King Racing was a racing team which fielded cars in the

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 ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and fro ...

as well as in

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

and the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

. The team was owned by

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a governing body which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsport sanction ...

drag racing driver

Kenny Bernstein Kenneth Dale Bernstein (born September 6, 1944) is an American drag racer and former NASCAR and IndyCar team owner. He is nicknamed "the Bud King" for his success in the Budweiser King funny car and dragster. He has also been nicknamed "th ...

NASCAR

For its entire run in NASCAR’s top series, King Racing fielded a car numbered 26 and carrying sponsorship from Quaker State Motor Oil. Bernstein fielded

Buick Regal The Buick Regal is a line of mid-size cars marketed by Buick since 1973. Serving as the premium mid-size/intermediate car of the Buick product range for nearly its entire production, the Regal initially served as the divisional counterpart of t ...

s until

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

pulled the brand from NASCAR following the 1991 season; after that, the team competed with

Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for model years 1955 to 2005, with a hiatus from 1998 to 2001. Ultimately gaining a broadly used colloquial nickname, the ''T-Bird'', Ford Introduce ...

s. King’s first season was 1986 with the 26 being driven by

Joe Ruttman Raymond Joseph Ruttman (born October 28, 1944) is an American former stock car racing driver who competed in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series. With 13 career wins in the Truck Series he is currently t ...

with

Larry McReynolds Lawrence Joseph McReynolds III (born January 10, 1959) is an American NASCAR crew chief and current racing analyst on Fox Sports as well as a columnist on Foxsports.com. In the past, he has served as an advisor to Petty Enterprises, and as a m ...

, who had begun working in the sport nearly ten years earlier, as crew chief. In 1987 Ruttman was replaced with

Morgan Shepherd Clay Morgan Shepherd (born October 12, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 89 Chevrolet Camaro for Shepherd Racing Vent ...

, and for 1988

Ricky Rudd Richard Lee Rudd (born September 12, 1956), nicknamed "the Rooster", is an American former racing driver and racing team owner. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 ...

joined the team. The team won its first Cup Series race in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

with Rudd at The Budweiser at the Glen. Rudd also won the

Banquet Frozen Foods 300 The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is a stock car racing event in the NASCAR Cup Series that has been held annually at Sonoma Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California since 1989. The race has been known as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 since 2007. The ra ...

Sears Point Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, California. The road cour ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

on his way to an eighth place points finish. Rudd left King Racing to take over for

Geoff 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 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1990. ...

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...

following the 1989 season, and for

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 ...

Geoff’s brother

Brett Bodine Brett Elias Bodine III (born January 11, 1959) is an American former stock car racing driver, former driver of the pace car in Cup Series events, and current NASCAR employee. Brett is the younger brother of 1986 Daytona 500 winner Geoff Bodine a ...

took over the 26. He won the

First Union 400 The First Union 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held annually from 1951 to 1996 at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It was the first of two Winston Cup Series races held annuall ...

at North Wilkesboro, which proved to be the team’s final victory. Partway through the 1991 season,

Robert Yates Racing Yates Racing was an American stock car racing team that competed in NASCAR through the 2009 season, after which it merged into Richard Petty Motorsports. Previously known as Robert Yates Racing, the team was owned by Doug Yates, who has offici ...

signed McReynolds away from the 26 to replace

Jake Elder J. C. "Jake" Elder (November 22, 1936 – February 24, 2010) was a NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief. He was the championship crew chief for two years and for part of a third season. Elder had these successes despite never pas ...

as the crew chief to

Davey Allison David Carl "Davey" Allison (February 25, 1961 – July 13, 1993) was an American NASCAR driver. He was best known for driving the No. 28 Texaco-Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Born in Hollywood, Florida, ...

. Bodine, meanwhile, recorded six top tens, including two top five finishes at Martinsville, on his way to a 19th-place finish in the points. Bodine would stay on with King for three more seasons, competing in a total of 158 races for the team. 1992 saw him finish 15th in the standings with thirteen top ten finishes and two top fives. He recorded nine top tens and three top fives, finishing 20th despite missing the fall race at Dover due to injury. Then, in 1994, Bodine managed a second-place finish in the inaugural

Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the ...

