Travis Carter Motorsports
| Owner(s) |
Travis Carter, Carl Haas Sam Belnavis (2003 only) Mari Hulman George, Mike Lanigan (2007 only) |
|---|---|
| Base | Statesville, North Carolina |
| Series | Winston Cup, Busch Series |
| Car numbers | 23, 26, 46, 54, 66, 98 (Cup) 14 (Busch) |
| Race drivers | Darrell Waltrip, Geoffrey Bodine, Jimmy Spencer, Todd Bodine, Joe Nemechek |
| Sponsors | Winston, Kmart, Eli Lilly and Company, Walgreens, Discover Card |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet, Ford |
| Opened | 1990 |
| Closed | 2007 |
| Career | |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
Travis Carter Enterprises (later known as Haas-Carter Motorsports, BelCar Motorsports and Richardson-Haas Motorsports) was a NASCAR and USAR Pro Cup team. It was mostly owned by former crew chief Travis Carter and Carl Haas. The team previously fielded entries in the Winston Cup Series before closing. It returned in 2007 to field a full-time entry for rookie Kyle Krisiloff.
After purchasing Mach 1 Racing from Hal Needham following the 1989 season, Travis Carter Enterprises debuted at the 1990 Daytona 500, as the No. 98 Chevrolet sponsored by Winn-Dixie. Butch Miller was the driver, who finished 22nd. Miller drove the car in 23 races that year, posting one top-ten finish before he was replaced by Rick Mast, who finished out the year and garnered an additional top ten. In 1991, Jimmy Spencer took over as Banquet Foods was the sponsor, and finished 25th in points. Spencer ran just seven races with the car in 1992, before the team suspended operations temporarily.
TCE returned in 1994 as the No. 23 Camel Cigarettes-sponsored Ford Thunderbird driven by Hut Stricklin. After posting one top ten finish that year, Stricklin was removed as Spencer returned to the team again. Spencer ran in the car for several years, the big change coming when Winston became the sponsor in 1998. That year, Spencer looked poised for a top-ten finish in points, but injuries kept him from doing that as he was replaced by Ted Musgrave and Frank Kimmel while he nursed his wounds. At the end of the year, Carter announced he would expand his team to a multi-car operation, with three-time champion Darrell Waltrip driving the No. 66 Kmart Ford and Haas coming on board as a partner. The new team had previously been the No. 27 owned by David Blair Motorsports. Waltrip amassed the largest number of DNQ's he had ever had during his career. In 2000, he retired from the Winston Cup, his lone highlight being an outside-pole qualifying effort at the Brickyard 400. Kmart also sponsored Spencer's car beginning in 2000, after the team's previous sponsorship agreement with R.J. Reynolds expired, with the team switching to No. 26 after acquiring the number from Roush Racing. Waltrip's replacement was Todd Bodine who won three pole positions and finished 29th in points. After 2001, Spencer departed, and Joe Nemechek signed on to replace him. Unfortunately, during the offseason, Kmart went into bankruptcy, and the team's status was in danger. Nemechek ran a mere handful races that year before his team was folded, and after subbing in several races afterward he signed with Hendrick Motorsports to drive the No. 25 car. Bodine attempted the first few races in the No. 66 and qualified on the pole for the Las Vegas race, but he eventually was parked for several weeks while the team looked for a sponsorship. Frank Kimmel returned for six races in the No. 26 with his National Pork Board sponsorship from the ARCA series. Bodine eventually returned to race the No. 26 after Haas-Carter found full-time sponsorship from Discover Card and split time in the ride with his older brother Geoffrey. The 66 car returned part-time later in the year, with Japanese racer Hideo Fukuyama running a handful of races.
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