 | |
| Owner(s) | Archie St. Hilaire |
|---|---|
| Base | Mooresville, North Carolina |
| Series | NASCAR Cup Series |
| Manufacturer | Ford |
| Opened | 2011 |
| Closed | 2020 |
| Career | |
| Debut | 2011Daytona 500 (Daytona) |
| Latest race | 2020Season Finale 500 (Phoenix) |
| Races competed | 409 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
Go Fas Racing (doing business asCircle Sport-Go Fas Racing LLC, and often stylized asGo FAS Racing) is an American professionalstock car racing team that competes in theASA STARS National Tour,[1] and formerly in theNASCAR Cup Series. Founded by long-time crew chiefFrank Allen Stoddard asFAS Lane Racing, it merged with Archie St. Hilaire'sGo Green Racing in 2014. The team's last NASCAR Cup Series entry was the No. 32Ford Mustang GT forCorey LaJoie. As of 2024, they compete in big late model events around the country with drivers Caden Kvapil and Brandon Barker,[2] as well as sponsoring the ASA STARS National Tour's Go FAS Racing Pole Award.[3]
FAS Lane Racing was established in 2011 when Stoddard's old team,Latitude 43 Motorsports, closed its doors. Stoddard then formed his own team with the remaining crew members, purchasing cars and equipment fromMark Simo andBoris Said'sNo Fear Racing as well as fromRichard Petty Motorsports,Roush Fenway Racing and his old Latitude 43 team.[4] FAS represents Stoddard's initials (Francis Allen Stoddard), and Stoddard chose the number 32 in tribute to his racing mentor Stub Fadden, who was aBusch North Series racer from New England.[4][5]
In 2014, after a few years of struggling with team ownership, Stoddard merged the team with Archie St. Hilaire's Go Green Racing, forming Go Fas Racing. By 2017, the primary team owner was St. Hilaire with Stoddard as the team consultant and Mason St. Hilaire as the general manager.
In 2018, the team partnered withCircle Sport ownerJoe Falk to use his charter on the #32, while the charter used on that car for the prior two seasons being sent toWood Brothers Racing in a partnership with Go FAS.
On October 22, 2020, majority owner Archie St. Hilaire and team manager Mason St. Hilaire announced that they had sold their stake in GFR's charter to an undisclosed buyer, later revealed to beB. J. McLeod andMatt Tifft forLive Fast Motorsports. They also announced that GFR would exit full-time competition at the end of 2020 and run only a handful of Cup races in 2021.[6] However, the team closed up shop soon afterwards, after not securing the sponsorship for more races.
With Stoddard serving as both owner and crew chief, the team began with Cup ChampionTerry Labonte at Daytona 500, finishing a solid 15th.[5] VeteranMike Skinner would run the next two races.[4] AfterKen Schrader finished 33rd at Auto Club, the team became locked into the Top 35 in owner points despite failing to make Bristol with Schrader. Schrader also drove the car to a 22nd-place finish at Martinsville. The team also ran the full race at Texas withBig Red and finished 33rd. Talladega saw a change where they brought back Terry Labonte and Texas-based company C&J Energy as the sponsor. They were upfront a couple of laps withJ. J. Yeley drafting with them, but the engine let go to a 34th-place finish. The team has had multiple sponsors including VA Mortgage Centers, U.S. Chrome andBig Red. FAS Lane Racing also gave 2 drivers their Sprint Cup debuts this year.Jason White was one. White ran the No. 32GunBroker.com Ford atPocono Raceway. He started 41st and finished 33rd.Andrew Ranger was the other. Ranger, the young Canadian from Quebec is a formerNASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion. His debut came atWatkins Glen International in theBully Hill Vineyards Ford where he started and finished 35th. His debut was cut short about 15 laps early with transmission failures. The team finished 34th in owners' points, guaranteeing the team a start in the first five races of 2012; the team later sold the owner's points toMichael Waltrip Racing in 2012 to allowMark Martin to compete in the Daytona 500, with Labonte taking advantage of the past champion's provisional.
