NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
team that won 12 races. Originally formed in 1985 as Jackson Bros. Motorsports, its ownership changed hands several times over the years, with three different owners from its beginning to its closure in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
. The team was based out of
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, and was always a steady competitor for the win despite never winning a championship.
Beginnings
The team was formed in 1985 by brothers Leo and Richard Jackson. At the Daytona 500 that year, the team entered the No. 55 and No. 66 cars, sponsored by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco through its Copenhagen and Skoal brands and driven by another pair of brothers,
Benny Parsons
Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, an ...
and his brother
Phil
Phil may refer to:
* Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names
* Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil"
* Phil, Kentucky, United States
* Phil (film), ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film
* -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as ...
. Benny finished 31st and Phil finished 29th, both suffering engine failure. Phil ran fourteen races with the team that year and posted three top 10s while splitting time with another ride, and Benny ran fourteen races as well and had six top 10 finishes running a limited schedule. The two returned for 1986, when BP had four top tens and won the team's first pole position. Phil ran a limited schedule himself and had five top-tens. After Benny left at the end of the year, his brother moved from the No. 66 to the No. 55. In his first year with the No. 55, Phil Parsons finished a then career-high fourth at Martinsville and finished 14th in points. The No. 66 ran only one race that year, with IndyCar driver
Tom Sneva
Thomas Edsol Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is an American former race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005.
A former math teacher and juni ...
running at Daytona before dropping out with engine failure. In 1988, Parsons improved to a ninth-place finish in points, with the highlight of his year coming with his victory at the Winston 500 despite running out of fuel earlier in the race. In 1989 the team returned to a two-car operation, signing
Harry Gant
Harold Phil Gant"Harry P. Gant" (born January 10, 1940) is an American former
Mach 1 Racing
Mach 1 Racing was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series team. It was owned by Hollywood stuntman Hal Needham and actor Burt Reynolds.
The team made its debut in 1981, fielding the No. 22 Skoal Pontiac driven by Stan Barrett. Barrett ran ten races for th ...
with the Skoal sponsorship coming with him. The Jacksons also traded numbers with Mach 1 owner
Hal Needham
Hal Brett Needham (March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American Stunt performer, stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in film ...
and ran the No. 33 alongside the No. 55. Gant won early in the season at
Darlington Speedway
Darlington Raceway is a egg-shaped oval track in Darlington, South Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1950; primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The venue has a capacity of 47,00 ...
and finished seventh in points, while Parsons, despite additional sponsorship from Crown Petroleum, only had three top-tens and dropped to 21st in points. At the end of the year, Parsons left for Morgan-McClure Motorsports.
1990–1996
In
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
, Richard Jackson splintered from the team to form his own operation, taking the equipment for the No. 55 with him. The newly renamed ''Leo Jackson Motorsports'' still held onto the No. 33 and Gant who won at
Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway (formerly known as the Pocono International Raceway in early years) is a tri-oval track in Blakeslee, Pennsylvania. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1969, including NASCAR, IndyCar Series, and IMSA GT ...
but finished 17th in points that year. Phil Parsons also returned to the team briefly following his release from Morgan-McClure, pulling substitute duty for Gant at
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway (formerly known as the Bristol International Raceway from 1978 to 1996 and as the Bristol International Speedway from 1961 to 1978) is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Bristol, Tennessee. The track ha ...
. 1991 was much better for Gant, as he finished 3rd in points and won four consecutive races late in the season, which began a "Life Begins at 51" campaign because Gant was the oldest winner in the history of the sport. He followed that up with his final two career wins in 1992 and a fourth-place finish in points. In 1993 &
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
, he didn't win but had a pole each year as well as an eleventh-place finish in points in 1993. During his retirement year in 1994, LJM began grooming his replacement,
Robert Pressley
Robert William Pressley (born April 8, 1959) is an American former NASCAR driver who previously served as the promoter at Kingsport Speedway in Kingsport, Tennessee. Pressley currently owns the restaurant Celebrity's Hotdogs in Asheville, North C ...
, who ran three races for the team in the No. 54 sponsored by
Manheim Auctions
Manheim, Inc. is an automobile auction company, a subsidiary of Cox Automotive, a subsidiary of privately owned Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises, Inc. is an American private company, privately held global conglomerate (company), conglomerate ...
