Roehrig Motorsports is a former

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primaril ...

team that competed part-time in the

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 h ...

Winston Cup and full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series from 1995 to 1999. It was owned by longtime automotive engineer Kurt Roehrig and his wife Carmela. In 1999 and 2000, the team entered a partnership with track star

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...

and her husband to field a Winston Cup team in a venture called Joyner-Kersee-Roehrig Motorsports.

History

Winston Cup Series

Roehrig Motorsports entered Winston Cup competition at the inaugural

1998 Las Vegas 400 The 1998 Las Vegas 400 was the inaugural running of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mark Martin, driver of the Valvoline Ford, won the race, and also led the most laps with 82. Dale Jarrett of the Quality Care Serv ...

, entering the #19 Yellow Freight

Ford Taurus The Ford Taurus is an automobile that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States from the 1986 to 2019 model years. Introduced in late 1985 for the 1986 model year, six generations were produced over 34 years; a brief hiat ...

with

Tony Raines Floyd Anthony Raines (born April 14, 1964) is a retired American professional stock car racing driver. He is a former National Touring Series champion in the now defunct American Speed Association and 1999 Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nation ...

driving, but did not qualify."1998 Las Vegas 400." Racing-Reference.info. Web. 1 Nov. 2015."Car Number 19 in 1998." Racing-Reference.info. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. The combination made two more attempts at

California Speedway Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...

and

Michigan International 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 ...

but also failed to qualify for both events. Roehrig Motorsports made its official race debut at the Save Mart/Kragen 350 at Sears Point Raceway with team shop foreman

Tom Hubert Tom Hubert (born August 6, 1964) is an American road course racer. Hubert was born in Cottonwood, California. He most recently worked as a rear tire changer and a mechanic for Bill Davis Racing's #22 Sprint Cup team, before the team closed down, ...

driving and Bradford White sponsoring. They qualified tenth but finished forty-first after dropping out with

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission ** ...

issues after seventy-eight laps."1998 Save Mart / Kragen 350." – Racing-Reference.info. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. Following this race, Roehrig made two more Cup attempts with Yellow Freight sponsorship, with

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 ...

at 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 ...

and with Raines at Michigan, but failed to qualify for both events. Roehrig returned to Cup competition in 1999 at the Las Vegas 400 with Hubert and Bradford White, qualifying fourth but finishing twenty-eighth, five laps down. "1999 Las Vegas 400." – Racing-Reference.info. Web. 1 Nov. 2015."Car Number 19 in 1999." Racing-Reference.info. Web. 1 Nov. 2015 Their next appearance came at Sonoma, this time fielding a

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 varie ...

for Hubert, starting thirtieth and finishing thirty-third."1999 Save Mart / Kragen 350." – Racing-Reference.info. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. At the next road course race at the 1999 Frontier @ the Glen, the team leased the #19 to

Paul Gentilozzi Paul Gentilozzi (born February 6, 1950 in Lansing, Michigan) is a race car driver and businessman. His non-racing business interests are real estate development, principally developing office buildings for institutions and Government Agencies. ...

after he wrecked the #92 Homelink Ford he originally planned to enter, but the effort did not qualify. Roehrig made his final Cup attempt of 1999 with Hubert the following week but Michigan, but failed to qualify. Late in 1999, Roehrig formed a partnership with trainer

Bob Kersee Bob Kersee (born in the Canal Zone, Panama) is an American track coach. He was the coach and husband of Olympic gold medallist Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Career He is a graduate of San Pedro High School, Los Angeles Harbor College where he was a ...

and his wife Jackie Joyner-Kersee to field a Winston Cup team for the 2000 season. The effort, known as Joyner-Kersee-Roehrig Motorsports, made its only appearance at the 2000

Bud Shootout The Busch Light Clash is an annual pre-season NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event held in February before the season-opening Daytona 500. The event was held each year at Daytona International Speedway since the race's inception in 1979 until 2022, ...

, running the #34 Chevrolet with

David Green David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

driving and

Kendall Motor Oil Kendall may refer to: Places Australia * Kendall, New South Wales United States * Kendall, Florida * Kendall, Kansas *Kendall, Missouri * Kendall, New York *Kendall, Washington * Kendall, Lafayette County, Wisconsin *Kendall, Monroe County, Wi ...

and

Sunoco Sunoco LP is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware state laws and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that is a wholesale distributor of motor fuels. It distributes fuel to more than 5,500 Sunoco-branded gas stations ...

sponsoring, finishing twelfth. Green and the team were entered in the

2000 Daytona 500 The 2000 Daytona 500, the 42nd running of the event, was held February 20, 2000 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of both the 2000 NASCAR Winson Cup season and the 2000s decade. Dale Jarrett, the pol ...

but withdrew their entry after time trials, and after the team was unable to find sponsorship, did not make an appearance in Winston Cup again.