For 2012, FAS Lane Racing ran full-time in 2012 withTerry Labonte running 4 races with C&J Energy as the sponsor,Mike Bliss running 7 races withU.S. Chrome andAir National Guard as the sponsors,Ken Schrader running in 9 races with Federated Auto Parts as the sponsor,Boris Said running in 2 races,Reed Sorenson in select races, and other select drivers and sponsors for the remaining 13 races. After the Daytona 500, FAS Lane acquired the points from the No. 6Roush Fenway Racing team.Ken Schrader drove in at least 9 2012 races with sponsorship from Federated Auto Parts. Also,Boris Said ran the No. 32HendrickCars.com car at Sonoma and Watkins Glen.Jason White,Timmy Hill,T. J. Bell, and two-timeK&N Pro Series East championMike Olsen also raced in the No. 32.
FAS Lane Racing used a variety of drivers for 2013, with Schrader, Hill, Said, and Labonte racing. On January 30, 2013, Hill declared his intention to run againstDanica Patrick andRicky Stenhouse Jr. forSprint Cup Rookie of the Year honors.
The team had announced in March a 24-race sponsor for 2013, beginning at Bristol with Terry Labonte; this also included the full 2014 and 2015 seasons.[7] However, OXY Water was being investigated by theIRS for intending to deceive their investors by misappropriating over $2 million in invested funds. The company was forced to file bankruptcy, costing investors over $9 million.,[8] and did not appear as a primary sponsor after Indianapolis.
In December 2013, fellow Ford teamGo Green Racing and FAS Lane Racing merged in 2014, thus creating Go Fas Racing.[9] The team continued to operate out of the FAS Lane Racing shop. Terry Labonte ran the2014 Daytona 500, and the other super speedway events in his final season, with Said running the road courses, and Kvapil running the balance of the schedule.[10]Blake Koch was later placed in the 32 for the Sprint Showdown, theCoca-Cola 600 andDover.[11]K&N Pro Series East driverEddie MacDonald was hired to run the No. 32 atLoudon.[12]J. J. Yeley also ran a number of races in the 32.Joey Gase made his debut with the team at Chicagoland.[13]Kyle Fowler made also made his Cup debut with the team, this time at Martinsville.[14]
With Terry Labonte, Go Fas Racing had its best team finish, 11th at the rain-shortened2014 Coke Zero 400. The same year, Terry announced his retirement from NASCAR. His last race was the2014 GEICO 500 at Talladega, where the sides of the 32 were painted similar to theKellogg'sCorn Flakes car he drove to the 1996 championship season, while the roof was painted to replicate the car Labonte debuted in the series in 1978. The 32 originally had the right side painted in thePiedmont Airlines colors he used in his 1984 championship season, but NASCAR would not allow it because the left and right sides must be identical.[15]
For the 2015 season, Terry's brother and 2000 ChampionBobby Labonte ran the four superspeedway events, also with C&J Energy Services, andBoris Said returned for the two road courses, with the remainder of the lineup to be determined. Go Fas planned to useMike Bliss as the primary driver for the rest of the schedule, although a variety of drivers will run the car like in prior seasons.
At Las Vegas, Bliss would suffer the first DNQ for the team since 2011. He went on to DNQ a few weeks later at Charlotte. His last race for the team was at Michigan in June. His best finish with Go Fas Racing was 31st, twice.
Joey Gase was in the car for four races, failing to make Texas in November,Will Kimmel ran at Kentucky and Kansas, Travis Kvapil returning for the two Pocono races and Eddie MacDonald in Loudon.Josh Wise attempted the race at Indianapolis, but did not qualify. Despite this, and due to a prior association with Go Green Racing in the Xfinity Series, he was brought back for a three-race stretch beginning at Michigan. A few weeks later at Darlington, Wise failed to qualify again. Wise attempted four more races after this, including a DNQ at Charlotte.Jeffrey Earnhardt made his Sprint Cup debut at Richmond, running the full race and finishing 40th, 13 laps behind the leaders. He returned at New Hampshire two weeks later. Fowler would return at Martinsville. The team would finish 42nd in the owner points, down noticeably from their 38th place showing the year before; they were the highest-ranked full-time team to trail the part-timeNo. 21 by season's end.
