BAM Racing

Last updated
BAM Racing
BAM Racing logo.png
Owner(s)Beth Ann Morgenthau
Tony Morgenthau
Base Charlotte, North Carolina
Series Sprint Cup Series
Race drivers Ken Schrader Mike Bliss David Gilliland Robby Gordon Klaus Graf
Sponsors AT&T, Warner Music Group, Schwans
Manufacturer Dodge (2002-2008), Toyota (2008-2010)
Opened2000
Closed2010
Career
Drivers' Championships 0
Race victories0

BAM Racing was a NASCAR racing team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, owned by Beth Ann and Tony Morgenthau. The team began racing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2000 before moving to NASCAR in 2001. They sat out 2009 due to the recession, and have not raced since.

Contents

Sprint Cup Series

Car No. 49 history

BAM Racing attempted its first Cup race at the Talladega 500 in 2001 with Andy Hillenburg, but failed to qualify. They also attempted the Pepsi 400, Pennsylvania 500 and the Brickyard 400 with Hillenburg, as well as the Pennzoil Freedom 400 with Rich Bickle, but did not qualify for any of those races.

BAM switched to Dodge for 2002, and acquired equipment from American Equipment Racing owner Buz McCall, who also provided the shop for use. [1] The team qualified for the 2002 Daytona 500 with Shawna Robinson as its driver, who was scheduled to compete in 24 races. [1] However, she struggled and her last race for the season was at the second Daytona race where she would finish 40th. Kevin Lepage, Stuart Kirby, Ron Hornaday, Stacy Compton and Derrike Cope would finish out the season with a best finish of 22nd at Talladega.

For the 2003 season it was announced that Ken Schrader would drive the No. 49. The team was forced to run with multiple sponsors throughout the year but most of the year the car was sponsored by AT&T through its 1-800-CALL-ATT collect call service. The team qualified for 32 races and had a best finish of 8th at Michigan. In 2004, it was announced BAM Racing had secured a deal with Schwan Food Company for multiple years. They were able to achieve a best finish of 6th during the season, had three less DNF's, and improved their average finish by two places.

Schwan's and Schrader again returned for the 2005 season and BAM had its best season to date with three top tens and an average finish of 25th place. After the conclusion of the 2005 season, Ken Schrader left to join Wood Brothers/JTG Racing. For 2006, Schrader was replaced by Brent Sherman who brought along sponsorship from Serta Mattresses. Sherman was to run for the Rookie of the Year award. However, after struggling through the start of the season he was released in favor of veteran Jimmy Spencer. Spencer was also an advisor for BAM and was a mentor for Sherman during his time there. However, Sherman's departure from the team left it unsponsored, as Serta had followed Sherman from ARCA racing to Busch Series and Cup series racing. Spencer raced from the spring Martinsville race until the spring Richmond race, when Mike Wallace took over. In May 2006, Kevin Lepage left Front Row Motorsports to take over the No. 49, before he was replaced by Mike Bliss in October. Chris Cook was hired to drive for the team to run the road course events, but failed to qualify for both events.

In 2007, BAM Racing was to race with Mike Bliss as the driver, using Evernham engines, but Bliss failed to qualify for 11 out of 15 attempts, and resigned midway through the season. Chad Chaffin was the team's interim driver at Loudon and Chicagoland, and Larry Foyt racing at Daytona. In the team's first attempt to qualify after Bliss' resignation at Loudon, Chaffin made the race after Brian Vickers and the No. 83 Team Red Bull Toyota were disqualified after failing post-qualifying inspection. Journeyman road racer Klaus Graf attempted several races in the No. 49, but didn't qualify for any of them due to engine blowups and a rain shower cancelling qualifying. Bliss briefly returned for a few races, before journeyman John Andretti was hired to complete the rest of the season for BAM. John Andretti was signed to drive the full 2008 season, but the contract was nullified just days before 2008 Daytona testing to put Ken Schrader in the seat in hopes of attracting more sponsorship. [2] Schrader drove in the Budweiser Shootout, but failed to qualify for the first two races of the season. [3]

2008 Daytona 500. Ken Schrader 2008 Health Life Dodge Charger.jpg
2008 Daytona 500.

The team switched from Dodge to Toyota before the Goody's Cool Orange 500, along with announcing Microsoft's Small Business division as their sponsor. BAM promptly announced that they would be withdrawing from the next two races at Texas and Phoenix to refocus the team's efforts. [4] Both the expenses of switching manufacturers and the pullout of Microsoft to Michael Waltrip Racing have forced BAM Racing to push their scheduled return further back, with NASCAR.com reporting on April 15, 2008, that the team may not return to racing until the fall. However, BAM made a minor attempt at a comeback in the Sprint All-Star Race. BAM fielded a ride for Petty Enterprises developmental driver Chad McCumbee, the car was a Dodge with sponsorship from Marathon Oil. McCumbee finished 13th.

