. In 2005, BACE announced they would temporarily suspend operations but return as soon as sponsorship was found. Its equipment was sold to Kevin Harvick Incorporated, and the team has not been heard from since.

Motorsports Results

Winston Cup Series Car No. 73 History NASCAR Winston Cup Series results 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 Pts 2002 Tony Raines 73 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV31 POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL CAR PHO HOM 68th 70

Car No. 74 History NASCAR Winston Cup Series results 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 Pts 1997 Randy LaJoie 74 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR TEXDNQ BRI MAR SON TAL CLT DOV POC MCH CAL DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO ATL N/A - 2002 Chad Little Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CALDNQ RCH CLTDNQ DOV33 POC MCH SON DAY 45th 572 Tony Raines CHIDNQ NHA POC INDDNQ MCH43 BRI DAR35 RCH NHA DOV31 KAN41 TAL CLT MAR ATL29 CARDNQ PHO43 HOMDNQ Joe Varde GLN42 2003 Tony Raines DAY33 CAR37 LVS24 ATL24 DAR41 BRI42 TEX42 TAL16 MAR33 CAL31 RCH14 CLT37 DOV31 POC30 MCH33 SON31 DAYDNQ CHI22 NHA33 POC16 IND25 GLN41 MCH24 BRI20 DAR42 RCH35 NHA33 DOV30 TAL31 KAN26 CLT25 MAR23 ATL18 PHO19 CAR6 HOM13 35th 2800

Busch Series Car No. 7 History NASCAR Busch Series results 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 Pts 1996 Greg Sacks 7 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NZH CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NHA TAL IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM31 1997 Bryan Wall DAY CAR RCH ATL LVS DAR HCY TEX BRI NSV TAL NHA NZH25 CLT DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAL CAR HOM

Car No. 26 History NASCAR Busch Series results 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 Pts 1998 Johnny Benson Jr. 26 Chevy DAY CAR LVS NSV DAR BRI TEX HCY TAL NHA NZH CLT DOV RCH PPR GLN MLW MYB CAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT17 GTY CAR ATL HOM7 71st 146 1999 DAY37 CAR14 LVS11 ATL43 DAR TEX15 NSV BRI TAL CAL38 NHA RCH NZH CLT35 DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM 57th 562

Car No. 33 History NASCAR Busch Series results 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 Pts 1997 Tim Fedewa 33 Chevy DAY34 CAR10 RCH18 ATL7 LVS15 DAR14 HCY3 TEX38 BRI7 NSV3 TAL5 NHA39 NZH11 CLT35 DOV15 SBO19 GLN32 MLW10 MYB12 GTY6 IRP4 MCH25 BRI27 DAR15 RCH9 DOV14 CLT27 CAL33 CAR19 HOM10 9th 3398 1998 DAY20 CAR18 LVS19 NSV8 DAR34 BRI34 TEX13 HCY3 TAL27 NHA11 NZH1* CLT18 DOV17 RCH15 PPR35 GLN7 MLW8 MYB6 CAL17 SBO1 IRP38 MCH32 BRI5 DAR26 RCH21 DOV15 CLT30 GTY18 CAR9 ATL27 HOM10 8th 3515 1999 Jason Jarrett DAY27 CAR21 LVS38 ATL23 DAR41 TEXDNQ NSV24 BRIDNQ TAL43 CAL39 32nd 2167 Johnny Benson Jr. NHA21 RCHDNQ DOV12 DOV34 CAR6 PHO14 HOM27 Brad Leighton NZH34 GLN43 MLW37 IRP36 Mike Wallace CLTDNQ Curtis Markham SBODNQ Hermie Sadler MYB31 PPR11 GTY14 MCH32 BRIDNQ DARDNQ RCH24 Geoff Bodine CLT17 MEM38 2000 Tony Raines DAY21 CAR24 LVS16 ATL12 DAR21 BRI22 TEX15 NSV36 TAL33 CAL20 RCH15 NHA15 CLT25 DOV16 SBO2 MYB17 GLN14 MLW26 NZH12 PPR43 GTY28 IRP40 MCH35 BRI11 DAR39 RCH41 DOV24 CLT19 CAR26 MEM12 PHO18 HOM33 19th 3061 2001 DAY36 CAR38 LVS4 ATL10 DAR22 BRI8 TEX20 NSH16 TAL14 CAL8 RCH2 NHA12 NZH6 CLT24 DOV10 KEN3 MLW10 GLN27 CHI11 GTY23 PPR19 IRP12 MCH3 BRI17 DAR10 RCH21 DOV7 KAN7 CLT14 MEM31 PHO16 CAR22 HOM14 8th 3975 2002 Pontiac DAY34 TAL20 13th 3804 Chevy CAR9 LVS36 DAR7 BRI11 TEX20 NSH30 CAL25 RCH37 NHA24 NZH10 CLT21 DOV27 NSH22 KEN3 MLW5 DAY13 CHI18 GTY5 PPR35 IRP9 MCH16 BRI8 DAR9 RCH4 DOV11 KAN5 CLT11 MEM15 ATL19 CAR23 PHO28 HOM36 2003 DAY CAR LVS33 DAR BRI2 TEX36 TAL NSH CAL31 RCH3 GTY NZH CLT36 DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI8 NHA PPR IRP MCH BRI8 DAR RCH8 DOV22 KAN38 CLT MEM ATL PHO23 CAR 39th 1339 Damon Lusk HOM18

