Biagi-DenBeste Racing, originally Biagi Brothers Racing, was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in partnership with

Stewart-Haas Racing Stewart-Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champio ...

. The team was based in

Mooresville, North Carolina Mooresville is a large town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 United States Census making it ...

Xfinity Series

Car No. 98 history

2001–2006

The team debuted in 2001 at the

Auto Club 300 Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Xfinity Series has been held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California since the track's inauguration in 1997. The 300-mile (480 km) event is currently named Production Alliance Group 300 for ...

as the No. 4 car, qualifying 41st and finishing 31st with

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...

driving their Chevrolet. Wallace made eight starts total that season, his best finish a tenth at

Richmond International Raceway Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...

. Wallace returned in 2002, running seventeen races. He finished in the top-twenty seven times, including two fourteenth-place finishes. The team also ran a second car, the No. 07, for

Tim Fedewa Timothy Fedewa (born May 9, 1967) is an American professional racing driver. He has formerly competed in the NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, American Speed Association and ARTGO. Fedewa is a spotter in the NASCAR Cup Series a ...

at Talladega, finishing third, the last car on the lead lap (mostly due to a 27-car pileup on lap 15 that took out most of the field, including Wallace). In 2003, Biagi moved up to the Busch Series full-time with Wallace. They opened the season with a fourth-place finish at the

Koolerz 300 The Daytona 300, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300, is the first race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, held at Daytona International Speedway. It is held the day before the Daytona 500, and is c ...

. Despite missing a race where

Rick Carelli Richard Dean Carelli (born November 9, 1954) is a retired American race car driver from Arvada, Colorado. He was nicknamed the "High Plains Drifter". He won multiple times in the No. 6 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series truck. He is the spotter for Er ...

filled in, Wallace finished thirteenth in points that year, one position shy of matching his career-best. The following season, Biagi switched from Chevrolets to Fords, and at the

Winn-Dixie 250 The Wawa 250 Powered By Coca-Cola is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that is held at Daytona International Speedway. Scheduled as a race, it is held the night before the NASCAR Cup Series' Coke Zero Sugar 400, and was run on Independence Day weeken ...

, Wallace took the lead on the last lap to score Biagi's first career Busch victory. He led eighteen laps the following week at

Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the Indy ...

, but ran out of fuel on the last lap, costing him the victory. After posting three more top-tens, Wallace finished seventeenth in points. After Wallace departed in 2005, Biagi formed a partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing and hired Ganassi development driver

Ryan Hemphill Ryan Hemphill (born December 30, 1981) is a former NASCAR driver from Apollo, Pennsylvania. Racing career Hemphill, a second generation racer, started his racing career at the age of 12, when his father put him behind the wheel of a go-kart. He ...

. After he failed to qualify for two consecutive races, Hemphill was briefly replaced by Jeff Green, who finished sixth at Richmond. Hemphill returned for three races and had a twelfth-place run at

Nashville Superspeedway Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee, United States (though the track has a Lebanon postal address), about southeast of Nashville. The track was built in 2001 and is currently hosting the Ally 400, ...

before he was permanently removed from the ride. Green took over for three races, before Kevin Hamlin took over for the balance of the season. In fourteen starts, his best finish was fourteenth at

Memphis Motorsports Park Memphis International Raceway (formerly known as Memphis Motorsports Park) was an auto racing park located near the Loosahatchie River in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, just approximately ten miles south of Millington, and a few miles ...

. For 2006, Mark Green was selected as the team's new driver, and had an eighteenth-place run at Richmond, before he was released in favor of

Auggie Vidovich August "Auggie" Vidovich II (born February 20, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Vidovich was born in Lakeside, California. Vidovich has competed in the Elite Division Southwest Series for several years. He ...

. In addition to Green and Vidovich, Hamlin,

Boris Said Boris Said III (born September 18, 1962) is an American semi-retired professional racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang for MBM Motorsports and in the Trans-Am Series, driving the No. 2 ...

