Jay Robinson | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1959-11-07)November 7, 1959 (age 66) |
| Occupation | NASCAR team owner |
| Employer | Premium Motorsports (owner) |
Jay Robinson (born November 7, 1959) is an American auto racing executive who is a part-owner ofPremium Motorsports (previously known as Jay Robinson Racing). Prior to this, Robinson earned his wealth in the wholesale grocery business.[1]
Robinson first competed in theNASCARAll-American Series in 1998 and 1999.[1]
In 2000, he won six races in the series.[1]
Robinson first competed as a team owner in theNASCARXfinity Series in2000.[2] The team's first race was theMyrtle Beach 250 atMyrtle Beach Speedway withRodney Childers driving the #49Southern MarineChevroletMonte Carlo.[2] Childers started 33rd and finished 43rd (out of 43 cars) due to a crash after 69 laps.[3]
The team generally competed with different drivers in a particular car throughout the season.[2] The first season the team competed with the same driver was whenKenny Wallace drove the #28United States Border PatrolChevroletImpala SS in2008.[2] That season, Wallace got a best finish of 7th at theU.S. Cellular 250 atIowa Speedway.[4] Wallace would also finish 11th in the final point standings.[5]
Robinson's team competed in the series through2011,[2] getting a best finish of 3rd place with Wallace at the2011Kroger On Track for the Cure 250 atMemphis Motorsports Park.[6]
Later in their history, the team often used the practice ofstarting and parking (starting a race with no intention of finishing the race to collect the prize money) to fund their primary car.[9] Robinson said of this activity, "The 28 car wouldn’t run without the start-and-park car. No chance. These haulers haul two cars. If you bring both of them in one transporter, you can make the numbers work out. If I brought only one car, I couldn’t make it work without more sponsorship. We’d race the 49 tomorrow, too, if there was a way."[9]
Robinson partnered withHouston, Texas,Texas businessmanTroy Blakney to form Robinson-Blakeney Racing.[10]
In the Cup Series in2012, the team fielded the #49America Israel Racing/JPO AbsorbentsToyotaCamry withJ. J. Yeley and laterJason Leffler serving as the drivers.[11]
Yeley drove the car through theLenox Industrial Tools 301 atNew Hampshire Motor Speedway.[12] Yeley's best finish in the car was a 30th-place finish at theFood City 500 atBristol Motor Speedway.[12]
Leffler then attempted six races later in the season, qualifying for three of them.[13] The best finish by Leffler in the car also came at Bristol, as he finished 31st at theIrwin Tools Night Race.[13]
Following the season, most of the team's equipment was put up for auction.[14]
The team also competed in theXfinity Series in2012 with Yeley,David Green,Derrike Cope,Kevin Lepage andTony Raines driving the #28JPO AbsorbentsChevroletCamaro andDodgeChallenger.[11]
Lepage would get the finish for the team, finishing 31st at theFord EcoBoost 300 atBristol Motor Speedway.[15]
Prior to the2013 season, Robinson merged his team withJoe Nemechek'sNEMCO Motorsports.[16]
Nemechek drove the #87ToyotaCamry in 34 races, qualifying for 33 of them, getting a best finish of 25th place at theCamping World RV Sales 301 atNew Hampshire Motor Speedway.[17]
Tomy Drissi also drove the car at the two road course races, finishing 38th at theToyota/Save Mart 350 atSonoma Raceway and 42nd, due to a crash, at theCheez-It 355 at The Glen atWatkins Glen International.[18]
Nemechek also drove the #87AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves/England's Stove WorksToyotaCamry in 28 of 33Xfinity Series races in2013, with Lepage andJohnny Sauter driving the car at theIowa Speedway races.[19]
During the season, Nemechek got a best finish of 14th place at theRoyal Purple 300 atAuto Club Speedway.[20] Despite missing five races, Nemechek finished 19th in the final point standings with 513 points.[21]
Prior to the2014 season, Nemechek and Robinson created a partnership with five business leaders, including housing investorNat Hardwick.[22]Michael Waltrip Racing later joined the team as a partner.[23]
The fielded the #66BlueDEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid/Land Castle Title/Royal Teak CollectionToyotaCamry withMichael Waltrip, Nemechek,Jeff Burton,Brett Moffitt, Drissi,Timmy Hill andMike Wallace driving at various points in the year.[2] The car was run out of Waltrip's shop when Waltrip, Burton and Moffitt drove the car.[23][24] Separate cars for the team were also driven by Nemechek, Hill and Wallace[2]
Burton got the best finish in the car with a 17th-place finish at theKobalt 400 atLas Vegas Motor Speedway.[25] Moffitt got the best finish in the car when it came out of Robinson's shop with a 22nd-place finish at theFedEx 400 atDover International Speedway.[24]
It was later revealed that Hardwick embezzled at least $30 million from his companies, causing him and Land Castle Title (a company he was chief executive officer of) to be removed from the team.[26]
After Identity Ventures' demise, Robinson reformed the team asPremium Motorsports.[27]
The team started to compete in theCup Series in2015. Like Robinson's earlier Xfinity Series team, the team often uses multiple drivers in a car throughout the season.[2]
Since entering the Cup Series, Robinson has purchased various teams and folded them into his organization. These purchases started with purchasingTommy Baldwin Racing's second car (namely the owners points and equipment).[28] Robinson subsequently purchasedPhil Parsons Racing in2015,Hillman Racing in2016 and the remainder of Baldwin's team in2017.[29][30][31]
At the2016AAA Texas 500 atTexas Motor Speedway, #55ToyotaCamry driven byReed Sorenson was sponsored byDonald Trump'sPresidential campaign,[32] which proved to be controversial.[33]
A car owned by Robinson got its first top 10 finish in a Cup Series race when Michael Waltrip finished in 9th place at the2017Daytona 500.[34]
Premium Motorsports also began to compete in theTruck Series in2015. The made their debut at the season-openingNextEra Energy Resources 250 atDaytona International Speedway withTravis Kvapil driving the #94Chargebacks 911/MerchantSystems.comChevroletSilverado.[2] Kvapil qualified 2nd, but finished 15th, seven laps down.[35]
In2017,Wendell Chavous started 21 of 23 races for the team, getting a best finish of 14th place at theLas Vegas 350 atLas Vegas Motor Speedway.[36] Chavous would finish 16th in the final standings with 348 points.[37]