. His best finish was 31st. He moved to the No. 33 full-time in
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
, where he posted a tenth-place at Bristol, and finished runner-up to
Ricky Craven
Richard Allen Craven (born May 24, 1966) is an American stock car racing analyst and former driver. Prior to his broadcasting duties, he was a NASCAR driver who won in four different series—the ARCA Menards Series, and the three national series. ...
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
was a struggle for Pressley and the team, when Pressley was running decently before having to miss the first race at
Dover Downs
Bally's Dover Casino Resort, formerly Dover Downs, is a hotel, casino, and racetrack complex in Dover, Delaware. It has a harness horse racing track, which is surrounded by Dover Motor Speedway, a concrete track used for NASCAR motor racin ...
(he was replaced by
Greg Sacks
Greg Sacks (born November 3, 1952) is an American former stock car racing driver. He is married and has three children. He lives in Ormond Beach, Florida. He and his sons are partners in Grand Touring Vodka.
Sacks has spent most of his career a ...
). Around this time, Jackson was contemplating retirement and began looking to sell the team. His buyer was his crew chief at the time,
Andy Petree
Joseph Andrew Petree III (born August 15, 1958) is an American former NASCAR crew chief, driver, team owner, and broadcaster who has worked as the rules analyst for '' Fox NASCAR''. He used to be the Vice President of Competition at Richard Childr ...
. After one race as an owner, he released Pressley and had
Todd Bodine
Todd Martin Bodine (born February 27, 1964) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 62 Toyota Tundra for Halmar Friesen Racing, and is curre ...
finish out the year for him.
1997–2001
For
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
, Petree selected
Ken Schrader
Kenneth William Schrader (born May 29, 1955) is an American professional racing driver. He currently races on local dirt and asphalt tracks around the country while also competing part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 11 Ford Motor ...
to be his driver. Having won four Cup races, Schrader was solid all season long, as he won the pole for both Loudon races and finished tenth in the points standings.
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
saw about the same result, with eight finishes of ninth or better, and two more pole positions. APR also expanded to a multi-car operation briefly, fielding the No. 55 Oakwood Homes-sponsored Chevy driven by
Hut Stricklin
Waymond Lane "Hut" Stricklin Jr. (born June 24, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver.
Racing career
Stricklin grew up in Calera, Alabama. He married Pam Allison, the daughter of NASCAR legend Donnie Allison after they ...
in the
Pepsi 400
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series ci ...
. The team became a multi-car full-time in
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, with
Kenny Wallace
Kenneth Lee Wallace (born August 23, 1963) is an American race car driver and former reporter for '' Fox NASCAR''. He retired from NASCAR in 2015 after driving in the national series since 1988. In a career spanning 25 years in NASCAR, Wallace had ...
signing to drive the No. 55 car with a sponsorship from
Square D
Square D is an American manufacturer of electrical equipment headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts. Square D is a flagship brand of Schneider Electric, which acquired the company in 1991.
The company was listed on the New York Stock Ex ...
. The year was "up and down" for Wallace, as he posted a career-best second-place finish at Loudon, but could only muster a 22nd-place points finish. Meanwhile, in the No. 33 team, NASCAR's community was shocked when long-time sponsor Skoal announced it would no longer continue its association with the No. 33. After the team signed Oakwood Homes to be a full-time sponsor for the car, Schrader announced he would leave to pursue other opportunities. After a long search, APR decided to hire
Joe Nemechek
Joseph Frank Nemechek III (born September 26, 1963) is an American professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 24 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. Nemechek has made the second mos ...
to pilot the car. While he didn't visit victory lane at all in
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, he did have three top fives and the first top 25 points finish of his career. After nailing just one top 10 that year, Wallace announced he would leave for Eel River Racing. Wallace finished second at the Winston 500 at Talladega, pushing Dale Earnhardt to the win. It was Earnhardt's last victory before his death the following February in the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
. It wasn't long before
Bobby Hamilton
Charles Robert Hamilton Sr. (May 29, 1957 – January 7, 2007) was an American stock car racing driver and racing team owner. A driver and owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series circuit and the winner of the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Serie ...
was named to handle the driving chores. When the 2000 season came to an end, APR fielded an unprecedented third team, the No. 35 for
Geoffrey Bodine
Geoffrey Eli Bodine (born April 18, 1949) is an American former motorsport driver and bobsled builder. He raced at the NASCAR Cup Series from 1979 to 2011, earning 18 wins and a best season finish of third in 1990.
Bodine was born into a racing f ...
at
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway (currently known as EchoPark Speedway for sponsorship reasons, formerly known as the Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Hampton, Georg ...
