BAM Racing
| owner | Beth Ann & Tony Morgenthau |
| Racing series | Sprint Cup |
| Championships | 0 |
| Start number (s) | # 49 |
| driver | David Gilliland (# 49 - Sprint Cup) |
| Manufacturer | Toyota |
| Place of the workshop | Charlotte , North Carolina |
| Homepage | www.BAM49racing.com |
BAM Racing was a NASCAR team headquartered in Charlotte , Mecklenburg County , North Carolina . The team was led by Beth Ann and Tony Morgenthau and sat in the NASCAR Sprint Cup the Toyota one with the number 49th
history
2001 to 2002
The team was founded in 2001 to compete in the ARCA Racing Series . The driver back then was Andy Hillenburg . In the same year BAM Racing tried to qualify for the Pepsi 400 of the Winston Cup, today's Sprint Cup , at the Daytona International Speedway , but failed to qualify. The following qualification attempts of the season for the Pennsylvania 500 on the Pocono Raceway , the Brickyard 400 with Andy Hillenburg and the Pennzoil Freedom 400 with Rich Bickle failed.
The first race in the Winston Cup drove BAM Racing with Shawna Robinson , a woman, on February 17, 2002 at the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Shawna Robinson finished 24th, 13 laps behind winner Ward Burton . It was announced that she would take part in 24 races of the season, but often did not even manage to qualify the car for the race. Her last race was the second race that is held annually in Daytona, the Pepsi 400, which she finished in 40th place. Kevin Lepage, Stuart Kirby, Ron Hornaday Junior , Stacy Compton and Derrike Cope drove the rest of the season. The best finishing position in a race reached Stacy Compton, who finished 22nd in the EA Sports 500 on the Talladega Superspeedway .
2003 to 2008
For the 2003 season, BAM Racing got the very experienced Ken Schrader with 1-800-CALL-ATT as the main sponsor on the Dodge with the starting number 49. This sponsorship contract only lasted six months, after which the team appeared with many different sponsors. The team improved significantly during the season and was able to qualify for 32 of the 36 races. Twice it was enough for a top 10 placement, first in the Virginia 500 at Martinsville Speedway and then again in the GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway , where Schrader finished eighth, which was the best result of the season.
In 2004, BAM Racing started again with Ken Schrader. Ken Schrader managed to qualify his Dodge for all 36 races, improving the average final position, having three fewer retirements and finishing sixth in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway , another top 10 result. That was also the team's best race placement to date. In addition to the starting number 49, BAM Racing also ran another car in 2004. This is the Dodge sponsored by SEM and Color Horizons with the starting number 59, which was driven by the German Klaus Graf . Graf made the first qualification attempt in the Dodge / Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway . He managed to qualify, started in 38th and finished the race in a good 17th place, ahead of well-known drivers such as Dale Jarrett and Matt Kenseth . He also tried to qualify for Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen , but then failed because qualifying had to be canceled due to rain. Graf also failed to qualify for the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway .
In the 2005 season one kept Ken Schrader under contract, Klaus Graf did not return. Ken Schrader made it into the top 10 three times. His best finish was eighth in Aaron's 499 on the Talladega Superspeedway . The tenth place, which he experienced a little later in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway . At the end of the year, Schrader, who had done good development work at BAM Racing, announced that he would be moving to Wood Brothers / JTG Racing . In the 2006 season , BAM Racing deployed various drivers. The season started with Brent Sherman , who brought Serta to the team as a sponsor. Sherman had problems though. He qualified for only six races and was dismissed because of it, which also meant that Sherman's sponsor Serta left the team again. Jimmy Spencer was used on the Martinsville Speedway , but this too failed to qualify. In May, Mike Wallace briefly took over the wheel of the # 49 Dodge before Kevin Lepage decided to leave his Front Row Motorsports team to help BAM Racing. In addition, Chris Cook was used in the street course races, but he also failed to qualify for both of these races. At the end of the season, Mike Bliss took over the cockpit from Kevin Lepage. Bliss qualified for six races. His best finish was 23rd in the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway .
For the NASCAR Nextel Cup season 2007 they kept Mike Bliss under contract, while using engines from Gillett Evernham Motorsports , but the situation in the team hardly improved, so that Mike Bliss left the team after only four successful qualifications. Chad Chaffin took the wheel for the New Hampshire International Speedway race while the team looked for a new regular driver. Meanwhile, Klaus Graf should make his comeback in the Nextel Cup. The team announced that they would use it in the Toyota / Save Mart 350 and in the Centurion Boats at The Glen . Graf failed to qualify for the Toyota / Save Mart 350 because of the difficult-to-use car. As in 2004, when Klaus Graf tried to qualify, the qualifying in Watkins Glen fell victim to the rain, so that Klaus Graf could not start in Watkins Glen either, as his car was not one of the top 43 owner points in this one Case have a guaranteed starting place. Later in the season, Mike Bliss returned for a short time, but was then replaced by John Andretti , who will end the season at BAM Racing.
At the start of the 2008 season , Ken Schrader returned to BAM Racing. He failed to qualify for three of the first five races. For Goody's Cool Orange 500 in the 2008 Sprint Cup season , the team moved from Dodge to Toyota. Furthermore, a good sponsor was found in Microsoft , but the team did not take part in any further races. Despite multiple announcements, the team did not return to the Sprint Cup in the 2009 season.
Since 2010
BAM Racing plans to return to the team as a full-time team in the Sprint Cup in the 2010 season . To this end, an alliance was concluded with Robby Gordon Motorsports , which will provide cars and staff and support BAM Racing in technical matters.