Bill Davis Racing was a racing team that participated in all three of NASCAR's top divisions until 2009.
The team had run Toyota-branded stock cars and trucks in the Camping World Truck Series (Toyota Tundra) since 2004 and Sprint Cup Series (Toyota Camry) since 2007. Dodge, Pontiac and Ford previously backed the team. The team was notable for running the No. 22 since its inception and its long relationship with Caterpillar Inc. BDR was competitive throughout the 1990s and early 2000s with Ward Burton before fading due to an increase in competition and a fallout with manufacturer Dodge. The team was sold to Triad Racing Technologies in late 2008, which shut down the team's racing entries and transitioned to producing engines and chassis for various Toyota NASCAR teams.
Beginnings BDR was formed by then-truck rental owner Bill Davis, who himself was a former motocross racer. Davis helped his friend and business partner Julian Martin develop his son Mark's ASA racing program. When Martin signed with Jim Stacy, Davis took a break from racing, but returned to hire Martin to drive his Busch Series car for 15 races with sponsorship from Carolina Ford Dealers. In 1990, Davis moved the team to High Point, North Carolina, while his wife Gail stayed in Arkansas to oversee the trucking operation.
Sprint Cup Series
Car No. 22 history
Bobby Labonte (1993–1994) Upon arriving in Carolina, Davis was asked by Ford to hire up-and-coming Midwest driver Jeff Gordon, who won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 1991 and won eleven pole positions the next year. Davis was hoping to move him and crew chief Ray Evernham to the Winston Cup Series, but they were lured away by Rick Hendrick. Davis still moved up to the Cup Series full-time in 1993 however, with 1991 Busch Series champion Bobby Labonte, who finished 2nd to Gordon for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year driving the No. 22 Maxwell House-sponsored Ford. The team switched to Pontiac the following season. After 1994, Labonte left to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing. MBNA replaced Maxwell House as the sponsor.
Randy LaJoie (1995) Originally, Davis went with another rookie — Busch Series standout Randy LaJoie — to drive the car. Midway through the year, LaJoie was fired from the team and replaced by a series of rotating drivers including Wally Dallenbach Jr., who finished second at Watkins Glen. Finally, Ward Burton was hired to finish out the year. He scored the team's first win at Rockingham Speedway in late 1995.
Ward Burton (1995–2003) With Burton driving, the No. 22 team slowly began to improve, despite not winning any races. In 1998, the No. 22 team cracked the top ten in the final Winston Cup points standings and matched those results in 1999 (by which time Caterpillar Inc. was their sponsor) and in 2000, when the team finally returned to victory lane at the spring Darlington race. Burton's second career win was the team's last victory in a Pontiac as they joined several teams in switching to Dodge Intrepids for the following season.
Burton returned to victory lane the following season, winning the 2001 Southern 500. This would become Dodge's second win since returning to NASCAR, but the team's streak of consecutive top ten points finishes was broken at three, as the No. 22 finished fourteenth. Burton added 2 more wins in 2002, scoring a victory in the Daytona 500 (Dodge's first Daytona 500 win in twenty-eight years) and later in the year at the New England 300 at New Hampshire, but a series of inconsistent finishes dropped the team to twenty-fifth place in the points standings. Burton's win at New Hampshire, in addition to being his last win in the Cup series, was also BDR's last in Cup racing (although they won races in other series before folding).
Scott Wimmer (2003–2005) The team's struggles continued in the 2003 season, and with four races left in the season Burton, who had already signed on to drive the No. 0 for Haas CNC Racing the following season, departed for that team and was replaced with Davis's Busch driver Scott Wimmer, who raced full-time in 2004 and finished third in the first race of his rookie season. In late-2005, BDR announced it would part ways with Wimmer at the end of the year.
Dave Blaney (2006–2008) Dave Blaney, who previously drove the No. 93 for BDR, was hired to drive the No. 22 beginning with the 2006 season. He had two top tens and finished twenty-sixth in the points standings. In 2007, the team switched to Toyota. Blaney won the pole for the 2007 Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire, making this the first pole for Toyota in the Sprint Cup Series. Blaney scored his first top ten with Toyota at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29 and later that season, he finished third at Talladega, the best finish of any Toyota in 2007. Additionally, Blaney was the only Toyota driver in the top thirty-five in owner points after the 2007 season. The team had a rough start to the 2008 season, as they missed the Aaron's 499 which was a hard hit for the team. They returned the next week at Richmond to finish in eighteenth. The following week at Darlington, they finished ninth, scoring their best of the year. In June of that year, Caterpillar announced that it would leave the No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota to sponsor the Richard Childress Racing's No. 31 car, starting in 2009. On December 22, 2008, it was announced that Bill Davis sold majority ownership of his NASCAR teams to Mike Held, a California businessman, and Marty Gaunt, an executive with BDR. That same day, Gaunt and Held announced that they would also be buying into Triad Racing Technologies. Blaney would leave TRT to drive for Prism Motorsports, and Penske Racing would buy the owners points of the No. 22 and transfer them to the No. 77 of Sam Hornish Jr. The addition of Davis would change the team name to Penske Championship Racing.
