Kevin Conway (born April 15, 1979) is an American professional stock car racing driver who currently races in the Blancpain Super Trofeo Championship. He is the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year (ROTY), 2014 Super Trofeo World Champion, and two-time North American Super Trofeo Series Champion. Conway has raced in motocross, legends, the World Karting Association, United States Automobile Club (USAC), American Speed Association (ASA), NASCAR's regional K&N Pro Series West, and all three of NASCAR's national touring series.

A protege of Cup Series winner Ernie Irvan and longtime test driver for Cup teams, Conway is best known for his association with the male enhancement product ExtenZe from 2009 to 2011. The sponsorship led ultimately to Conway's first full-time NASCAR season and ROTY effort in 2010, but also led to lawsuits from former teams due to unpaid sponsorship funds. Conway appeared on Shark Tank in 2021 as a business partner for the company "Phoozy", which made specialized smartphone cases.Atlanta's Phoozy, a super protective gadget case, lands on 'Shark Tank' The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Racing career Early career Conway began his career racing at age six, running AMA motocross, go-karts, and winged midget cars. Moving to Charlotte, North Carolina as a teenager, Conway became the youngest legends car national champion in 1994, at the age of fifteen. Conway would later race late model stock cars in NASCAR's regional Dodge Weekly Racing Series.

2002–2005 Conway moved to major-league stock car racing in 2002, when he made his debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. His first race came in the No. 17 Eagle One/Valvoline Chevrolet for A. J. Henriksen, Ernie Irvan, and George deBidart at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he started fifth and finished thirteenth after a rear axle problem late in the race. In his next race that fall at Lowe's he finished seventh. Conway also served as a test driver for NASCAR Winston Cup Series team MB2 Motorsports.

In 2003, Conway made his NASCAR Busch Series debut at Atlanta in the No. 22 for Bost Racing, qualifying 27th and finishing 33rd. In 2004 he made his career debut in the Winston West Series at Fontana in the No. 28 Ford owned by Ernie Irvan, racing against Cup Series regular Ken Schrader and future Cup drivers Clint Bowyer and David Gilliland. Conway qualified and finished fifth after leading much of the race. Conway attempted three Busch Series races in 2004, failing to qualify for all three. In 2005, Conway signed to run the No. 03 Chevrolet for Gary Keller and Mark Smith, but failed to qualify for the first two races of the season. He made his only start of the season at Darlington Raceway in the No. 43 Channellock/Supra Boats Dodge for the Curb Agajanian Performance Group, where he finished 29th.

2006 In 2006, Conway declared for Busch Series Rookie of the Year honors, driving the No. 58 Carver Racing Dodge, which was in the process of purchasing equipment from Glynn Motorsports. After the team switched to the No. 40 for Richmond, the team suspended operations, leaving Conway out of a ride after four starts. He competed in the West Series once again at Irwindale Speedway for James Pritchard, where he finished eighth.

2007 In 2007, Conway joined Joe Gibbs Racing's Busch program, signing on for eight races in the team's No. 18 Chevrolet. Conway brought sponsorship from Z-Line Designs, who partnered with him on the recommendation of former driver Lake Speed, and shared the ride with drivers Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Brad Coleman and Aric Almirola. Conway struggled in the ride, having an average finish of 29.4, nine positions worse than his teammates in the same ride. He was released at the end of the 2007 season, though Z-Line would continue to sponsor JGR.

2009: Various Cup/Nationwide teams After spending the 2008 season out of NASCAR, Conway returned in 2009 with sponsorship from his male enhancement product ExtenZe. He began racing midway through the season in the No. 87 for Braun Racing (using the No. 87 owners points from NEMCO Motorsports), and had a career-best fifteenth-place finish at Kentucky Speedway. He also ran a race for R3 Motorsports and later K Automotive Racing to finish out the Nationwide season. He made his first Camping World Truck Series race at Phoenix, finishing nineteenth in Rob Fuller's truck, as well as an unsuccessful attempt to qualify for a Sprint Cup race in the No. 70 TRG Motorsports Chevy.

2010

Front Row Motorsports

Initially planning to run full-time in the Nationwide Series, in 2010 Conway signed to drive the No. 37 ExtenZe Ford in the Sprint Cup Series for Front Row Motorsports as a teammate to Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland. Conway's lack of superspeedway experience caused him to delay his Rookie of the Year campaign, as NASCAR would not give him approval to compete in the Daytona 500. Kvapil raced the 37 at Daytona, while John Andretti ran Kvapil's 34 car. Conway earned a career best finish of 14th at Daytona International Speedway in July, one of only three finishes better than thirtieth in 2010. As the only fully sponsored driver in the Front Row stable, he rotated among the team's No. 34, No. 37, and No. 38 cars in order to remain in a Top 35-ranked car that would guarantee a starting spot. Prior to the August race at Michigan, Conway and the ExtenZe sponsor logos were removed from the car, with Tony Raines replacing him. Conway and ExtenZe would go on to be sued by Front Row Motorsports for lack of payment, which they cited as the reason Conway was removed from the car.

Robby Gordon Motorsports

Conway returned to competition with Robby Gordon Motorsports at Bristol, and ran seven races in the No. 7 car, as well as attempting one in the teams No. 07 car, missing the race at Charlotte. Owner Robby Gordon would also get into a sponsorship dispute with Conway and Extenze, which turned violent the next season.

