Go FAS Racing

Go FAS Racing
Owner(s) Frank Stoddard
Archie St. Hilaire
Series Sprint Cup Series
Car numbers 23, 32
Race drivers 32. Bobby Labonte, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joey Gase, Patrick Carpentier
Sponsors 32. Can-Am
Manufacturer Ford
Opened 2011
Career
Debut 2011 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Latest race 2016 Go Bowling 400 (Kansas)
Races competed 144

Go FAS Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Founded by long-time crew chief Frank Stoddard as FAS Lane Racing, it came into its current form after being purchased by Archie St. Hilaire's Go Green Racing in 2014. The team currently fields the No. 32 Ford Fusion full-time for part-time drivers Bobby Labonte, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joey Gase and Patrick Carpentier.

History

FAS Lane Racing was established in 2011 when Stoddard's old team, Latitude 43 Motorsports, closed its doors. Stoddard then formed his own team with the remaining crew members, purchasing cars and equipment from Mark Simo and Boris Said's No Fear Racing as well as from Richard Petty Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing.[1] FAS represents Stoddard's initials (Francis Allen Stoddard), and Stoddard chose the number 32 in tribute to his racing mentor Stub Fadden, who was a Busch North Series racer from New England and used the number 16, hence 16 x 2 = 32.[1][2]

Car No. 32 history

With Stoddard serving as both owner and crew chief, the team began with Cup Champion Terry Labonte at Daytona 500, finishing a solid 15th.[2] Veteran Mike Skinner would run the next two races.[1] After Ken Schrader finished 33rd at Auto Club, the team became locked into the Top 35 in owner points despite failing to make Bristol with Schrader. Schrader also drove the car to a 22nd-place finish at Martinsville. The team also ran the full race at Texas with Big Red and finished 33rd. Talladega saw a change where they brought back Terry Labonte and Texas based company C&J Energy as the sponsor. They were up front a couple of laps with J. J. Yeley drafting with them, but the engine let go to a 34th-place finish. The team has had multiple spnosors including VA Mortgage Centers, U.S. Chrome and Big Red. FAS Lane Racing also gave 2 drivers their Sprint Cup debuts this year. Jason White was one. White ran the No. 32 Gunbroker.com Ford at Pocono Raceway. He started 41st and finished 33rd. Andrew Ranger was the other. Ranger, the young Canadian from Quebec is a former NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion. His debut came at Watkins Glen International in the Bully Hill Vineyards Ford where he started and finished 35th. His debut was cut short about 15 laps early with transmission failures. The team finished 34th in owners' points, guaranteeing the team a start in the first five races of 2012; the team later sold the owner's points to Michael Waltrip Racing in 2012 to allow Mark Martin to compete in the Daytona 500, with Labonte taking advantage of the past champion's provisional.

For 2012, FAS Lane Racing ran full-time in 2012 with Terry Labonte running 4 races with C&J Energy as the sponsor, Mike Bliss running 7 races with U.S. Chrome and Air National Guard as the sponsors, Ken Schrader running in 9 races with Federated Auto Parts as the sponsor, Boris Said running in 2 races, Reed Sorenson in select races, and other select drivers and sponsors for the remaining 13 races. After the Daytona 500, FAS Lane acquired the points from the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing team. Ken Schrader drove in at least 9 2012 races with sponsorship from Federated Auto Parts. Also, Boris Said ran the No. 32 7-11 Slurpee/SoBe No Fear Energy Drink car at Sonoma and Watkins Glen. Jason White, Timmy Hill, T. J. Bell, and two-time K&N Pro Series East champion Mike Olsen also raced in the No. 32.

FAS Lane Racing used a variety of drivers for 2013, with Schrader, Hill, and Labonte racing. On January 30, 2013, Hill declared his intention to run against Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. for Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year honors.

OXYwater sponsorship

The No. 32 driven by Timmy Hill at Richmond International Raceway in 2013

The team had announced in March a 24-race sponsor for 2013, beginning at Bristol with Terry Labonte; this also included the full 2014 and 2015 seasons.[3] However, OXY Water was being investigated by the IRS for intending to deceive their investors by misappropriating over $2 million in invested funds. The company was forced to file bankruptcy, costing investors over $9 million.,[4] and did not appear as a primary sponsor after Indianapolis.