Craftsman Truck Series

Truck #18 History

Roehrig Motorsports debuted in the inaugural Craftsman Truck Series race, the 1995 Copper World Classic.

Johnny Benson Jonathan Thomas Benson Jr. (born June 27, 1963) is an American retired stock car racing driver and the son of former Michigan modified driver John Benson Sr. Benson has raced across NASCAR's three national series (Cup, Busch, Truck), and his c ...

qualified the #18 Hella Lights/ Performance Friction

Chevrolet C/K C/K is a series of trucks that was manufactured by General Motors from the 1960 to 2002 model years. Marketed by both the Chevrolet and GMC divisions, the C/K series encompassed a wide range of vehicles. While most commonly associated with pick ...

fourth and finished tenth. Benson made six more starts that season with Performance Friction sponsorship, his best being a second at

Indianapolis 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. It ...

Wally Dallenbach Jr. Wally Dallenbach Jr. (born May 23, 1963) is an American racing driver who formerly competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He competed in 226 Winston Cup races from 1991 to 2001 and had 23 top 10 finishes. The son of open wheel racer and forme ...

and Davy Jones made starts at Sonoma and

Heartland Park Topeka Heartland Motorsports Park, formerly known as Heartland Park Topeka, is a multi-purpose motorsports facility south of downtown Topeka, Kansas near the Topeka Regional Airport. When it opened in 1989, Heartland Motorsports Park was the first new ...

, respectively, with Dallenbach finishing second in his lone start. Roehrig made another attempt at a part-time schedule with the #18 in 1996, starting with Benson who brought along

Pennzoil Pennzoil is an American motor oil brand currently owned by Shell plc. The former Pennzoil Company had been established in 1913 in Pennsylvania, being active in business as an independent firm until it was acquired by Shell in 2002, becoming a bra ...

sponsorship and finished in the top ten in all four of his starts, winning one pole. Along with Benson,

Steve Park Stephen Park (born August 23, 1967) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He won races in NASCAR's two top Northeast touring series (Modified and K&N East) and all three national divisions (Truck, Busch, Cup Series). Par ...

, and

all made a series of one-off starts in the truck, with Park and Gordon each earning a top-ten 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 ...

. Roehrig attempted a full-time schedule in the #18 with

Michael Dokken Michael Dokken (born June 4, 1971) is a retired American stock car racing driver and a former competitor in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Career Dokken first achieved notice in 1990, when he won the first race he ever competed in at New Smy ...

driving with sponsorship from

Dana Corporation Dana Incorporated is an American supplier of axles, driveshafts, transmissions, and electrodynamic, thermal, sealing, and digital equipment for conventional, hybrid, and electric-powered vehicles. The company's products and services are aimed a ...

. Despite a pole position early in the season and two top-five finishes, Dokken struggled with consistency and was released midway through the season. He was replaced with a rotation of replacement drivers including

Kevin Cywniski Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

Ted Christopher Theodore Christopher (June 5, 1958 – September 16, 2017) was an American professional racing driver and business owner who raced and won in many different types of race cars, including Modifieds, SK Modifieds, ISMA, Camping World East Series, ...

, and Jerry Marquis along with Benson and Gordon. Hubert recorded the highest finish of the year with a 2nd place finish at

Sonoma Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the souther ...

. The #18 team did not return for 1998.

Truck #19 History

Roehrig Motorsports debuted the #19

Dodge Ram The Ram pickup (marketed as the Dodge Ram until 2010) is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by Chrysler, Stellantis North America (formerly Chrysler Group LLC and FCA US LLC) and marketed from 2010 onwards under the Ram Trucks brand. The cur ...

in 1997 with rookie

and sponsorship from Pennzoil. After failing to qualify for two of the first four races, Raines won his first career race at

I-70 Speedway I-70 Motorsports Park, formally known as I-70 Speedway, is a multi-purpose motorsports facility near Interstate 70 east of Odessa, Missouri, USA. The track, first opened in 1969, was open yearly until its closure in 2008. After more than a decad ...

and had seven top-ten finishes, ending the season fifteenth in the championship standings and third in the Rookie of the Year competition. The team switched to Ford 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 s ...

, and Raines won three additional races and finished a career-best fifth in points. Following the team's decision to focus on its Winston Cup operation, the Craftsman Truck team closed its doors.

References

{{reflist Companies based in North Carolina Defunct NASCAR teams Auto racing teams established in 1995 Auto racing teams disestablished in 1999