Fitz Motorsports
aka FitzBradshaw Racing, Highline Performance Group, Trail Motorsport

Owner(s)	Armando Fitz,Mimi FitzTerry Bradshaw,Art Shelton,Patrick Shelton
Base	Mooresville,North Carolina
Series	Winston Cup Series,Nationwide Series
Race drivers	Kerry Earnhardt,Tim Fedewa,Casey Atwood,David Stremme,Mike Bliss
Manufacturer	Dodge,Chevrolet
Opened	2001
Closed	2009
Career
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	0

Trail Motorsports (formerlyHighLine Performance Group,FitzBradshaw Racing andFitz Motorsports) was aNASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, nearCharlotte. The team was owned by Armando Fitz and Art Shelton, and was previously co-owned by Fitz's former wife Mimi. The team was known as the HighLine Performance Group until the end of the 2001 season, when they teamed up withTerry Bradshaw and formally created FitzBradshaw Racing. At the end of the2004 season FBR announced that it was partnering withChip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, which gave them access to more technical and engineering support. In addition to that partnership they also switched manufacturers fromChevrolet toDodge. The team also formed a partnership withMichael Waltrip Racing for the 2006 season. Bradshaw left the organization at the end of the 2006 season. The team changed its name to Trail Motorsports in early 2009 after Shelton came on board. The team fielded the No. 22Dodge Charger forJohnny Borneman III in the NASCARNationwide Series, the No. 32Chevrolet Silverado forChase Austin in the NASCARCamping World Truck Series, and the No. 58Chevrolet Impala driven byJarit Johnson, younger brother of seven-timeSprint Cup championJimmie Johnson, in theCamping World East Series.

While the team was called FitzBradshaw, Trail briefly ran a Cup operation in2002 withKerry Earnhardt driving No. 83RacingUSA.com/Aaron's Chevrolet.^[1][2][3] The car was fielded with support fromDale Earnhardt, Inc.^[2][4] The team had planned to run full-time in Cup by 2004.^[1][5] Earnhardt failed in each of his attempts, due to rain cancelling qualifying at all three events.^[3][6]Ron Hornaday Jr. qualified for that year'sChecker Auto Parts 500, finishing 36th.^[7] Earnhardt attempted three more races in 2003 with sponsorship from Aaron's,Supercuts, andHot Tamales, but also failed to qualify.^[3][8][9]

Armando Fitz's team started as a two-car operation during the2001 season. He and his wife, Mimi, purchased the team fromTeam SABCO, owned by his father-in-law and currentSprint Cup Series co-ownerFelix Sabates at the end of the 2000 season.^[10][11] The team, then known as the HighLine Performance Group ran the No. 8 Chevrolet and No. 11 Chevrolet.Blaise Alexander began the season in the No. 8 car, but after four races, the team cut back to a part-time schedule.Frank Kimmel,Jeff Falk,Michael Dokken,Jason Rudd, Mario Hernandez,Mark Voigt, andJosh Richeson all shared time in the car over the season, with the No. 8 team finishing 42nd in owner's points.Marty Houston drove the newly renumbered No. 11 car at the beginning of the year,^[12] his best finish being a 13th at theNAPA Auto Parts 300, but he was replaced byRon Hornaday Jr. after theOutback Steakhouse 300. Hornaday had two top-tens but was released before the season was over, and was replaced byTodd Bodine who had one top-five in three races at the end of the season.^[12][13]Andy Santerre andTim Fedewa also ran races in the car.^[12][13] The No. 11 car ended 21st in owner points, with Bodine finishing 29th in points.^[12][13]

In2002, the newly formed FitzBradshaw Racing signedSupercuts,10-10-220,Hot Tamales, andJani-King as sponsors andKerry Earnhardt as the driver of the team's No. 12 Chevrolet. The team also formed a technical alliance withDale Earnhardt, Inc., receiving engines and engineering support from DEI.^{[12][13][14][15]} Earnhardt had two top-fives and finished 22nd in points. Earnhardt did not have a top-ten finish in2003, and was released after theTropicana Twister 300.^{[6][16][17][18]}Tim Fedewa, who had been Earnhardt's spotter since 2002, and crew chief for a single race, replaced him for the balance of the season.^[8][17][19] Fedewa finished in the top-20 eight times. Fedewa had five top-tens in 2004, and finished sixteenth in points. Fedewa struggled in2005, and did not finish in the top-ten, causing him to be released afterPikes Peak.^[20]Joel Kauffman,Paul Wolfe,Carlos Contreras,Kertus Davis,Sterling Marlin, andSteadman Marlin all shared the ride for the rest of the season. In2006, the No. 12 car has seen several different drivers through the first 25 races of the season.Joel Kauffman was slated to run the full schedule for the team this year, however after struggling the team scaled back his schedule.David Reutimann ran the car atDaytona because Kauffman had not received approval for superspeedway racing.Tracy Hines andMike Skinner drove the car in multiple races. For the 2007 season, Fitz Motorsports switched to the No. 22 and signed David Stremme and Mike Bliss as their principal drivers. Both drivers had great success in the No. 22, with Bliss scoring the team's best finish of second atMemphis. When the team came toMontreal for the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 200, the team - in a last-second decision - placed Canadian CART regularPatrick Carpentier in the car. Carpentier won the pole position for the race and charged from 6th with less than 2 laps to go to finish second toKevin Harvick.

