Andy Petree Racing is a former NASCAR team. Its ownership changed hands several times over the years, with three different owners from its beginning to its close in 2004. The team was based out of North Carolina and was always a steady competitor for the win despite never winning a championship. Andy Petree (born August 15, 1958 in Hickory, North Carolina), is a long-time fixture in NASCAR. After racing for years at local short track(most notably Hickory Motor Speedway), Andy became part owner of the #32 Busch Series car for Dale Jarrett. ... The NASCAR Championship is the championship held in NASCARs top stock car racing series. ... NASCAR Busch Series logo The Busch Series is a stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR. It is NASCARs second division (often compared to Triple-A baseball), and is a proving ground for drivers who wish to step up to the organizations top level, the Nextel... NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series logo The Craftsman Truck Series is a popular NASCAR racing series that features modified pickup trucks. ... Harry Gant Harry Phil Gant (born January 10, 1940) is best known for driving the number 33 Skoal Bandits car on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit. ... Benny Parsons (born July 12, 1941 in Detroit) was an American motorsports driver in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now known as the Nextel Cup Series. ... Ken Schrader (born May 9, 1955) is a NASCAR Nextel Cup driver from Fenton, Missouri. ... Greg Biffle (born December 23, 1969 in Vancouver, Washington) is a NASCAR Nextel Cup driver. ... Christian Fittipaldi (born January 18, 1971, São Paulo, Brazil) is the son of former Grand Prix driver and team owner Wilson Fittipaldi, and the nephew of twice F1 Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. ... Skoal is a medium-strength brand of tobacco snuff,used for dipping between the cheek and gum of ones mouth. ... Copenhagen (Danish: København) is the capital of Denmark, and the name of the municipality (Danish, kommune) in which it resides. ... Schneider Electric is a large, worldwide company of French Origin. ... The final Oldsmobile Logo, an update of the Rocket theme used in various forms since 1948, debuted in the mid-1990s until the final Olds rolled off the line in 2004. ... Chevrolet, or Chevy for short, is a brand of automobile that completely sucks eggs, now a division of General Motors. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 28th 139,509 km² 805 km 240 km 9. ... This article is about the year. ... The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season began on Saturday, February 7 and ended on Sunday, November 21. ... The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States. ... The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season began on Saturday, February 7 and ended on Sunday, November 21. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 28th 139,509 km² 805 km 240 km 9. ...

Beginnings

The team was formed in 1985 by two brothers, Leo and Richard Jackson. The team debuted at that year's Daytona 500 fielding two cars(the #55 sponsored by Copenhagen, and the #66 sponsored by Skoal Bandit) driven by another pair of brothers, Benny and Phil Parsons, respectively. Benny finished 31st and Phil finished 29th, both suffering engine faliure. Phil ran fourteen races with the team that year and posted three top-tens while splitting time with another ride, and Benny ran fourteen races as well and had six top-ten finishes running a limited schedule. The two returned for 1986, with BP had four top tens and winning the team's first pole position. Phil ran a limited schedule himself and had five top-tens. After Benny left at the end of the year, it left a door open for Phil to take a full-time ride. In his first year with the #55, Parsons finished a then career-high 4th at Martinsville and finished 14th in points. The #66 ran only one race that year, with IndyCar driver Tom Sneva running at Daytona before dropping out with engine faliure. In 1988, Parsons improved to a 9th place finish in points, with the highlight of his year coming with his victory at the Winston 500 despite running out of fuel earlier in the race. In 1989, the team returned to a two car operation, purchasing the #33 equipment and its driver, Harry Gant, from Hal Needham. Gant won early in the season at Darlington Speedway and finished seventh in points, while Parsons, despite additional sponsorship from Crown Petroleum, only had three top-tens and dropped to 21st in points. At the end of the year, Parsons left for Morgan-McClure Motorsports. The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. ... Benny Parsons (born July 12, 1941 in Detroit) was an American motorsports driver in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now known as the Nextel Cup Series. ... Phil Parsons(born June 21, 1957 in Detroit, Michigan), is a former NASCAR driver. ... Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Martinsville, Virginia. ... Tom Sneva (full name Thomas E. Sneva) won the 1983 Indianapolis 500. ... The Aarons 499 is a NASCAR Nextel Cup stock car race held at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. ... Harry Gant Harry Phil Gant (born January 10, 1940) is best known for driving the number 33 Skoal Bandits car on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit. ... Hal Needham, stuntman, was born March 6, 1931 in Memphis, Tennessee. ... Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. ... Morgan-McClure Motorsports(formed in 1983) is a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series team. ...