Merger with Go Green Racing

Go Green Racing and FAS Lane Racing merged in 2014, thus creating Go FAS Racing.[5] The team continued to operate out of the FAS Lane Racing shop. Terry Labonte ran the 2014 Daytona 500, and the other super speedway events in his final season, with Said running the road courses, and Kvapil running the balance of the schedule.[6] Blake Koch was later placed in the 32 for the Sprint Showdown, the Coca-Cola 600 and Dover.[7] K&N Pro Series East driver Eddie MacDonald was hired to run the No. 32 at Loudon.[8] J. J. Yeley also ran a number of races in the 32. Joey Gase made his debut with the team at Chicagoland.[9] Kyle Fowler made also made his Cup debut with the team, this time at Martinsville.[10]

With Terry Labonte, Go FAS Racing had its best team finish, 11th at the rain shortened 2014 Coke Zero 400. The same year, Terry announced his retirement from NASCAR. His last race was the 2014 GEICO 500 at Talladega, where the sides of the 32 were painted similar to the Kellogg's Corn Flakes car he drove to the 1996 championship season, while the roof was painted to replicate the car Labonte debuted in the series in 1978. The 32 originally had the right side painted in the Piedmont Airlines colors he used in his 1984 championship season, but NASCAR would not allow it on the grounds that the left and right sides must be identical.[11]

For the 2015 season, Terry's brother and 2000 Champion Bobby Labonte ran the four superspeedway events, also with C&J Energy Services, and Boris Said returned for the two road courses, with the remainder of the lineup to be determined. Go FAS plans to use Mike Bliss as primary driver for the rest of the schedule, although a variety of drivers will run the car like in prior seasons.

At Las Vegas, Bliss would suffer the first DNQ for the team since 2011. He went on to DNQ a few weeks later at Charlotte. His last race for the team was at Michigan in June.

Joey Gase was in the car for four races, failing to make Texas in November, Will Kimmel ran at Kentucky and Kansas, Travis Kvapil returning for the two Pocono races and Eddie MacDonald in Loudon. Josh Wise attempted the race at Indianapolis, but did not qualify. Despite this, and due to a prior association with Go Green Racing in the Xfinity Series, he was brought back for a three race stretch beginning at Michigan. A few weeks later at Darlington, Wise failed to qualify again. Wise attempted four more races after this, including a DNQ at Charlotte. Jeffrey Earnhardt made his Sprint Cup debut at Richmond, running the full race and finishing 40th, 13 laps behind the leaders. He returned at New Hampshire two weeks later. Fowler would return at Martinsville. The team would finish 42nd in the owner points, down noticeably from their 38th place showing the year before; they were the highest-ranked full-time team to trail the part-time No. 21 by season's end.

For 2016, Earnhardt and Labonte plan to split the ride. Earnhardt will run the majority of the season for Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year honors, while Labonte will run the restrictor plate races. Gase returned to the No. 32 for the Good Sam 500.[12] On April 22, the team announced Patrick Carpentier would drive for the team at Sonoma and Indianapolis.[13] The team is also one of the 36 "charter" teams, thus unlike in 2015, the team will make every race.

Car No. 23 history

Terry Labonte raced the car in the 2011 Brickyard 400 with sponsorship from CMOne. This team did not return in 2012 due to lack of sponsorship, with R3 Motorsports taking the number.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rodman, Dave (February 7, 2011). "STODDARD, TEAM SET SIGHTS ON FULL CUP SCHEDULE". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  2. 1 2 Lessels, Allen (July 16, 2011). "Frank Stoddard Jr., in first season as Cup owner, racing toward his dream". New Hampshire Union Leader. Loudon, New Hampshire: New Hampshire Union Leader. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Press Release (13 March 2013). "FAS Lane Racing and OXYwater Announce Long-Term Sponsorship". BevNet.com. Mooresville, NC: BevNet. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  4. ↑ U.S. Attorney's Office: Southern District of Ohio (20 May 2014). "Makers of OXYwater Indicted for Wire Fraud, Tax Crimes". fbi.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Albert, Zack (January 26, 2014). "SPRINT CUP TEAM PREVIEW: GO FAS RACING". NASCAR. Retrieved February 17, 2014. The offseason merger of Archie St. Hilaire-owned Go Green Racing with the Frank Stoddard-owned FAS Lane Racing operation yielded a new venture with a suitable amalgam of a name -- Go FAS Racing.
  6. ↑ "Travis Kvapil to join Terry Labonte and Boris Said as drivers for Go FAS Racing in 2014". Catchfence. February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  7. ↑ Knight, Chris (May 13, 2014). "Blake Koch Joins Go FAS Racing For Three Races; Return Set For Travis Kvapil >> CatchFence". Catchfence.com. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  8. ↑ "MacDonald To Make Sprint Cup Series Debut". NASCAR Home Tracks. June 26, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  9. ↑ Caldwell, Clayton (August 27, 2014). "Joey Gase to Make NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Debut at Chicagoland Speedway for Go Fas Racing". Sports Media 101. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  10. ↑ "KYLE FOWLER SET TO MAKE SPRINT CUP DEBUT AT MARTINSVILLE". NASCAR. October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  11. ↑ Pockrass, Bob (October 18, 2014). "NASCAR won't OK tribute paint scheme for Terry Labonte". Sporting News. Talladega, Alabama: Sporting News. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "Gase Set to Make His First Cup Start of 2016". Joey Gase. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  13. ↑ "PATRICK CARPENTIER JOINS GO FAS RACING FOR TWO CUP RACES". NASCAR. April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.

External links

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