MB2 Motorsports
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| Owner(s) |
Bobby Ginn Thomas Ginn Nelson Bowers Tom Beard Read Morton James Rocco (MBV) Bob Sutton (MB Sutton) Jay Frye (CEO and Team Director) |
|---|---|
| Base | Mooresville, North Carolina |
| Series | Nextel Cup Series, Busch Series |
| Car numbers | 01, 10, 13, 14, 36, 39 |
| Race drivers | Sterling Marlin, Mark Martin, Ken Schrader, Ernie Irvan, Scott Riggs, Boris Said, Regan Smith, Jerry Nadeau, Joe Nemechek, Johnny Benson, Jr., Kraig Kinser |
| Sponsors | United States Army, Waste Management, Inc., Mars Candy, Valvoline, Centrix Financial, Ginn Resorts, Panasonic, CertainTeed, USG Sheetrock |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet, Pontiac |
| Opened | 1997 (as MB2 Motorsports) |
| Closed | 2007 (merged with DEI) |
| Career | |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 2 |
Ginn Racing was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near the sport's hub in Charlotte. Its principal owners in its final season, 2007, were resort and real-estate developers Bobby Ginn and Thomas Ginn (the Ginn family owned 80%) and longtime team director Jay Frye (20%). The team's original name was MB2 Motorsports, formed by the last names of the team owners Read Morton, Tom Beard, and Nelson Bowers. Bowers was the longest tenured of the original owners, and the listed owner of the teams' entries when Bobby Ginn bought out the team. The Valvoline corporation co-owned the No. 10 (later the No. 14) car with the principal owners from 2001 to 2005 as MBV Motorsports, while the No. 36 entry (later the No. 13) was co-owned by Centrix Financial, LLC owner Robert Sutton as MB Sutton Motorsports in 2005.
The No. 01 car started out as the No. 36 Pontiac in 1997 with sponsorship from M&M-Mars through its Skittles candy brand, and driver Derrike Cope. Cope finished 27th in the final point standings. Veteran driver Ernie Irvan took over from Cope in 1998. The season was highlighted by Irvan's pole win at the Brickyard 400. M&M's replaced Skittles as the team's sponsor in 1999. Irvan retired from racing in September following a crash at Michigan International Speedway. Dick Trickle temporarily replaced Irvan before the driving chores were permanently turned over to journeyman Jerry Nadeau.
Nadeau left MB2 due to a prior commitment to drive for Hendrick Motorsports, and MB2 signed four-time winner Ken Schrader to fill the seat. Schrader drove the No. 36 for three seasons before leaving for BAM Racing. In 2003, the United States Army replaced M&M's as the team's sponsor. The car number switched from No. 36 to No. 01 to support the Army's slogan, "An Army of One." Nadeau agreed to return to MB2 as the driver of the No. 01 car. In his first 10 races with the team Nadeau had only two top 20 finishes, with a 4th-place finish at Texas.
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