Sunrise Ford Racing (SFR), sometimes referred to as Bob Bruncati Racing is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

team that last competed full-time in the

ARCA Menards Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series, NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series ow ...

. It was a Sunrise Ford dealership network subsidiary based in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...

and

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...

, California. The team last fielded the No. 6

Ford Fusion The Ford Fusion is an automobile nameplate by Ford. * Ford Fusion (Americas), mid-size car produced between the 2006 and 2020 model years ** Ford Fusion Hybrid, gasoline-electric hybrid powered version ** Ford Fusion Energi, plug-in hybrid ...

for

Jake Drew Jacob Drew (born March 12, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 66 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing and the No. 61 Toyota Tundra for Hattori Raci ...

and the No. 9 Ford for

Tanner Reif Tanner Richard Reif (born September 9, 2005) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the ARCA Menards Series West, driving the No. 13 Toyota Camry for Central Coast Racing, and part-time in the ARCA Menards S ...

in 2022.

History

The team was formed by Bob Bruncati in 2000 to allow his sons to race at the

Irwindale Event Center The Irwindale Speedway & Event Center (informally "The House of Drift" ) was a motorsports facility in Irwindale, California, United States. It operated from 1999 to 2024 with banked, paved - and -mile oval tracks and a -mile drag strip. It ope ...

. On November 4, 2022, it was announced that SFR would shut down operations following the 2022 ARCA West season to focus on local short-track racing.

ARCA Menards Series West

SFR moved to the West Series in 2006 to stay involved in racing and promote Sunrise Ford dealerships on a broader scale. The team won four series championships throughout their time in the series.

Jason Bowles Jason Bowles (born November 24, 1982) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship in 2009. Racing career Early career He made his NASCAR West Series debut in the No. 22 Sunrise Fo ...

won the title in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, Derek Thorn in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, and

in 2022. All four of Sunrise Ford's titles came with their No. 6 car. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, the team formed a

driver development program A driver development program, also known as a driver development team or driver academy, is a system or structure designed to identify and develop talent in auto racing. Programs are typically offered to drivers aged 12 to 25 in junior racing cat ...

with Stewart-Haas Racing.

Car No. 6 history

Originally operating as car No. 22,

drove for SFR's first three full-time seasons, winning Rookie of the Year in 2007 and the series championship in 2009. Luis Martinez Jr. drove the entry in 2010, earning Rookie of the Year honors. He returned to the seat in 2011. Derek Thorn drove Sunrise's main No. 6 in 2012 and 2013, winning the drivers' championship in his second year. James Bickford replaced Thorn for the following season winning races at Stateline Speedway in 2014 and 2015.

Cole Rouse Cole Rouse (born July 8, 1997) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and part-time in the K&N Pro Series East, driving the No. 99 Toyota Camry for Bill McAnally Rac ...

then drove the No. 6 in 2016. He was then replaced by

Julia Landauer Julia G. Landauer (born November 12, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver and motivational speaker. She last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 45/44 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing. She h ...

in 2017. Thorn returned to Sunrise's No. 6 in 2018 and won Sunrise's third championship.

Jagger Jones Jagger Jones (born July 29, 2002) is an American professional racing driver. He competed in Indy NXT for Cape Motorsports in 2023 and HMD Motorsports in 2024 replacing Niels Koolen for the race at Mid-Ohio. Jones previously competed in the U.S. ...

drove the No. 6 for 2019, winning one race and earning Rookie of the Year honors.

Trevor Huddleston Ernest Urban Trevor Huddleston (15 June 191320 April 1998) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Stepney in London before becoming the second Archbishop of the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean. He was best known for ...

took over the No. 6 entry in 2020, and returned in 2021. In 2022,

returned to the ride and won the championship.

Car No. 9 history

In his lone West Series season, Austin Dyne won Rookie of the Year driving the No. 9 car in 2012.

Dylan Lupton Dylan Jarin Lupton (born December 7, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 15 Ford Mustang (seventh generation), Ford Mustang Dark Horse for AM Racing, p ...

drove the No. 9 for 2013 and 2014. He won two races, the first at

Evergreen Speedway Evergreen Speedway is an automobile racetrack located within the confines of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington. The stadium can accommodate up to 7,500 spectators in the covered grandstand and an additional 7,500 in the unc ...

in 2013 and

Kern County Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...

in 2014. Lupton also claimed West Series Rookie of the Year in 2013.

Ryan Partridge Ryan Partridge (born May 17, 1988) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, driving the No. 9 Ford Fusion for Sunrise Ford Racing. He was the Whelen All-American Series champion in 2 ...

drove the No. 9 for the next two years, notching four wins. For 2017, the No. 9 was a full-time team; Zane Smith drove the opening race, and after an offer from team owner Bob Bruncati,

Michael Self Michael Self (born November 1, 1990) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 25 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports. He was a former development driver ...

drove the car in the rest of the events. Partridge, returning to the seat, finished second in the 2018 point standings behind teammate Derek Thorn. Trevor Huddleston then replaced him, driving the No. 9 for 2019. Clinton Cram served as crew chief in 2019.

Blaine Perkins Blaine Michael Perkins (born February 28, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 31 Chevrolet SS for Jordan Anderson Racing. He has also previously competed i ...

drove the car in 2020. Jake Drew joined the team in 2021, losing the title to Jesse Love in a tiebreaker.

took over the car in 2022, making Drew switch to the 6.

Car No. 22 history

2016 was the first year the team's third entry raced.

and James Bruncati each ran one race in the car. In 2017, the car was also used as an occasional entry, this time for Thorn. For 2018, Huddleston returned to the No. 22 for an entire season.

After ARCA Menards Series

2022 was the last season for the Sunrise Ford Racing team as Bob Bruncati retired the following year. The following year he started running jr. spec late models at

Irwindale Speedway } Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,472 at the 2020 census, 1,422 at the 2010 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702, which i ...

which he co-owned. He still has a " racing team" consisting of teaching kids how to drive racecars with professional spotters and crews.

References

External links

* (Sunrise Ford dealerships) {{Sunrise Ford Racing NASCAR teams 2000 establishments in California 2022 disestablishments in California