Trail Motorsports (formerly HighLine Performance Group, FitzBradshaw Racing and Fitz Motorsports) was a

NASCAR 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 ...

team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, which is near

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 ...

. The team is owned by Armando Fitz and Art Shelton, and was previously co-owned by Fitz's former wife Mimi. The team was known as the HighLine Performance Group until the end of the 2001 season when they teamed up with

Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since 1994, he has been a television sports analyst an ...

and formally created FitzBradshaw Racing. At the end of the 2004 season FBR announced that it was partnering with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates which gave them access to more technical and engineering support. In addition to the partnership they would also be switching manufacturers from Chevrolet to Dodge. The team also formed a partnership with Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2006 season. Bradshaw left the organization at the end of the 2006 season. The team changed its name to Trail Motorsports in early 2009 after Shelton came on board. The team fielded the No. 22 Dodge Charger for Johnny Borneman III in the NASCAR

Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

, the No. 32 Chevrolet Silverado for Chase Austin in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and the No. 58

Chevrolet Impala The Chevrolet Impala () is a full-size car built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985, 1994 to 1996, and 2000 to 2020. The Impala was Chevrolet's popular flagship passenger car and was among the better-selling American-made automobiles in ...

driven by Jarit Johnson, younger brother of seven-time Sprint Cup champion

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

, in the

Camping World East Series The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...

Sprint Cup Series

While the team was called FitzBradshaw, Trail briefly ran a Cup operation in 2002 with

Kerry Earnhardt Kerry Dale Earnhardt (born December 8, 1969) is a former NASCAR driver and the eldest son of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt. He is the half-brother of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was employed by Dal ...

driving No. 8
RacingUSA.com

Aaron's The Aaron's Company is an American lease-to-own retailer. The company focuses on leases and retail sales of furniture, electronics, appliances, and computers. The company sells through the company-operated and franchised stores, e-commerce p ...

Chevrolet. The car was fielded with support from Dale Earnhardt, Inc. The team had planned to run full-time in Cup by 2004. Earnhardt failed in each of his attempts, due to rain cancelling qualifying at all three events.

Ron Hornaday Jr. Ronald Lee Hornaday Jr. (born June 20, 1958) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is the father of former NASCAR driver Ronnie Hornaday and son of the late Ron Hornaday Sr., a two-time Winston West Champion. Hornaday is ...

qualified for that year's Checker Auto Parts 500, finishing 36th. Earnhardt attempted three more races in 2003 with sponsorship from Aaron's, Supercuts, and Hot Tamales, but also failed to qualify.

Nationwide Series

Beginnings

Armando Fitz Armando Fitz was an owner of Fitz Racing, a NASCAR Nationwide Series team. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Fitz graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1987 with a degree in Business and Human Development. While attending Vanderbilt, he playe ...

's team started as a two-car operation during the 2001 season. He and his wife, Mimi, purchased the team from

Team SABCO The NASCAR operation of Chip Ganassi Racing was established in 1989 by Felix Sabates, a Cuban immigrant who was a self-made millionaire distributing products such as Teddy Ruxpin and Sega video game systems. The team was known as SABCO Racing, f ...

, owned by his father-in-law and current

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

co-owner

Felix Sabates Feliciano Sergio "Félix" Sabates Jr. (born September 9, 1945) is a retired Cuban-born entrepreneur and philanthropist living in the United States. He is currently a partner in Chip Ganassi Racing teams, which formerly fielded teams in the NASCA ...

at the end of the 2000 season. The team, then known as the HighLine Performance Group ran the No. 8 Chevrolet and No. 11 Chevrolet. Blaise Alexander began the season in the No. 8 car, but after four races, the team cut back to a part-time schedule. Frank Kimmel,

Jeff Falk Jeff Falk (born in Chesapeake, VA) is a former NASCAR driver. He ran four races in the Busch Series during 2001. Those four races all came in the #8 Chevy owned by Armando Fitz. He started the #8 Chevy in 40th position at Richmond, but peaked at ...

Michael Dokken Michael Dokken (born June 4, 1971) is a retired American stock car racing driver and a former competitor in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Career Dokken first achieved notice in 1990, when he won the first race he ever competed in at New Smy ...

Jason Rudd Jason Rudd (born April 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. Last racing for Means Racing in the NASCAR Busch Series, Rudd never ran a full-time season. He is the nephew of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky R ...