, and

Paul Tracy Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian-American former professional auto racing driver who competed in CART, the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is known by the nicknames "PT" and "the Thrill from West Hill". ...

have driven the car during the 2006 season. In 2007, BDBR had announced it would switch to

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

and run with sponsorship from

Kibbles 'n Bits Kibbles 'n Bits is a brand name of dog food currently owned by The J.M. Smucker Company since it acquired its previous owner, Big Heart Pet Brands, in 2015. The brand was originally created in 1981 as the first dual textured dog food, having sof ...

, but the team shut down in January due to a lack of funding. Its assets and owners points were acquired by

Braun Racing Braun Motorsports, formerly known as Braun Racing, was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina. Best known as one of the top ...

, and the team's number, 4, assigned to

Ginn Racing MB2 Motorsports was a NASCAR Cup Series team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near the sport's hub in Charlotte. The team was founded by Read Morton, Tom Beard, and Nelson Bowers, from which the original team name were named after. Bowers w ...

2012–present

Five years later, the team returned at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing includin ...

in May 2012, with a new sponsor in Caroll Shelby Engine Company (owned by new partners Bill and Lori DenBeste), a new manufacturer

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, and a new number 98 car being driven by

Reed Sorenson Bradley Reed Sorenson (born February 5, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver and spotter. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Premium Motorsports, the Nos. 74 ...

. The car was given a black and gold scheme to honor the late

Carroll Shelby Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified dur ...

and Shelby American's 50th Anniversary. Sorenson finished 16th in the team's return, then finished 13th in their next race at

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. The team dedicated their third race of the season, at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to Shelby, though Sorenson would finish 34th after a crash. He would run two more races, with a crash at

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and a 12th place and the second Charlotte race. Sprint Car standout and

ARCA Racing Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nationa ...

winner Kevin Swindell was signed for two races at the end of the season. He finished a strong 9th at Texas, then placed 21st at the season-finale at

Homestead Miami Speedway Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept t ...

. For 2013, Kevin Swindell was signed to run 15 races for the team, beginning at

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

in March. The team partnered with Swindell's long time supporter Mike Curb, who became the listed owner of the No. 98 car (as well as the No. 98 car of Phil Parsons Racing in the Cup Series and the No. 98 truck of

Johnny Sauter Jonathan Joseph "Johnny" Sauter (born May 1, 1978) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 47 Toyota Tundra for G2G Racing, the No. 13 Tundra for T ...

and

ThorSport Racing ThorSport Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team was founded in 1996 as SealMaster Racing and is based in Sandusky, Ohio. Owned by Duke Thorson and his wife ...

in the Truck Series). Swindell had two top 10s, though he failed to qualify in their first attempt at Las Vegas. In 2014, the team returned again with veteran

David Ragan David Lee Ragan (born December 24, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 15 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing, and is also an analyst for NASCAR on Fox on ...

as well as up-and-comers

Jeb Burton John Edward "Jeb" Burton IV (born August 6, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro for Our Motorsports. He is the son of Ward Burton ...

and

Corey LaJoie Corey Daniel LaJoie (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports. LaJoie is the son of two-time NASCAR ...

; all three are the sons of former racers.

Drive for Diversity The Drive for Diversity (D4D) program is a development system instituted by the American auto racing league NASCAR. The program's purpose is to attract minority and female individuals to the sport, primarily as drivers, but also including ownersh ...

and

NASCAR Next The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

member Ryan Gifford was signed to run two races for the team:

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

in May and

in June. Gifford finished 20th in his only appearance at Iowa. After winning the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona and earning a spot in the

Chase for the Sprint Cup The NASCAR playoffs is a championship playoff system used in NASCAR's three national series. The system was founded as 'The Chase for the Championship' on January 21, 2004, and was used exclusively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2004 to 2015. Si ...

