Owner(s) | Bryan Smith |
---|---|
Base | Statesville, North Carolina |
Series | Monster Energy Cup Series Xfinity Series |
Drivers | Monster Energy Cup Series #72 - Cole Whitt Xfinity Series #14 - J.J. Yeley #44 - Benny Gordon |
Sponsors | Monster Energy Cup Series #72 - RTIC Coolers Xfinity Series #14 - Superior Essex #44 - Florida Lottery |
Manufacturer | Chevrolet (Cup) Ford (Cup) Toyota (Xfinity) |
Career | |
Debut | 1989 |
Championships | 0 |
TriStar Motorsports is a racing team that competes in the Monster Energy Cup Series and Xfinity Series. In the Cup Series, the team fields the #72 RTIC Coolers Chevrolet/Ford full-time driven by Cole Whitt. In the Xfinity Series, the team fields the #14 Superior Essex Toyota full-time driven by J.J. Yeley, and the #44 Florida Lottery Toyota part-time driven by Benny Gordon.
The team is perhaps best recognized for fielding the #68 Country Time Lemonade Oldsmobiles and Fords driven by Bobby Hamilton during the 1991, 1992 and the start of the 1993 season.
It also fielded the #19 Hooters car driven by rookie Loy Allen Jr. during an 1994 season, making 19 of 31 races. Allen grabbed the pole for the 1994 Daytona 500 and did the same thing for the fourth race on the schedule at Atlanta but the team's resources were slim and results fell as the year waned on. The team qualified for just 19 races, and did not qualify (DNQ) for others such as the inaugural Brickyard 400.
The team never entered more than a dozen races in a season after that, fielding its last entry in 1996. In the 1996 season, the team made it for nine races, including the season opening Daytona 500 and the season-ending Atlanta race.
The team returned in 2010 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, fielding 3 cars for multiple drivers.