MB2 Motorsports was aNASCAR Cup Series team based inMooresville, North Carolina, near the sport's hub inCharlotte. The team was founded by Read Morton, Tom Beard, and Nelson Bowers, from which the original team name derived. Bowers was the longest tenured of the original owners, and the listed owner of the teams' entries when resort and real-estate developer Bobby Ginn bought out the team (with his family having 80% ownership; longtime team director Jay Frye owned the remaining 20% of the rebranded team)^[1][2] in 2007, renaming it toGinn Racing for that season only.^[1][2] TheValvoline corporation co-owned the No. 10 (later the No. 14) car with the principal owners from 2001 to 2005 asMBV Motorsports, while the No. 36 entry (later the No. 13) was co-owned by Centrix Financial, LLC owner Robert Sutton asMB Sutton Motorsports in 2005.

Throughout the existence of the team in both MB2 Motorsports and Ginn Racing iterations, the organization ran General Motors brands.

Derrike Cope (1997)

The No. 01 car started out as the No. 36Pontiac in 1997 with sponsorship fromM&M-Mars through itsSkittles candy brand, and driverDerrike Cope.^[3] Cope finished 27th in the final point standings.

Ernie Irvan (1998–1999)

Veteran driverErnie Irvan took over from Cope in 1998. The season was highlighted by Irvan's pole win at theBrickyard 400.M&M's replaced Skittles as the team's sponsor in 1999. Irvan retired from racing in September following a crash atMichigan International Speedway.Dick Trickle temporarily replaced Irvan before the driving chores were permanently turned over to journeymanJerry Nadeau.

Ken Schrader (2000–2002)

Nadeau left MB2 due to a prior commitment to drive forHendrick Motorsports, and MB2 signed four-time winnerKen Schrader to fill the seat. Schrader drove the No. 36 for three seasons before leaving forBAM Racing.

Jerry Nadeau (2003)

In 2003, theUnited States Army replaced M&M's as the team's sponsor. The car number was switched from 36 to 01 to support the Army's slogan, "An Army of One." Nadeau returned to MB2 as the driver of the No. 01 car, and in his first 10 races with the team he had only two top-20 finishes, with a fourth-place finish atTexas.

On May 2, 2003, during practice atRichmond International Raceway, Nadeau lost control of the No. 01 while trying to avoid another car in turn one, spun and slammed driver-side first into the concrete wall. He suffered fractures to his skull and several ribs along with a collapsed lung and temporary paralysis on his left side, and the cumulative effects forced him into retirement at age 33.^[4]Busch Series veteranJason Keller replaced Nadeau at the Richmond race and finished 32nd. The team went through several substitutes for the rest of the year.Mike Wallace ran the next four races, then four more races afterwards (skipping Sonoma) with a best finish of 19th atDover.Mike Skinner, released fromMorgan McClure Motorsports, made eleven starts in the #01, earning a pole atRichmond.Boris Said ran both road course races, with both a pole and sixth-place finish atSonoma.

Said and Skinner earned spots in the 2004Budweiser Shootout for their respective pole runs, with Said in the #01 finishing 10th, and Skinner finishing 15th in the #10Valvoline car.

Joe Nemechek (2003–2006)

Joe Nemechek, who had been released fromHendrick Motorsports' No. 25 car (where he had replaced Nadeau), was signed by MB2 as the new permanent driver of the No. 01 car starting with the last four races of 2003, and earned a Top 10 finish atAtlanta. Nemechek finished 19th in points in2004, but won two consecutive poles with the second leading to victory at the2004 Banquet 400, in which he led the final 37 laps to win his fourth and final career Nextel Cup race and giving him a weekend sweep atKansas Speedway, after having won theMr. Goodcents 300 Busch Series race the day before.^[2][5] Nemechek finished with three Top 5 finishes and nine Top 10s, and signed a contract extension that kept him with MB2 through 2005.^[6]

