 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2013) |
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| Owner(s) | Beth Ann Morgenthau Tony Morgenthau |
|---|---|
| Base | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Series | Sprint Cup Series |
| Race drivers | Ken SchraderMike BlissDavid GillilandRobby GordonKlaus Graf |
| Sponsors | AT&T,Warner Music Group,Schwans |
| Manufacturer | Dodge (2002-2008),Toyota (2008-2010) |
| Opened | 2000 |
| Closed | 2010 |
| Career | |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
BAM Racing was aNASCAR racing team based inCharlotte, North Carolina, owned by Beth Ann and Tony Morgenthau. The team began racing in theARCA RE/MAX Series in 2000 before moving to NASCAR in 2001. They sat out2009 due to the recession, and have not raced since.
BAM Racing attempted its first Cup race at theTalladega 500 in 2001 withAndy Hillenburg, but failed to qualify. They also attempted thePepsi 400,Pennsylvania 500 and theBrickyard 400 with Hillenburg, as well as thePennzoil Freedom 400 withRich Bickle, but did not qualify for any of those races.
BAM switched to Dodge for2002, and acquired equipment fromAmerican Equipment Racing owner Buz McCall, who also provided the shop for use.[1] The team qualified for the2002 Daytona 500 withShawna Robinson as its driver, who was scheduled to compete in 24 races.[1] However, she struggled and her last race for the season was at the secondDaytona race where she would finish 40th.Kevin Lepage,Stuart Kirby,Ron Hornaday,Stacy Compton andDerrike Cope would finish out the season with a best finish of 22nd atTalladega.
For the2003 season it was announced thatKen Schrader would drive the No. 49. The team was forced to run with multiple sponsors throughout the year but most of the year the car was sponsored byAT&T through its 1-800-CALL-ATTcollect call service. The team qualified for 32 races and had a best finish of 8th atMichigan. In2004, it was announced BAM Racing had secured a deal withSchwan Food Company for multiple years. They were able to achieve a best finish of 6th during the season, had three less DNF's, and improved their average finish by two places.
Schwan's and Schrader again returned for the2005 season and BAM had its best season to date with three top tens and an average finish of 25th place. After the conclusion of the 2005 season, Ken Schrader left to joinWood Brothers/JTG Racing. For2006, Schrader was replaced byBrent Sherman who brought along sponsorship fromSerta Mattresses. Sherman was to run for theRookie of the Year award. However, after struggling through the start of the season he was released in favor of veteranJimmy Spencer. Spencer was also an advisor for BAM and was a mentor for Sherman during his time there. However, Sherman's departure from the team left it unsponsored, as Serta had followed Sherman from ARCA racing to Busch Series and Cup series racing. Spencer raced from the springMartinsville race until the springRichmond race, whenMike Wallace took over. In May 2006, Kevin Lepage leftFront Row Motorsports to take over the No. 49, before he was replaced byMike Bliss in October.Chris Cook was hired to drive for the team to run the road course events, but failed to qualify for both events.
In 2007, BAM Racing was to race withMike Bliss as the driver, usingEvernham engines, but Bliss failed to qualify for 11 out of 15 attempts, and resigned midway through the season.Chad Chaffin was the team's interim driver atLoudon andChicagoland, andLarry Foyt racing atDaytona. In the team's first attempt to qualify after Bliss' resignation at Loudon, Chaffin made the race afterBrian Vickers and the No. 83Team Red BullToyota were disqualified after failing post-qualifying inspection. Journeyman road racerKlaus Graf attempted several races in the No. 49, but didn't qualify for any of them due to engine blowups and a rain shower cancelling qualifying. Bliss briefly returned for a few races, before journeymanJohn Andretti was hired to complete the rest of the season for BAM.John Andretti was signed to drive the full 2008 season, but the contract was nullified just days before 2008 Daytona testing to putKen Schrader in the seat in hopes of attracting more sponsorship.[2] Schrader drove in theBudweiser Shootout, but failed to qualify for the first two races of the season.[3]
The team switched from Dodge to Toyota before theGoody's Cool Orange 500, along with announcingMicrosoft's Small Business division as their sponsor. BAM promptly announced that they would be withdrawing from the next two races atTexas andPhoenix to refocus the team's efforts.[4]Both the expenses of switching manufacturers and the pullout of Microsoft toMichael Waltrip Racing have forced BAM Racing to push their scheduled return further back, with NASCAR.com reporting on April 15, 2008, that the team may not return to racing until the fall. However, BAM made a minor attempt at a comeback in theSprint All-Star Race. BAM fielded a ride forPetty Enterprises developmental driverChad McCumbee, the car was a Dodge with sponsorship fromMarathon Oil. McCumbee finished 13th.
