Hover Motorsports

Hover Motorsports
Owner(s)	Stan Hover
Series	NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
Race drivers	Andy Hillenburg, Carl Long, Mario Gosselin, Randy LaJoie, Ted Christopher, Tony Ave
Opened	1992
Closed	2006
Career
Latest race	2004 Mountain Dew Southern 500
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	0
Pole positions	0

Last updated October 10, 2023

Hover Motorsports was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series team. They last attempted a race at the 2006 Daytona 500, when they fielded the No. 80 Roadloans.com Ford Taurus for Carl Long, but failed to qualify. They were planning to partner with Peak Fitness Racing for the 2006 season, but that deal fell through. The team has also run races in the past in the ARCA RE/MAX Series.

Winston Cup

Hover began racing NASCAR in 1992. The team made its first start at the AC Delco 500 with Dave Blaney driving with sponsorship from Daffron's Body Shop. He started 36th and finished 31st after suffering handling problems. Hover did not make another start until the 1994 Daytona 500, when the team finished 19th with Jimmy Horton driving. They also ran another race at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Joe Ruttman. He finished 23rd with Park Ohio Industries. Ruttman returned to run the 1995 Daytona 500, finishing nineteenth.

After Ruttman failed to qualify for the 1996 Daytona 500, Hover did not make another NASCAR attempt until the Daytona 500 in 1998, when Mike Ciochetti drove. He too did not make the field. Andy Hillenburg attempted Daytona with Hover in 1999, missing the race as well. Gary Bradberry came on board for a pair of races in 1999, failing to qualify for those. Following the 1999 season, Hover constructed a new shop and hired Morgan Shepherd to attempt the Brickyard 400, but he too, fell short of qualifying for the race. After he DNQ'd for Daytona in 2001, he was released.

In 2002, Hover returned with sponsorship from Hooters and Kirk Shelmerdine driving. When Shelmerdine DNQ'd at Daytona, he and Hooters left for Brett Bodine Racing, leaving the team once again driverless. They did not run in 2003, but returned in 2004 due to a lack of teams competing. With new sponsor Commercial Truck & Trailer, Hillenburg drove five races for them, posting a best finish of 34th at North Carolina Speedway. Following him, Randy LaJoie drove one race for them at Richmond International Raceway. Tony Ave, Carl Long, and Ted Christopher drove for one-race deals, before Mario Gosselin finished the season for the team.

The team would stir up controversy about field fillers, when during the 2004 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, Andy Hillenburg, who was last at the time, was bumped by Tony Stewart heading into Turn 1, who was about to lap Hillenburg. Jeff Gordon, who was behind Stewart, could not slow down enough to avoid Hillenburg and eventually hit Hillenburg on the driver's side. Hillenburg said of the incident "I wiggled up in front of the, uh, the 20 car there and, uh, I mean... you know, you come in here and this is the big boys, and... a slow car and a fast car and... fast car hits the slow car and it's the slow car's fault and we'll go back and build us a faster car and some day we'll be back and be the faster car... I feel bad, it's a race car driver's worst nightmare to come out here and take out one of the heroes."^[1] Jeff Gordon, in a later interview at the race questioned if field fillers should be able to still compete in NASCAR, saying "I don't know what happened there with Andy getting spun, but I'll tell you what, there are a bunch of cars out there that do not belong out there. They're way off the pace. They're in the way. We almost had several wrecks before that, and I came on the radio and asked if NASCAR could take some guys off the track, not just because they're slow, but because they're in the way. This is a narrow, tight race track. It's a hard enough track to race with guys who are at speed. It's just frustrating right now... I think in qualifying, maybe there's a certain percent, like Formula One has a 107 percent rule. This is the NEXTEL Cup Series, man. I mean, this is the best of the best. We don't need to have cars there that are just out there making a qualifying attempt and making the race. We talk about it all the time. [NASCAR has] tried to address it with a minimum speed, but maybe the minimum speed needs to be adjusted. Everyone is caught up in this 43 cars [minimum grid size], but I don't care if there are 43 cars. I don't know if the people in the stands really care if there are 43 cars. We need cars out there that are competitive and that need to be out there competing for position, not just riding around."^[2]