Conway won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award for 2010 by default, as his only competitor, Terry Cook, ran only three of the first ten races during the year. It was the least competitive rookie of the year battle in modern NASCAR history up to that point. Conway ran 28 races in 2010.

2011

For 2011, it was announced that Conway would enter the Budweiser Shootout (eligible due to winning Rookie of the Year in 2010), Daytona 500, and possibly a few more races for Joe Nemechek and NEMCO Motorsports in the No. 97 Toyota with sponsorship from ExtenZe. Conway attempted four races, qualifying for three of them, in which he finished last in each.

Conway also ran nine races in the Nationwide Series for NEMCO, with an average finish of 28.1. He was released from NEMCO at the end of the season and has not competed in NASCAR since.

2013 In 2013 Conway competed in the North American Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Series. Over the course of the season he drove a race prepared, lightweight, four-wheel-drive, 570 horsepower version of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 to win the series championship in the Pro-Am division. The final Super Trofeo Series race weekend was held in conjunction with the IndyCar season finale race weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA.

Personal life A native of Lynchburg, Virginia, Conway earned a marketing degree at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Conway started the marketing company Exclaim Racing, which organized his sponsorship deals. He also served as an instructor at the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Conway's father Sam was a former team manager for Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, and a board member for Motor Racing Outreach. Sam died from lung cancer in 2007 at age 58.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results Year Team 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 Ref 2009 TRG Motorsports 70 Chevy DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH NHA DOV KAN CAL CLT MAR TAL TEX PHODNQ HOM NA - 2010 Front Row Motorsports 37 Ford DAY CAL31 LVS36 ATL31 BRI28 DAR33 DOV30 35th 1830 38 MAR31 PHO33 TEX27 TAL30 RCH37 34 CLT35 POC35 MCH40 SON28 NHA23 DAY14 CHI33 IND34 POC31 GLN31 MCH Robby Gordon Motorsports 7 Toyota BRI36 ATL37 RCH41 NHA DOV37 KAN38 CAL31 MARQL† TAL TEX PHO HOM30 07 CLTDNQ 2011 NEMCO Motorsports 97 Toyota DAYDNQ PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX TAL43 RCH DAR DOV CLT KAN POC MCH SON DAY43 KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL43 MAR TEX PHO HOM 79th 0 † - Qualified but replaced by Robby Gordon

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 2011 NEMCO Motorsports Toyota DNQ

Nationwide Series NASCAR Nationwide Series results Year Team 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 Pts Ref 2003 Bost Motorsports 22 Chevy DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX TAL NSH CAL RCH GTY NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL33 PHO CAR HOM 139th 64 2004 Rick Ware Racing 51 Dodge DAYDNQ CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL GTY RCH NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY NA - Mac Hill Motorsports 56 Chevy CHIDNQ NHA PPR IRP MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM Smith Brothers Motorsports 67 Chevy ATLDNQ PHO DAR HOM 2005 Gary Keller Motorsports 03 Chevy DAYDNQ CALDNQ MXC LVS ATL NSH BRI TEX PHO TAL 122nd 76 Curb Racing 43 Chevy DAR29 RCH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR GTY IRP GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM 2006 Carver Racing 58 Dodge DAY CAL MXC LVS28 ATL34 BRI43 TEX NSH PHO TAL 86th 253 40 RCHDNQ DAR28 CLTDNQ DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA MAR GTY IRP GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM 2007 Joe Gibbs Racing 18 Chevy DAY CAL MXC LVS ATL BRI26 NSH TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV30 NSH31 KEN MLW NHA21 DAY CHI GTY IRP CGV GLN MCH BRI CAL20 RCH43 DOV KAN35 CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM 71st 523 2009 NEMCO Motorsports 87 Toyota DAY CAL LVS BRI TEX NSH PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV24 NSH23 KEN15 MLW NHA DAY CHI GTY28 IRP20 IOW GLN MCH BRI CGV ATL RCH DOV 45th 1149 R3 Motorsports 26 Chevy KAN24 CLT24 MEM27 TEX20 PHO24 HOM22 23 CAL18 2011 NEMCO Motorsports 87 Chevy DAY PHO LVS43 BRI 36th 120 Toyota CAL22 TEX TAL NSH24 RCH DAR DOV IOW CLT CHI MCH ROA24 DAY25 KEN NHA NSH IRP IOW GLN CGVQL† BRI29 ATL RCH CHI24 DOV KAN CLT36 TEX PHO HOM26† - Qualified for Joe Nemechek·

Camping World Truck Series NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results Year Team 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 Pts Ref 2009 Rob Fuller Motorsports 71 Chevy DAY CAL ATL MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX MCH MLW MEM KEN IRP NSH BRI CHI IOW GTW NHA LVS31 MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM 86th 106

ARCA Re/Max Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Re/Max Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Pts 2002 Arne Henriksen 17 Chevy DAY ATL13 NSH SLM KEN CLT KAN POC MCH TOL SBO KEN BLN POC NSH ISF WIN DSF CHI SLM TAL CLT7 80th 365

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Points 2023 Ave Motorsports LMP3 Ligier JS P320 Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 DAYSEB WGL MOS ELK IMS PET 33rd 264

References

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