BACE Motorsports announced they will compete in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in the 2003 season with Tony Raines as the driver of the #74 Chevy. Larry Carter has been named Crew Chief for the #74 Team in their first full season Cup effort. With BACE’s transition to NASCAR’s premiere division, the three-time BGN Champions are focused on continuing a tradition of excellence initiated over 10 years ago when the team was founded by owner Bill Baumgardner. “We’re excited to make the transition to the Winston Cup level with the No. 74 Team,” Baumgardner said. “Last season we made a strategic change in plan for the No. 74 by running a handful of races at the Winston Cup level. Now we are dedicating 100 percent of the focus of this team to continue building a competitive Winston Cup program. Since BACE was formed, we’ve been committed to a standard of excellence that has led our team to success. With the elements we currently have in place, having Tony as our driver and several personnel changes we made during the off season, we believe that this is the appropriate time to make the move to Winston Cup.” Raines joined BACE in 1999 as driver of the No. 33 Busch Series entry. BACE’s move to Cup completes Raines’ development through all three top touring series of NASCAR. Additionally, Raines will compete for Rookie of the Year honors in the Winston Cup Series, having already earned those honors in the BGN (1999) with BACE as well as the All Pro Series in 1990. He was the runner-up in that honor in the CTS in 1997. “Last year we were able to run seven races at the Winston Cup level,” Raines said. “Our goal when we started with my first race in June at Dover was to just qualify (Raines started 17th in his Winston Cup debut). As we ran additional races, our goals began to change. We didn’t just want to compete but to learn to be competitive. It’s a building process for any team starting out to be competitive in The Winston Cup Series. This is the top level in our sport so it’s natural to want to progress and run at that level. Bill and Brian (Baumgardner) have committed over 10 years to building a championship organization in the Busch Series and it’s an honor for me to be a part of this team as we begin a full-time Winston Cup effort at BACE.” Making the calls as crew chief for the No. 74 Team in 2003 is Larry Carter. Carter last served as head wrench in 2002 for driver Todd Bodine while working for his uncle, Travis Carter at Haas/Carter Motorsports. With 13 years of NASCAR experience under his belt, Carter holds over 110 career Winston Cup starts as a crew chief. Joining the BACE organization in December, Carter immediately realized a strong foundation in place for a Winston Cup organization. “When I started, I saw they have a lot of good systems and people already in place so I do not think that they are missing anything that they need to go Winston Cup racing,” Carter said. “Now, it’s just a matter of getting everything positioned in the right direction to be successful. A definite positive is that Tony and I hit it off immediately. Having spent time together on and off the track, our personalities seem to go together. I’m looking forward to working with him. Everything that I’ve seen of him on the track displays his talent and ability to get the job done.” Also assisting in BACE’s transition to NASCAR’s upper echelon is Michael “Dover” Kadlecik, crew chief for the #33 BGN entry last season. Kadlecik remains with the organization now serving as Head Engineer a throwback to his roots in Motorsports. BACE Motorsports has the distinction of being the only team to win the NASCAR Busch Championship over three consecutive years (1995, 1996, 1997). The team has 16 total victories, twice recorded Rookie of Year honors (1994, 1999) and has set 17 NASCAR Busch Series records.( BACE Motorsports PR )(1-9-2003)
