Xpress 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 hi ...

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 ...

team. The team won the Truck Series championship in 2002 and 2003 with

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

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 ...

, respectively. The team was owned by

Steve Coulter Steve Coulter is a team owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.Covitz, Randy (2003) "NASCAR trucks season preview: Rookie Kvapil moves in to championship truck", ''Kansas City Star'', 2003-02-16 His team, Xpress Motorsports, won the Truck Seri ...

until

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, when he sold the team to then team manager Dave Fuge, who owned the team until

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

when the team was sold to J. B. Scott. In late 2009 the team was again sold to Sprint Cup Series driver

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...

Beginnings

Xpress was formed in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, when Coulter founded the team to promote his company, IWX Motor Freight.

Randy Tolsma Randy Tolsma (born May 4, 1966) is an American former stock car racing driver. Tolsma began his racing career in go-karts at the age of nine, before moving into sprint cars, running as high as USAC, where he won four track championships. He fail ...

was hired to drive the No. 61

Chevrolet Silverado The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from th ...

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 ...

, and finished 29th after an early crash. Tolsma was named the team's full-time driver 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 t ...

, but only qualified for one-third of the first nine races of the season. Dave Fuge was hired as Crew Chief to rebuild the team and they rebounded to capture his first career win at

Mesa Marin Raceway Mesa Marin Raceway was a paved oval race track, located near the junction of CA 178 and CA 184 (Kern Canyon Road), east of Bakersfield, California. It opened in 1977 and was owned by Marion Collins throughout its existence. The Collins fami ...

. The team continued to run in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

with Tolsma driving and had ten top-tens and one pole position when they announced they were closing down their truck team at the end of the season to run the

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 ...

. Tolsma left after 22 races, and they switched to the No. 61, fielding entries for

Rick McCray Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

, Stan Boyd,

Blake Bainridge Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presuma ...

. They began running the Busch Series with the No. 61

Pontiac Grand Prix The Grand Prix is a line of automobiles produced by the Pontiac Division of General Motors from 1962 until 2002 for coupes and 1989–2008 for sedans. First introduced as a full-size performance coupe for the 1962 model year, the model varied ...

in 1998, fielding one race apiece for

Derrike Cope Derrike Wayne Cope (born November 3, 1958) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He is known for his win in the 1990 Daytona 500. He last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 f ...

and Joe Pezza. Cope qualified for three out of four races and had a best finish of fifteenth in 1999 before he was replaced by rookie driver Tony Roper. Roper posted three top-tens in sixteen starts but departed the team near the end of the season.

Robert Pressley Robert William Pressley (born April 8, 1959) is an American former NASCAR driver who previously served as the promoter at Kingsport Speedway in Kingsport, Tennessee. Pressley is now a County Commissioner in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Beginn ...

Morgan Shepherd Clay Morgan Shepherd (born October 12, 1941) is an American retired professional stock car racing driver and current team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 89 Chevrolet Camaro for Shepherd Racing Ven ...

, and

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 ...

drove the car for the rest of the season, with Shepherd posting a tenth-place finish at

North Carolina Motor Speedway Rockingham Speedway, formerly North Carolina Motor Speedway and later North Carolina Speedway is a racetrack located near Rockingham, North Carolina. It is also known as The Rock and previously hosted NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, ...

Hut Stricklin Waymond Lane "Hut" Stricklin Jr. (born June 24, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Stricklin grew up in Calera, Alabama. He married Pam Allison, the daughter of NASCAR legend Donnie Allison after they ...

was hired as the team's driver for the

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 ...

season and opened the year with a pole 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 was released ten races into the season. After Darrell Lanigan ran a one-race deal 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 th ...

, they did not run until the

Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Moto ...

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, ...

race, when they failed to qualify with

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 ...

driving. They returned to Busch at the end of the season, when

Tim Sauter Tim Sauter (born October 13, 1964) is an American race car driver. He has competed in the American Speed Association, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the Busch Series, and the Winston Cup Series. He is the son of Jim Sauter (racing driver), J ...

joined them with sponsorship from Stoops Freightliner. His best finish was fifteenth at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Rebirth

Sauter was named the team's permanent driver in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

and competed for

NASCAR Rookie of the Year The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year. History of the Award The Rookie of the Y ...

honors with Xpress, which was running Pontiacs and

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

s. After crew chief

Dave Fuge Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

was fined for a rules violation following 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 ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, the team closed its doors immediately and stopped running. Later in the season, Fuge decided to revive the team, and ran a one-race deal with Mike Bliss at

South Boston Speedway South Boston Speedway, or "SoBo", is a short track located just outside South Boston, Virginia. SoBo is located approximately east of another area familiar to most NASCAR fans, Martinsville. It is owned by Mattco, Inc., the Mattioli family tr ...

