Ultra 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 ...
Winston 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, ...
and
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...
racing team.
Jim Smith helped start the team and the Craftsman Truck Series. It ran full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series from
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
to
2005, earning 31 series wins and a championship in 2005 with
Ted Musgrave
Theodore Musgrave (born December 18, 1955) is an American former stock car racing driver.
Pre-NASCAR
Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukegan, and Wi ...
. Early in
2006, Ultra announced that they would close up shop after a fallout with
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 ...
.
Winston Cup
Ultra Motorsports began running Winston Cup in 1994, when
P. J. Jones
Parnell Velko "P. J." Jones (born April 23, 1969) is an American professional racing driver. He has contested in multiple disciplines, including NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA GT Championship, the American Le Mans Series, USAC, the Chili Bowl, and the S ...
drove the No. 06
Ford Thunderbird
The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was pr ...
at Phoenix, finishing 29th, nine laps down. The next season,
Butch Gilliland
Leonard N. "Butch" Gilliland (born February 25, 1958) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series driver from California. He was the 1997 Winston West Series champion and based on the west coast. All of his 10 Cup starts ca ...
ran the No. 38 Ford at
Sonoma, but finished 42nd after an early engine failure. Ultra returned to Cup in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
with the No. 32. Mike Wallace qualified at
Richmond, finishing 24th.
Midway through 2000,
Mattei Motorsports
Geoff Bodine Racing (also known as GEB Racing) was a NASCAR Winston Cup and Craftsman Truck Series team. It was owned and operated by former NASCAR driver Geoffrey Bodine following his purchase of the estate of Alan Kulwicki. He remained owner of ...
sold partial interest in the team to Ultra and Smith, who bought out Mattei one month later. The team inherited the No. 7 Chevrolet Monte Carlo and its driver
Michael Waltrip, and kept the team's sponsorship with construction equipment rental service NationsRent. Waltrip left the team after a 29th-place points finish.
In 2001, Ultra went back to fielding Fords and signed Mike Wallace to replace Waltrip. Wallace struggled and with the season entering its first road race at Sonoma, Ultra decided to go with a more experienced road course driver and hired
Robby Gordon
Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, IMSA, IROC and the Dakar Rally. He is active in top-tier off road motorsports such as BITD, N ...
, who had been hired to replace
Bobby Hamilton
Charles Robert Hamilton Sr. (May 29, 1957 – January 7, 2007) was an American stock car racing driver. A driver and owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series circuit and the winner of the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship, Hamilt ...
in the No. 4
Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...
car for
Morgan-McClure Motorsports but was himself fired and replaced by
Kevin Lepage
Kevin Paul Lepage (born June 26, 1962) is a retired American professional stock car racing driver, who last drove in NASCAR in 2014.
Racing career
Early career
Lepage spent the 1980s driving in both the Busch North series and the Vermont-based ...
early in the season, to drive the No. 7 on the road course. Gordon contended for the win most of the day, finally placing second and giving Ultra its best ever finish. Wallace returned to the car afterward, but left the team to replace the fired
Jeremy Mayfield
Jeremy Allen Mayfield (born May 27, 1969) is an American stock car racing driver. He drove cars for the Sadler brothers, T.W. Taylor, Cale Yarborough, Michael Kranefuss, Roger Penske, Ray Evernham, Bill Davis, and Gene Haas. In 2009, he drove for ...
at
Penske Racing
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organizati ...
in October and Lepage replaced him after leaving the No. 4 team.
For the
2002 season, Ultra underwent three significant changes. As the previous season was drawing to a close,
Evernham Motorsports
Evernham Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing organization that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2000 by former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a two-c ...
announced it had signed
Jeremy Mayfield
Jeremy Allen Mayfield (born May 27, 1969) is an American stock car racing driver. He drove cars for the Sadler brothers, T.W. Taylor, Cale Yarborough, Michael Kranefuss, Roger Penske, Ray Evernham, Bill Davis, and Gene Haas. In 2009, he drove for ...
to drive for the team. Since Evernham's team, one of the charter teams in
Dodge's return to NASCAR, already had two drivers under contract, this required some maneuvering to be done. Ultra and Evernham, therefore, struck an agreement. Mayfield would join
Bill Elliott on Evernham's team and take over the No. 19 Dodge-sponsored car. The No. 19's incumbent driver,
Casey Atwood, would then move over to Ultra and take over the No. 7. In return, Evernham and Ultra would enter into a partnership where Ultra would switch from Ford to Dodge and the team would become known as Ultra-Evernham Motorsports, with
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings.
Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially lau ...
coming on to sponsor the No. 7 and the team adopting Evernham's car numbering style.
