Phoenix Racing (NASCAR team)

NASCAR Cup Series

Car No. 51 history

Early days

Phoenix Racing began racing in the Cup Series in 1990, when it fielded the No. 51 Plasti-Kote Chevrolet Lumina for Jeff Purvis. In four races, Purvis failed to finish a race, his best finishing being a 31st at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Phoenix attempted to run a full schedule in 1991, but soon cut back to a part-time schedule, completing six races in total. Due to a lack of funding, the team only ran two races in 1992, with Finch's company Phoenix Construction of Panama City, Florida, serving as sponsor. In 1993, the team ran all of the restrictor plate races on the schedule, except for the Daytona 500, for which they failed to qualify. For 1994, they picked up sponsorship from Country Time and had planned to run a limited schedule with Neil Bonnett driving. Bonnett was killed in a practice crash at Daytona before the 1994 Daytona 500, and Purvis was brought back to drive the car. In six races, his best finish was 21st. Phoenix changed its number to 44 in 1995, and ran six more races with Purvis and Jackaroo Sauce, only finishing one race. MCA Records became the new sponsor for 1996, and the team had two top-ten qualification starts, but could not finish higher than twelfth.

2000s: Part-time and Talladega win

After staying out of Cup for several years, Finch purchased a number of Ford Tauruses from Bill Elliott Racing, and ran all of the 2001 schedule's restrictor plate races with Purvis driving the No. 51, only finishing one race. In 2002, the team picked up funding from Miccosukee Gaming and switched to the No. 09. Driver Geoffrey Bodine had a third-place finish in the Daytona 500, and later had a 2nd-place qualification at the Pepsi 400. Mike Wallace ran a limited schedule for Phoenix in 2003, and had two top-ten finishes. Scott Pruett and Buckshot Jones also ran one race deals for the team that season, during which they switched to Dodge.

The team began 2004 with Johnny Benson Jr., who had also signed to drive the #1 car full-time for Phoenix in the Busch Series for 2002, scheduled to run at least a minimum of seven races, mostly at the longer speedways where the team was stronger. The team would attempt most of the schedule with Benson sharing the ride with Joe Ruttman, who had not raced full-time in the Cup Series since the early 1990s.

After Benson ran the Daytona 500, Phoenix came to Rockingham with their focus being on their Busch effort for the weekend. This was evident on the entry they filled out for the 09, where the team listed Ruttman as the driver but forgot to include Miccosukee as the sponsor. Finch did not even bring a proper crew to the race, with the intent being that they would run the Cup car for a few laps before pulling off and collecting the last place prize. Due to withdrawals from several teams, the potential field was reduced to 43 cars and this meant that every car that entered was assured of making the field.

For that weekend’s Cup race, the Subway 400 Ruttman ran one qualifying lap and was significantly off the pace, settling for a 40th place starting spot. To further complicate things, the crew Finch had assembled for the weekend was not in their pit box when the race began and once NASCAR discovered this, they ordered Phoenix to park the 09 for the remainder of the race. Ruttman collected $54,196 for a last-place finish. The team later said they would be "legitimate racing" after the incident, although Ruttman pulled out of each race he ran early citing some mechanical issue. Benson was eventually let go from his contract altogether and Ruttman’s involvement was scaled back significantly although he would return toward the end of the season and would eventually make seven starts for the team. Bobby Hamilton Jr. drove six races for the team starting at Charlotte, and Mike Wallace would return and record the team’s first top ten since 2002 at Richmond. Tony Raines would drive one race at Dover before retiring early, while Scott Pruett would make the race at Indianapolis but pulled out due in part to injuries received in a practice crash. Johnny Sauter would join the team for the last few races after losing his ride at Richard Childress Racing, crashing out late in the running at Phoenix.

Sauter drove ten races in the No. 09 in 2005, and had a ninth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway. Late in the season, Bobby Hamilton and Reed Sorenson drove the 09 at Martinsville and Homestead, respectively.

Beginning in 2006, Phoenix abbreviated the 09's schedule even further, switching back and forth between Dodge and Ford. Mike Wallace ran just three races and failed to finish higher than seventeenth. Mayfield ran the season-ending Ford 400, but did not finish due to an oil leak. Wallace had a fourth-place finish in the 2007 Daytona 500, but the team did not qualify for another race until the final two races of the year, when Sterling Marlin drove. For 2008, Marlin ran 10–12 races for Phoenix.