On July 11, 2008, Sports Illustrated reported that BAM Racing was in talks with Barack Obama regarding a one-race sponsorship at Pocono, through BAM spokesman Rhett Vandiver. However, Obama spokesman Bill Burton told Yahoo! Sports that the sponsorship would not happen. [5] The team took the 2009 season off due to the economy and its unwillingness to be a start and park operation.

Warner Music Nashville announced a strategic marketing alliance that gave WMN exclusive promotional opportunities with the NASCAR Sprint Cup racing team. Under the agreement, WMN artists had the opportunity to participate in branding and promotional programs at NASCAR events. The team planned to attempt a full schedule in 2010 with the new partnership and to run Toyotas. Larry the Cable Guy was to be featured on the car for the Daytona 500, with WMN artists Blake Shelton, Whitney Duncan, Gloriana, Jessica Harp, Jason Jones and James Otto joining the team for later races. [6]

On January 8, the team announced it would align with Robby Gordon and his self-owned team for the 2010 season. The join contract stated that RGM/BAM would have at least one car present at each race and would jointly field Gordon's No. 7 Toyota at certain races with sponsorship from WMN. Although it was announced that BAM would field the #49 car alongside the #7 after the Daytona 500, the #49 car did not show up and Gordon ran the #7 under BAM/Warner sponsorship until the 2010 Coca-Cola 600. BAM was not seen afterwards; it was later announced that the RGM/BAM partnership had dissolved and that RGM is exploring taking legal action against BAM Racing and Warner Music Nashville. The team made no further attempts for the remainder of 2010.

In September 2019, former American Equipment Racing owner Buz McCall confirmed in an interview with a fan that BAM is now defunct.(9)

Car No. 49 results

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
YearDriverNo.Make123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536OwnersPts
2001 Andy Hillenburg 49 Pontiac DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL
DNQ		 CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY
DNQ		 CHI NHA POC
DNQ		 IND
DNQ		 GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MAR TAL PHO CAR N/A-
Rich Bickle Chevy HOM
DNQ		 ATL NHA
2002 Shawna Robinson Dodge DAY
24		 CAR LVS
42		 ATL
34		 DAR
42		 BRI TEX
36		 MAR TAL
DNQ		 CAL
42		 RCH DAY
40		41st1004
Ron Hornaday Jr. CLT
36		 DOV POC MCH SON CHI
DNQ		 NHA POC IND
DNQ		 GLN
Derrike Cope MCH
37		 BRI
41		 DAR RCH NHA ATL
37		 CAR PHO
38		 HOM
34
Kevin Lepage DOV
36
Stuart Kirby KAN
37
Stacy Compton TAL
22		 CLT
42		 MAR
2003 Ken Schrader DAY
42		 CAR
24		 LVS
28		 ATL
38		 DAR
17		 BRI
37		 TEX
24		 TAL
33		 MAR
10		 CAL
30		 RCH
24		 CLT
28		 DOV
26		 POC
43		 MCH
42		 SON
33		 DAY
41		 CHI
28		 NHA
36		 POC
26		 IND
DNQ		 GLN
DNQ		 MCH
8		 BRI
12		 DAR
38		 RCH
25		 NHA
37		 DOV
33		 TAL
21		 KAN
28		 CLT
DNQ		 MAR
22		 ATL
26		 PHO
27		 CAR
36		 HOM
DNQ		38th2569
2004 DAY
40		 CAR
27		 LVS
32		 ATL
26		 DAR
22		 BRI
6		 TEX
19		 MAR
40		 TAL
23		 CAL
20		 RCH
23		 CLT
31		 DOV
34		 POC
25		 MCH
39		 SON
23		 DAY
35		 CHI
27		 NHA
37		 POC
21		 IND
18		 GLN
28		 MCH
28		 BRI
32		 CAL
33		 RCH
30		 NHA
16		 DOV
25		 TAL
20		 KAN
27		 CLT
21		 MAR
31		 ATL
23		 PHO
20		 DAR
30		 HOM
25		33rd3032
2005 DAY
39		 CAL
14		 LVS
34		 ATL
26		 BRI
23		 MAR
24		 TEX
23		 PHO
38		 TAL
8		 DAR
18		 RCH
30		 CLT
9		 DOV
37		 POC
20		 MCH
28		 SON
35		 DAY
10		 CHI
26		 NHA
26		 POC
31		 IND
22		 GLN
32		 MCH
25		 BRI
11		 CAL
29		 RCH
19		 NHA
40		 DOV
28		 TAL
26		 KAN
17		 CLT
34		 MAR
13		 ATL
34		 TEX
29		 PHO
30		 HOM
22		31st3159
2006 Brent Sherman DAY
21		 CAL
37		 LVS
34		 ATL
36		 BRI
42		 TEX
DNQ		 PHO
32		 TAL
DNQ		40th1865
Jimmy Spencer MAR
DNQ
Mike Wallace RCH
35
Kevin Lepage DAR
36		 CLT
DNQ		 DOV
39		 POC
31		 MCH
34		 DAY
DNQ		 CHI
DNQ		 NHA
30		 POC
34		 IND
DNQ		 MCH
41		 BRI
21		 CAL
38		 RCH
33		 NHA
30		 DOV
37		 KAN
DNQ
Chris Cook SON
DNQ		 GLN
DNQ
Mike Bliss TAL
26		 CLT
42		 MAR
DNQ		 ATL
26		 TEX
23		 PHO
41		 HOM
39
2007 DAY
DNQ		 CAL
DNQ		 LVS
DNQ		 ATL
21		 BRI
17		 MAR
30		 TEX
41		 PHO
DNQ		 TAL
DNQ		 RCH
DNQ		 DAR
DNQ		 CLT
DNQ		 DOV
DNQ		 POC
DNQ		 MCH
DNQ		 POC
DNQ		47th1502
Klaus Graf SON
DNQ		 GLN
DNQ
Chad Chaffin NHA
36		 CHI
31
Larry Foyt DAY
DNQ
Ken Schrader IND
25
John Andretti MCH
37		 BRI
40		 CAL
37		 RCH
37		 NHA
DNQ		 DOV
37		 KAN
33		 TAL
33		 CLT
42		 MAR
33		 ATL
28		 TEX
DNQ		 PHO
DNQ		 HOM
DNQ
2008 Ken Schrader DAY
DNQ		 CAL
DNQ		 LVS
21		 ATL
DNQ		 BRI
41		48th276
Toyota MAR
37		 TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM
2010 David Gilliland DAY
DNQ		 CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH NHA DOV KAN CAR CLT MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM N/A-