, scoring his last career top five finish. He followed this up with two more top tens, the last at Charlotte in the fall, and finished 19th in points. In 1995, Bodine left to join

Junior Johnson & Associates Junior Johnson & Associates (formerly Johnson Hodgdon Racing) was a NASCAR team that ran in the Winston Cup Series from 1953 to 1995. The team was run by former driver Junior Johnson and was best known for fielding cars for legendary talents such ...

as the replacement for

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott Sr. (born October 8, 1955), also known as "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", "Million Dollar Bill", or "Wild Bill" is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Superstar Racing Experienc ...

following Elliott's decision to become an owner-driver (something Bodine would do a year later), and

Steve Kinser Dennis Steven Kinser (born June 2, 1954), nicknamed "the King", is a former professional sprint car racing driver. He has won 20 championships in the World of Outlaws (WoO) series. Kinser left the World of Outlaws in 2006 to compete with the N ...

was signed away from the

World of Outlaws World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, originally known as the World of Outlaws (often abbreviated WoO) is an American national touring dirt track racing series. It is owned and operated by World Racing Group, and was rebranded when the World of O ...

sprint car series to take over. The multiple time world champion had trouble adjusting to the world of stock car racing, and after he finished 40th or worse three times in five starts and failed to qualify for two other races, Kinser was released from the team.

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 ...

was brought in to finish the season and recorded two top five finishes and five total top tens. After a 34th-place finish in points, Bernstein sold his team to

Rudd Performance Motorsports Rudd Performance Motorsports was a stock car racing, stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series between 1994 and 1999. Owned by Ricky Rudd, the team's only driver, it posted six wins during its existence. Winston Cup Se ...

at the end of 1995 and returned to focusing strictly on drag racing.

Indy cars

1988

King Racing made their debut during the 1988 season, fielding the No. 15 and 17

Mac Tools Mac Tools (previously, Mechanics And Tools Company) is an American company that distributes and markets tools and related equipment. It is headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, United States. The Mac Tools line consists of 9,082 tools, including s ...

Lola T8700-

Buick V6 The Buick V6 is an OHV V6 engine developed by the Buick division of General Motors and first introduced in 1962. The engine was originally and was marketed as the ''Fireball'' engine. GM continued to develop and refine the V6, eventually and co ...

at the

with Jim Crawford in No. 15 and

Johnny Rutherford John Sherman Rutherford III (born March 12, 1938), also known as "Lone Star JR", is an American former automobile racing driver. During an Indy Car career that spanned more than three decades, he scored 27 wins and 23 pole positions in 314 start ...

in No. 17. Both qualified mid-pack. Crawford led for eight laps (the only laps not led by a

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Day ...

driver). Crawford was running in second place late in the race. Crawford then ran too low on the track, getting into the grass, and dropped to 6th place during a pit stop to change the damaged tire.

1989–1991

For the 1989 season, the team fielded Crawford again in the No. 15

Lola T8700-Buick V6 at the

and qualified in 4th place. Crawford suffered a practice crash. The car was repaired in time to race. Crawford retired with mechanical problems. King Racing did not compete in

. They made a return during the 1991 season with Crawford driving the No. 26

Quaker State Quaker State is an American brand of motor oils, owned by Shell USA, the US-based division of Shell plc. The former Quaker State Oil Refining Company had been constituted in 1924 after the Eastern Refining Co. acquired rights to the ''Quaker Sta ...

Lola T9100-Buick V6 and would qualify in 8th place. Crawford would retire with mechanical problems.

1992

For 1992 season King Racing would compete in their first race besides the Indianapolis 500 when

Roberto Guerrero Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born 16 November 1958) is a Colombian-American former race driver. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982, becoming the first Colombian to start a Formula One Grand Prix. Wit ...

drove the No. 36

Lola T9100-Buick V6 at the

Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in Downtown Long Beach, downtown Long Beach, California. It was the premier race on the ...

on the streets of Long Beach; he was however off the pace due to

ruling not giving V6 engines as much boost. However at the

King Racing ran a pair of

Lola T9200-Buick V6 with Guerrero in No. 36 and Crawford in No. 26. The USAC (who sanctioned the Indianapolis 500) regulations for V6 engines gave them more boost. As a result, Guerrero would qualify on the pole position setting new one-lap and 4-lap records with a 4-lap average of 232 mph and one lap at 233 mph. Crawford was also fast but had mechanical problems on pole day and recovered to qualify. Guerrero would spin out during the parade lap and would fail to start as a result. Crawford was running in the top 10 when he spun into the wall, collecting

Rick Mears Richard Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is an American former race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...

