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The Racer's Group, or TRG, is a
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...
racing team located in
Petaluma, California Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, owned by
Kevin Buckler Kevin Buckler (born c. 1959) is an American race car driver and entrepreneur. He founded Adobe Road Winery and currently owns The Racer's Group, a professional sports car racing team; TRG Motorsports, formerly a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team; an ...
and his wife Debra. TRG has competed professionally in
road racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...
since 1995. The team formerly competed 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. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
as TRG Motorsports from 2007 to 2011.


Early history

In 1992, Buckler started racing in regional
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
Club races, working his way through the ranks before entering his first professional race at the 1995
IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...
Grand Prix of California, which he ended up winning. From then until 2001, The Racer's Group ran part-time schedules with various drivers. Just before the 2002 season started, the Porsche factory offered to support the team at the
Rolex 24 at Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout, ...
by lending the services of factory drivers Timo Bernhard and
Jörg Bergmeister Jörg Bergmeister (born 13 February 1976 in Leverkusen) is a former racing driver from Germany and an ambassador of Porsche. His late father, Willi Bergmeister, owned a workshop and dealership where Michael Schumacher learned his trade as a ca ...
.


Major victories

After seven previous attempts at Daytona, The Racer's Group, with drivers Buckler, Bernhard, Bergmeister, and Michael Schrom, won the GT class at the 2002 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. With the success of the team at Daytona, the
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
factory again provided TRG with factory support and drivers for the 2002 24 Hours of Le Mans. In one of the closest GT races in history, Buckler, Bernhard, and Lucas Luhr edged the Freisinger Motorsport team by little more than one minute to capture a win at the team's maiden run at the
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
. As the
American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...
and Grand American seasons continued, The Racer's Group strung together a long series of high finishes, including wins at the Grand Prix of Mosport, Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, and the Grand-Am 400 at
California Speedway Auto Club Speedway (known as California Speedway before and after the 2008–2023 corporate sponsorship by the Automobile Club of Southern California) was a , D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, ne ...
. TRG finished on the podium 14 times in 2002, including 8 in a row in the ALMS. After the season, Buckler and co-driver Schrom had a 1-2 finish in the Porsche World Cup. The award, given annually to the top independent
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
drivers in the world, was given to Buckler at the Porsche factory in
Weissach Weissach is a municipality in the district of Böblingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The Weissach axle is named after the town, where the research centre of Porsche is located. The Porsche 918 Spyder supercar A supercar, also kno ...
, Germany, in December 2002. Buckler and Schrom were the first and only teammates to finish 1-2 in the Porsche Cup. They followed the award up with a win at the
24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...
since 1977, becoming the first GT-class team to win overall.


Pontiac GTO.R GM factory team

2003 and the few years beyond saw TRG continue to compete in
ALMS Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving. Etymology The word ''alms'' come ...
and Grand American. In 2005, TRG was selected by GM as a factory team. Pontiac Motorsports and TRG teamed up to race the new generation of
Pontiac GTO The Pontiac GTO is a front-engine, rear-drive, two-door, and four-passenger automobile manufactured and marketed by the Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac division of General Motors over four generations from 1963 until 1974 in the United States &m ...
vehicles, specifically twin GTO.R's. GM brought in Paul Edwards and
Jan Magnussen Jan Ellegaard Magnussen (born 4 July 1973) is a Danish professional racing driver and was a factory driver for General Motors until the end of the 2020 season. He has competed in Champ Car, Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), NASCAR, the FIA ...
to drive the No. 64, while TRG hired Marc Bunting and Andy Lally to drive of the No. 65. In 2006, Kelly Collins replaced Magnussen, the same year Pontiac won the manufacturer's championship, TRG took 1st and 3rd in the team championship, and drivers Bunting and Lally took won the driver's championship. In 2006, Marc Bunting and Andy Lally won the GT drivers championship, and Bunting won the Bob Akin Sportsman Award. TRG won the GT team championship, second straight year. Lally and Bunting broke the record for most podium finishes with 14 of a possible 16 this year. The old record was their own, set in 2004 of 11 podium finishes. The TRG GTO.R Daytona 24 Hour effort was the subject of a six-part documentary by noted film maker Sean Heckman and is currently playing on INHD.


2007–present

The GTO program has been discontinued by GM as of the 2006 season end, and TRG returned Porsche vehicles in 2007, as well as running in the DP class. They began 2008 with second, third, and fourth-place finishes at the 24 Hours of Daytona. For the
2015 United SportsCar Championship season The 2015 United SportsCar Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2015 Tudor United SportsCar Championship) was the second season of the International Motor Sports Association's United SportsCar Championship and the last to be held u ...
, TRG entered one Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for a full season with drivers
Christina Nielsen Christina Nielsen (born 10 January 1992 in Hørsholm, Denmark) is a Danish racing driver who is the first female driver to win a IMSA SportsCar Championship, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series title. She is the daughter of racing driver La ...
and
James Davison James D. Davison (born 28 August 1986) is an Australian professional racing driver who drives an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the Blancpain GT World Challenge America. He has also competed in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and NASCAR ...
running the number 007. The team recorded a runner-up class finish at Sebring.


