King Racing was the name of famed NHRA Champion Kenny Bernstein's NASCAR Winston Cup team that operated from 1986 through 1995.
Bernstein began his stock car racing team after seeing fellow NHRA champion Raymond Beadle find success with his Blue Max Racing team. After purchasing the assets of Bobby Hawkins' team, Bernstein used his connections with Buick and Quaker State to provide funding for Larry McReynolds to form a team. After failing to attract a top crew chief, Bernstein asked McReynolds to be the crew chief, and they competed in 1986 with Joe Ruttman as their driver of the #26 Buick. Ruttman would earn 5 Top-5 and 14 Top-10 finishes, leading 55 laps, but fail to finish 9 events. The team would finish 15th in the final standings.
In 1987, Morgan Shepherd would drive for the team, earning their first Pole at Martinsville, 7 Top-5s and 11 Top-10s with 164 laps led, but would fail to finish 13 races, including 6 engine failures. Shepherd would finish 17th in the final standings.
In 1988, Ricky Rudd began his stint with the team, and the team scored its first win at the Budweiser At The Glen. Rudd ran well in many races, and led late into the race at Martinsville and Phoenix, but engine troubles plagued the team, with 11 DNFs due to engine failures and only 1 DNF due to a crash. Rudd would finish 11th in the final standings, with 1 win, 6 Top-5s, 11 Top-10s, and 2 poles (at Martinsville and Riverside).
Between 1988 and 1989, the team moved to a new shop in Charlotte, in order to attract better talent for the team, most notably a new engine builder who resolved their engine troubles. In 1989, Rudd returned, and after a rough start to the season due to the move, the team began to run well. Rudd would win the Banquet Frozen Foods 300 at Sears Point, and improved consistency allowed the team to compete in the Top 10 in points throughout the season. Rudd would finish 8th in points, with 1 win, 7 Top-5s, 15 Top-10s, and only 5 DNFs.
Rudd would leave King Racing after 1989 to race for Hendrick Motorsports, and King Racing hired Brett Bodine to drive the #26 in 1990. Bodine would win a controversial race at North Wilkesboro, and 1 pole for the team at Charlotte, but would not improve on Rudd's performance in 1989. Bodine would finish the season with 1 win, 5 Top-5s, 9 Top-10s and 1 pole, with 5 DNFs, and place 12th in points.
In 1991, Bodine returned to the team, however crew chief Larry McReynolds would leave after the fourth race of the season to join Robert Yates Racing and Davey Allison. Clyde Booth would take over crew chief duties for the team, but performance slipped. Bodine failed to win in 1991, and only had 2 Top-5s and 6 Top-10s. Mechanical issues plagued the team, with 10 out of 13 DNFs due to issues with the engine. Bodine finished 19th in points. Following Buick's decision to leave NASCAR after 1991, King Racing would switch to Ford for 1992.
In 1992, Bodine and the team was more consistent, with new crew chief Donnie Richeson. Bodine would once again fail to win, and would fail to improve on Top 5 finishes, but would finish with 13 Top-10s and only 4 DNFs, and would earn the team's best ever average starting position. Bodine would finish 15th in points.
In 1993, the teams performance slipped further, with Bodine failing to win once again and earning only 3 Top-5s and 9 Top-10s. They earned two poles at North Wilkesboro and Michigan, but would finish 20th in points. The team regressed in 1994 with Bodine failing to win and only earning 1 Top-5 and 6 Top-10s en route to a 19th place finish in points. Following the 1994 season, Bodine left for Junior Johnson's #11 team.
In 1995, Steve Kinser was hired to compete for Rookie of the Year honors. However, with 3 finishes of 40th or worse in the first 5 races, followed by 2 failures to qualify at Bristol and North Wilkesboro, Kinser was released and replaced with Hut Stricklin. Stricklin would help to stablize the team, earning 2 Top-5s and 5 Top-10s, but would have 9 DNFs and finish 36th in drivers standings for the season. At the conclusion of 1995, King Racing would shut down its Cup Series team and sell its equipment. Bernstein remained in NHRA competition and continued to achieve success.
In the early 1990s King Racing ran a Champ Car team. The team scored a pole position at the 1992 Indianapolis 500 with Roberto Guerrero driving.