Spears Motorsports

Spears Motorsports was a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team owned by Wayne and Connie Spears of Agua Dulce, California. The team is most notable for its longevity in the Truck Series, running all but two races before their closure, their commitment to running with Chevrolet and for always running their white and blue No. 75.

Wayne Spears is a 2009 inductee of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.

Winston Cup Spears Motorsports debuted in 1987 at Riverside with road racer Tommy Kendall driving the No. 76 Spears Manufacturing Buick. However, they would last only 26 laps before being hit with oil troubles. Kendall and Spears returned to Riverside in '88, and improved their results to 18th, leading one lap. Kendall would be released in favor of Bill Sedgwick, debuting at Phoenix but finishing 36th with ignition troubles. Sedgwick and Spears would only make 8 starts between 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series due to Sedgwick also running in the Winston West Series. Ron Hornaday would make his Cup debut with Spears in 1993, also at Phoenix finishing 22nd. Sedgwick returned to the team the following year without much success. Taking a leap at the newly formed SuperTruck Series, the Spears' sold off their Cup equipment at season's end.

Car No. 76 History NASCAR Winston Cup Series 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 Pts 1987 Roman Calczynski 76 Buick DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR NWS BRI MAR TAL CLT DOV POC RSDDNQ MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR Tommy Kendall RSD38 ATL 1988 DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV RSD18 POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO ATL 1989 Bill Sedgwick DAY CAR ATL RCH DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SONDNQ POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO36 ATL 1990 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWSDNQ MAR24 TAL CLT DOV SON36 POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO20 ATL 1991 DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWSDNQ MAR19 TAL CLT DOV SON15 POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO21 ATL 1992 75 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON19 POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO27 ATL 1993 76 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON26 CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL GLN Ron Hornaday Jr. MCHDNQ BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO22 ATL 1994 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON39 CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL INDDNQ GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO34 ATL

Craftsman Truck Series

Early struggles

In 1995, Bill France Jr. announced the official formation of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series by Craftsman. With Hornaday already signed to drive Dale Earnhardt Incorporated's No. 16 truck, the Spears family turned back to Bill Sedgwick, who would debut their white No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet at PIR for the Copper World Classic. Sedgwick would finish 12th in the first ever truck race. Spears proved its competitiveness by winning the pole at Mesa Marin Speedway. Spears Motorsports's first season in the trucks netted them 1 pole, 6 top 5s, and 13 top 10s for a seventh-place points finish. Sedgwick left for Darrell Waltrip Motorsports in 1996, and Spears brought on driver Bobby Gill, who was a consistent top 20 finisher but released after Louisville despite gaining four top tens. Gill was replaced by Busch Series driver Nathan Buttke, who had 7 top 10 starts, but only 3 top 10 finishes and 7 DNF's. Buttke was released for Dan Press who also struggled and had 4 DNF's. Press was soon replaced by another West Series driver, Kevin Harvick, who had made two previous starts in the No. 79 Chevrolet at Tucson and Louisville, finishing in the top 20. Harvick would struggle with only an average season of mid pack finishes but garnered two 8th-place finishes. Harvick ran the full 1998 season except for Nashville, where Lonnie Rush Jr. drove the No. 75 truck but crashed. Despite three consecutive DNF's at the beginning of the year, Harvick and team rallied back to finish 17th in points, with 3 top 5s and 5 top 10s. Harvick would leave Spears for Jim Herrick's team in 1999, and was replaced by Rush, who struggled and was replaced by Marty Houston, who gave the team a top 10 at Nazareth. Houston returned in 2000, scoring 1 top 5 and 10 top 10s to finish 12th in points. His success raised the eyebrows of Armando Fitz, who got him into his Busch Series car for 2001. Another future USAR driver, Billy Bigley, took the reins of the No. 75, resulting in 1 top 5 and 8 top 10s for a 13th-place points finish.

David Starr era Despite Bigley's points finish, he would be replaced for 2002 by David Starr. Despite making only 5 starts in 2001, Starr had 4 top 5 finishes with John Menard Jr.'s truck team. Given a full-time ride, the combination of Starr and Spears would prove to be one of the most famous in the Truck Series. Starr gave the team its first ever win at Vegas holding off eventual champion Mike Bliss. Their first season with Starr proved to be their best with 8 top 5s and 16 top tens resulting in a 5th-place points finish along with the Most Popular Driver award. In 2003, Starr was tenth in points after finishing 6th at Texas when he was injured, forcing him to miss four races. Starr was replaced by Busch Series driver Hank Parker Jr. who had two top 10s. Starr returned at Gateway, but could not find victory lane again and dropped to 13th in points. In 2004, the team would have its most successful seasons, taking the pole at Charlotte, along with 2 wins, 8 top 5s and 16 top 10s and a 6th-place points finish. 2005 gave the team only four top 5s and ten top 10s and a 7th-place points finish. Starr announced his departure from Spears and move to Red Horse Racing in 2006.

