Innovative Motorsports

Innovative Motorsports
Owner(s)George DeBidart
BaseCharlotte, North Carolina
SeriesWinston Cup, Busch Series, Craftsman Truck Series
Race driversAndy Santerre, Mike McLaughlin, Chad Little, Kenny Wallace, Shane Hmiel, Robert Huffman, Hank Parker Jr.
SponsorsLittle Trees, Gould Pumps, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Toyota Tundra
ManufacturerChevrolet, Toyota
Opened1998
Closed2005
Career
Drivers' Championships0
Race victories2

Innovative Motorsports (IMI) is a former NASCAR team. It was owned by George DeBidart and began racing in the Busch North Series in the mid-1990s, before moving to the Busch Series in 1998.

Winston Cup

Innovative ran four Cup races during its tenure. Using the No. 98 Chevy purchased from Michael Waltrip Racing, Kenny Wallace ran the Pepsi 400, the Tropicana 400, the Brickyard 400, and the Sirius at the Glen. His best finish was 29th.

Car No. 47 history

Innovative debuted on the Busch Circuit at the 1998 NAPA Auto Parts 300. Andy Santerre was the driver of the car, the No. 47 Monro Muffler and Brake Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and finished 25th. Santerre was the driver for the whole season, grabbing two top-tens, a pole at Richmond, and NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year honors. The next season, Santerre suffered a broken leg in a crash at Daytona, and missed half of the year. Elliott Sadler filled in for him, posting two top-ten finishes. Santerre returned and won his first career race at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Santerre struggled making the field, and was released. Hermie Sadler finished the year, his best finish a 22nd at Phoenix.

Sadler took over the car full-time in 2000, as it was renumbered the No. 30 and receiving sponsorship from Little Trees. Sadler struggled making races as well, and would soon be released. Chad Little replaced him, but when his performance didn't improve over Sadler's, Sadler came back to finish the year, and posted a seventh-place run at Pikes Peak.

After the team did not run in 2001, it returned in 2002 as the No. 47 with rookie Shane Hmiel driving with sponsorship from Mike's Hard Lemonade. Hmiel had two poles, eight top-tens and a sixteenth-place points finish, finishing behind Scott Riggs and Johnny Sauter for Rookie of the Year. The team closed after that.

Car No. 48 history

The second Innovative car made its debut in 2000 at Daytona with Mike McLaughlin, sponsored by Goulds Pumps. He wrecked and finished 26th. McLaughlin struggled through the course of the season, and had six top-tens en route to a 24th-place points finish. Just before the 2001 season, McLaughlin quit the team for Joe Gibbs Racing, and was replaced by Kenny Wallace. Wallace had two poles as well as a victory in North Carolina Speedway, finishing 10th in points. After Stacker 2 came on as a sponsor, Wallace improved to seventh in points in 2002 and had thirteen top-tens, but did not win. After the No. 47 team closed its doors, Hmiel moved to the 48 and had ten top-tens and was in eighth in points, when he was suspended by NASCAR for violating its drug policy. Jeff Green, Todd Bodine, Carlos Contreras, Randy LaJoie, and Kerry Earnhardt finished out the year for the team.

Craftsman Truck Series

In 2004, Innovative closed its Busch teams, and signed with Toyota to field entries in the Craftsman Truck Series, the No. 12 driven by Robert Huffman and the No. 21 driven by Hank Parker Jr. Huffman, a rookie, had six top-tens, but failed to finish nine races and ended up twenty-third in points. Parker Jr. had four top-tens and finished 17th in points. Due to a lack of funding, Innovative closed up for good at the end of the season, with Huffman's team being sold to Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, and Parker's team to Capital Motorsports.

Truck No. 12 Results

NASCAR Craftsman 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 NCTS Pts
2004 Robert Huffman 12 Toyota DAY
36
ATL
29
MAR
34
MFD
DNQ
CLT
16
DOV
11
TEX
28
MEM
16
MLW
36
KAN
24
KEN
10
GTW
27
MCH
9
IRP
23
NSH
8
BRI
32
RCH
6
NHA
32
LVS
31
CAL
17
TEX
29
MAR
10
PHO
31
DAR
9
HOM
35
25th 2363

Truck No. 21 Results

NASCAR Craftsman 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 NCTS Pts
2004 Hank Parker, Jr. 21 Toyota DAY
18
ATL
33
MAR
12
MFD
19
CLT
22
DOV
3
TEX
23
MEM
12
MLW
17
KAN
21
KEN
22
GTW
5
MCH
29
IRP
15
NSH
15
BRI
6
RCH
20
NHA
9
LVS
21
CAL
15
TEX
13
MAR
31
PHO
23
DAR
35
HOM
17
17th 2737

This page was last updated at 2023-11-20 19:02 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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