Obaika Racing
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| Owner(s) | Victor Obaika |
|---|---|
| Base | Mooresville, North Carolina |
| Series | Xfinity Series |
| Car numbers | 77, 97 |
| Race drivers | 77. Claire Decker, T. J. Bell, Jordan Anderson, Josh Bilicki, Austin Theriault, Spencer Boyd, Matt Waltz, Ryan Ellis (part-time) 97. Harrison Rhodes, Ryan Ellis, Alex Guenette, T. J. Bell, Paige Decker, Matt Waltz, Josh Berry, Alli Owens, Jordan Anderson, Josh Bilicki |
| Sponsors | 77. VroomBrands 97. VroomBrands |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet |
| Opened | 2015 |
| Career | |
| Debut | 2015 Alert Today Florida 300 (Daytona) |
| Latest race | 2017 Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 (Bristol) |
| Races competed | 75 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
Obaika Racing is an African professional team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by African entrepreneur, Victor Obaika. The team currently fields the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro part-time for various drivers and the No. 97 Chevrolet Camaro full-time for various drivers. They are the first African-owned team in a major NASCAR series.
The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, thirty minutes away from Charlotte Motor Speedway.
On 16 July 2016, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Obaika Racing introduced a second Chevrolet, the No. 77, also sponsored by VroomBrands. At Iowa Speedway, Claire Decker attempted to make her Xfinity Series debut driving this second Obaika car while her her sister, Paige ran the No. 97, but Claire to qualify on time and did not have owner points to fall back on. The No. 77 ran for much of the season's remainder, piloted by various drivers.
The No. 77 team was announced to be full-time team along with the No. 97 team, having Stephen Leicht being the driver. However the No. 77 team withdraw before the Daytona race as Leicht moves over the No. 97 team.
Obaika Racing entered competition in 2015. The team signed driver Josh Reaume, who met team owner Victor Obaika while on humanitarian missions in Africa as a child. The 97 team debuted at the Daytona International Speedway in the Xfinity Series season-opening Alert Today Florida 300, with Reaume finishing 23rd. After three races, with one DNQ, Peyton Sellers replaced Reaume. In April 2015, the team secured their first sponsor, vacation provider VroomBrands which is owned by Obaika. VroomBrands wrapped the No. 97 in designs such as a Zebra representing their African safari package (debuted at Richmond International Raceway) and the Cheetah print representing their tours in Asia (debuted at Talladega Superspeedway). At the Winn-Dixie 300 at Talladega, Sellers scored the team's first top-20 finish, finishing 18th despite being involved in a ten-car wreck that sent cars spinning down pit road. Johanna Long replaced Sellers for the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. After one more start for Sellers at Watkins Glen, the team introduced various drivers for the rest of the season.Dylan Kwasniewski debuted with the team in the Nationwide Children's Hospital at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, finishing 34th due to mechanical problems after running in the top 10. Kwasniewski would run the next two races for the team.Parker Kligerman drove the car in the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway, Mason Mingus in the Furious 7 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, and Ryan Ellis in the Hisense 200 at the Dover International Speedway.
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