SS-Green Light Racing
| Owner(s) | Ken Smith Bobby Dotter Steve Urvan |
|---|---|
| Base | Mooresville, North Carolina |
| Series | Xfinity Series Camping World Truck Series |
| Car numbers | 07, 08, 55, 90 |
| Race drivers | Xfinity Series 90. Jimmy Weller III, Todd Bodine, Tyler Young, B. J. McLeod Camping World Truck Series: 07. Ray Black, Jr. 08. Korbin Forrister |
| Sponsors | Camping World Truck Series: 07. ScubaLife.com 08. Tilted Kilt, Trump for President |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet |
| Career | |
| Debut | 1995 Goody's 300 (Daytona) |
| Latest race | 2016 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Charlotte) |
| Races competed | 183 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
SS-Green Light Racing is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. Owned and operated by businessmen Ken Smith and Steve Urvan and former driver Bobby Dotter. The team currently fields the No. 07 Chevrolet Silverado for Ray Black, Jr., and the No. 08 Chevrolet Silverado for Korbin Forrister. Green Light began competing in the Truck Series in 2000 with Dotter as a driver, and merged with SS Racing in 2008.
Contents
Xfinity Series
In April 2014, the team announced a partnership with Viva Motorsports to field the #55 car usually run by Jamie Dick in select races. SS-Green Light's Nationwide Series program debuted on April 11 at Darlington Raceway with veteran Todd Bodine.[1][2] Jimmy Weller III made his series debut the next week at Richmond, finishing 40th after a mechanical failure.[3] Bodine ran a second race at Dover. Timmy Hill, Andy Lally, Caleb Roark and David Starr all ran single races for the team.
In July, Brennan Newberry made his Nationwide Series debut at Loudon in a partnership with NTS Motorsports and sponsor Qore-24.[4] Newberry ran three races in the 55 with a best finish of 19th at Watkins Glen. In the penultimate race of 2014 at Phoenix International Raceway, Newberry made his fourth start with the team in a car numbered 77 car, finishing 36th after an early crash.[5] For 2015, the team formed an alliance with King Autosport.
Camping World Truck Series
Truck No. 07 history
The No. 07 truck began racing in 2001 with former owner Gene Christensen driving the Racing For Kids Chevrolet. He failed to finish higher than 30th that season and completed just 63 laps total. Aaron Daniel and Mike Olsen drove the No. 07 for a total of three races that season in addition. Jason Small began racing the No. 07 full-time the following season with Sunbelt Rentals sponsoring. He had two top-tens and finished 22nd in the points standings. Rich Bickle drove the No. 07 at the season opener in 2003, before Bobby Dotter drove for several races in the truck. Jeremy Mayfield had a sixth-place finish the following race at Lowe's, with Stan Boyd and Blake Mallory driving in select races afterwards. Johnny Chapman would then drive for six races, with Ryan Hanson and Mark McFarland driving in between. Dotter and Shane Sieg would finish out the year in the truck. Ricky Moxley drove the No. 07 truck for the Lucas Oil Camping world truck series in INDY.
In 2004, Sieg was hired as the full-time driver with Auto Air Colors sponsoring. Despite an eighth place finish at Milwaukee, he was released before the final quarter of the season, and Sean Murphy and Andy Houston would end the season in the truck. Murphy would be hired to drive the No. 07 for the first five races of the season, and after one thirteenth-place finish, Butch Miller took over at Mansfield, and finished tenth. Rich Bickle, Chris Wimmer and Eric Norris also raced the No. 07, before Jack Bailey drove a total of six races, with a best finish of 26th. Chase Pistone, José Luis Ramírez and Wimmer finished out the season in the truck. Murphy returned at the beginning of the 2006 season, but did not last long, with Clint Bowyer finishing seventh at Martinsville in the Jack Daniel's truck. Justin Martz, Robert Turner, Johnny Chapman and Butch Miller drove one race apiece, with Kevin Lepage driving a pair of races with Roadloans.com sponsorship. Chad McCumbee drove the No. 07 for a pair of races, when U.S. Restoration became the team's new primary sponsor. Travis Kittleson then became the team's new driver for three races, his best a sixteenth at Nashville Superspeedway. T. J. Bell would drive for one race, and John Mickel brought sponsorship from Torquespeed and leased out the No. 07 for the rest of the season, his best finish 20th.