Nemechek started off 2005 with a strong run at the second race of the season atAuto Club Speedway. Coming off a solid 13th-place finish atDaytona, Joe started 4th and led leading a race-high 63 laps before hisHendrick Motorsports-built engine expired on lap 178. This was one of six Hendrick engine failures, which included that of teammateScott Riggs.^[7] By race 26 atRichmond, the No. 01 team found itself as a longshot of making the Chase, sitting 16th in the standings 135 points out of 10th place^[8] as the last mathematical contender for a spot in the 10-race playoff.^[9] The team's chase hunt was ultimately foiled whenTravis Kvapil collided with Nemechek under caution right after he had gotten back on the lead lap, relegating them to a 26th-place finish.^[10] Overall, Nemechek improved on the previous years points performance, ranking 16th with one pole and nine Top 10s but no wins and only two Top 5s.

2006 was a struggle for Nemechek and the No. 01 team, with the team not scoring a Top 10 until finishing 9th atCharlotte in October, the 31st race of the season. Nemechek went winless again, with no pole starts, only two Top 10s, and a dismal 27th-place points finish.^[11]

Part-time Mark Martin (2007)

Mark Martin drove the 01 part-time in 2007, he would move to DEI's 8 car withAric Almirola in 2008.

Regan Smith drove the 01 part-time in 2007, then drove the 01 for DEI in 34 of 36 races in 2008, winning Rookie of the Year.

Aric Almirola in the 01 following the DEI takeover in 2007 sharing the car withMark Martin andRegan Smith, he would move to DEI's 8 car withMark Martin in 2008.

Ron Fellows drove the 01 for DEI in the road course races in 2008.

VeteranMark Martin, coming off his final year withRoush Racing, was signed drive the car for 23 races (21 points races plus the Budweiser Shootout and Nextel All-Star Challenge) in 2007, withJoe Nemechek moving over to the team's new No. 13 team.Regan Smith was pinned to fill the remaining 16 races of the season, while driving in theBusch Series for the team as well. The team also changed its name to Ginn Racing to reflectBobby Ginn's new majority interest in the team.^[12] Martin was leading in the final turn of the season-openingDaytona 500, after lining up on the final restart with former Roush teammatesGreg Biffle andMatt Kenseth behind him. Coming down the front stretch, and with the field wrecking behind him, Martin looked to have finally come through at Daytona. But the caution was not called, andKevin Harvick caught Martin on his outside, beating him to the line by two-hundredths of a second.^[13] Martin put together more strong finishes, and after the fourth race atAtlanta was leading the points standings in what was supposed to be his first season of semi-retirement. Resisting the chance to capture his first championship, Martin did step out of the car as scheduled, breaking a streak of 621 consecutive starts.^[14] In 24 starts for the team, Martin scored five Top 5s and 11 Top 10s, and finished 27th in points despite missing 12 races.

DEI Merger and Beyond (2007)

RookieRegan Smith meanwhile made his debut atBristol Motor Speedway in March, finishing 25th. Smith would run six more races in the car, with a best finish of 24th atTalladega Superspeedway. On July 17, it was announced that Smith would move to the No. 14 car on a full-time basis, replacing veteranSterling Marlin. Meanwhile, 23-year-oldAric Almirola, who was granted his release fromJoe Gibbs Racing after being pulled out of a car he qualified on the pole during aBusch Series race in favor ofDenny Hamlin, signed on to be the new co-driver of the No. 01.^[15] With the merger of Ginn andDale Earnhardt, Inc. not long afterwards, Smith was left on the sidelines while Almirola ran five races. Aric's results were not much better than Regan's, with a best finish of 26th atPhoenix. Both drivers would continue with DEI in 2008 running for ROTY, and both would become winners later in their Cup careers.