, Aric Almirola signed on to pilot the 98 during two companion races at

Chicagoland The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hint ...

and Dover in September. Cup sponsor

Smithfield Foods Smithfield Foods, Inc., is an American pork producer and food-processing company based in Smithfield, Virginia, in the United States, and an independent subsidiary of WH Group. Founded in 1936 as the Smithfield Packing Company by Joseph W. Luter ...

would come on to sponsor Almirola's efforts. Almirola started 10th and finished 14th in his debut for the team at Chicagoland, then 13th at Dover. After running one race earlier in the year, it was announced that

would return to the No. 98 car for four additional races (

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, and

Homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept t ...

), with backing from

Richard Petty Motorsports Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded as a result of the merger between Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) and Petty Enterprises, with ...

primary investor Medallion Financial. In 2015,

Sprint Cup drivers Almirola and

Sam Hornish Jr. Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017. He began his top-tier raci ...

split time driving the No. 98, with sponsorship from both RPM's Cup sponsors and Biagi-DenBeste's regular sponsors. Almirola finished 7th in the season opener at

Daytona Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it. Daytona may also refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Da ...

, while Hornish finished 15th the next week at

. RPM development driver

Ryan Truex Ryan M. Truex (born March 18, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. Truex's older brother Martin was the 2017 ...

drove four races, starting at Richmond. In 2016, Almirola drove on a partial schedule starting at Daytona. Almirola won the 2016

Subway Firecracker 250 The Wawa 250 Powered By Coca-Cola is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that is held at Daytona International Speedway. Scheduled as a race, it is held the night before the NASCAR Cup Series' Coke Zero Sugar 400, and was run on Independence Day weeken ...

at Daytona to give the team their second ever win.

will drive two races in the No. 98 car starting with

Indy Indy may refer to: Computing and technology *Indy (software), used for Internet access to music *Internet Direct, or "Indy", a software library *SGI Indy, a computer workstation Periodicals *''The Indy'', shorthand for newspapers that include " ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, and

with

Estes Estes is an English-language surname said to derive from Old English and have the meaning "of the East" (literally, "East's"). As a surname, it has been traced to southern Kent, as early as the mid-15th century, Nicholas Estes (Ewstas, Esteuzi) b. ...

sponsoring. 2014-15 Formula E Champion

Nelson Piquet Jr. Nelson Angelo Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior (born July 25, 1985), also known as Nelson Piquet Junior or Nelsinho Piquet, is a Brazilian stock car racing driver and former Formula One and Formula E driver where he was champion in the 2014–15 seaso ...

will drive the No. 98 car at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In 2017, it was announced that Aric Almirola would return to Biagi-DenBeste with the addition of

Casey Mears Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road and stock car racing driver. He has raced in IndyCar, NASCAR's three national series including 15 seasons in the Cup Series, SCORE International, and the Stadium Super ...

. On May 6, 2017 Aric Almirola won the 2017

Sparks Energy 300 The Ag-Pro 300 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held at Talladega Superspeedway, a 300-mile race. It is held annually before the NASCAR Cup Series race, the GEICO 500. From its inception in 1992 through 1996, the race was held in the summer, as ...

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...

. On October 23, 2017 it was announced that in 2018 the team would partner with

under the name Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste with

Cole Custer Cole Matthew Custer (born January 23, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 00 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. He previously drove for the team full- ...

driving the No. 00 full time and

Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champion, ...

driving the No. 98 part time. It was later announced that

Chase Briscoe Chase David Wayne Briscoe (born December 15, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 14 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. He also owns a World of Outlaws sprint ...

would drive the No. 98 in at least one race.

Footnotes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Biagi-Denbeste Racing 2001 establishments in North Carolina 2019 disestablishments in North Carolina American auto racing teams Auto racing teams established in 2001 Auto racing teams disestablished in 2019 Companies based in North Carolina NASCAR teams