. Mears' teammate

Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fittipaldi won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with Team ...

also spun and crashed on the same lap.

1993

For

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

King Racing would expand to a full-time team with Guerrero driving the No. 40 Budweiser King Lola T9300-

Ilmor Ilmor is a British independent high-performance auto racing, motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan (engineer), Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and ...

Chevrolet Indy V8 The Chevrolet Indy V8 engine is a 3.0-liter and 3.5-liter, naturally-aspirated V-8 Indy car racing engine, designed and developed by Ilmor, for use in the IRL IndyCar Series; from 2002 to 2005. Specifications *Engine type: Chevrolet V-8 *V ang ...

. Jim Crawford would drive No. 80 and Al Unser Sr. in No. 60. At the

, Guerrero was involved in a crash with

Jeff Andretti Jeff Andretti (born April 14, 1964) is a former American professional race car driver. He competed in the Champ Car World Series and was the series' Rookie of the Year in 1991. Early life and education Andretti was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvani ...

. Unser led early on but dropped to 13th. Crawford would spin out early on and would not recover. Guerrero would get a best finish of 4th at the New England 200 at

New Hampshire Motor Speedway New Hampshire Motor Speedway (formerly known as the New Hampshire International Speedway from 1989 to 2007, the Bryar Motorsports Park from 1965 to 1989, and as the 106 Midway Raceway from 1961 to 1964) is a oval track in Loudon, New Hampshir ...

but was replaced by

Eddie Cheever Edward McKay Cheever Jr. (born January 10, 1958) is an American former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to , CART between 1986 and 1995, and IndyCar between 1996 and 2006. In American open-wheel racing ...

for the last few races of the season. Guerrero would finish 14th in points.

1994

For

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 ...

Scott Goodyear Donald Scott Goodyear (born December 20, 1959) is a Canadian retired racing driver. He competed in CART Championship cars and the Indy Racing League. Along with Michael Andretti, Goodyear is the only driver to have won the Michigan 500 more th ...

would drive the No. 40 Budweiser King Lola T9400- Ford-Cosworth XB. At the

the team hired Davy Jones to drive a spare car numbered 40T (it would be changed to 60 on race day). Goodyear would fail to qualify while Jones would qualify. So Goodyear would replace Jones on race day but retired with mechanical problems early on. Goodyear gave King Racing their only CART win when he drove to victory at the Marlboro 500 at

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (formerly named as the Michigan Speedway from 1997 to 2000) is a D-shaped oval superspeedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. It has hosted various major auto racing series throughout its existence, including NASCAR, Cham ...

. Goodyear finished 12th in points (King Racing's highest CART position in points). The 1994 season was the last in CART for King Racing, as Bernstein opted to shut the team down.

Driver history

CART IndyCar

* Jim Crawford (1988–1989, 1991–1993) *

(1988) *

Geoff Brabham __NOTOC__ Geoffrey John Brabham (born 20 March 1952) is an Australian racing driver. Brabham spent the majority of his racing career in the United States. Racing career CART He raced successfully in CART early in his career, finishing 8th in ...

(1991) *

(1991–1993) *

Willy T. Ribbs William Theodore Ribbs Jr. (born January 3, 1955) is an American former race car driver, racing owner, and sport shooter known for being the first African-American man to have tested a Formula One car (he did so in 1986) and to compete in the Ind ...

(1991) *

(1993) *

Al Unser Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Ri ...

(1993) *

(1994) *

Andrea Montermini Andrea Montermini (born 30 May 1964) is an Italian racing driver. He drove in Formula One from 1994 to 1996. Career Montermini raced in Formula 3 in 1989, taking second place in the List of Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race winners, Mo ...

(1994)

NASCAR

(1986) *

(1987) *

(1988–1989) *

(1990–1994) *

Dick Trickle Richard Leroy Trickle (October 27, 1941 – May 16, 2013) was an American race car driver. He raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All ...

(1993; injury replacement at Dover) *

(1995, replaced after North Wilkesboro) *

(1995)

Racing results

Complete CART Indy Car World Series results

( key)

IndyCar win

Complete NASCAR Winston Cup Series results

External links

Kenny Bernstein Website
{{Champ Car teams 1986 establishments in the United States 1995 disestablishments in the United States Defunct NASCAR teams American auto racing teams Champ Car teams Auto racing teams established in 1986 Auto racing teams disestablished in 1995