"Skoal Baby..."

In 1990, Richard Jackson splintered from the team to form his own operation, taking the equipment for the #55 with him. The newly re-named Leo Jackson Motorsports still held onto the #33 and Gant who won at Pocono Raceway but finished 17th in points that year. Phil Parsons also returned to the team briefly following his release from Morgan-McClure, pulling substitute duty for Gant at Bristol Motor Speedway. 1991 was much better for Gant, as he finished 3rd in points and won four consecutive races late in the season, which began a "Life Begins at 50" campaign because Gant was the oldest winner in the history of the sport. He followed that up with his final two career wins in 1992 and a fourth-place finish in points. In 1993 & 1994, he didn't win but had a pole each year as well as an eleventh-place finish in points in 1993. During his retirement year in 1994, LJM began grooming his replacement, and Robert Pressley, ran three races for the team in the #54 sponsored by Manheim Auctions. His best finish was 31st. He moved to the #33 full-time in 1995, where he posted a tenth-place at Bristol, and finished runner-up to Ricky Craven for Rookie of the Year. 1996 was a struggle for Pressley and the team, when Pressley was running decently before having to miss the first race at Dover Downs(he was replaced by Greg Sacks). Around this time, Jackson was contemplating retirement and began looking to sell the team. His buyer was his crew chief at the time, Andy Petree. After one race as an owner, he released Pressley and had Todd Bodine finish out the year for him. Pocono Raceway is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania; it is the site of two annual NASCAR Nextel Cup races held just a few weeks apart in June and July. ... Bristol Motor Speedway is a NASCAR short track located in Bluff City, Tennessee, near Bristol. ... Robert Pressley from Asheville, NC was born April 8, 1959. ... // About Manheim Auctions is a subsidary of Cox Enterprises. ... Ricky Craven is a NASCAR driver. ... The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season. ... Dover International Speedway is a NASCAR race track located near Dover, Delaware. ... Greg Sacks(born November 3, 1952, in Mattiuck, New York, is a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver. ... Andy Petree (born August 15, 1958 in Hickory, North Carolina), is a long-time fixture in NASCAR. After racing for years at local short track(most notably Hickory Motor Speedway), Andy became part owner of the #32 Busch Series car for Dale Jarrett. ... Todd Bodine from Chemung, NY was born February 27, 1964. ...