The arrangement did not last the entire season. Atwood, who had finished third in the Rookie of the Year standings in 2001, struggled mightily in the No. 7 and Smith elected to release him with two races left in the season and promote Truck Series driver
Jason Leffler
Jason Charles Leffler (September 16, 1975 – June 12, 2013) was an American professional open-wheel and stock car racing driver. Leffler began racing in the open-wheel ranks, competing in the 2000 Indianapolis 500 before moving to primaril ...
to finish the season. Evernham responded by pulling their support from Ultra and thus the team went back to simply being known as Ultra Motorsports.
Despite the troubles, Ultra remained with Dodge and Sirius for
2003. Leffler returned to the Truck Series and Smith hired
Jimmy Spencer to pilot the No. 7. This was Spencer's third team in as many seasons; he had left the No. 26
Kmart
Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States.
The company was inc ...
-sponsored Ford
Haas-Carter Motorsports
Travis Carter Enterprises (later known as Haas-Carter Motorsports, K Mart Racing, BelCar Motorsports and Richardson-Haas Motorsports) was a NASCAR and USAR Pro Cup team. It was mostly owned by former crew chief Travis Carter and Carl Haas. The ...
to take over for Leffler at
Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of 2001, only to be replaced by
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 ...
as driver of the No. 41
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
-sponsored Dodge after 2002. Despite being suspended for one race after an altercation with
Kurt Busch, Spencer managed to improve the team's final positioning and finished 29th with four top ten finishes. Ultra even expanded to field a second car for
Ted Musgrave
Theodore Musgrave (born December 18, 1955) is an American former stock car racing driver.
Pre-NASCAR
Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukegan, and Wi ...
in selected races, carrying Sirius sponsorship and No. 07. The team ran only two races in
2004 after struggling to find a sponsor.
In 2005,
Robby Gordon
Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, IMSA, IROC and the Dakar Rally. He is active in top-tier off road motorsports such as BITD, N ...
purchased the team and named it
Robby Gordon Motorsports
Robby Gordon Motorsports is a motorsports constructor owned by Robby Gordon. The company was formed in 2005 as a race team for Gordon's NASCAR career. RGM spent the years of 2005 to 2012 competing in the NASCAR Cup Series, and part-time stints ...
.
Craftsman Truck Series
Truck No. 1 history
The No. 1 truck made its CTS debut at the
2001 Florida Dodge Dealers 200.
Ted Musgrave
Theodore Musgrave (born December 18, 1955) is an American former stock car racing driver.
Pre-NASCAR
Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukegan, and Wi ...
drove the
Mopar
Mopar is the parts, service, and customer care division of the former Chrysler Corporation, now owned by Netherlands-based automobile manufacturer Stellantis. It serves as a primary OEM accessory seller for Stellantis brands under the Mopar bran ...
-sponsored Dodge to a 22nd-place finish after suffering water pump failure. Musgrave was able to recover and won seven races that season. Musgrave won two races over the next two years, and almost won the championship in
2003, but lost it after jumping a restart at the season finale. During the course of the season, he had been diagnosed with
bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become ma ...
. After another near miss at the title in
2004, Musgrave took only one win in
2005 but finally won the championship, the first in Ultra's history. Dodge announced during the season that they would stop supporting Ultra's team. Ultra spent the offseason trying to work out a deal with
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 ...
, but talks fell off, and Ultra was forced to shut down. Smith would later say, in a 2011 interview, that while he had enough sponsorship to keep the team going (even without manufacturer support), the team would not be as competitive as he liked, and that, combined with missing his family while racing, led to his decision to close the doors. The equipment and owner's points were sold to
R3 Racing.
Truck No. 2 history
Ultra Motorsports made its official Truck debut in the series' first race, the
Copper World Classic at
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
. The team was the No. 08
Ford F-150
The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford since the 1948 model year. Slotted above the Ford Ranger in the Ford truck model range, the F-Series is marketed as a range of full-sized pickup trucks. ...
driven by
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 ...
, and sponsored by Smith's company,
Ultra Custom Wheels. Finishing 14th in that race, Bliss ran with the team for the entire year, when it switched to No. 2 at
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. Bliss won once at
North Wilkesboro
North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States, approximately 80 miles north of Charlotte. The population was 4,131 at the 2020 US Census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's Home Improvemen ...
and finished eighth in points that season. His crew chief
Barry Dodson
Barry Dodson was an American stock car crew chief. He was the crew chief for Rusty Wallace's 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship for Blue Max Racing. He pitted for several drivers won a combined 19 Cup races.
Racing career
Dodson began ...
won 1989 Winston Cup championship with
Rusty Wallace
Russell William "Rusty" Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He has won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Over the course of his successful care ...
