Obaika Racing is an African professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

team. The team is owned by African entrepreneur Victor Obaika. It has competed in the

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 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, ...

and

NASCAR Xfinity 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 team was formed in early 2015 and competed full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2015 and 2016. The team purchased some assets of

BK Racing BK Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that fielded entries in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series from 2012 to 2018. It most recently fielded the No. 23 Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion for J. J. Yeley, Gray Gaulding, and o ...

, a

Monster Energy 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. ...

team, in August 2018. The team is 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 ...

, thirty minutes away from

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 including th ...

. It was the first African-owned team in NASCAR.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

In July 2018, Obaika obtained some equipment from the bankrupt

team

for nearly $300,000. Around September 3, 2018, Obaika Racing owner Victor Obaika announced plans to race at some point in the remainder of the 2018 season.

Car No. 97 history

On October 5, 2018, Obaika announced that they would attempt their first ever MENCS race at

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 ...

, fielding the No. 97 Vroombrands

Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...

for the

2018 1000Bulbs.com 500 The 2018 1000Bulbs.com 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on October 14, 2018, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 193 laps – extended from 188 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.66 mi ...

with David Starr. He ultimately failed to qualify for the race. Obaika Racing later announced that they would attempt the last three races of the MENCS season. The team made its official MENCS debut at the 2018 AAA Texas 500, with Starr finishing at 39th place.

Tanner Berryhill Tanner Blake Berryhill (born November 29, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes for Tyler Thomas Motorsports in Dirt Midgets, driving the No. 91B Toyota. He has also competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfin ...

drove the No. 97 car at the

2018 Can-Am 500 The 2018 Can-Am 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on November 11, 2018, at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the one mile (1.6 km) oval, it was the 35th race of the 2018 Monster Energy ...

ISM Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship ...

and finished 31st. Berryhill drove the No. 97 again at Homestead-Miami Speedway and finished 38th. Obaika Racing planned to run a full-time Cup car in 2019 with Berryhill. On February 8, 2019, Obaika Racing withdrew from the

2019 Daytona 500 The 2019 Daytona 500, the 61st running of the event, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 17, 2019, Contested over 207 laps—extended from 200 laps due to an overtime finish, on the asphalt superspeedway. After three m ...

qualifying due to various circumstances. They were briefly on the entry list for the spring race in Texas, before withdrawing once again. The team ultimately didn't compete in a Cup race in 2019, and eventually folded in 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Car No. 97 Results

Xfinity Series

Car No. 77 history

On July 16, 2016, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Obaika Racing introduced a second Chevrolet, the No. 77, also sponsored by VroomBrands. At Iowa Speedway,

Claire Decker Claire Decker (born February 22, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Decker was a 2014 participant in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity. Racing career Decker raced in northern Wisconsin. She moved from Super Stock cars to Su ...

attempted to make her Xfinity Series debut driving this second Obaika car while her sister Paige ran the No. 97, but Claire failed to qualify on time and did not have owner points to fall back on. The No. 77 ran for much of the season's remainder, piloted by Josh Bilicki, Austin Theriault, Matt Waltz, Jordan Anderson, TJ Bell, and Spencer Boyd. The No. 77 team was announced to be a full-time team along with the No. 97 team, having

Stephen Leicht Stephen Russell Leicht (born January 9, 1987) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He has over 150 feature event wins in quarter midgets and go-karts, and was the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year. He last competed ...

as the driver. However, the No. 77 team withdrew before the Daytona race as Leicht moved over the No. 97 team. The team entered in the next three races, but withdraw before the qualifying in all but one (Las Vegas), where

Josh Bilicki Joshua M. Bilicki (born June 3, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Live Fast Motorsports. He has also previously competed in the N ...

failed to qualify. The team returned to the entry list after a four-month hiatus at

Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...

with Ohio native Gregory Vandersluis as a late entry. The team withdrew two days later. They were on the entry list for the Road America Xfinity Race but withdrew again. The team was on the entry list for the Charlotte October race, once again withdrawing.

Car No. 77 results

Car No. 97 history

Obaika Racing entered competition in 2015. The team signed driver

Josh Reaume Joshua Robert Reaume (born October 11, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver, engineer, and team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the Nos. 33 and 43 Toyota Tundras for his team ...