.
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
was a banner year for APR, as Hamilton won at
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is ...
in the same car that Wallace finished 2nd in with last fall, and finished eighteenth in points, while Nemechek had ups and downs, breaking a shoulder at Dover and being replaced by
Scott Pruett
Scott Donald Pruett (born March 24, 1960) is an American former racing driver who has competed in numerous disciplines of the sport. In the 1980s, Pruett established himself as a top sports car racer, winning two IMSA GTO, and three Trans-Am ...
;
Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Wallace Paul Dallenbach (born May 23, 1963) is an American former racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, and is known for his prowess as a road racer. In addition to NASCAR, Dallenbach has raced in SCCA Trans-Am, IMSA GT Champion ...
; and
Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Charles Robert Hamilton Jr. (born January 8, 1978) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He formerly competed in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series.
Early career
When he was 15 ye ...
(Hamilton's son). When he returned from his injuries, Nemechek was able to rebound with a victory at
Rockingham Speedway
Rockingham Speedway and Entertainment Complex (formerly known as North Carolina Speedway from 1998 to 2007 and North Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 to 1996) is a D-shaped oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina, United States. The track h ...
and had a respectable 28th-place finish in points. Unfortunately, Oakwood Homes had financial trouble and backed out as sponsor, and Nemechek left to join Haas-Carter Motorsports as a replacement driver for
Jimmy Spencer
James Peter Spencer (born February 15, 1957) is an American former racing driver, team owner, talk show host and television commentator. He is best known for competing in NASCAR. He hosted the NASCAR-inspired talk show, ''What's the Deal?'', o ...
in the No. 26
Kmart
Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...
-sponsored Ford (a ride that Nemechek, again, would lose due to Kmart filing for bankruptcy in 2002 and pulling their sponsorship from NASCAR).
Final seasons
Oakwood Homes' financial troubles left the No. 33 without a sponsor for
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
.
Mike
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...
and Kenny Wallace ran limited schedules in the car, with Mike racing the No. 33 in
The Winston
All-Star events are annually held in the NASCAR Cup Series at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
Beginning in 2008, NASCAR began the practice of using Roman numerals to identify each race, but ended one year later.
Hi ...
, but no full-time sponsor could be located. In addition, several attempts to get
Jerry Jones
Jerral Wayne Jones Sr. (born October 13, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman who is the owner, president, and General manager (American football), general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He bought t ...
to buy into the team failed. The team's fortunes continued to decline as Hamilton, who was struggling intensely, suffered a broken shoulder in a crash.
Ron Hornaday Jr.
Ronald Lee Hornaday Jr. (born June 20, 1958) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and businessman. He currently owns Team Hornaday Development, a driver development program, as well as Hornaday Race Cars, a Modified racing, D ...
and
Greg Biffle
Gregory Jack Biffle (born December 23, 1969), nicknamed "the Biff", is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver.
After racing in the NASCAR Winter Heat Series in the mid-1990s, he was recommended to Jack Roush by former race ...
were able to fill in, but despite a tenth-place finish in the season finale, Hamilton was not happy, and he departed to the
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...
to race for his own team taking the Square D sponsorship with him.
Christian Fittipaldi
Christian Fittipaldi (born 18 January 1971) is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and parti ...
signed to drive the No. 33 at the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
, finishing 35th. The team only started one other race that year, with
Paul Menard
John Paul Christian Menard (born August 21, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver who currently competes full-time in the Trans-Am Series, driving the No. 3 Ford Mustang for 3GT Racing. Menard is the 2024 Trans-Am ...
at
Watkins Glen International Raceway
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track in the northeastern United States, located in Dix, New York, just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It is long known a ...
, where he finished 29th. In
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, Menard and Petree ran in the
Busch Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
in the hopes of attracting major sponsorship for the team's planned return to the Cup series, but Menard signed a contract with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and took the sponsorship from his father's company with him. Despite running a couple of truck series races, Petree auctioned off all of his equipment, with most of it, including the number, going to the
Kevin Harvick Incorporated
Kevin Harvick, Inc., colloquially referred to as KHI, is a racing team owned by former NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick and his wife DeLana, who is the daughter of former Busch Series driver John Linville. The team owned cars in the NASCA ...
racing stable which raced as the No. 33 in the Busch Series. He then went on to race once again, and also became a broadcaster and an executive at
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard C ...