Hover attempted the 2005 Daytona 500 with Andy Belmont driving with sponsorship from Bootie Beer, but the team did not qualify. A lack of sponsorship kept the team from competing until the Ford 400, when they ran with a Dodge Intrepid and Aaron's sponsorship, with Long driving. The team did not qualify after a wreck in qualifying. Long and Hover partnered again for the 2006 Daytona 500 with Roadloans sponsorship, but a sour engine caused them to miss the race. The team has been inactive since Roadloans departed, and the crew assisted Long and his No. 46 Cupp Motorsports team at the end of the season. The team would officially close in 2006.

Drivers

No drivers competed full-time for Hover Motorsports.
Dave Blaney (1992)
Jimmy Horton (1994 Daytona 500; DNQ in 1993 at Dover & Pocono in June, and Richmond in September, DNQ in 1994 at Atlanta, Talladega, & Michigan)
Joe Ruttman (1994-1996; DNQ in 1994 at Daytona in July, Talladega, Richmond, & Atlanta, DNQ in 1995 at Indianapolis, DNQ for 1996 Daytona 500)
Andy Hillenburg (limited races in 2004; DNQ for 1999 Daytona 500, DNQ in 2004 at Texas, Charlotte, & Pocono)
Gary Bradberry (DNQ in 1999 at Indianapolis & Charlotte)
Morgan Shepherd (DNQ for 2001 Daytona 500)
Kirk Shelmerdine (DNQ for 2002 Daytona 500)
Randy LaJoie (2004 at Richmond)
Carl Long (2004; DNQ in 2004 at Richmond, Talladega, & Homestead, DNQ for 2006 Daytona 500)
Tony Ave (2004 at Watkins Glen; also DNQ at Bristol)
Ted Christopher (2004 at Loudon)
Derrike Cope (DNQ in 2004 at Dover)
Mario Gosselin (2004; also DNQ at Phoenix)
Andy Belmont (DNQ in 2004 at Atlanta; for 2005 Daytona 500)

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Car No. 80 results

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series results
Year	Driver	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	Owners	Pts
1992	Dave Blaney	80	Pontiac	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR 31	PHO	ATL DNQ								^{[N 1]}
1993	Jimmy Horton		Ford	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV DNQ	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH DNQ	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL							^{[N 1]}
1994	Jimmy Horton			DAY 19	CAR	RCH	ATL DNQ	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL DNQ	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH DNQ																							^{[N 1]}
1994	Joe Ruttman																	DAY DNQ	NHA	POC	TAL DNQ	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH DNQ	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 23	CAR	PHO	ATL DNQ						^{[N 1]}
1995				DAY 19	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	IND DNQ	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL						^{[N 1]}
1996				DAY DNQ	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL						^{[N 1]}
1998	Mike Ciochetti	80	Ford	DAY DNQ	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	CLT	DOV	RCH	MCH	POC	SON	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	NHA	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR										61st	79
1998	Andy Hillenburg																														CLT DNQ	TAL	DAY	PHO	CAR DNQ	ATL DNQ				61st	79
1999	Andy Hillenburg			DAY DNQ	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	TEX	BRI	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	MCH	POC	SON	DAY	NHA	POC																		64th	33
1999	Gary Bradberry																						IND DNQ	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV	MAR	CLT DNQ	TAL	CAR	PHO	HOM	ATL			64th	33
2000	Morgan Shepherd			DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	MCH	POC	SON	DAY	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV	MAR	CLT	TAL	CAR	PHO	HOM	ATL DNQ			71st	16
2001	Morgan Shepherd			DAY DNQ	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	MCH	POC	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MAR	TAL	PHO	CAR	HOM	ATL	NHA	71st	10
2002	Kirk Shelmerdine			DAY DNQ	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	TAL	CLT	MAR	ATL	CAR	PHO	HOM	81st	10
2004	Andy Hillenburg	80	Ford	DAY	CAR 34	LVS	ATL 42	DAR 42	BRI 43	TEX DNQ	MAR 42	TAL	CAL		CLT DNQ	DOV	POC DNQ	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA																		46th	670
	Randy LaJoie													RCH 43
	Carl Long																						POC 39	IND		MCH 39						TAL DNQ	KAN	CLT					HOM DNQ
	Tony Ave		Chevy																						GLN 31
	Tony Ave		Ford																								BRI DNQ	CAL	RCH
	Ted Christopher																													NHA 43
	Derrike Cope																														DOV DNQ
	Mario Gosselin																																		MAR 41		PHO DNQ	DAR 41
	Andy Belmont																																			ATL DNQ
2005	Andy Belmont			DAY DNQ	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	DAR	RCH	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	NHA	DOV	TAL	KAN	CLT	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO		72nd	29
2005	Carl Long																																						HOM DNQ	72nd	29
2006	Carl Long			DAY DNQ	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	TAL	CLT	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM	77th	1

