WP Motorsports was an

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 national ...

and

NASCAR Busch 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 ...

team.

History

The team owners were Steve Palac (Youngstown, OH), Darin Pinkham (Phoenix, AZ), Charles Woodruff and Scott Pinkham (Cornwall, NY). The team was formed in 2000 in preparation for the 2001

and the 2001

. In 2001 WP Motorsports entered in their first

race at

Gateway Motorsports Park World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a ...

at the

CarQuest Auto Parts 250 The 5-Hour Energy 250 was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois Madison is a city in Madison and St. Clair counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 3,891 at the 2010 census ...

in Illinois and finished in 20th place in their #12 car driven by Mike Swaim Jr. That same year they raced at

Michigan Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...

during the NASCAR Busch

NAPAonline.com 250 The Cabo Wabo 250 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that takes place at Michigan International Speedway. It is held on the same weekend as the track's NASCAR Cup Series race, the FireKeepers Casino 400. History First held in 1992, the race wa ...

and finished in 25th place. Also in 2001, WP Motorsports and Mike Swaim Jr. competed in eight ARCA races resulting in 5 top 5 finishes and 6 top ten finishes in their #22 car. In October 2001

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 ...

drove their #12 Busch Series car in the

Little Trees 300 The race last run as Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock car race that takes place at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The 1985 race was extended to , ...

Lowes 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 ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

and the

GNC Live Well 300 Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Xfinity Series has been held at the Homestead–Miami Speedway since the track's inauguration in 1995. For much of its history, it was the final race of the second-tier series' season. The event is currently ...

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 th ...

in November, finishing in 27th place at Lowes and a DNQ at Miami. Keith Strunk who was 1999 Cromwell Tools Crew Chief of the Year served as Crew Chief for the ARCA races and Tim Weiss, from

Dale Earnhardt Inc. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) was a race team founded by Dale Earnhardt and his wife, Teresa Earnhardt, to compete in the NASCAR series, the highest level of competition for professional stock car racing in the United States. From 1998 to 2009, th ...

served as crew Chief for the Busch races. Strunk would move to Car Chief for Busch races.

Sponsorship

Dynatek Telecommunications Inc was their primary sponsor. Dynatek was started and owned by Steve Palac, Darin Pinkham and Scott Pinkham, which were also the founders and owners of WP Motorsports. They were the motorsports team owners ''and'' primary sponsor of their own cars. Charles Woodruff was VP of Race Operations and co-owner of WP. Both the ARCA cars and Busch cars adorned the Dynatek Telecommunications red and white logo. In 2000, prior to forming their own race team, Dynatek sponsored Bill Baird in the

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, ...

Pocono 500 The Pocono Organics CBD 325 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race was the first of two NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, with the other being the Pocono 350, held the ...

. That race was the catalyst that inspired the owners to start their own race team. One year later in 2001, WP Motorsports would go on to race in ARCA at Pocono twice and finish both times in top the top 5. Two years later in 2002 they would go on to win at Pocono.

Notable Races

In 2002 WP Motorsports and Dynatek had two victories. Both victories were in ARCA and driven by Damon Lusk in the No. 22 Chevrolet. One victory came at

Pocono Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...

during the Pocono ARCA 200 and the other victory was at

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...

at the Pork the Other White Meat 400. WP Motorsports raced at

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 ...

a total of four times. Their best finish at Daytona was when Damon Lusk finished in 5th place. Lusk led the race for 12 laps. Only four drivers led laps that day and the race was cut short due to rain.

Charity

Hall of Fame quarterback and former

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

quarterback

Jim Kelly James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United State ...

served as Honorary Crew Chief for WP Motorsports and Dynatek. A portion of proceeds went to Jim Kelly's charity Hunters Hope. Mark Rush with Dynatek and WP Motorsports was in charge of WP's marketing and public relations and was teammates with Kelly at the University of Miami.

References

External links

* {{Racing-Reference owner, Chuck_Woodruff 2000 establishments in the United States 2003 disestablishments in the United States Defunct NASCAR teams