Xpress Motorsports
| Owner(s) |
Steve Coulter Dave Fuge J. B. Scott |
|---|---|
| Base | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Series | Winston Cup, Busch Series, Craftsman Truck Series |
| Car numbers | 11, 16, 19, 61 |
| Race drivers | Mike Bliss, Randy Tolsma, Jack Sprague, Travis Kvapil, Brian Scott |
| Sponsors | IWX Motor Freight, New Albertsons, Inc. |
| Manufacturer |
Chevrolet Ford Toyota |
| Opened | 1996 |
| Closed | 2009 |
| Career | |
| Drivers' Championships | 2 – Craftsman Truck Series |
| Race victories | 12 |
Xpress Motorsports was a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. The team won the Truck Series championship in 2002 and 2003 with Mike Bliss and Travis Kvapil, respectively. The team was owned by Steve Coulter until 2004, when he sold the team to then team manager Dave Fuge, who owned the team until 2007 when the team was sold to J. B. Scott. In late 2009 the team was again sold to Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch.
Xpress was formed in 1996, when Coulter founded the team to promote his company, IWX Motor Freight. Randy Tolsma was hired to drive the No. 61 Chevrolet Silverado at Phoenix International Raceway, and finished 29th after an early crash. Tolsma was named the team's full-time driver in 1997, but only qualified for one-third of the first nine races of the season. Dave Fuge was hired as Crew Chief to rebuild the team and they rebounded to capture his first career win at Mesa Marin Raceway. The team continued to run in 1998 with Tolsma driving and had ten top-tens and one pole position when they announced they were closing down their truck team at the end of the season to run the Busch Series. Tolsma left after 22 races, and they switched to the No. 61, fielding entries for Rick McCray, Stan Boyd, Blake Bainridge.
They began running the Busch Series with the No. 61 Pontiac Grand Prix in 1998, fielding one race apiece for Derrike Cope and Joe Pezza. Cope qualified for three out of four races and had a best finish of fifteenth in 1999 before he was replaced by rookie driver Tony Roper. Roper posted three top-tens in sixteen starts but departed the team near the end of the season. Robert Pressley, Morgan Shepherd, and Stanton Barrett drove the car for the rest of the season, with Shepherd posting a tenth-place finish at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Hut Stricklin was hired as the team's driver for the 2000 season and opened the year with a pole at the NAPA Auto Parts 300 but was released ten races into the season. After Darrell Lanigan ran a one-race deal at Lowe's Motor Speedway, they did not run until the Brickyard 400 Winston Cup race, when they failed to qualify with Rich Bickle driving. They returned to Busch at the end of the season, when Tim Sauter joined them with sponsorship from Stoops Freightliner. His best finish was fifteenth at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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