Car No. 22 results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts 1993 Bobby Labonte 22 Ford DAY20 CAR33 RCH29 ATL18 DAR18 BRI24 NWS25 MAR12 TAL35 SON16 CLT8 DOV19 POC20 MCH36 DAY41 NHA10 POC15 TAL15 GLN7 MCH8 BRI15 DAR14 RCH13 DOV7 MAR32 NWS12 CLT28 CAR22 PHO8 ATL14 19th 3221 1994 Pontiac DAY16 CAR19 RCH24 ATL15 DAR39 BRI6 NWS26 MAR19 TAL22 SON17 CLT40 DOV20 POC25 MCH15 DAY22 NHA13 POC13 TAL12 IND16 GLN18 MCH5 BRI31 DAR36 RCH24 DOV17 MAR31 NWS15 CLT42 CAR28 PHO16 ATL37 22nd 3038 1995 Randy LaJoie DAY29 CAR25 RCH27 ATL39 DAR16 BRI12 NWS23 MARDNQ TAL13 SON32 CLT23 DOV23 POC40 MCH41 28th 2688 Jimmy Hensley DAY30 NHA41 POC32 TALDNQ IND32 MCH22 GLN Ward Burton BRI34 DAR4 RCH11 DOV21 MAR21 NWSDNQ CLT7 CAR1 PHO42 ATL5 1996 DAY26 CAR41 RCH13 ATL15 DAR38 BRI33 NWSDNQ MARDNQ TAL27 SON10 CLT11 DOV16 POC35 MCH35 DAY41 NHA25 POC22 TAL33 IND36 GLN32 MCH35 BRI8 DAR40 RCH37 DOV7 MARDNQ NWSDNQ CLT7 CAR17 PHO22 ATL12 33rd 2411 1997 DAY8 CAR23 RCH24 ATL12 DAR18 TEX7 BRI18 MAR18 SON10 TAL42 CLT36 DOV34 POC38* MCH35 CAL28 DAY26 NHA36 POC15 IND19 GLN41 MCH28 BRI17 DAR27 RCH7 NHA23 DOV22 MAR7 CLT8 TALDNQ CAR26 PHO42 ATL9 24th 2987 1998 DAY25 CAR11 LVS18 ATL24 DAR11 BRI17 TEX15 MAR28 TAL8 CAL12 CLT34 DOV29 RCH19 MCH8 POC24 SON40 NHA23 POC34 IND34 GLN21 MCH37 BRI37 NHA31 DAR12 RCH28 DOV33 MAR11 CLT2 TAL30 DAY7 PHO14 CAR7 ATL14 16th 3352 1999 DAY24 CAR28 LVS2 ATL8 DAR8 TEX16 BRI9 MAR27 TAL32 CAL6 RCH9 CLT8 DOV22 MCH4 POC29 SON35 DAY7 NHA15 POC40 IND6 GLN43 MCH43 BRI9 DAR2 RCH34 NHA8 DOV11 MAR13 CLT5 TAL4 CAR2 PHO13 HOM14 ATL11 9th 4062 2000 DAY8 CAR3 LVS23 ATL8 DAR1* BRI3 TEX14 MAR11 TAL10 CAL6 RCH6 CLT13 DOV8 MCH6 POC27 SON21 DAY7 NHA18 POC28 IND28 GLN22 MCH9 BRI11 DAR6 RCH8 NHA30 DOV40 MAR43 CLT10 TAL22 CAR8 PHO12 HOM39 ATL3 10th 4152 2001 Dodge DAY35* CAR16 LVS21 ATL11 DAR12 BRI5 TEX21 MAR22 TAL33 CAL42 RCH21 CLT9 DOV14 MCH38 POC40 SON6 DAY4 CHI20 NHA20 POC38 IND6 GLN41 MCH33 BRI12 DAR1 RCH12 DOV33 KAN41 CLT3 MAR3 TAL21 PHO13 CAR6 HOM13 ATL5 NHA42 14th 3846 2002 DAY1 CAR13 LVS21 ATL7 DAR31 BRI25 TEX43 MAR14 TAL15 CAL18 RCH30* CLT42 DOV37 POC33 MCH42 SON40 DAY9 CHI41 NHA1 POC14 IND30 GLN20 MCH29 BRI37 DAR6 RCH8 NHA38 DOV43 KAN43 TAL10 CLT33 MAR5* ATL16 CAR40 PHO19 HOM12 25th 3362 2003 DAY38 CAR18 LVS25 ATL18 DAR29 BRI33 TEX12 TAL7 MAR25 CAL21 RCH11 CLT10 DOV37 POC8 MCH30 SON16 DAY30 CHI19 NHA25 POC19 IND26 GLN6 MCH14 BRI13 DAR19 RCH15 NHA39 DOV29 TAL14 KAN21 CLT28 MAR18 21st 3550 Scott Wimmer ATL32 PHO9 CAR26 HOM12 2004 DAY3 CAR15 LVS39 ATL27 DAR16 BRI13 TEX33 MAR29 TAL18 CAL30 RCH30 CLT28 DOV9 POC35 MCH14 SON25 DAY32 CHI23 NHA18 POC11 IND32 GLN19 MCH18 BRI36 CAL21 RCH38 NHA36 DOV23 TAL31 KAN36 CLT26 MAR20 ATLDNQ PHO26 DAR22 HOM13 27th 3198 2005 DAY33 CAL16 LVS27 ATL20 BRI27 MAR31 TEX42 PHO32 TAL38 DAR25 RCH20 CLT23 DOV31 POC36 MCH16 SON25 DAY32 CHI17 NHA35 POC25 IND26 GLN21 MCH23 BRI14 CAL31 RCH24 NHA26 DOV36 