On July 11, 2008, Sports Illustrated reported that BAM Racing was in talks withBarack Obama regarding a one-race sponsorship at Pocono, through BAM spokesman Rhett Vandiver. However, Obama spokesmanBill Burton told Yahoo! Sports that the sponsorship would not happen.[5] The team took the 2009 season off due to the economy and its unwillingness to be astart and park operation.
Warner Music Nashville announced a strategic marketing alliance that gave WMN exclusive promotional opportunities with the NASCAR Sprint Cup racing team. Under the agreement, WMN artists had the opportunity to participate in branding and promotional programs at NASCAR events. The team planned to attempt a full schedule in 2010 with the new partnership and to run Toyotas.Larry the Cable Guy was to be featured on the car for theDaytona 500, with WMN artists Blake Shelton, Whitney Duncan, Gloriana, Jessica Harp, Jason Jones and James Otto joining the team for later races.[6]
On January 8, the team announced it would align withRobby Gordon and hisself-owned team for the 2010 season. The join contract stated that RGM/BAM would have at least one car present at each race and would jointly field Gordon's No. 7 Toyota at certain races with sponsorship from WMN. Although it was announced that BAM would field the #49 car alongside the #7 after the Daytona 500, the #49 car did not show up and Gordon ran the #7 under BAM/Warner sponsorship until the 2010 Coca-Cola 600. BAM was not seen afterwards; it was later announced that the RGM/BAM partnership had dissolved and that RGM is exploring taking legal action against BAM Racing and Warner Music Nashville. The team made no further attempts for the remainder of 2010.
In September 2019, former American Equipment Racing owner Buz McCall confirmed in an interview with a fan that BAM is now defunct.
The team fielded a second car forKlaus Graf atInfineon in 2004, the No. 59 SEM Products/Color Horizons Dodge. He finished 17th. The team attempted a number of races later in the year, but failed to qualify for all of them.Larry Foyt also attempted a number of races late in the 2004 season, instead running the No. 70 due to the system of the 2004 provisional points. The team shut down at the conclusion of the 2004 season. Before shutting down, the team was looking to run a second or even a third car in 2005 but sponsorship never materialized.
| NASCAR Nextel Cup Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Driver | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | Owners | Pts | |||
| 2004 | Klaus Graf | 59 | Dodge | DAY | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | BRI | TEX | MAR | TAL | CAL | RCH | CLT | DOV | POC | MCH | SON 17 | DAY | CHI | NHA | POC | IND | GLN DNQ | MCH | BRI | CAL | RCH | NHA | DOV | TAL | KAN | MAR DNQ | 61st | 188 | ||||||||
| Larry Foyt | CLT DNQ | ATL DNQ | PHO | DAR | HOM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 70 | DAY | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | BRI | TEX | MAR | TAL | CAL | RCH | CLT | DOV | POC | MCH | SON | DAY | CHI | NHA | POC | IND | GLN | MCH | BRI | CAL | RCH | NHA | DOV | TAL | KAN | CLT | MAR | ATL | PHO | DAR | HOM DNQ | N/A | - | ||||||
The team was created in 2000 from the remnants of theISM Racing that was not being used byTyler Jet Motorsports. NASCAR Winston Cup Series team. Tony Morgenthau gave the team as a birthday present to his wife, Beth Ann, whose initials comprised the name of the team. BAM Racing attempted 6 races late in the 2000 ARCA Season with Matt Mullins. The team would have a best start of 10th at Charlotte in October and a best finish of 13th at Pocono in June.[7] The team ceased operations upon BAM's move to Winston Cup.
BAM Racing returned to ARCA in 2004 as part of Klaus Graf's development program. The German driver made his debut in the No. 69 BAM Racing Dodge atNashville Superspeedway in October, starting 5th and finishing 3rd. He ran a second race in the No. 99 BAM Racing Dodge at Talladega in October, where he started 7th and finished 29th after a crash.[8]
9. Interview with a Former NASCAR Team Owner Buzz McCall, R-U Relentless and Unstoppable?https://youtube/7tRDgE3xqDU