After the 2006 season, Tim Sauter and Lester Buildings joined the team for 2007. Despite only one top-ten finish, Sauter finished 16th in the points but was runner up to Willie Allen for Rookie of the Year. Both Sauter and Lester Buildings departed at season's end, possibly due to the struggles of the housing market.[citation needed] Shane Seig, Sean Murphy and Ryan Lawler shared the ride in 2008 with ASI Limited.
In 2009, Chad McCumbee returned to SS Green Light Racing to drive the No. 07 in 21 races. With part-time sponsorship from Tiwi and Valvoline, he had five top-ten finishes and finished 19th in points. Jason Young and Burt Myers filled in the rest of the schedule. Sean Murphy opened the 2010 season by finishing 13th at Daytona with Deitz & Watson sponsoring. For the rest of the season, Donny Lia and Tony Jackson split the driving duties, with Jackson scheduled to run 7 races. After a long string of bad luck, Lia departed the No. 07 team after the O'Reilly 200 at Bristol.
For 2011, the team swapped between Toyota and Chevrolet. Donnie Neuenberger drove at Daytona and B. J. McLeod drove at Phoenix with Boggy Creek Airboat Rides. Johnny Chapman drove a few races in the truck, mostly as a start and park. In 2012 the 07's lineup added on former Pro Cup driver Jeff Agnew, as well as T. J. Duke.
For 2015, Ray Black, Jr. will pilot the car full-time with the sponsorship ScubaLife.com.
Truck No. 08 history
The current No. 08 truck debuted in 2007 as the No. 0 with Sharon Rice listed as the owner. Brandon Knupp drove it first at Texas Motor Speedway, and finished 34th after suffering overheating. Three weeks later, Wayne Edwards drove the truck and finished last with braking malfunction. In 2008, the No. 0 ran a part-time schedule with Christensen as the owner. Butch Miller drove most of the races, with two 32nd-place finish, along with Wayne Edwards, Chris Jones, Mike Olsen, Norm Benning, Johnny Chapman and Kevin Lepage.
The truck did not return until 2010 as the 21 and Steve Urvan as the owner. Donny Lia began the season in the ride, later moving to the No. 07 with Tony Jackson. The No. 21 would then be fielded as a 'start and park' truck with Johnny Chapman, Butch Miller and Chris Eggleston sharing the ride. Jake Crum made his NCWTS debut in the No. 21 at the Bristol Motor Speedway on August 18, 2010, during the O'Reilly 200. Crum qualified 13th and ran well early in the event, but fell victim to a broken fuel pump midway through the event. The truck was later taken over at the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 by David Starr who had left Randy Moss Motorsports the week prior due to lack of performance and the decision to have the No. 81 miss Chicago and Kentucky. Starr drove the No. 21 Chevrolet to a top-10 finish at Chicagoland. The No. 81 and Zachry sponsorship were then moved over from Moss Motorsports, and Starr drove the truck for the rest of the season to a 9th place finish in points. In 2011, Starr and the team struggled to keep up, scoring 8 top-10s and finished 13th in points. Starr then left to join Arrington Racing. The truck number was changed back to the No. 08, and was driven by Florida native Ross Chastain in 2012. Chastain scored a 3rd place finish at Bristol, as well as 3 top 10s. Sometimes in the season he had to start and park, due to lack of funds. he would end his season 17th in points. Chastain would later depart for Brad Keselowski Racing, and would be replaced by the returning David Starr for 2013, changing back to No. 81. Starr would only run the first seven races before sponsorship issues forced him to sit out most of the season.
For 2014, the team reverted back to No. 08 Chevrolet Silverado. Jimmy Weller III opened the season with a 9th place finish at Daytona. In 2015, Korbin Forrister took over the driving duty of the No. 08 Chevrolet Silverado.