Part time No. 36 (2004-2006)

On April 30, 2004, MB2 Motorsports announced a partnership with CENTRIX Financial, LLC, coming on as an associate sponsor for the No. 01 car and No. 10 car. In addition, the team's original number 36 would be resurrected to field a third team part-time forRoad course ringerBoris Said, who had driven the No. 01 for two races in 2003 which included a pole atSonoma. Centrix was scheduled to sponsor two races, debuting with a 6th-place finish at Sonoma.^[16] Centrix sponsored Said again at the oval trackAuto Club Speedway, where he finished one lap down in 30th.USG Sheetrock (an associate on the No. 01) came on to sponsor two more races for Said, DNQing atWatkins Glen and finishing 28th in the season finale atHomestead after a transmission failure late in the race.

The No. 36 team returned for 2005, expanding Said's schedule to a minimum of 10 races beginning with theDaytona 500. Like the 10 team which was co-owned by Valvoline executive James Rocco, sponsor Centrix's owner and racing enthusiast Bob Sutton came on as an equity partner for the No.36 car, changing the team name toMB Sutton Motorsports. Said had stated that he would have liked to drive the car on a full-time basis if sponsorship was found.^[17][18] Veteran crew chiefFrankie Stoddard would lead the No. 36 team.^[19] Said ultimately attempted 12 races, struggling on oval tracks, with a best finish of 27th at Daytona and Texas and three DNQs. He did run well atTalladega in May, qualifying 12th and running in the Top 15 before a 25-car pileup ended his day with 35 laps remaining.^[20] Boris was, however, strong as always in his road course element. At Sonoma in June, Said was running well when he entered the pits while they were closed after a caution was thrown with 40 laps to go. Sent back to 32nd place, he made it up to 13th place with 10 laps to go, but was relegated to a 17th-place finish after a caution with seven laps to go.^[21] Said shined later in the year atWatkins Glen, starting 41st after qualifying was rained out, and racing withNASCAR Road Course acesTony Stewart andRobby Gordon for the win. Said would score a career-best 3rd-place finish.^[22] Said left the team to drive forNo Fear Racing in the No. 60Ford in 2006.

Early in 2006, 1988 Cup Champion and two-time Daytona 500 winnerBill Elliott announced that he would pilot the No. 36 Chevrolet in the 2006Daytona 500, withGinn Resorts coming on to sponsor the effort.^[23] Elliott qualified 33rd, but avoided several wrecks to finish 19th in the Great American Race.^[24] The team would not run again in 2006.

Joe Nemechek (2007)

The team went full-time in 2007, switching to No. 13 with Joe Nemechek moving over from the No. 01 and Peter Sospenzo taking on crew chief duties.^[1]CertainTeed was announced as the primary sponsor of the car for 18 races, with associate sponsor status for the other half of the season.^[25]Bobby Ginn's Ginn Resorts filled out the remaining races. Nemechek opened the year with a 9th-place finish at theDaytona 500, but missed the fifth race of the season atBristol and did not have another Top 10 with the team for the rest of the year. After sitting 33rd in points following the race atChicagoland, Nemechek was released from the No. 13 car as well as teammateSterling Marlin from his No. 14 ride, with the team's status "being evaluated because of lack of sponsorship."^[26] Ultimately, the No. 13 team was shut down after the merger with DEI, and Nemechek would move toFurniture Row Racing for the remainder of the season beginning atFontana.^[11]

Johnny Benson (2000-2003)

What became the No. 14 team originally ran several different numbers part ofDarrell Waltrip Motorsports and theTyler Jet Motorsports. At the second Pocono race weekend in 2000, MB2 Motorsports purchased Tyler Jet's unsponsored No. 10 team, driven byJohnny Benson. When MB2 bought the team, Benson remained the driver, with an announcement thatAaron's andRCA would sponsor the No. 10 for the remainder of 2000 andValvoline would begin sponsoring the car in 2001. Benson finished the season driving full-time for MB2 with Aaron's and RCA on the car.