Bliss returned in 2008 to drive full-time, but left forPhoenix Racing after six races, and was replaced by various Cup drivers including Robby Gordon and Reed Sorenson.Michael Waltrip Racing development driverJosh Wise became the new driver for thirteen races with one top-five finish. Of note, Fitz switched temporarily to Toyota during Wise's runs with the team. A wide variety of drivers includingex-Champ Car driverAndrew Ranger,2008 Daytona 500 winnerRyan Newman,Jarit Johnson, andJoe Gibbs Racingdevelopment driverMarc Davis, took over for the rest of the season. This team shut down in early 2009.

The team expanded to two cars in 2003 halfway through the season as theUnited States Navy came aboard to sponsor the No. 14 for nine races.^[5][21][22]Casey Atwood debuted the car atKentucky Speedway, bringing it home in 9th place. Atwood ran 11 races that year, posting four top-ten finishes. Atwood came back in 2004, and had seven top-tens, when he was dismissed afterLowe's.^[23] His immediate replacement wasDave Blaney for one race,^[23] withBraun Racing'sDavid Stremme named as his permanent replacement. As part of the arrangement to bring Stremme to the team, FitzBradshaw agreed to align themselves withChip Ganassi Racing, who had him under contract as part of a driver development deal. This would allow the team to finish the season as a Chevrolet team, but beginning the next year both the No. 12 and the No. 14 would switch to Dodge as Ganassi's team was fielding the vehicles at the time.

Stremme ran the No. 14 full-time in 2005, and had ten top-tens, finishing 13th in points, before moving up to compete in theNEXTEL Cup series.Tracy Hines was hired to run in the No. 14 Dodge for the 2006 season, however sponsorship issues forced the team to compete on a limited basis.Steadman Marlin competed for the team in two races andA. J. Foyt IV competed in one race for the team. It was announced in July 2006 thatFamily Dollar would sponsor the car for nine races and the team would featureRicky Craven,Carlos Contreras, andMike Skinner as drivers. Fitz Motorsports changed the car number to No. 44 for 2007 andRubén Pardo qualified for the team's first race at theTelcel-Motorola México 200, followed up by another start atNashville Superspeedway.Mike Bliss also drove the No. 44 withFamily Dollar sponsorship atLowe's Motor Speedway in May 2007. For 2008,Kenny Wallace was signed to drive the No. 36 with sponsorship fromShark Energy Drink. Although Wallace missed the season opener at Daytona, he ran all following races until owner Armando Fitz announced on March 17 that the No. 36 team would only run part-time due to a lack of product distribution, and the owner points of the 36 were switched the No. 28 of Wallace's new team. The No. 36 began running part-time with Pardo andCharles Lewandoski driving midway through the season.

The third FitzBradshaw car made its debut in 2003, withJimmy Spencer driving the No. 82Jani-King Chevrolet atTexas, finishing sixth.^[3]Casey Atwood attempted theCharlotte spring race in the No. 82NAVY Chevrolet,^[21][22] failing to qualify. Atwood later drove the car at the Tropicana Twister 300 sponsored by Jani-King, finishing 21st.^[18]Randy LaJoie drove the car again at Phoenix, finishing 14th. LaJoie continued to run the car part-time in 2004 with sponsorship from Jani-King andGoulds Pumps, his best finish being 13th atLas Vegas.^[24]Dave Blaney also ran two races in the car.^[23]

In 2005, the team became a driver development team forChip Ganassi Racing, and switched to Ganassi's No. 40 with sponsorship fromJani-King andCottman Transmission.^[10][11][25]Sterling Marlin began the season with the team, withCarlos Contreras and Ganassi development driverScott Lagasse Jr. filling in. Towards the end of the season, Contreras,Paul Wolfe, andErin Crocker got majority of the starts in the car.Reed Sorenson ran theAaron's 312 at Atlanta in March in the car after the transmission on his regular No. 41Discount Tire car mysteriously locked up during qualifying for the race.^[26] For 2006,Michael Waltrip purchased the team's owners points and began a partnership with FBR to run the No. 99Aaron's Dodge.

In addition to the Busch Series, Fitz Motorsports operated race teams in other series as well. In 2007, they fielded entries in the NASCARBusch East Series with Ruben Pardo as the team's driver, withPierre Bourque racing on a part-time basis, and theNASCAR Mexico Series, whereCarlos Pardo drove the team'sFitzContreras Racing entry, along with development driverMaxime Dumarey.

In 2007, the team partnered withHyper Sport to race in theGrand-Am Road Racing series.

Ruben Pardo raced in 2008 in the East Series for Fitz. For 2009, formerRusty Wallace Racing driverChase Austin was to drive the No. 32 Chevrolet in theCamping World Truck Series andJarit Johnson, younger brother of seven timeSprint Cup championJimmie Johnson, was to drive in theCamping World East Series. However, the team shut down before their plans could come to fruition.

• Trail Motorsports Homepage
• Armando Fitz - NASCAR Owner
• Fitz Contreras Vazquez racing team Official Website
• Trail Motorsport owner statistics at Racing-Reference
• Trail Motorsport owner statistics at Racing-Reference (Terry Bradshaw)

• American auto racing teams
• 2001 establishments in North Carolina
• Companies disestablished in 2009
• Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina
• Defunct NASCAR teams
• Defunct sports clubs and teams in North Carolina
• 2009 disestablishments in North Carolina
• Companies established in 2001

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from October 2020