Team Rensi Motorsports was 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 owned by Ronnie Russell, Ed Rensi, Gary Weisbaum, and formerly Sam Rensi. The team has also competed in the

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 ...

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 ...

, and ARCA racing series. Ed Rensi, who was president and CEO of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

USA from 1991 to 1997, has been Team Rensi Racing's Chairman and CEO since October 1998.

Car No. 24 history

;Jason Keller (2005) The No. 24 team debuted in 2005 as the No. 35 being driven by veteran Jason Keller with sponsorship from

. Despite a ninth-place finish in points, Keller struggled to run up front, and he left for Phoenix Racing at the end of the season. ;Regan Smith (2006) Regan Smith took his place in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, and had one top-ten finish. Smith departed from the ride for

Ginn Racing MB2 Motorsports was a NASCAR Cup Series team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near the sport's hub in Charlotte. The team was founded by Read Morton, Tom Beard, and Nelson Bowers, from which the original team name derived. Bowers was the l ...

. Hamilton returned to Rensi to drive the No. 35 for the 2007 season, finishing sixth in points. ;Bobby Hamilton Jr. (2007) During the 2007–08 offseason,

ended its sponsorship of the No. 35 and

David Gilliland David Leonard Gilliland (born April 1, 1976) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and team owner. Since 2017, he has operated Tricon Garage, a team that races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team has also com ...

took the FreeCreditReport.com sponsorship of the No. 25 car to the

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, 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, ...

. Team Rensi signed

Smithfield Foods Smithfield Foods, Inc., is an American pork producer and food-processing company based in Smithfield, Virginia. Founded in 1936 as the Smithfield Packing Company by Joseph W. Luter and his son, the company is the largest pig and pork producer in ...

as prime sponsor of the No. 25 car, allowing Hamilton to move to that team. The 35 returned late in 2008 with

Danny O'Quinn Daniel O'Quinn Jr. (born May 7, 1985) is an American professional stock car racer from Coeburn, Virginia. Now retired, he competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and was a winner of the ''Roush Racing: Driver X'' competition. Background O'Qui ...

driving, but he failed to finish both races he ran. ;Eric McClure (2009–2010) The car made a return to full-time racing in 2009, with

Eric McClure Eric Wayne McClure (December 11, 1978 – May 2, 2021) was an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports. Racing car ...

bringing both

Hefty Hefty is an United States, American brand of household products such as Bin bag, trash bags and trash cans, disposable tableware, children's disposable tableware (including their reintroduced ZooPals product line), zipper storage bag, slider clo ...

sponsorship and the No. 24 over from

Front Row Motorsports Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a part ...

. In 2010, McClure and Hefty remained with the team. After surgery on his foot, McClure was relieved by driver Chris Cook at Road America.

D. J. Kennington Douglas James Kennington (born July 15, 1977) is a Canadian professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Canada Series, driving the No. 17 Dodge Challenger for his own team DJK Racing. He won the 2010 and 201 ...

raced the car at Montreal to an 11th-place finish, as McClure sat out of the race due to a concussion the prior week from Bristol. McClure and

will leave the team for 2011, citing performance issues and a lacking budget from Team Rensi. ;Kevin Lepage (2011) For 2011,

Kevin Lepage Kevin Paul Lepage (born June 26, 1962) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who last drove in NASCAR in 2014. Racing career Early career Lepage spent the 1980s driving in both the Busch North series and the Vermont-based ...

drove the car for the first several races of the season. Lepage ran full races initially, but was forced to withdraw from Bristol after a practice crash and did not arrive at Talladega. They were last seen at Texas.

Car No. 24 results

Car No. 25 history

;Early years (1999–2000) The team, then known as Team Rensi Motorsports first joined the Busch Series 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 ...

, fielding the No. 25 Dura Lube

Chevrolet Monte Carlo The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a two-door coupe that was manufactured and marketed by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. Deriving its name from the Monte Carlo, city in Monaco, the Monte Carlo was marketed as the first personal luxury car ...

for Jeff Finley. They finished 13th at the season opening NAPA Auto Parts 300, but Finley failed to qualify for the next few races, and he and the team drifted apart.

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 ...

took over at

Nashville 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 ...

, and drove 18 races that season for the team, posting nine finishes of seventh or better. Rick Fuller, David Blankenship and Scott Lagasse drove two races a piece for the team as well, and they finished eighteenth in owner's points that season. Wallace returned again in 2000 with new sponsor Lance Snacks, and posted eight top-ten finishes, his best finish was 4th twice at

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 ...

races. Blankenship and Andy Santerre drove in the races that Wallace did not run, with Santerre finishing 3rd at

Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, ...