, where he finished ninth. Without the guarantee of funding from Coulter,Double The Pleasure
/ref> Xpress decided to make a full-time run with

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. They won five races and the Truck Series championship. In addition, they fielded a second entry for the first time in team history at the

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 ...

, with

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 ...

winning in the team's No. 11 entry. Bliss moved to the Busch Series for 2003 and

joined Xpress from

Addington Racing Addington Racing is a former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team. It was owned by Mike Addington and fielded Chevrolet Silverados from 1997 to 2002. Addington racing made its debut in 1997 at the Cummins 200, as the No. 65 driven by Andy Housto ...

. Kvapil won just one race that season and had already announced he was departing the team for Bang! Racing in

when he won the championship at the season-finale at Homestead, giving Xpress its second consecutive title. Three-time champion

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 ...

, who had driven the No. 11 in two races in 2003, joined the team full-time in 2004 with Chevy Trucks coming on as a full-time backer. Sprague won the inaugural

UAW/GM Ohio 250 The Ohio 250 was a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that was held at Mansfield Motorsports Park on Memorial Day weekend between 2004 and 2008. History The 2006 race saw 18 caution flags flown during the race, setting a series record. Dennis Set ...

and finished seventh in points. In

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, Coulter sold the team to Fuge, and Xpress attempted to field the No. 19 truck in addition to the No. 16 with rookie Regan Smith driving, but the team dissolved after three races. Sprague won 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° ...

, but left the team near the end of the season, and Bliss finished the rest of the year for the team, finishing fourth at Homestead. He ran with Xpress full-time with decreased support from Chevy, picking up a win 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 ...

. Xpress switched to the

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. ...

and began a variety of drivers racing in the 2007 season.

Stacy Compton Stacy Marshall Compton (born May 26, 1967) is a NASCAR former team owner and former driver. He is a former co-owner of Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia in the Craftsman Truck Series, and is a former racing analyst for ESPN full-time. Before he ran ...

, Kelly Bires,

Kenny Hendrick Kenny Hendrick (born September 10, 1969) is an American stock car racing driver. He is a former competitor in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series. He is the twin brother of former United States Auto Club, USAC Midget car racing ...

Scott Lagasse Jr. Scott E. Lagasse Jr. (; born January 31, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He formerly drove in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He is the son of former sports car and NASCAR driver Scott Lagasse Sr. He is the owne ...

Chris Fontaine Christopher Fontaine (born December 1, 1981) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He has competed in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, driving in 59 races, most notably for Glenden Enterprises. He is known for ...

, and

all raced 16, with Hendrick making the most starts. Travis Kittleson drove the second No. 19 truck at

O'Reilly Raceway Park Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park, O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Raceway) is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, United States, about northwest of Downtown Indianapolis, do ...

, but finished last. In September 2007, J. B. and Brian Scott bought a majority interest of the team, with Brian Scott driving the remaining races except for Talladega, as Scott had not been approved by NASCAR to run superspeedways. Cope ran in his place. Scott was to run for Rookie of the Year in the Trucks in 2008 with sponsorship from Shark Energy Drink and Albertson's. However, Shark Energy ended its program with Xpress and Fitz Motorsports in March 2008. On September 2, it was announced that Xpress would enter a technological allegiance with

Bill Davis Racing Bill Davis Racing was a racing team that participated in all three of NASCAR's top divisions until 2009. The team had run Toyota-branded stock cars and trucks in the Camping World Truck Series ( Toyota Tundra) since 2004 and Sprint Cup Series (T ...

and switching manufacturers to Toyota starting at the Qwik Liner Las Vegas 350. Scott scored five top tens in the final seven races of that year and won his first race at

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

in 2009. In 2009 the team was sold again to become

Kyle Busch Motorsports Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. They formerly competed in the CARS Tour, ARCA/CRA Super Series, Southern Super Series, and the ARCA Mena ...

References

External links

Shop Tour: Xpress Motorsports
{{Xpress Motorsports 1996 establishments in the United States American auto racing teams Defunct NASCAR teams Auto racing teams disestablished in 2009 2009 disestablishments in North Carolina