In popular culture

Stan Hover Motorsports was featured in Episode 6 of YouTuber Brock Beard's Rise of the Field Fillers, a series dedicated to knowing the history of the so called "field fillers".

Footnotes

1 2 3 4 5 unknown

Related Research Articles

Clay Morgan Shepherd is an American retired 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 Ventures. He is a born again Christian who serves as a lay minister to the racing community. He competed in NASCAR for over 50 years, having one of the longest careers in the sport. Shepherd became the second-oldest race winner in 1993, when he won the spring race at Atlanta at the age of 51 years, 4 months, and 27 days. He holds the record for oldest driver to start a race in NASCAR's top three series at age 77, as well as oldest starter in the NASCAR Cup Series race at the 2014 Camping World RV Sales 301 at age 72.

Edward Kirk Shelmerdine V is an American stock car racing driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt.

Floyd Anthony Raines is a retired American professional stock car racing driver. He is a former National Touring Series champion in the now defunct American Speed Association and 1999 Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He most recently was the spotter for the #42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Matt Kenseth.

Morgan–McClure Motorsports was an American auto racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series full-time until 2007. It operated for 28 years, starting in 1983 and ending in 2012. The team was most notable for running the No. 4 from 1983 to 2010. The team notably won the Daytona 500 three times during the 1990s. They won with Ernie Irvan in 1991, then won back-to-back in 1994–1995 with Sterling Marlin. Irvan (1992) and Marlin (1996) also each won the Pepsi 400 for a total of five points-paying wins at Daytona for the team over a six-year period.

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.

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 partnership with Jimmy Means and restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, with Jenkins becoming the full team owner in 2005. In the Cup Series, FRM currently fields two Ford Mustang GT teams full-time: The No. 34 for Michael McDowell and the No. 38 for Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith. It also fields the No. 36 part-time for Zane Smith, Todd Gilliland, and Riley Herbst. In the Truck Series, they field the No. 38 Ford F-150 for Zane Smith.

Jimmy Means Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, fielding the No. 52 Chevrolet Camaro part-time for Harrison Rhodes, Gar Robinson, and Brennan Poole. It is owned by former driver Jimmy Means, who was the team's primary driver upon the team's founding in 1978 as a Winston Cup team known as Means Racing.

John Carter Racing was a NASCAR Sprint Cup team. It was owned by John Carter. Roger Craven and Dale Davis previously were co-owners of the team.

Premium Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team last fielded the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 LE full-time for Brennan Poole, and the No. 27 Camaro part-time for Reed Sorenson.

Phil Barkdoll is a former NASCAR owner/driver from Phoenix, Arizona, who only ran at two tracks in his entire career, racing at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.

