Washington-Erving Motorsports is a defunct American

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. It was owned by former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Joe Washington Joe Dan Washington Jr (born September 24, 1953) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Colts, Washington Redskins, and Atlanta Falcons. Early career Washington gradua ...

and former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

. Washington and Erving fielded cars in the

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 ...

(now

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 ...

) from 1998 to 2000.

Founding

Washington first piqued his interest in

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 hi ...

by attending the

1997 Daytona 500 The 1997 Daytona 500, the 39th running of the event, was held on February 16 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Consisted of 200 laps and 500 miles, it was the first race of the 1997 Winston Cup season. Mike Skinner, d ...

. He then convinced Erving to come on board, and they formed a team in the summer of 1997. The feelings were split about the new team, which at one time planned to field

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, ...

cars for

Rich Bickle Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

. Owner-driver

Geoff Bodine Geoffrey Edwin Bodine (born April 18, 1949) is a retired American motorsport driver and bobsled builder. He is the oldest of the three Bodine brothers (with Brett Bodine and Todd Bodine), and sister Denise. Bodine lives in West Melbourne, Florida ...

was against the team, but others, like Washington's former coach

Joe Gibbs Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former professional football coach. In football, he was head coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992, and a ...

and owner-driver

Ricky Rudd Richard Lee Rudd (born September 12, 1956), nicknamed "The Rooster", is an American former racing driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 career wins. He was named ...

were in support of the team. The team was only the third fully minority owned team, after

Wendell Scott Wendell Oliver Scott (August 29, 1921 – December 23, 1990) was an American stock car racing driver. He was one of the first African-American drivers in NASCAR and the first African-American to win a race in the Grand National Series, NASCAR's h ...

owned his own team and Thee Dixon owned

Mansion Motorsports A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

. Before the 1998 season started, the team secured number 50 in honor of that anniversary of

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

breaking baseball's color barrier. WEM hired the first female team president in NASCAR, Kathy Thompson.

Busch Series

Car No. 50 History

In 1998, the team failed to qualify for the first two races of the season with Jimmy Foster. Foster managed to qualify for four of the next five races, plus the

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

race. The team then rotated through nine more drivers.

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 younges ...

Dennis Setzer Dennis Setzer (born February 27, 1960) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He has driven in all three of NASCAR's top series, scoring eighteen wins in the Camping World Truck Series. Beginnings Setzer made his NASCAR debut in the ...

Jimmy Kitchens Jimmy Kitchens (born April 26, 1962) is an American former stock car racing driver. He participated in both the Busch Series as well as the Craftsman Truck Series. In 1998, he became part of the famed Alabama Gang. He was employed at Stewart ...

Nathan Buttke Nathan Buttke (born May 8, 1975) is a former stock car racing driver. The Randleman, North Carolina native competed in 55 NASCAR Busch Series races and 22 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races between 1992 and 2001. Racing career Winston West Ser ...

, and

Joe Buford Joseph Buford (born June 19, 1967) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Buford began his career at Duck River Speedway in 1989. He took his father's advice (two-time Nashville Speedway USA champ James "Flo ...

each made one start.

Stanton Barrett Stanton Thomas Barrett (born December 1, 1972) is an American professional stock car racing driver and Cinema of the United States, Hollywood stunt double, stuntman who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 47 Chevr ...

made two starts for the team, while Jeff Green and

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 ...

made three apiece.

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 ...

made five starts for the team. The team recorded no wins, top five or top ten finishes during that season. In 1999, Mark Green drove the entire schedule for the team. He failed to qualify for two races. Green failed to finish seven races, two due to crashes and five due to mechanical mishaps. He recorded one top ten finish, a tenth 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 ...

. Green and the team parted ways after the 1999 season. In 2000, the team started out with plans to run the entire season with Tony Roper. However, the team disbanded after

Dr Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Euro ...

pulled its sponsorship after Roper qualified for only three of the first twelve races.

References

{{Reflist Defunct NASCAR teams 1997 establishments in North Carolina 2000 disestablishments in North Carolina