In
1996,
Team ASE Racing came on board as sponsor, and Bliss picked up two more wins and moved into fifth in points. After another top-five finish in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
, Bliss slipped to tenth in the standings, and left for
Roush Racing. Smith replaced him 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 ...
, who won in the first race of the season at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. Another win at the
NAPA 300K
Napa or NAPA may refer to:
Places
* Napa, California, the county seat of Napa County, California
* Napa County, California, United States
* Napa River, California
* Napa Valley AVA, an "American Viticultural Area" designated wine region
* Ranch ...
propelled Wallace to a sixth-place finish in points. After winning twice more in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
, Wallace moved up to Ultra's Winston Cup program.
In addition to switching to
Dodge Ram
The Ram pickup (marketed as the Dodge Ram until 2010) is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by Stellantis North America (formerly Chrysler Group LLC and FCA US LLC) and marketed from 2010 onwards under the Ram Trucks brand. The current fi ...
s in 2001, Smith hired
Scott Riggs
Russell Scott Riggs (born January 1, 1971) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the 92 for RBR Enterprises in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Racing career Early career
Riggs was born in Bahama, Nort ...
to drive the No. 2. Riggs picked up five wins as well as three straight pole positions, and finished fifth in points. However, he moved up to
ppc Racing
ppc Racing is a former NASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team was owned by Greg Pollex. ppc Racing came about from a merger of Pollex's Busch Series team with a car owned by Steve DeSouza and Ted Campbell in 1999. The tea ...
in the Busch Series in the No. 10
Nestle Nesquik
Nesquik is a brand of food products made by Swiss company Nestlé. In 1948, Nestlé launched a drink mix for chocolate-flavored milk called Nestlé Quik in the United States; this was released in Europe during the 1950s as ''Nesquik''.
Since 1 ...
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 Smith hired
Jason Leffler
Jason Charles Leffler (September 16, 1975 – June 12, 2013) was an American professional open-wheel and stock car racing driver. Leffler began racing in the open-wheel ranks, competing in the 2000 Indianapolis 500 before moving to primaril ...
to take his place. Although he did not win a race in
2002, Leffler had eight pole positions and fifteen top-ten finishes. Leffler returned to Ultra in 2003, and picked up a victory at the
MBNA Armed Forces Family 200
The A-GAME 200 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock car race that takes place during the spring at Dover Motor Speedway.
History
The race was broadcast in the United States on ESPN until 2015, when the race moved to Fox. In 2016, the race was moved ...
, but was fired for what was called a violation of his contract; Winston Cup owner
Gene Haas
Eugene Francis Haas (born November 12, 1952) is the American founder, president, and sole stockholder of Haas Automation, a CNC machine tool manufacturer. He also has a presence in motorsports, having founded NASCAR team Haas CNC Racing (now kn ...
had hired Leffler to temporarily take over the No. 0
NetZero
NetZero is an Internet service provider based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. It is a subsidiary of United Online, which in turn is a subsidiary of investment bank B. Riley Financial. United Online is also the parent of Juno Online ...
Pontiac for
Haas CNC 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 ...
after regular driver
Jack Sprague
Jack Sprague (born August 8, 1964) is an American former stock car racing driver who has competed in all of NASCAR's three top divisions, most notably in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he won series championships in 1997, 1999 and 2001.
Rac ...
was fired and Smith dismissed him shortly thereafter.
Jimmy Spencer and
Andy Houston
Andrew Houston (born November 7, 1970) is an American stock car racing spotter and former driver. He is a veteran of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, scoring three wins.
Houston is the son of legendary Busch driver Tommy Houston and the younge ...
took over with Spencer picking up a win at
Loudon. Houston returned for 2004, but he and the team struggled and he was released.
P. J. Jones
Parnell Velko "P. J." Jones (born April 23, 1969) is an American professional racing driver. He has contested in multiple disciplines, including NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA GT Championship, the American Le Mans Series, USAC, the Chili Bowl, and the S ...
,
Jamie McMurray
James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed Jamie Mac, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for '' Fox NASCAR''. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018 ...
and
Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/ Procore Technolo ...
shared driving duties for the season, with McMurray and Kahne winning during their relief duties.
In
2005, Jimmy Spencer returned to the No. 2. Although he was unable to visit victory lane again, he put together nine top-ten finishes and a twelfth-place finish in points. It had already been decided not to run the No. 2 when Ultra announced it was closing its doors. The equipment and owner's points for this team were sold to
Evernham Motorsports
Evernham Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing organization that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2000 by former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a two-c ...
' ride for
Erin Crocker.