Phoenix Racing is a motorsports team that currently competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series East fielding the No. 1 Toyota Camry and various Super Late Model events fielding the No. 51 Chevrolet SS for Jake Finch. Owned by Florida businessman James Finch, the team fielded NASCAR entries across the top three series from 1989 through 2013. The team fielded a wide variety of drivers and often changed manufacturers, though it often maintained a relationship with Hendrick Motorsports. In the Cup Series, Phoenix Racing was victorious just once in 251 starts over 24 seasons.

Key Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded by Virginia businessman Curtis Key. The team is operated out of Mooresville, North Carolina. The team formerly competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In 2017, longtime team owner Joe Falk joined TMG, bringing his charter and No. 33 to the team, allowing the team to successfully make every race during the season. In December 2017, Circle Sport and TMG parted ways.

NEMCO Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team is owned by driver Joe Nemechek and his family. NEMCO Motorsports has had success, winning the 1992 Busch Series Championship. The team previously competed in both Cup and Xfinity Series competition. NEMCO currently competes in late models.

Keselowski Motorsports, formerly known as K-Automotive Racing and Brian Keselowski Motorsports, was a stock car racing team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. K-Automotive previously raced in ARCA and the Nationwide Series. K-Automotive is owned and operated by Bob, Brian and Kay Keselowski. Brian Keselowski Motorsports is owned and operated by Brian Keselowski.

JD Motorsports, is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It is owned and operated by Johnny Davis. It currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro SS teams: The No. 4 for Garrett Smithley and Kyle Weatherman, and the No. 6 for Brennan Poole. The team purchases engines from Clements Racing Engines. Jeremy Clements drove for JD Motorsports in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stavola Brothers Racing</span> American auto racing organization

Stavola Brothers Racing was a NASCAR racing team, owned by Bill and Mickey Stavola, and operating NASCAR Winston Cup team from 1984 through 1998. The team won the 1988 Daytona 500 with Bobby Allison behind the wheel of the No. 12 Miller High Life Buick. Other victories include the 1987 Pepsi 400 with Allison, and the 1986 Talladega 500 with Bobby Hillin Jr.

BK Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that fielded entries in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series from 2012 to 2018. It most recently fielded the No. 23 Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion for J. J. Yeley, Gray Gaulding, and other drivers. In 2018, the team was involved in a court case involving team owner Ron Devine and Union Bank & Trust Company over outstanding loans. In August of that year, after being turned over to a trustee who oversaw the team's operations, BK Racing was liquidated, with the assets going to Front Row Motorsports. However, BK Racing still fielded a car until the end of the 2018 season, with help from Front Row Motorsports and NY Racing Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Subway 400</span> Motor car race

The 2004 Subway 400 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on February 22, 2004, at North Carolina Speedway in Richmond County, North Carolina. The race was the second of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season.

Beard Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 62 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Austin Hill. The team was created in 2009 by Mark Beard for competition in the ARCA Menards Series. Beard Motorsports attempted two races in the Cup Series in 2014, with driver Clay Rogers, making none. After going dormant in 2015 and 2016, the team returned part-time in 2017 with Brendan Gaughan.

Mike Affarano Motorsports with Roger Carter is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, fielding the No. TBA Chevrolet Silverado for TBA, and previously with Jake Griffin, John Provenzano, Tim Viens, and team owner Mike Affarano. The team has also competed in the ARCA Menards Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the past. They also field a Pro Cup Series team for Emily Cook and in go-karts with Affarano's twin sons Kyle and Zach.

References

External links

↑ 2004 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 - Jeff Gordon Crash, archived from the original on 2021-12-19, retrieved 2021-06-15
↑ "Gordon questions 'field filler' role after shunt". Crash. 2004-03-23. Retrieved 2021-06-15.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[unknown-3] 1 2 3 4 5 unknown

[1] 2004 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 - Jeff Gordon Crash, archived from the original on 2021-12-19, retrieved 2021-06-15

[2] "Gordon questions 'field filler' role after shunt". Crash. 2004-03-23. Retrieved 2021-06-15.

[1]

[2]

[N 1]