TAL17 KAN27 CLT20 MAR25 ATL27 TEX27 PHO21 HOM11 32nd 3122 2006 Dave Blaney DAY22 CAL30 LVS31 ATL32 BRI23 MAR17 TEX29 PHO27 TAL24 RCH20 DAR27 CLT32 DOV30 POC27 MCH30 SON39 DAY27 CHI17 NHA13 POC16 IND29 GLN40 MCH24 BRI14 CAL28 RCH4 NHA9 DOV12 KAN21 TAL28 CLT26 MAR33 ATL18 TEX32 PHO23 HOM26 27th 3255 2007 Toyota DAY34 CAL39 LVS42 ATL27 BRI23 MAR37 TEX21 PHO39 TALDNQ RCH11 DAR32 CLT18 DOVDNQ POC43 MCH18 SON41 NHA29 DAY23 CHI40 IND9 POC20 GLN35 MCH6 BRI31 CAL38 RCH34 NHA35 DOVDNQ KAN15 TAL3 CLT6 MAR36 ATL38 TEX21 PHO31 HOM12 31st 2781 2008 DAY28 CAL30 LVS26 ATL34 BRI34 MAR43 TEX21 PHO30 TALDNQ RCH18 DAR9 CLT17 DOV9 POC22 MCH39 SON20 NHA33 DAY19 CHI23 IND35 POC31 GLN41 MCH41 BRI38 CAL29 RCH22 NHA33 DOV12 KAN31 TAL22 CLT27 MAR22 ATL41 TEX29 PHO20 HOM22 30th 2851
Car No. 27 history Dave Blaney (2000–2001) The second full-time team made its debut in Winston Cup as the No. 93 with an Amoco sponsorship in 2000, with Dave Blaney driving. Despite failing to qualify at the spring Rockingham race, Blaney finished 3rd in the Rookie of the year standings. The team flirted with victory lane a few times in 2001, but Amoco decided not to renew its contract, and Blaney left for Jasper Motorsports.
Hut Stricklin (2002) The car returned for the 2002 season with a new sponsor, number (#23) and driver. Hut Stricklin moved over from Donlavey Racing and brought sponsorship from Hills Brothers Coffee with him. Stricklin started off 2002 by failing to qualify for the Daytona 500 and was inconsistent for much of the season. He recorded five top twenty finishes, but also finished 35th or worse 6 times and did not even attempt the race at Watkins Glen. Stricklin left the team after the Sharpie 500 at Bristol, and Hills Brothers announced they would be pulling sponsorship.
Kenny Wallace (2002–03) Around this time, there was another driver looking for a full time ride that had a sponsor ready to back him. Kenny Wallace had not raced a full season in Cup since Andy Petree released him following the 2000 season, and had been racing primarily in the Busch Series for Innovative Motorsports in their #48 Stacker 2 Chevrolet. However, he had been active as a long-term injury replacement for Steve Park in the #1 Pennzoil Chevrolet at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. earlier in 2002 and had also made several starts in Cup races for his Busch Series team in the #98 car.
Davis and Wallace began to negotiate terms since both sides had ends that each other was desiring, as Wallace was able to bring his backing from Stacker 2 to his new team and Davis needed a driver for his second car. First, Wallace would immediately join BDR and run the #23 for the remainder of the 2002 season with Hills Brothers Coffee remaining as sponsor. When the new season began, Stacker 2 would come aboard to sponsor the #23 with Wallace driving.