For 2016, Earnhardt and Labonte plan to split the ride. Earnhardt will run the majority of the season for Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year honors, while Labonte will run the restrictor-plate races. The team is also one of the 36 "charter" teams, thus unlike in 2015, the team will make every race.
After Labonte and Earnhardt split driving the No. 32 in the first 4 races. Gase returned to the No. 32 for theGood Sam 500.[16] On April 22, the team announced that former CART series competitor and road course ringer,Patrick Carpentier would drive for the team at Sonoma and Indianapolis.[17] In June, the team hiredJeb Burton to drive at Pocono.[18]Eddie MacDonald drove 1 single race at New Hampshire andBoris Said made his first Cup series start for the season at theCheez-It 355 at The Glen inNew York.Dylan Lupton joined the team late to drive the No. 32 at Homestead.
After the season ended, it was announced that Earnhardt, Labonte, Gase, Burton, MacDonald, Carpentier, Lupton, and Said will not return to Go Fas Racing in 2017, with the team planning to have one single driver in the 32 in 2017. The driver was announced to beMatt DiBenedetto on December 15.[19] Go Fas Racing also announced soon afterward that they would loan their charter toWood Brothers Racing's No. 21 driven byRyan Blaney, as they had purchased the No. 44 team owned byRichard Petty Motorsports, including the No. 44 charter.
Go Fas Racing picked up their first top ten at the2017 Daytona 500 with a 9th-place finish by DiBenedetto. This was bettered with an 8th-place finish at the2017 Brickyard 400, as they were able to avoid being in any of the race's record 14 cautions. DiBenedetto finished a then-career-best 32nd in points while Go Fas went from a bottom 5 team to a mid-pack team while concentrating on one driver the whole year.
In January 2018, it was announced that Go Fas Racing would sell its charter to the Wood Brothers, in exchange for manufacturer support. Under NASCAR rules, Go Fas was still listed as an owner of the charter. At the same time, Go Fas Racing partnered withCircle Sport to field the No. 32 Ford with the No. 33 charter. DiBenedetto and Go Fas renewed and started with crew chief Gene Nead for 2 races before Go Fas Racing and Nead mutually parted ways. Randy Cox is now the crew chief for the 32 team starting at the2018 Pennzoil 400.[20] On June 24, at the2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350 DiBenedetto picked up a 17th-place finish for Go Fas Racing making it the team's highest finish ever at a road course. Two weeks later on July 7, at the2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Go Fas Racing bettered their previous best with a 7th-place finish.
On September 7, 2018, DiBenedetto announced his intentions to leave the team concluding the 2018 season, eventually announcing a deal to drive forLeavine Family Racing in 2019.
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In December 2018, it was reported thatCorey LaJoie would be joining Go Fas Racing in the 2019 season.[21] Finally on December 20, 2018, it was announced that he would be their full-time driver along with new sponsor Schluter Systems. It was also announced that Go Fas Racing would be partnering withTeam Penske to use one of their pit crews.[22] It was also announced that longtime sponsor of GFR,Can-Am would also depart the team, thus leaving a bunch of scheduled races unsponsored.
For the2019 Daytona 500, Go Fas Racing made headlines by placing a picture of LaJoie's face on the No. 32 car as part ofOld Spice's sponsorship. LaJoie finished 18th after blowing a right-front tire just 20 laps into the race.[23][24]
Statistically speaking, LaJoie has been Go Fas Racing's greatest driver in the team's history, having picked up numerous top-twenty finishes, top-15 finishes, plus a top-ten, in over 20 starts. On August 21, 2020, it was confirmed that Corey LaJoie would not be returning to the No. 32 car in 2021.