, Mario Hernandez,

Mark Voigt Mark Voigt (born October 5, 1961) is a former NASCAR driver. He raced three times in the Busch Series in 2001. He is also a local dirt track racing, dirt track driver. Racing career Voigt began his career at age four, when his father (involved ...

, and

Josh Richeson Joshua Richeson (born September 4, 1981) is an American stock car racing driver. He has made 24 career starts in the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity), one start in the Truck Series, and five in the ARCA Racing Series. He is the nephew of former ...

all shared time in the car over the season, with the No. 8 team finishing 42nd in owner's points.

Marty Houston Marty Houston (born January 7, 1968 in Hickory, North Carolina) is a former NASCAR driver. His younger brother, Andy Houston, Andy and father Tommy Houston have driven in NASCAR as well. Racing career Craftsman Truck Series Marty Houston made h ...

drove the newly renumbered No. 11 car at the beginning of the year, his best finish being a 13th at the

NAPA Auto Parts 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 ...

, but he was replaced by

after the

Outback Steakhouse 300 The Alsco 300 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, United States. The distance of the race was 300 miles (482.803 km). History Kentucky Speedway, opened in 2000 by Jerry Carrol, held its first B ...

. Hornaday had two top-tens but was released before the season was over, and was replaced by

Todd Bodine Todd Martin Bodine (born February 27, 1964) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 62 Toyota Tundra for Halmar Friesen Racing, and current racing ...

who had one top-five in three races at the end of the season.

Andy Santerre Anthony Lee Santerre (born September 7, 1968) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He is a former competitor in the NASCAR Busch Series and a four-time champion of the NASCAR Busch North Series. Personal life At the age of 19, Sante ...

and

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 ...

also ran races in the car. The No. 11 car ended 21st in owner points, with Bodine finishing 29th in points.

Car No. 22 history

In 2002, the newly formed FitzBradshaw Racing signed Supercuts
10-10-220
Hot Tamales, and

Jani-King Jani-King International, Inc. is an American chain of cleaning service franchise. The company provides cleaning for public spaces such as offices, retails spaces, hotels, and stadiums. In 2001, it was the title sponsor of the NASCAR event at the ...

as sponsors and

as the driver of the team's No. 12 Chevrolet. The team also formed a technical alliance with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., receiving engines and engineering support from DEI. Earnhardt had two top-fives and finished 22nd in points. Earnhardt did not have a top-ten finish in 2003, and was released after the

Tropicana Twister 300 The Chicagoland 300 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock car race held annually at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. In 2008 the race has been held at night under Chicagoland Speedway's new lighting system, after being held as a day race f ...

, who had been Earnhardt's spotter since 2002, and crew chief for a single race, replaced him for the balance of the season. Fedewa finished in the top-20 eight times. Fedewa had five top-tens in 2004, and finished sixteenth in points. Fedewa struggled in 2005, and did not finish in the top-ten, causing him to be released after

Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town of Manitou S ...

. Joel Kauffman, Paul Wolfe, Carlos Contreras,

Kertus Davis Kertus Davis (born February 26, 1981) is a NASCAR driver. He is currently the competition director for JD Motorsports. Prior to NASCAR/USAR Davis began racing in go-karts at the age of eight, competing in his hometown of Gaffney around various ...

Sterling Marlin Sterling Burton Marlin (born June 30, 1957) is an American semi-retired, professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, driving the No. 114 for Sterling Marlin Racing. He formerly competed in the N ...

, and

Steadman Marlin Steadman Marlin (born October 29, 1980) is an American former stock car racing driver. Marlin, the son of Sterling Marlin and grandson of the late Coo Coo Marlin, made his NASCAR debut in 2000. Racing career Busch Series Marlin made his NASCAR d ...

all shared the ride for the rest of the season. In 2006, the No. 12 car has seen several different drivers through the first 25 races of the season. Joel Kauffman was slated to run the full schedule for the team this year, however after struggling the team scaled back his schedule.

David Reutimann Emil David Reutimann (born March 2, 1970) is an American professional stock car racing crew chief and former driver. A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, he has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Camping World ...

ran the car at Daytona because Kauffman had not received approval for superspeedway racing.

