Specialty Racing, LLC was an auto racing team that competed 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 ...

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 ...

. Based in Statesville,

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 ...

, it was owned by Doug Taylor and Charles Shoffner. In 2011, Specialty Racing planned to field the No. 61

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...

, but sponsorship was not found, and the team closed.

Team history to 1990s

Team owner Doug Taylor's first race as an owner came in

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 ...

at Dover when

Patty Moise Patricia Moise-Sawyer () is a former NASCAR driver. She drove in five Winston Cup races from 1987 to 1989, and 133 Busch Series races from 1986 to 1998. She is the wife of former fellow NASCAR driver Elton Sawyer. Racing career Moise began raci ...

drove the No. 40 Dial/

Purex PUREX (plutonium uranium reduction extraction) is a chemical method used to purify fuel for nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons. It is based on liquid–liquid extraction ion-exchange. PUREX is the '' de facto'' standard aqueous nuclear reproc ...

Ford to a 19th-place finish. The team would run 5 more races that season achieving a season best 12th place at

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in just their 3rd race. 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 ...

Specialty/Doug Taylor Motorsports would continue to build in the foundation laid the previous year by racing in 22 races with Moise behind the wheel for all of them. The highlights of the season came at the Red Dog 300 in Charlotte when the team earned its first top ten stating spot as it qualified 8th and finished the race 18th. Another milestone came at the Humminbird Fishfinder 500K at Talladega when Moise drove the car to its first top ten finish, a 7th place showing. Moise was released as the team's driver at the end of the 1995 season and Tim Fedewa was hired to serve as driver for the

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 ...

campaign.

Kleenex Kleenex is a brand name primarily known for their line of facial tissues. Often used informally as a genericized trademark for facial tissue, ''Kleenex'' is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark applied to products made in 78 countries. The ...

signed on to sponsor the Number 40. Fedewa drove the car to 5 top ten starts and 2 top ten finishes, with a season-best 4th-place finish in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

at the Kroger 200. The finish at IRP would mark the team's first top five finish. In

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 ...

a total of seven drivers sat in the seat of the car, including Doug Taylor himself for the March

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

race. The best finish for the year was put forth when

Ted Musgrave Theodore David Musgrave Sr. (born December 18, 1955) is an American former stock car racing driver. Pre-NASCAR Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukega ...

drove to a 12th-place finish at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

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 ...

was the last year of Doug Taylor Motorsports. The team raced in 31 out of 32 races with

Kerry Earnhardt Kerry Dale Earnhardt (born December 8, 1969) is an American former NASCAR driver and the eldest son of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt. He is the half-brother of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelle ...

Rick Fuller Richard Fuller (born April 1, 1969) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1997 to 2000. Early life Born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Fuller graduated from ...

Jack Sprague Jack Eugene Sprague (born August 8, 1964) is an American former stock car racing driver who has competed in all of NASCAR's three top divisions, most notably in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he won series championships in 1997, 1999 an ...

, Taylor and Lepage sharing driving duties. Lepage drove the car in 24 of the races. Full-time sponsorship was provided by

Channellock Channellock is an American company that produces hand tools and automotive accessories. It is best known for its pliers—the company manufactures more than 75 types and sizes of pliers—particularly its eponymous style of tongue-and-groove pl ...

and manufacturers were switched from Ford to

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

. The team earned its first pole award with Lepage driving at the MBNA Platinum 200 at

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

. Also, it posted 10 top ten finishes, 6 top five finishes and the highlight of the season at the

Food City 250 Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Xfinity Series have been held at Bristol Motor Speedway, in Bristol, Tennessee during numerous seasons and times of year since the series’ inception in 1982. From 2021 to 2023, the series has had one date. ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

when Kevin Lepage led 13 laps and came away with Doug Taylor Motorsports' first victory. At the end of the season, the team was bought out by Galaxy Motorsports.

Current team history

Specialty Racing returned to the

NASCAR 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 NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...

on October 27, 2007 at the

Sam's Town 250 The Kroger On Track for the Cure 250 presented by the Southern Dodge Dealers was a NASCAR Nationwide Series stock car racing, stock car race that took place at Memphis International Raceway in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1999 to 2009. The 2007 NASC ...

Memphis Motorsports Park Memphis International Raceway (formerly known as Memphis Motorsports Park) was an auto racing park located near the Loosahatchie River in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, approximately ten miles south of Millington, and a few miles north ...

. The driver of the car, Matt Carter, drove to a 39th-place finish. The team then signed Lepage, and made plans to run the entire 2008 Nationwide Series Schedule. After failing to qualify for the opening race of the season, the Camping World 300 at

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

the team qualified for every race for the rest of the season. Specialty posted two top twenty finishes with a 17th-place finish in the

Sam's Town 300 Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Xfinity Series have been held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada since the track opened in 1997. Currently, the track holds two Xfinity Series races. The 300-mile (480 km) spring race is ...

and an 18th-place finish in the

Sharpie Mini 300 Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Xfinity Series have been held at Bristol Motor Speedway, in Bristol, Tennessee during numerous seasons and times of year since the series’ inception in 1982. From 2021 to 2023, the series has had one date. ...

. Matt Carter returned to the team in 2009 and gave the team two top 20s at Bristol and Daytona, enough to lock the team into the top 30 in owners points for 2010. That year, Carter was released and was replaced by

Josh Wise Joshua Eric Wise (born February 7, 1983) is an American athletic trainer and former professional stock car racing and dirt track racing driver. He is currently a trainer for Chevrolet's development program for upcoming drivers and oversees driver ...

. Wise would run with the team until May, when a handful of drivers, including Carter,

J. J. Yeley Christopher Beltram Hernandez "J. J." Yeley (born October 5, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for ...

, Chase Miller, and Pierre Bourque took over the reins of the No. 61. The team cut back to a limited schedule due to a lack of funds.

References

External links

Official Team WebsiteDoug Taylor Owner StatisticsCharles Schnoffer Owner Statistics
{{Specialty Racing 1994 establishments in North Carolina American auto racing teams Companies based in North Carolina Defunct NASCAR teams 2010 disestablishments in North Carolina