Armando Fitz was an owner of

Fitz Racing Trail Motorsports (formerly HighLine Performance Group, FitzBradshaw Racing and Fitz Motorsports) was a NASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte. The team was owned by Armando Fitz and Art Shelt ...

, a

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 ...

Nationwide 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 ...

team. A native of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Fitz graduated from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

in 1987 with a degree in Business and Human Development. While attending Vanderbilt, he played linebacker for the Commodore football squad for four years. He and his wife Mimi have four children. Fitz began his career in racing by leading the motorsports division of creative sports before moving to SABCO in 1994. In 1999, he created a University of Tennessee car to celebrate the team's NCAA football championship and also spearheaded programs for the Coor's Light entry that included paint schemes featuring

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

and

Brooks and Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1988 through the suggestion of songwriter and record producer, Tim DuBois. Before thei ...

. Fitz's career as an owner began at the end of the 2000 season when he and Mimi purchased

Felix Sabates Feliciano Sergio "Félix" Sabates Jr. (born September 9, 1945) is a Cuban-born former entrepreneur, and philanthropist living in the United States of America. He is a partner in Chip Ganassi Racing teams, which formerly fielded teams in the NASCA ...

' Busch team. Running a partial schedule, Fitz directed his team to a 42nd-place finish in the owner's points standings. His car finished in the top 20 in 14 of the 27 races that year, including a fifth-place finish at

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway (formerly known as ISM Raceway from 2018–2020, Phoenix International Raceway from 1964–1973 and 1976–2017, and FasTrack International Speedway from 1973–1976) is a dogleg oval track in Avondale, Arizona. The track has ...

and an eight-place showing at

The Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectat ...

. Following the 2001 season, the Fitzes teamed with Pro Football Hall of Fame member and FOX broadcaster

Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...

to create

FitzBradshaw Racing Trail Motorsports (formerly HighLine Performance Group, FitzBradshaw Racing and Fitz Motorsports) was a NASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near Charlotte. The team was owned by Armando Fitz and Art Shelton, and was previously co- ...

. The partnership was strengthened as four sponsors signed on for the 2002 season, allowing FBR to field a car for the entire Busch Series schedule. The team tallied five top 10 finishes on the year, including a second-place showing at

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway (formerly known as Kansas International Speedway in initial planning and construction stages) is a tri-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The track, since its inaugural season of ...

, to finish 21st in the team owner points. In 2003, the momentum continued as FitzBradshaw Racing added a second car part way through the season after gaining the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

as a sponsor. The No. 12 team improved to 18th in the team owner points while the No. 14 finished 42nd, the best showing among teams with 12 starts or less. The 2004 season proved to be even more successful as

Supercuts Supercuts is a hair salon franchise with more than 2,400 locations across the United States. The company was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1975, by Geoffrey M. Rappaport and Frank E. Emmett. The company's first location was in Alb ...

Hot Tamales Hot Tamales is an American brand of cinnamon-flavored candies manufactured and marketed by the Just Born company. Introduced in 1950, they were developed by Bob Born, son of Sam Born, the company's founder. The name derives from the someti ...

Jani-King Jani-King International, Inc. is an American chain of commercial cleaning service franchise. The company provides janitorial services and commercial cleaning services for public spaces such as offices, retails spaces, hotels, and stadiums. Histo ...

and the

returned as sponsors. Both FBR cars finished in the Top 20 in owners points as the No. 14 placed 14th with

Casey Atwood Casey Lee Atwood (born August 25, 1980) is an American former stock car racing driver. A former competitor in NASCAR competition, he is the youngest pole winner in Busch Series history, earning a pole start at the age of 17. Atwood had his most ...

, and the No. 12 completed the season 20th with

Tim Fedewa Timothy Troy Fedewa (pronounced "fee-doo-wuh"; born May 9, 1967) is an American professional racing driver and spotter. He works for Team Penske as the spotter for Ryan Blaney's No. 12 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series. As a driver, he previo ...

. Following the 2004 season, Fitz announced that FBR was growing again with the addition of a third team sponsored by Cottman Transmissions, Jani King and

Goulds Pumps ITT Inc., formerly ITT Corporation, is an American worldwide manufacturing company based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company produces specialty components for the aerospace, transportation, energy and industrial markets. ITT's three businesses ...

. With the growth, Fitz also strengthened his team's ties to its roots as he announced an alliance with

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization competing in the NTT IndyCar Series. They have formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, Global Rally ...

with Felix Sabates, which allowed for full technical and engineering support. The team also switched car manufacturers, moving from Chevrolet and the Monte Carlo to Dodge's new Charger, in the process becoming the only Busch Series team fully supported by the manufacturer. Also Armando Fitz is Cousin to George Gomez, one of the top amateur golfers in the state of Tennessee and California.

References

External links

Nascar.com
* * (Terry Bradshaw) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitz, Armando NASCAR team owners Living people Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee Vanderbilt Commodores football players Year of birth missing (living people)