Tracy Hines Tracy Lee Hines (born May 1, 1972) is an American professional stunt driver. He was the 2000 USAC Silver Crown Champion and 2002 USAC National Sprint Car Champion. He currently does not have a full-time ride in NASCAR as he competes for Tony Stew ...

and Mike Skinner drove the car in multiple races. For the 2007 season, Fitz Motorsports switched to the No. 22 and signed David Stremme and Mike Bliss as their principal drivers. Both drivers had great success in the No. 22, with Bliss scoring the team's best finish of second at

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. When the team came to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

for the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 200, the team - in a last-second decision - placed Canadian CART regular

Patrick Carpentier Patrick Carpentier (born August 13, 1971) is a retired Canadian professional auto racing driver. In the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series, he achieved five wins and 24 podiums, as well as two third place championship finishes in 2002 ...

in the car. Carpentier won the pole position for the race and charged from 6th with less than 2 laps to go to finish second to

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, ...

. Bliss returned in 2008 to drive full-time, but left for Phoenix Racing after six races, and was replaced by various Cup drivers including Robby Gordon and Reed Sorenson. Michael Waltrip Racing development driver

Josh Wise Joshua Wise (born February 7, 1983) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an athletic trainer for Chip Ganassi Racing. He began racing in open wheel cars. Wise won the 1999 USAC 3/4 Midget Division, 2005 USAC ...

became the new driver for thirteen races with one top-five finish. Of note, Fitz switched temporarily to Toyota during Wise's runs with the team. A wide variety of drivers including ex-Champ Car driver

Andrew Ranger Andrew Ranger (born November 20, 1986) is a Canadian professional racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Pinty's Series, driving the No. 27 for Paillé Course//Racing. Ranger is a veteran of the Pinty's Series, having claimed 28 wins ...

2008 Daytona 500 The 2008 Daytona 500, the 50th annual running of the event, was held on February 17, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was the 50th to be run since the first in 1959, won by Lee Petty. To commemorate the ev ...

winner Ryan Newman, Jarit Johnson, and

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His ...

development driver A driver development program (or driver development team) is a system or structure designed for young kart and race car drivers to learn and perfect their racing skills. These programmes are devised by racing teams, external companies and funded ...

Marc Davis, took over for the rest of the season. This team shut down in early 2009.

Car No. 36 history

The team expanded to two cars in 2003 halfway through the season as the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

came aboard to sponsor the No. 14 for nine races. Casey Atwood debuted the car at Kentucky Speedway, bringing it home in 9th place. Atwood ran 11 races that year, posting four top-ten finishes. Atwood came back in 2004, and had seven top-tens, when he was dismissed after Lowe's. His immediate replacement was

Dave Blaney David Louis Blaney (born October 24, 1962) is a semi-retired American professional stock car racing driver. Blaney was a successful sprint car driver before he started racing in NASCAR, competing in both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Ser ...

for one race, with

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 ...

David Stremme David Andrew Stremme (born June 19, 1977) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Early career Stremme was born in South Bend, Indiana. His racing roots can be traced back to Midwestern short track racing, where he followed in the f ...

named as his permanent replacement. As part of the arrangement to bring Stremme to the team, FitzBradshaw agreed to align themselves with Chip Ganassi Racing, who had him under contract as part of a driver development deal. This would allow the team to finish the season as a Chevrolet team, but beginning the next year both the No. 12 and the No. 14 would switch to Dodge as Ganassi's team was fielding the vehicles at the time. Stremme ran the No. 14 full-time in 2005, and had ten top-tens, finishing 13th in points, before moving up to compete in the

NEXTEL Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

series.

was hired to run in the No. 14 Dodge for the 2006 season, however sponsorship issues forced the team to compete on a limited basis.

competed for the team in two races and A. J. Foyt IV competed in one race for the team. It was announced in July 2006 that

Family Dollar Family Dollar Stores, Inc. is an American variety store chain. With over 8,000 locations in all states except Alaska and Hawaii, it was the second largest retailer of its type in the United States until it was acquired by Dollar Tree in 2015 and i ...

would sponsor the car for nine races and the team would feature Ricky Craven, Carlos Contreras, and Mike Skinner as drivers. Fitz Motorsports changed the car number to No. 44 for 2007 and Rubén Pardo qualified for the team's first race at the Telcel-Motorola México 200, followed up by another start 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, ...