In 2001, Valvoline became the team's new sponsor, with Benson remaining the driver. Additionally, Valvoline purchased an ownership stake in the No. 10 team, becoming the first corporation to own a NASCAR team. The No. 10 team's name was changed toMBV Motorsports to reflect Valvoline's presence (though the overall team remained MB2). Benson and Valvoline returned for the full season in 2002. He eventually drove to his first career win at the 2002 Pop Secret 400 atRockingham.^[2]

Both Benson and Valvoline remained with the car in 2003. Midway through the season, the team announced it was parting ways with Benson at the conclusion of the season.

Scott Riggs (2004-2005)

32-year-oldBusch Series driverScott Riggs was signed to a multi-year contract, and would to replace Benson for the 2004 season.^[27] Riggs was set to compete against a strong rookie class that included his formerBusch Series competitorsBrian Vickers,Kasey Kahne,Scott Wimmer, andJohnny Sauter as well as Truck Series driverBrendan Gaughan. WithPontiac leaving the sport, the team was forced to switch toChevrolet.Mike Skinner ran the exhibitionBudweiser Shootout in the No. 10 after winning a pole at Richmond driving the No. 01 in 2003 subbing forJerry Nadeau. Riggs missed the fall race atAtlanta, and scored only two Top 10 finishes and had eight DNFs en route to a 29th-place finish in the points standings in his rookie season.

In 2005, Riggs won the pole atMartinsville and finished 4th in theDaytona 500. Riggs had a career best performance atMichigan, using a fuel mileage gamble to drive from 29th to 2nd place in the final 51 laps.^[28] Riggs statistics improved slightly (four Top 10 finishes), but he had seven DNFs and finished 34th in the season standings. Valvoline announced that it was to sell its ownership stake back to MB2's principal owners and ended sponsorship of the car,^[29] taking Riggs and the No. 10 toEvernham Motorsports.

Sterling Marlin (2006-2007)

In November 2005, it was announced that veteran driverSterling Marlin would come over fromChip Ganassi Racing to drive for MB2 in 2006. The team would be sponsored byWaste Management in 12 races, with Centrix Financial returning andGinn Resorts coming on to fill the remainder of the schedule. In tribute to Marlin's fatherCoo Coo who had passed away the previous year, the team took on the No. 14.^[2][30] Midway through the season, the team replaced crew chief Doug Randolph with Scott Eggleston, who worked with Marlin atTeam SABCO.^[31] The team had only one Top 10 finish and ranked 34th in points at the end of the year.

For 2007, Marlin returned as didWaste Management for 12 races, while new sponsorPanasonic signed on for 12 races as well, and veteran crew chief Slugger Labbe handled the team.^[32] After a 2007 season filled with struggles and a best finish of 13th, in July Marlin was to be replaced byRegan Smith, who had previously been co-piloting the No. 01, for the remainder of the year.^[33] However, upon the merger of Ginn Racing andDEI at Indy, and before Smith even got the chance to drive the No. 14, the No. 14 team was merged with the No. 15 team, and its owner points were carried to thePaul Menard-pilotedMenards car. Smith would pilot the No. 01 full-time in 2008 with DEI.

^ Johnny Benson raced races 1-18 of the2000 season withTyler Jet Motorsports before the team (and its Owners Points) were purchased by MB2.

In addition to his 16-race schedule in the No. 01 shared withMark Martin,Regan Smith was set to make his Nextel Cup debut at the2007 Daytona 500 in a fourth Ginn Racing car, withGinn Resorts sponsoring.^[34] The car was numbered 39 due to the No. 36 being taken byBill Davis Racing andJeremy Mayfield. In his debut, Smith qualified 26th, which earned him a 12th starting position in the 2nd Gatorade 150 duel race. He finished 19th of 30 cars, and 7th out of the 13 drivers who needed to race their way into the 500, which was not enough to get him into the race.^[35] The No. 39 was on theFontana entry list the next week, but was withdrawn. Smith would make his Cup debut in the No. 01 atBristol Motor Speedway.