. ;Chad Chaffin (2001) In 2001, the U.S. Marines signed on as sponsor. Since Wallace had moved onto Innovative Motorsports,

Chad Chaffin Chad Chaffin (born July 20, 1968) is an American former stock car racing driver. Chaffin has raced in all three of NASCAR's major series. He was a two-time track champion at the historic Nashville Speedway USA, where he met his friend, Andy Ki ...

began the year with the team, but after he couldn't finish higher than 16th at Atlanta, he was released. Rookie David Donohue took over at the Pepsi 300 Presented by Mapco/Williams, but he too, struggled in the ride, and was released after 12 starts.

Randy Tolsma Randy Tolsma (born May 4, 1966) is an American former stock car racing driver. Tolsma began his racing career in go-karts at the age of nine, before moving into Sprint car racing, sprint cars, running as high as United States Automobile Club, USAC ...

finished the season for the team, who finished 29th in points that year. ;Bobby Hamilton Jr. (2002–2004) After 2001, Rensi switched to

Ford Taurus The Ford Taurus is an automobile that was manufactured and marketed by the Ford Motor Company in the United States from 1985 to 2019. From 1985 to 2009, Ford marketed the Taurus alongside its rebadged variant, the Mercury Sable. Four generati ...

es and signed

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 ...

to drive. After a slow start, the two began to gain momentum, and they picked up their first win at the Busch 200, and finished eighth in points. This success carried over into the next season as well, as Hamilton won four races and finished fourth in points. They would not be able to win in 2004, and after the Cabela's 250, Hamilton left to drive for PPI Motorsports at the Nextel Cup level, and Mike McLaughlin took over for the rest of the season, finishing second at the Stacker 200 Presented by YJ Stinger. ;Ashton Lewis (2005–2006) In

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Rensi signed Ashton Lewis to drive the 25 car. Lewis had five top-ten finishes and a fourteenth-place finish in points. After many poor performances, however, Lewis was released and the

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

left as a sponsor. ;David Gilliland and Richard Johns (2007) For

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

credit report A credit history is a record of a borrower's responsible repayment of debts. A credit report is a record of the borrower's credit history from a number of sources, including banks, credit card companies, collection agencies, and governments. A bo ...

site FreeCreditReport.com signed on as sponsor, with Nextel Cup driver

and head engineer Richard Johns originally slated to share the ride. During the RoadLoans.com 200 weekend, Gilliland announced his departure from the No. 25, citing that he needed to focus on his Yates Racing No. 38 Cup ride. Johns drove for the remainder of the season. ;Bobby Hamilton Jr. (2008) The team returned Hamilton to the ride for the 2008 season in the newly renamed

, as his No. 35 team had folded.

served as the sponsor for 30 races, and Hamilton drove to a fifteenth-place points finish with two top-ten finishes.

Boris Said Boris Said III (born September 18, 1962) is an American professional racing driver. Said has competed in a variety of disciplines including stock car racing, stock cars, sports car racing, sports cars and touring car racing, touring cars. Said la ...

drove the 25 for two road course races with No Fear sponsorship. ;Part-time (2009–2011) The No. 25 returned for one race in 2009, at ORP with Hamilton Jr. driving. In 2010, the No. 25 raced at Richmond and Charlotte with

Kelly Bires Kelly James Bires (born August 25, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He most recently drove part-time for Go Green Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series. Previously, Bires drove competitively for ...

behind the wheel and

Raybestos Raybestos is a brand of automotive brakes established in 1902 by Arthur H. Raymond and Arthur F. Law of Bridgeport, Connecticut. History In 1906, Raymond and Law invented the woven brake lining, woven brake lining, an important innovation in au ...

as the sponsor. For 2011, the No. 25 team, with driver Kelly Bires, qualified for the Daytona race, but lack of funding caused them to

start and park Start and park is a term used in auto racing, particularly in NASCAR-sanctioned races, to describe the practice of racing teams starting races but pulling the car off the track after just a few laps in order to collect prize money while avoiding e ...

, only completing a few laps. The last time they were seen at a racetrack was at Michigan which was going to be the Nationwide debut for Chad Finley. Unfortunately, Finley crashed the car in practice and the team did not have a backup, so they were forced to withdraw.

Car No. 25 results

Craftsman Trucks

Team Rensi began fielding a Craftsman Truck team in 2000, after purchasing equipment from Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Driver Jimmy Hensley drove the mostly unsponsored No. 16

Chevrolet Silverado The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from the to ...

to a 13th-place finish in points. In 2001, Donohue began running the No. 16, but after three races, the team shut down due to sponsorship issues.

drove the No. 61 that year and was tenth in points when his team closed as well due to financial problems. He ran one final Truck race for Rensi in 2002 (driven by Butch Miller), finishing 18th in a Marine-sponsored truck at

Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States, a community of Martinsville, Virginia. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1947, primarily events sanctione ...

, the last race for Rensi's truck program.

References

External links

Team Rensi MotorsportsEd Rensi Owner StatisticsSam Rensi Owner StatisticsGary Weisbaum Owner Statistics
{{Team Rensi Motorsports 1999 establishments in North Carolina American auto racing teams Companies based in North Carolina Defunct NASCAR teams ARCA Menards Series teams