Car No. 74 History NASCAR Busch Series results 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 Pts 1993 Jack Sprague 74 Chevy DAY44 CAR12 RCH20 DAR24 BRI21 HCY19 ROU21 MAR9 NZH12 CLT24 DOV27 MYB16 GLN21 MLW32 TAL15 IRP17 MCH9 NHA20 BRI23 DAR33 RCH13 DOV4 19th 2429 Randy LaJoie ROU4 Johnny Benson CLT30 CARDNQ HCY19 ATL18 Ernie Irvan MAR 1994 Johnny Benson DAY26 CAR25 RCH15 ATL16 MAR20 DAR16 HCY4 BRI30 ROU4 NHA12 NZH31 CLT22 DOV22 MYB16 GLN33 MLW3 SBO3 TAL38 HCY11 IRP11* MCH38 BRI8 DAR4 RCH6 DOV1 CLT11 MAR13 CAR8 6th 3303 1995 DAY10 CAR4 RCH3 ATL1 NSV6 DAR2 BRI6 HCY1 NHA5 NZH3 CLT30 DOV14 MYB9 GLN7 MLW33 TAL5 SBO16 IRP13* MCH5 BRI12* DAR2 RCH3 DOV9 CLT26 CAR3 HOM9 1st 3688 1996 Randy LaJoie DAY7 CAR7 RCH6 ATL28 NSV21 DAR12 BRI6 HCY3 NZH1 CLT5* DOV1 SBO5* MYB18 GLN30 MLW3 NHA1* TAL3 IRP1* MCH10 BRI29 DAR5 RCH8 DOV1 CLT6 CAR9 HOM10 1st 3714 1997 DAY1* CAR3 RCH8 ATL16 LVS29 DAR1* HCY2* TEX9 BRI3 NSV6 TAL12 NHA7 NZH3 CLT10 DOV3 SBO1* GLN21 MLW1 MYB3 GTY17 IRP1* MCH17 BRI4 DAR18 RCH2 DOV2* CLT15 CAL10 CAR20 HOM2 1st 4381 1998 DAY5 CAR7 LVS18 NSV4 DAR23 BRI25 TEX6 HCY23 TAL23 NHA5 NZH42 CLT14 DOV11 RCH11 PPR3 GLN37 MLW10 MYB1* CAL16 SBO2 IRP4 MCH16 BRI31 DAR19 RCH30 DOV37 CLT29 GTY7 CAR30 ATL41 HOM9 4th 3543 1999 Tony Raines DAY28 CAR20 LVS28 ATL21 DAR21 NSV11 BRI39 TAL24 CAL17 NHA13 RCH17 NZH11 CLT18 DOV17 SBO9 GLN13 MLW21 MYB19 PPR25 GTY21 IRP10 MCH30 BRI30 DAR25 RCH36 DOV4 CLT25 CAR12 MEM28 PHO20 HOM28 12th 3142 Steve Grissom TEX40 2000 P. J. Jones DAY40 CAR35 LVS35 ATL24 DAR27 BRI39 TEX31 NSV TAL CAL RCH NHA CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NZH PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV 38th 1262 Chad Little CLTDNQ CAR32 MEM PHO HOMDNQ 2001 DAY9 CAR15 LVS16 ATL15 DAR24 BRI12 TEX31 NSH27 TAL11 CAL18 RCH20 NHA14 NZH20 CLT21 DOV11 KEN6 MLW20 GLN16 CHI17 GTY13 PPR16 IRP3 MCH16 BRI9 DAR13 RCH6 DOV4 KAN36 CLT17 MEM16 PHO13 CAR17 HOM27 9th 3846 2002 DAY14 CAR24 LVS21 DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL CAR PHO HOM 69th 312 2003 Kerry Earnhardt DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX TAL NSH CAL RCH GTY NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL PHO CAR23 HOM 119th 0 2004 Damon Lusk DAY CAR LVS DAR 33rd 1553 Tony Raines BRI6 TEX43 NSH15 TAL26 CAL GTY RCH16 NZH CLT12 DOV12 NSH41 KEN15 KEN MLW CHI20 NHA PPR16 MCH35 BRI29 CAL19 RCH DOV36 KAN Tyler Walker IRP30 Jimmy Spencer CLT MEM ATL PHO DAR HOM

References

External links Official website