Other teams
Smith fielded additional trucks in the Truck Series. In 1995,
Butch Gilliland
Leonard N. "Butch" Gilliland (born February 25, 1958) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series driver from California. He was the 1997 Winston West Series champion and based on the west coast. All of his 10 Cup starts ca ...
drove the No. 06 in five races for Ultra, and had one top-ten finish. Late in the season, Ultra fielded the No. 08 for
John Borneman
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
at Phoenix, who finished 29th.
Eric Norris
Eric Scott Norris (born May 20, 1964) is an American former stock car racing driver and stuntman. He won the 2002 NASCAR Winston West Series Championship.
Norris is also a director and directed several episodes of the TV-series ''Walker, Texas R ...
was selected as the driver of the No. 02
Wolverine Vinyl Siding
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
Ford for five races, his best finish being 13th at
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
.
In 1998, the No. 1 truck was occupied by Bliss while
Dave Rezendes
Dave Rezendes (born October 5, 1959) is a former NASCAR driver. He competed in the Busch Series from 1988 until 1994. He joined NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series in its first season in 1995. Rezendes had his best season in 1996, when he won his onl ...
piloted the No. 2 in a one-race deal at Bristol. Later in the season,
Kenny Irwin Jr.
Kenneth Dale Irwin Jr. (August 5, 1969 – July 7, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver. He had driven in all three NASCAR national touring series, and had two total victories, both in the Craftsman Truck Series (today Camping World Tru ...
drove the No. 28
Cintas
Cintas Corporation () is an American corporation headquartered in Mason, Ohio which provides a range of products and services to businesses including uniforms, mats, mops, cleaning and restroom supplies, first aid and safety products, fire e ...
truck at Phoenix, finishing in the 20th position. The following season,
Joe Ruttman
Joe Ruttman (born October 28, 1944) is a retired American stock car racing driver who competed in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series. With 13 career wins in the Truck Series he is currently tied for 13t ...
ran one race in the No. 12 at the season opening
Florida Dodge Dealers 400K
The Baptist Health 200 is an annual 200-mile (321.869 km) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held at the Homestead–Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. The race began as a 250-mile race in 1996, but beginning with the 2002 season, the ...
, but exited early due to a vibration. The same fate befell Norris when he ran later in the season at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...
. Leffler drove one race at IRP in 2000, the last extra entry Ultra would field for three years. In 2003, Ultra debuted the No. 7 Dodge Ram.
Stuart Kirby
Stuart Kirby (born May 9, 1981) is an American stock car racing driver. He has driven in ARCA, the Busch Series, and the NEXTEL Cup Series. A former apprentice funeral director for his family's funeral home, he drove the No. 51 Chevrolet owned by ...
,
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
Tyler Walker piloted it that season.
In the 2003
Ford 200
The Baptist Health 200 is an annual 200-mile (321.869 km) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held at the Homestead–Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. The race began as a 250-mile race in 1996, but beginning with the 2002 season, the ...
, Ultra fielded five trucks. This drew fire from fans and drivers, especially points leader
Brendan Gaughan, who accused Smith as using the trucks as roadblocks to help Musgrave, who could overtake Gaughan for the points championship if he finished far enough ahead, take the championship. In addition to Musgrave's Mopar No. 1, Houston's Team ASE No. 2, and Walker's Dodge-sponsored No. 7, Smith entered the No. 10 Team ASE truck for Houston's brother
Marty and the No. 27 Ultra Wheels truck for
P. J. Jones
Parnell Velko "P. J." Jones (born April 23, 1969) is an American professional racing driver. He has contested in multiple disciplines, including NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA GT Championship, the American Le Mans Series, USAC, the Chili Bowl, and the S ...
. Gaughan would end up being taken out in a wreck with the No. 10 truck, cursing owner Jim Smith in his post race interview.
Gaughan's tirade was sprung from an incident where
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 ...
, who was driving Ultra's No. 10, got into an altercation involving Gaughan late in the race which knocked the points leader out of the race and cost him the championship. (As it turned out neither Gaughan nor Musgrave would become champion, as Musgrave was black flagged late in the race for passing before a restart and
Travis Kvapil
Travis Wade Kvapil ( ; born March 1, 1976) is an American professional stock car driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Silverado for Beaver Motorsports.
He was the 2003 NASCAR C ...
won the title instead; Kvapil himself was nearly taken out in the wreck.) The No. 7 would run final two races in 2004, with Norris driving. He would finish 13th at Homestead.
External links
Truck champion Ultra Motorsports team folds tent*
{{Geoff Bodine Racing
American auto racing teams
Companies based in North Carolina
Defunct NASCAR teams
Defunct companies based in North Carolina
Auto racing teams established in 1994
Auto racing teams disestablished in 2006