Car Nos. 59 and 70 history

The team fielded a second car for Klaus Graf at Infineon in 2004, the No. 59 SEM Products/Color Horizons Dodge. He finished 17th. The team attempted a number of races later in the year, but failed to qualify for all of them. Larry Foyt also attempted a number of races late in the 2004 season, instead running the No. 70 due to the system of the 2004 provisional points. The team shut down at the conclusion of the 2004 season. Before shutting down, the team was looking to run a second or even a third car in 2005 but sponsorship never materialized.

Car No. 59/70 results

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series results
YearDriverNo.Make123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536OwnersPts
2004 Klaus Graf 59 Dodge DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON
17		 DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN
DNQ		 MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN MAR
DNQ		61st188
Larry Foyt CLT
DNQ		 ATL
DNQ		 PHO DAR HOM
70 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL PHO DAR HOM
DNQ		N/A-

ARCA Re/Max Series

Car No. 49 history

The team was created in 2000 from the remnants of the ISM Racing that was not being used by Tyler Jet Motorsports. NASCAR Winston Cup Series team. Tony Morgenthau gave the team as a birthday present to his wife, Beth Ann, whose initials comprised the name of the team. BAM Racing attempted 6 races late in the 2000 ARCA Season with Matt Mullins. The team would have a best start of 10th at Charlotte in October and a best finish of 13th at Pocono in June. [7] The team ceased operations upon BAM's move to Winston Cup.

Car Nos. 69 and 99 history

BAM Racing returned to ARCA in 2004 as part of Klaus Graf's development program. The German driver made his debut in the No. 69 BAM Racing Dodge at Nashville Superspeedway in October, starting 5th and finishing 3rd. He ran a second race in the No. 99 BAM Racing Dodge at Talladega in October, where he started 7th and finished 29th after a crash. [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 Williams, D.C. (January 3, 2002). "Robinson to announce 24-race schedule for 2002". The Daytona Beach News-Journal . Archived from the original on January 5, 2002. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  2. ↑ Ken Schrader and the BAM team failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 and the following race at California Speedway.
  3. ↑ "NASCAR News, Results, Schedule & Standings". Sporting News.
  4. ↑ "NASCAR.COM – BAM Racing to skip Cup races at Texas and Phoenix – Apr 1, 2008". nascar.com.
  5. ↑ "Nascar Racing News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos". Yahoo Sports.
  6. ↑ http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/headlines/cup/01/07/bam.racing.vip.artists/ BAM announces additional VIP artists
  7. ↑ "Matt Mullins ARCA Stats". racingone.com.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Klaus Graf ARCA Stats". racingone.com.[ permanent dead link ]

9. Interview with a Former NASCAR Team Owner Buzz McCall, R-U Relentless and Unstoppable? https://youtube/7tRDgE3xqDU

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