New Owner

APR's familiar #33 in 1998

For 1997, Petree selected four-time winner Ken Schrader to be his driver. Schrader was solid all season long, as he won the pole at both Loudon races and finished tenth in the points. 1998 saw about the same result, with eight finishes of ninth or better, and two more pole positons. APR also expanded to a multi-car operation briefly, fielding the #55 Oakwood Homes Chevy driven by Hut Stricklin at the Pepsi 400. The team became a multi-car full time in 1999, with Kenny Wallace signing to drive the #55 car with sponsorship from Square D. The year was up and down for Wallace, as he posted a career-best second-place finish at Loudon, but could only muster a 22nd-place points finish. Meanwhile at the #33 camp, NASCAR's community was shocked when long-time sponsor Skoal announced it would no longer continue its association with the #33. After the team signed Oakwood Homes to be a full-time sponsor on the car, Schrader announced he would leave to pursue other opportunites. After a long search, APR decided to hire Joe Nemechek to pilot the car. While he didn't visit victory lane at all in 2000, he did have three top-fives and the first top-25 points finish of his career. After nailing just one top-ten that year, Wallace announced he would leave for Eel River Racing. It wasn't long before Bobby Hamilton was named to handle the driving chores. When the 2000 season came to a close, APR fielded an unprecedented third team, the #35 for Geoffrey Bodine at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 2001 was a banner year for APR, as Hamilton won at Talladega Superspeedway and finished eighteenth in points, while Nemechek had ups and downs, breaking a shoulder at Dover and being replaced by Scott Pruett, Wally Dallenbach, Jr. and Hamilton's son. When he returned from his injuries, Nemechek was able to rebound with a victory North Carolina Speedway and had a respectable 28th place finish in points. Unfortunately, Oakwood Homes had financial trouble and backed out as sponsor, and Nemechek teamed up with Travis Carter Motorsports in 2002. Ken Schrader (born May 9, 1955) is a NASCAR Nextel Cup driver from Fenton, Missouri. ... New Hampshire International Speedway is a 1. ... Wayman Hut Stricklin was born on June 24, 1961, in Calera, Alabama. ... The Pepsi 400 is the current name for the 400 mile (approx. ... Kenny Wallace (born August 23, 1963) is a NASCAR Busch Series driver who currently drives the #22 AutoZoneFord Taurus for PPC Racing. ... Schneider Electric is a large, worldwide company of French Origin. ... Joe Nemechek (born September 26, 1963) in Lakeland, Florida is a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver. ... Bobby Hamilton (born May 29, 1957 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a driver and owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series circuit. ... Geoffrey Bodine (born April 18, 1949 in Chemung, New York) is the oldest of the three Bodine brothers (Brett Bodine and Todd Bodine) who are all NASCAR drivers. ... Atlanta Motor Speedway is a superspeedway in Hampton, Georgia, USA, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. ... Talladega Superspeedway is now the official name of a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama, that was formerly Alabama International Motor Speedway. ... Scott Pruett (born March 24, 1960 in Sacramento, California) is an American race car driver who has competed in NASCAR, Champ Car, IMSA, Trans Am and Grand-Am. ... Wally Dallenbach, Jr. ... Bobby Hamilton, Jr (born January 8, 1978) in Nashville, Tennessee is a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver currently driving the #32 Tide Chevrolet for PPI Motorsports. ... The North Carolina Speedway, affectionately known as The Rock, was home to NASCAR racing from 1966 to 2004. ... The #23 Ford Spencer drove from 1998 to 1999. ...

Closing up shop

Oakwood Homes' financial troubles left the #33 without a sponsor for 2002. Mike and Kenny Wallace ran limited schedules in the car, but no full-time sponsor could be located. In addition to all the turmoil, several attempts to get Jerry Jones to buy into the team failed. Things went from bad to worse in the #55, where Hamilton, who was struggling intensely, suffered a broken shoulder in a crash. Ron Hornaday and Greg Biffle were able to fill in, but despite a tenth-place finish in the season finale, Hamilton was not happy, and he departed to the Craftsman Truck Series, taking the Square D sponsorship with him. Christian Fittipaldi signed to drive the #33 at the Daytona 500, and he finished 35th. The team made only one other race that year, with Paul Menard at Watkins Glen International Raceway, where he finished 29th. In 2004, Menard and Petree ran in the Busch Series in the hopes of attracting major sponsorship for the team's planned return to the Cup series, but Menard signed a contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc., and took the sponsorship from his father's company with him. This was the final blow to APR, and despite running a couple of truck series races, Petree auctioned off all of his equipment, and the team is now dead. Mike Wallace (born March 10, 1959) is a NASCAR race car driver. ... Jerry Jones (Born on October 13, 1942) is the owner of the Dallas Cowboys NFL franchise. ... Ron Hornaday from Palmdale, CA was born June 20, 1958. ... Greg Biffle (born December 23, 1969 in Vancouver, Washington) is a NASCAR Nextel Cup driver. ... NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series logo The Craftsman Truck Series is a popular NASCAR racing series that features modified pickup trucks. ... Christian Fittipaldi (born January 18, 1971, São Paulo, Brazil) is the son of former Grand Prix driver and team owner Wilson Fittipaldi, and the nephew of twice F1 Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. ... The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. ... Paul Menard (born August 21, 1980) is a NASCAR driver currently competing in the Busch Series. ... Watkins Glen International (nicknamed The Glen) is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. ... The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season began on Saturday, February 7 and ended on Sunday, November 21. ... NASCAR Busch Series logo The Busch Series is a stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR. It is NASCARs second division (often compared to Triple-A baseball), and is a proving ground for drivers who wish to step up to the organizations top level, the Nextel... Dale Earnhardt Inc. ...

Source

• Racing Reference