It was announced on October 21, 2020 that the team will be reducing to a part-time schedule starting in 2021, with St. Hilaire anticipating that the team will run in 5-6 races in the upcoming season. St. Hilaire, in defending his decision to move to a part-time schedule, said that his family was expecting a grand-baby, and longtime manager Mason St. Hilaire was moving on to a different industry. St. Hilaire sold his share of the Go Fas Racing charter toB. J. McLeod andMatt Tifft, who would use it in 2021 for a full-time operation withJoe Falk asLive Fast Motorsports.
After not running a single race for the first 35 races of 2021, it was confirmed in an interview withB. J. McLeod that the team has since ceased operations.[25]
| |
| Owner(s) | Archie St. Hilaire Alain Lord Munir |
|---|---|
| Series | NASCAR Whelen Euro Series |
| Race drivers | Jacques Villeneuve (Elite 1), Florian Venturi (Elite 2) |
| Sponsors | Cyclops Gear, HD Müz |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet |
| Opened | 2018 |
| Closed | 2019 |
| Career | |
| Races competed | 24 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 2 |
| Pole positions | 1 |
Go Fas Racing debuted a newNASCAR Whelen Euro Series team in 2018. WithRomain Iannetta in the No. 32 Elite 1, and Florian Venturi in the Elite 2FordMustang. After scoring 2 wins and a pole in Go Fas' first season in the Euro Series, it was announced they would be coming back withJacques Villeneuve behind the wheel of the No. 32 Elite 1, while Florian Venturi stays as the team's Elite 2 driver for 2019.[26]
| NASCAR Whelen Euro Series – Elite 1 results | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Driver | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | NWES | Pts | |||
| 2018 | Romain Iannetta | 32 | Ford | VAL 12 | VAL 6 | FRA 26 | FRA 27 | BRH 20 | BRH 9 | TOU 16 | TOU 3 | HOC 12 | HOC 23 | ZOL 22 | ZOL 11 | 10th | 347 | |||
| NASCAR Whelen Euro Series - Elite 2 results | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Driver | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | NWES | Pts | |||
| 2018 | Florian Venturi | 32 | Ford | VAL 3 | VAL 3 | FRA 17 | FRA 25 | BRH 3 | BRH 1* | TOU 4 | TOU 17 | HOC 5 | HOC 3 | ZOL 1* | ZOL 2 | 2nd | 497 | |||
| |
| Owner(s) | Archie St. Hilaire Alain Lord Mounir |
|---|---|
| Series | NASCAR Pinty's Series |
| Race drivers | Alex Labbé |
| Manufacturer | Ford |
| Opened | 2016 |
| Closed | 2017 |
| Career | |
| Debut | Clarington 200 (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) |
| Latest race | Pinty's Fall Brawl 200 |
| Races competed | 25 |
| Drivers' Championships | 1 |
| Race victories | 6 |
| Pole positions | 4 |
Go Fas Racing Canada is a Canadian racing team in the NASCAR Pinty's Series that debuted in 2016. Founded by venture capitalist Alain Lord Mounir, Go Fas Racing Canada ran under the supervision of Dave Jacombs with the #32 driven by Alex Labbé. After the 2017 season ended, the team closed as Labbé moved to theNASCAR Xfinity Series to drive forDGM Racing.
| Year | Driver | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Alex Labbé | 32 | Ford | MSP 5 | SSS 15 | ACD 1* | ICAR 2 | TOR 12 | EIR 7 | SAS 3 | CTR 4 | RIS 12 | MSP 23 | ASE 9 | KWA 3 | 7th | 423 | |
| 2017 | MOS 5 | DEL 1 | CHA 2 | ICA 4 | TOR 4 | WYA 1* | WYA 3 | EDM 1* | TRO 5 | RIV 1 | MOS 6 | STE 1* | JUK 20 | 1st | 542 |
The offseason merger of Archie St. Hilaire-owned Go Green Racing with the Frank Stoddard-owned FAS Lane Racing operation yielded a new venture with a suitable amalgam of a name -- Go FAS Racing.