• Derrike Cope (1997)
• Ernie Irvan (1998-1999; retired after injury)
• Ricky Craven (1998 injury replacement for Irvan)
• Dick Trickle (1999 injury replacement for Irvan)
• Jerry Nadeau (injury replacement for Irvan in 1999; Benson in 2002; regular driver in 2003)
• Ken Schrader (2000–2002)
• Johnny Benson (2001–2003)
• Joe Nemechek (2002 injury replacement for Benson; 2003–2007)
• Mike Wallace (injury replacement for Benson in 2002; Nadeau in 2003)
• Jason Keller (2003 injury replacement for Nadeau)
• Boris Said (2003–2006; road courses & limited ovals)
• Mike Skinner (2003)
• Scott Riggs (2004–2005)
• Sterling Marlin (2006–2007)
• Bill Elliott (2006; limited schedule)
• Mark Martin (2007; limited schedule)
• Regan Smith (2007; limited schedule)

Beginning in 2006, MB2 Motorsports established a partnership withMorgan-Dollar Motorsports in theCraftsman Truck Series, fielding a full-time truck with MB2/Ginn development driverKraig Kinser (son ofSteve Kinser). Kinser struggled in his rookie season and was pulled from the ride late in the season.

For 2007, Ginn expanded its development program, signing motocross racerRicky Carmichael andDrive for Diversity memberJesus Hernandez to development contracts.^[1] Kinser returned to the Truck Series, scheduled to share the ride with Hernandez, withGinn Resorts sponsoring.^[1] The team also started aBusch Series team for Cup rookieRegan Smith and Kinser, also funded byGinn Resorts.^[1] This was originally numbered No. 04, but NASCAR reassigned No. 4 to Ginn afterBiagi-DenBeste Racing shut down in January 2007. The No. 4 Busch Series team was shut down after theKentucky race in June, with Smith 12th in the championship standings at the time. Following the DEI/Ginn merger, Smith was placed in the 47 Morgan-Dollar truck for the balance of the season.Aric Almirola ran a single truck race atNashville, finishing 23rd.

The #01 owned byBobby Ginn (Ginn Racing); this car was later added to the DEI stable as part of the merger

The #1 owned byTeresa Earnhardt (pictured in 2008)

The #8 owned byTeresa Earnhardt

The #15 (pictured in 2008) inherited the #14 owner points, with the listed owner changing fromTeresa Earnhardt toBobby Ginn

The #14 owned byBobby Ginn (pictured in 2006) shut down after merge with DEI; the #14 inherited the #15 owner points

On July 25, 2007, Ginn Racing announced it had merged withDale Earnhardt, Inc. The No. 01 team joined the No. 1, No. 8 and No. 15 teams.^[36] The merger did not affect the DEI team name.

The acquisition had the following effects:

• The No. 01 (Mark Martin/Aric Almirola) team was added to the DEI teams.
• The No. 15 (Paul Menard) inherited the owner points from the former No. 14 (Sterling Marlin), which guaranteed a starting spot for Menard atIndianapolis.
• The No. 13 (Joe Nemechek) and the No. 14 (Sterling Marlin) teams of Ginn Racing were disbanded.
• Bobby Ginn was listed as the owner of the No. 01 and No. 15 for the remainder of 2007; these cars were housed at the Ginn Racing shop, renamed DEI West^[37] which also houses the team's fabrication work.
• Teresa Earnhardt was listed as the owner of the No. 1 and No. 8 for the remainder of 2007; these cars remain housed at DEI's shops.

Dale Earnhardt, Inc., would eventually merge withChip Ganassi Racing in 2009 after DEI's star driverDale Earnhardt Jr. left forHendrick Motorsports the year prior; the resulting team was known as Earnhardt Ganassi Racing until 2013, after which it reverted to Chip Ganassi Racing name before being purchased byTrackhouse Racing Team in 2021.

• MB2 Motorsports Looking Forward

• American auto racing teams
• Auto racing teams established in 1996
• Auto racing teams disestablished in 2007
• Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina
• Defunct NASCAR teams
• Defunct companies based in North Carolina

• CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Pages using infobox NASCAR team with unknown parameters