, who met team owner Victor Obaika while on humanitarian missions in Africa as a child. The 97 team debuted at the

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...

in the Xfinity Series season-opening

Alert Today Florida 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 ...

, with Reaume finishing 23rd. After three races, with one DNQ,

Peyton Sellers Peyton Sellers (born October 20, 1983) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He won the 2005 and 2021 national championship of NASCAR's Weekly Racing Series.Schaefer, Paul. ''Where Stars Are Born: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR W ...

replaced Reaume. In April 2015, the team secured their first sponsor vacation provider VroomBrands, which is owned by Obaika. VroomBrands wrapped the No. 97 in designs such as a Zebra representing their African safari package (debuted 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 ...

) and the Cheetah print representing their tours in Asia (debuted at

). At the

Winn-Dixie 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 ...

at Talladega, Sellers scored the team's first top-20 finish, finishing 18th despite being involved in a ten-car wreck that sent cars spinning down

pit road In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit lan ...

Johanna Long Johanna Robbins (; born May 26, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She is the winner of the 2010 Snowball Derby. Racing career Background Long's father raced late models and she wanted to start racing karts when she was f ...

replaced Sellers for the

U.S. Cellular 250 The U.S. Cellular 250 was a 250-lap, 218.75-mile NASCAR Xfinity Series race which was held at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa every summer from 2009 to 2019. It was traditionally held in late July or early August, while U.S. Cellular was the titl ...

Iowa Speedway Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretch ...

. After one more start for Sellers at Watkins Glen, the team introduced various drivers for the rest of the season.

Dylan Kwasniewski Dylan Kwasniewski ( ; born May 31, 1995) is an American real estate broker and former professional stock car racing driver. A champion in both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and Pro Series West, he was a developmental driver for Chip Ganassi Rac ...

debuted with the team in the Nationwide Children's Hospital at

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...

, finishing 34th due to mechanical problems after running in the top 10. Kwasniewski would run the next two races for the team.

Parker Kligerman Parker L. Kligerman (born August 8, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro for Big Machine Racing. Kligerman is a former development driver ...

drove the car in the

VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Xfinity Series has been held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina since the series' inaugural season in 1982. Currently, the track holds two races in the spring (as companion to Rebel 400) n ...

Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is ...

Mason Mingus Mason Mingus (born November 28, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series East, driving the No. 11 for Fast Track Racing, as well as part-time in the ARCA/CRA Super Series, driving ...

in the Furious 7 300 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 IndyC ...

, and

Ryan Ellis Ryan James Ellis (born January 3, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ellis was drafted eleventh overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft ...

in the Hisense 200 at the

Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per yea ...

. Magic Creeper appeared as the primary sponsor for the DAV 200 at the

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...

, with Kwasniewski as the driver. Obaika Racing completed the season in the top 30 in owner points. On January 29, 2016, it was announced that

Harrison Rhodes Harrison L. Rhodes (born July 15, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 52 Chevrolet Camaro for Jimmy Means Racing. Racing career A native of High Point ...

had been signed to drive the No. 97. Ryan Ellis, Alex Guenette, TJ Bell, Paige Decker, Matt Waltz, Josh Berry, Alli Owens, Jordan Anderson and Josh Bilicki all also raced for the team. The team also planned to expand to two cars. In 2017, the team returned with

driving in the early portion of the season but did not attempt a race after

Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the m ...

in spring. Despite that, they were still shown in the game Nascar Heat 2. On September 21, 2018, it was announced that Obaika would attempt the Charlotte Roval race, with

driving the 97 car. The team, however, failed to make the race. Obaika had planned to run a full-time Xfinity car in 2019, but nothing ever materialized.

Car No. 97 results

K&N Pro Series West

Obaika entered the 2018 race at

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...

with South African driver

Arnout Kok Arnout Kok (born February 28, 1977) is a South African professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the Nos. 01/10 Toyota for Fast Track Racing. Racing career Early racing career K& ...

, marking the first

K&N Pro Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

foray for both driver and team. However, the team withdrew from the race. Obaika paid another team to prepare a car for the race, but the car that was provided failed to pass inspection.

References

External links

* {{Obaika Racing 2015 establishments in North Carolina American auto racing teams Companies based in North Carolina NASCAR teams Auto racing teams established in 2015 Auto racing teams disestablished in 2020