Mike Bliss Michael Duane Bliss (born April 5, 1965) is an American professional stock car racing driver. A journeyman NASCAR competitor and the 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, he has run in all three national series. Racing career Bliss began ...

also drove the No. 44 with

sponsorship at

Lowe's 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 including ...

in May 2007. For 2008,

Kenny Wallace Kenneth Lee Wallace (born August 23, 1963) is an American race car driver and former reporter for Fox NASCAR. He retired from NASCAR in 2015 after driving in the national series since 1988. In a career spanning twenty-five years in NASCAR, Wallace ...

was signed to drive the No. 36 with sponsorship from Shark Energy Drink. Although Wallace missed the season opener at Daytona, he ran all following races until owner Armando Fitz announced on March 17 that the No. 36 team would only run part-time due to a lack of product distribution, and the owner points of the 36 were switched the No. 28 of Wallace's new team. The No. 36 began running part-time with Pardo and Charles Lewandoski driving midway through the season.

Car No. 40 history

The third FitzBradshaw car made its debut in 2003, with Jimmy Spencer driving the No. 82

Chevrolet at

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 ...

, finishing sixth. Casey Atwood attempted the

spring race in the No. 82

NAVY A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

Chevrolet, failing to qualify. Atwood later drove the car at the Tropicana Twister 300 sponsored by Jani-King, finishing 21st.

Randy LaJoie Randall Joesph LaJoie (born August 28, 1961) is a former NASCAR Busch Series race car driver (now the Xfinity Series), where he won the championship in 1996 and 1997. He is the father of racers Casey and Corey LaJoie. Early racing career LaJo ...

drove the car again at Phoenix, finishing 14th. LaJoie continued to run the car part-time in 2004 with sponsorship from Jani-King and

Goulds Pumps Xylem Inc. is a large American water technology provider, in public utility, residential, commercial, agricultural and industrial settings. The company does business in more than 150 countries. Launched in 2011 as the spinoff of the water-relate ...

, his best finish being 13th 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 ...

also ran two races in the car. In 2005, the team became a driver development team for Chip Ganassi Racing, and switched to Ganassi's No. 40 with sponsorship from

and Cottman Transmission.

began the season with the team, with Carlos Contreras and Ganassi development driver Scott Lagasse Jr. filling in. Towards the end of the season, Contreras, Paul Wolfe, and Erin Crocker got majority of the starts in the car.

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 ...

ran the

Aaron's 312 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 ...

at Atlanta in March in the car after the transmission on his regular No. 41

Discount Tire Discount Tire Company is an independent tire and wheel retailer. Discount Tire operates in most of the lower 48 states in the United States, and is the largest independent tire and wheel retailer in the world. The company is headquartered in ...

car mysteriously locked up during qualifying for the race. For 2006, Michael Waltrip purchased the team's owners points and began a partnership with FBR to run the No. 99

Dodge.

Other series

In addition to the Busch Series, Fitz Motorsports operated race teams in other series as well. In 2007, they fielded entries in the NASCAR Busch East Series with Ruben Pardo as the team's driver, with Pierre Borque racing on a part-time basis, and the

NASCAR Mexico Series The NASCAR Mexico Series (formerly NASCAR Corona Series and other names) is a NASCAR series in Mexico. It is the most prestigious stock car racing series in the country. Origins (Desafío Corona) The Desafío Corona was established in 2004 by ...

, where Carlos Pardo drove the team's FitzContreras Racing entry, along with development driver

Maxime Dumarey Maxime is a French given name that may refer to: As a name *Maxime Bernier (born 1963), former Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs *Maxime Bôcher Maxime Bôcher (August 28, 1867 – September 12, 1918) was an American mathematician who publishe ...

. In 2007, the team partnered with Hyper Sport to race in the

Grand-Am Road Racing Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series ...

series. Ruben Pardo raced in 2008 in the East Series for Fitz. For 2009, former

Rusty Wallace Racing Rusty Wallace Racing, LLC (RWR), formerly known as Rusty Wallace, Inc. (RWI) was a NASCAR racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near Charlotte. Owned by former NASCAR Winston Cup champion and commentator Rusty Wallace, the team compet ...

driver Chase Austin was to drive the No. 32 Chevrolet in the Camping World Truck Series and Jarit Johnson, younger brother of five time Sprint Cup champion

was to drive in the

. However, the team shut down before their plans could come to fruition.

References

External links

Trail Motorsports HomepageFitz Contreras Vazquez racing team Official Website
* *{{Racing-Reference owner, Terry_Bradshaw (Terry Bradshaw) American auto racing teams 2001 establishments in North Carolina Companies disestablished in 2009 Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina Defunct NASCAR teams Defunct sports teams in North Carolina 2009 disestablishments in North Carolina Companies established in 2001