Truck #23 history
Green Light Racing began competing in 2000 with Dotter driving the #45 People Against Drugs Chevrolet in two races, with a best finish a seventeenth at The Milwaukee Mile. For the 2001 season, Dotter would drive the 08 full-time while campaigning for Rookie of the Year. He had a 10th place finish at IRP and finished fifteenth in points. He continued to drive the 08 truck in 2002, posting four top-ten finishes and finishing a career best fourteenth in points. In 2003, rookie Jody Lavender was hired as the team's driver for most of the season, bringing sponsorship from Lavender's Discount Carpets and Hartsville Community Bank. He finished seventeenth in points that year despite missing four races. He was replaced in those races by Dotter and Shane Sieg, who ran two races apiece.
Ken Weaver was hired as the next driver of the 08 truck in 2004, bringing 1-800-4-A-Phone as sponsorship, and he raced a total of fifteen times, with a best finish of 18th at Texas Motor Speedway. Various other drivers raced the 08 truck that season, including Dotter, Tony Raines, A. J. Fike, Butch Miller, Bill Manfull and Sean Murphy. Weaver started driving the 08 truck for the first three races in 2005, and had a sixth-place finish at Daytona International Speedway, before he left the team. Without a primary sponsor, the team began racing with the driver-by committee schedule, and Tam Topham drove for the team at Martinsville Speedway, before Rich Bickle drove the next two races, and finished fifth at Mansfield. Butch Miller and Kevin Lepage drove one race apiece, before Johnny Chapman drove in four of the next five races. Miller and Topham raced another time in the 08 that year, along with Jarit Johnson, Chris Wimmer, Mark McFarland and Jack Bailey.
In 2006, Bobby Hamilton, Jr. raced in the first three races of the season with Corky's BBQ and Ribs sponsoring the team's Dodge, before he left to drive full-time for his father's team. Butch Miller drove the next week at Martinsville, and Boris Jurkovic followed at the following race, when the team returned to Chevrolet. Mike Greenwell made his debut at Mansfield, finishing 26th, and after Johnny Chapman drove at Dover, Chad McCumbee was hired as Green Light Racing's first full-time driver in two years. With the exception of two races where Chris Wimmer and Mike Greenwell raced, McCumbee drove the 08 for the rest of the season, posting two seventh-place finishes and was runner-up for Rookie of the Year despite missing the season opener at Daytona. He was hired to race the 08 for the 2007 season, skipping the Sam's Town 400 due to making his NEXTEL Cup debut at Pocono Raceway, being replaced by Eric Norris. He left for MRD Motorsports late in the season, and Shane Sieg took his place, for a couple of races, with Dennis Setzer driving at New Hampshire. Chris Jones took over the ride starting at Martinsville. For 2008, Jason White brought sponsorship from GunBroker.com, along with the team's manufacturer change to Dodge. They did not have any top-ten finishes and ended the season nineteenth in points. Butch Miller became the team's primary driver in 2009, with Johnny Chapman, Lepage, Murphy and Brandon Knupp filling in. The team ran completed races with Tim Brown, Chrissy Wallace, Jamie Dick and Brett Butler. White returned to the truck in 2010, changing the number from 08 to 23, and the team had their best season. White won the pole at Daytona and was in the top five in points for half of the season. However, the teams performance dropped and they took home a 10th place finish in points. White left the team for the upstart Joe Denette Motorsports for 2011.[6]
Other teams
Beginning with the 2006 season, Green Light Racing began fielding a third team when the expected field was short. Wayne Edwards drove the 03 truck first in 2006, finishing 36th and 35th respectively. Johnny Chapman then drove at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing 35th. Chapman drove the 78 at Atlanta in 2007, finishing last. Other drivers of the 06 truck in 2007 were Morgan Shepherd, Blake Mallory, Randy MacDonald, Dotter, Edwards, and Brandon Knupp.
Merger with SS Racing
SS Racing, although an ASA team, has dabbled in the Truck Series with a limited partnership with GLR, providing associate sponsorship for the team. However, with the recent financial successes of merged teams such as Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing,[citation needed] coupled with Gene Christiensen's bid for a seat in Congress, both GLR and SS expanded their partnership to a full merger beginning in 2008.
References
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