NASCAR

Co-driver R. J. Valentine announced Lally's plans to race 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 NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...
, possibly with support from TRG during the broadcast of the
Grand-Am Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series. I ...
Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...
GT Race at Iowa Speedway on July 14, 2007. Lally raced the No. 47
Clorox The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2024, the Oakland, California-based company had approximately 8,000 employees worldwide. N ...
Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Busch Series road races at
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, also spelled ''Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve'' (), is a motor racing Race track, circuit on Notre Dame Island in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the venue for the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA Form ...
on August 4 and Watkins Glen on August 11 as part of a partnership between TRG and Wood Brothers/JTG Racing. He finished 29th and 10th respectively. In October 2007, TRG purchased the assets of Darrell Waltrip Motorsports'
Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...
team, with Lally serving as the team's driver and
United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...
sponsoring the No. 00
Toyota Tundra The Toyota Tundra is a full-size pickup truck manufactured in the United States by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota since May 1999. The Tundra was the second full-size pickup to be built by a Japanese manufacturer (the first was the Toyota T100 ...
. In
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, TRG switched to
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 the to ...
s and formed a second team. They began the 2008 season fielding entries in the No. 7 for Lally and the No. 71 for fellow rookie Donny Lia. Lia won in his 8th career start in Mansfield driving the No. 71 TRG truck. Midway through the season, sponsorship issues forced Lally to cut a part-time schedule. He was replaced by Nevada driver T. J. Bell for the rest of the season. Lally would return to the No. 71 late in the year when the team released Lia, followed by Ben Stancill and
J. R. Fitzpatrick John Ryan Fitzpatrick (born May 9, 1988) is a Canadian professional stock car racing driver. Fitzpatrick was the youngest driver to ever win the now defunct CASCAR Super Series championship, winning in the series' final season of 2006 at the age ...
. Bell had a streak of five consecutive top-tens and had a total of seven on the year. In 2009, TRG Motorsports announced they would field a full-time team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup with the number 71. The team also ran a second car in a few races using the number 70. After failing to make the Daytona 500 with
Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...
, the team signed
David Gilliland David Leonard Gilliland (born April 1, 1976) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and team owner. Since 2017, he has operated Tricon Garage, a team that races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team has also com ...
and was 35th in points after Bristol, guaranteeing the team a start in Martinsville, only to fall out of the top-35 after the event. They were sponsored by Capital Windows and had announced an agreement to be sponsored by American Monster that fell through. The team shut down its Truck team very early into the season. In the summer, TaxSlayer.com became the team's new sponsor. Starting with the September race in Atlanta,
Bobby Labonte Robert Allen Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He also currently competes part-time in the SMART Modified Tour, driving the No. 18L for Hermie Sa ...
began to share the ride with Gilliland.
Mike Bliss Michael Duane Bliss (born April 5, 1965) is an American former 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 ...
also filled in for the team on occasion. Labonte competed the first half of the season for the team in 2010. TaxSlayer.com sponsored the team for twelve races. Since the team was not sponsored for the full season, a number of races resulted in a start-and-park situation. At Dover, the team quit after 65 laps. On June 23, Labonte parted ways with TRG Motorsports. Bliss finished ninth at Daytona. Andy Lally, Landon Cassill, Chad McCumbee and Tony Raines also drove the No. 71. Hermie Sadler made his first start since 2006 at the October Martinsville race.
Brendan Gaughan William Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975) is an American former professional racing driver who has competed in off-road racing, off-road and stock car racing, stock cars. He is the grandson of Las Vegas Valley, Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaug ...
raced at Phoenix, his first Cup race since 2004. Despite the team's sponsorship troubles and driver changes, TRG Motorsports finished 35th in the owner's points, guaranteeing the team a start for the first five races of 2011. Owner Kevin Buckler said on ''
NASCAR Race Hub ''NASCAR Race Hub'' was a daily NASCAR news program broadcast on Fox Sports 1 Monday through Thursday. Originally broadcast on Speed, the show replaced '' NASCAR Nation'' and '' This Week in NASCAR''. ''NASCAR Race Hub'' premiered on October 12, ...
'' before the Watkins Glen race that the No. 71 team would continue to race full-time in 2011. Lally announced he would run for Rookie of the Year honors. On March 23, 2011, Buckler announced that the team is switching manufacturers to Ford, beginning at Texas. They also went into a support program with Roush Fenway Racing. Late in 2011, TRG ran a second car, a No. 77. Lally drove the car at Charlotte (with Hermie Sadler in the 71) to a 42nd-place finish. T. J. Bell attempted Talladega in the car, with the late
Dan Wheldon Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 Indianapol ...
's name adorning the namerail, but did not qualify. The No. 71 entry struggled at the end of the season and finished 36th in owner's points, not guaranteeing the team a start for the first five races of 2012. TRG suspended its NASCAR team for 2012. Lally left NASCAR and returned to the
Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...
.


Car No. 71 results


Car No. 70/77 results


References


External links


The Racer's GroupTRG-Aston Martin Racing North AmericaIMSA official team listings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Racers Group 24 Hours of Le Mans teams American Le Mans Series teams American auto racing teams Grand American Road Racing Association teams Petaluma, California WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams Porsche Supercup teams European Le Mans Series teams