Phoenix Racing announced for 2009 that they would be running two different makes of cars for the upcoming Sprint Cup season. The No. 09 was shared by Marlin, Phoenix's Nationwide Series driver Mike Bliss, and Brad Keselowski, who at the time was a developmental driver for Hendrick Motorsports. Ron Fellows also ran as a road course ringer. The team fielded purchased Ganassi Dodges for Marlin and Bliss, and purchased Hendrick Chevrolets for Keselowski and Fellows.

After 19 years in the Cup Series Phoenix Racing finally won its first race, taking the Aaron's 499 with Keselowski behind the wheel. Keselowski turned Carl Edwards when Edwards attempted a second block on Keselowski's passing move, but Keselowski held his ground as Edwards wrecked and drove to the finish to lead his only lap of the day and win the race.

2010s: full-time and sale

Former Earnhardt Ganassi Racing driver Aric Almirola was hired to drive for the team in 2010. The team's competitiveness was put into question when it lost its longtime sponsor Miccosukee at the beginning of the season. Almirola failed to qualify three of the first seven events, including the Daytona 500, and start and parked in its four starts due to lack of funds. Almirola left the team after the race at Phoenix to focus on his Truck Series efforts, and was replaced by Mike Bliss and a handful of other drivers, including (Xfinity Series driver) Landon Cassill, (Former F1 driver) Jan Magnussen, and (2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion) Bobby Labonte. Phoenix Racing returned in 2011 despite rumors that Finch had been trying to sell the team. Bill Elliott drove the first 4 races before Landon Cassill took over the ride with sponsorship from Security Benefit. In June 2011, prior to the Kansas race, the team changed the car number to No. 51, which Phoenix Racing originally used when it first competed in the then-Winston Cup Series. He would later have a best career finish of 9th at Michigan.

For 2012, Cassill was replaced by 2004 Cup Champion Kurt Busch, who had been released from the No. 22 car at Penske Racing due to on-track incidents and off-track temperament, including a profanity-laced tirade directed at ESPN reporter Jerry Punch. Busch's best finish with the team was an impressive 3rd-place finish at Sonoma Raceway after racing for the lead with Clint Bowyer with under ten laps to go. Outside of that high point, Busch was involved in many accidents trying to get the most out of his equipment. David Reutimann replaced Busch in that race, and Busch was welcomed back following a vote by team members. Busch would leave the team following the fall Talladega race for Furniture Row Racing, and was supposed to be replaced by Regan Smith (the former driver with Furniture Row) until Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered a concussion in the aftermath of the Talladega race and Smith was needed as a sub for the Charlotte and Kansas races in the Chase. A. J. Allmendinger, coincidentally also released from Penske, in the No. 22 car, due to a failed substance test, drove the No. 51 for those two races, with Smith returning later in the year.

For 2013, the team returned full-time, fielding a number of different drivers. The team signed Guy Roofing, a company from the team's hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina, as the sponsor for the Daytona 500 and two other early season races. Regan Smith drove the car in the 500 to a strong seventh-place finish, and would run five other races that season with a best finish of sixth. Allmendinger ran 9 races, including running the retro Country Time scheme Phoenix had run in the past, with three top 15 finishes all in his first four starts. Austin Dillon ran four races, and Ryan Truex made his series debut at Bristol in the fall. Bobby Labonte, Owen Kelly, Mike Bliss, Jacques Villeneuve, and Brendan Gaughan would all make single starts for the team in 2013.

In spite of early success (the team was ranked 9th in owners points after the fifth race of the season) and a more affordable car model in the Gen 6 Chevy SS, lack of long-term funding continued to plague the team. Citing this recurring lack of stable sponsorship, Finch announced in May 2013 that he would close operations after the 2013 Brickyard 400. In late June, Finch announced that he was selling his team. The team found a buyer July 17 and Finch stopped sponsoring the team after Indianapolis. He would continue to own the team through Labor Day weekend, providing assistance in the transition to new ownership. It was announced on August 28 that Harry Scott Jr. of Turner Scott Motorsports had bought the team.

Finch's last race as owner was the Labor Day race at Atlanta, where Mike Bliss drove the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet to a 33rd-place finish, running six laps down at the checkered flag.

Sprint Cup Series Results