Success and demise Joe Gibbs Racing owner Joe Gibbs contracted Spears to field their Cuban American development driver Aric Almirola for Rookie of the Year in 2006. Almirola would become the first ROTY contender to drive the famous No. 75. However, Almirola struggled in his transition and mustered only 3 top 10s. Almirola would move up to the Busch Series part-time. For 2007, Spears would hire "Short Track Slayer" Dennis Setzer, the so-called bridesmade of the Truck Series for finishing 2nd in points three years in a row with the struggling Morgan-Dollar Motorsports.Setzer Signs With Spears Motorsports; December 7, 2006 Setzer lived up to his name by winning at Mansfield on a no stop strategy. That would be the last top five for Spears as Setzer did not break into the top 10 after that race and was released prior to Vegas. USAR driver Clay Rogers would step into the No. 75 but would not crack the top 10. At season's end Wayne and Connie Spears posted a letter on their website's homepage announcing that Spears Motorsports would not return for 2008 due to financial difficulties.Spears Motorsports not returning to truck series; Scene Daily; December 5, 2007; Retrieved January 21, 2008; Inaccessible February 19, 2008

Truck No. 75 History NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 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 Pts 1995 Bill Sedgwick 75 Chevy PHO12 TUS8 SGS3 MMR2 POR7 EVG15 I708 LVL11 BRI5 MLW5 CNS4 HPT15 IRP27 FLM5 RCH33 MAR8 NWS25 SON6 MMR9 PHO10 1996 Bobby Gill HOM23 PHO9 POR20 EVG26 TUS7 CNS11 HPT15 BRI7 NZH18 MLW6 LVL11 Nathan Buttke I707 IRP8 FLM19 GLN29 NSV28 RCH6 NHA17 MAR28 NWS21 SON27 MMR14 PHO25 LVS33 1997 Dan Press WDW28 TUS32 HOM14 PHO27 POR18 EVG21 I7028 NHA30 TEX26 BRI21 NZH12 MLW25 LVL28 23rd 2324 Kevin Harvick CNS20 HPT30 IRP23 FLM23 NSV16 GLN23 RCHDNQ SON33 MMR8 CAL20 PHO34 LVS8 Rick Markle MARDNQ 1998 Kevin Harvick WDW18 HOM13 PHO13 POR14 EVG31 I7026 GLN29 TEX4 BRI22 MLW11 NZH14 CAL30 PPR15 IRP11 NHA7 FLM9 HPT5 LVL13 RCH25 MEM15 GTY11 MAR25 SON17 MMR5 PHO18 LVS20 15th 3086 Lonnie Rush Jr. NSV27 1999 HOM24 PHO12 EVG17 MMR20 MAR28 MEM33 20th 2539 Marty Houston PPR29 I7026 BRI23 TEX26 PIR12 GLN21 MLW23 NSV13 NZH6 MCH21 NHA21 IRP20 GTY32 HPT20 RCH20 LVS13 LVL20 TEX17 CAL20 2000 DAY18 HOM10 PHO21 MMR22 MAR19 PIR9 GTY25 MEM17 PPR10 EVG25 TEX7 KEN4 GLN17 MLW6 NHA10 NZH19 MCH8 IRP13 NSV18 CIC20 RCH14 DOV7 TEX19 CAL8 12th 2942 2001 Billy Bigley Jr. DAY26 HOM24 MMR9 MAR16 GTY10 DAR9 PPR25 DOV25 TEX22 MEM11 MLW7 KAN5 KEN10 NHA15 IRP29 NSH23 CIC32 NZH7 RCH10 SBO15 TEX18 LVS16 PHO32 CAL11 15th 2718 2002 David Starr DAY7 DAR6 MAR8 GTY5 PPR5 DOV4 TEX3 MEM7 MLW6 KAN24 KEN8 NHA3 MCH5 IRP34 NSH11 RCH13 TEX3 SBO7 LVS1 CAL11 PHO18 HOM8 5th 3144 2003 DAY36 DAR9 MMR9 MAR12 CLT17 DOV3 TEX6 GTW6 MCH13 IRP11 NSH4 BRI18 RCH32 NHA8 CAL5 LVS2 SBO9 TEX31 MAR9 PHO6 HOM3 10th 3292 Hank Parker Jr. MEM15 MLW8 KAN11 KEN10 2004 David Starr DAY12 ATL36 MAR9 MFD9 CLT3 DOV8 TEX29 MEM10 MLW33 KAN19 KEN3 GTW1 MCH21 IRP16 NSH2 BRI7 RCH23 NHA8 LVS10 CAL4 TEX4 MAR29 PHO1 DAR7 HOM3 6th 3298 2005 DAY8 CAL27* ATL5 MAR22 GTY21 MFD9 CLT19 DOV8 TEX9 MCH12 MLW11 KAN24 KEN10 MEM5 IRP17 NSH17 BRI8 RCH21 NHA13 LVS3 MAR21 ATL11 TEX4 PHO14 HOM11 8th 3148 2006 Aric Almirola DAY32 CAL21 ATL18 MAR18 GTY10 CLT9 MFD30 DOV12 TEX32 MCH36 MLW13 KAN18 KEN22 MEM18 IRP21 NSH22 BRI32 NHA29 LVS10 TAL22 MAR16 ATL30 TEX20 PHO22 HOM23 21st 2471 2007 Dennis Setzer DAY19 CAL19 ATL7 MAR13 KAN26 CLT22 MFD1 DOV19 TEX16 MCH24 MLW19 MEM19 KEN18 IRP13 NSH26 BRI26 GTW19 16th 2262 Clay Rogers NHA12 LVS11 TAL15 MAR26 ATL34 TEX33 PHO16 HOM27

Truck No. 79 History NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 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 Pts 1997 Kevin Harvick 79 Chevy WDW TUS21 HOM PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL11 CNS HPT IRP FLM NSV GLN RCH MAR SON MMR CAL PHO LVS

References