Two Toccoa [GA] businessmen, John Carter and Roger Craven, did the near-impossible last year when they took their shoestring budget team to Daytona and finished ninth in the Daytona 500, earning more than $300,000. But this year, Carter and Craven are on the verge of dropping off the circuit. With Mike Skinner at the wheel of their #37 Dodge, the R and J Racing team has failed to qualify for an event this year, and the team has no primary sponsor to help foot the bills. “We’re still trying to get on our feet, and we’re too good a team to just quit,” Carter said. “It’s a shame that a Georgia-based team can’t get a Georgia-based company to help us just a little bit.”(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(3-24-2006)
UPDATE: After failing to qualify for the first five races this year, #37 R&J Racing moved its shop back to Toccoa, Ga., and plans to spend the next month rebuilding cars. Car owner Roger Craven said the team needed time to re-evaluate its schedule and concentrate on selected races for the rest of the year. “We’ve decided to put everything under the same roof,” Craven said. “We’re re-organizing and using the rest of the year to rebuild for the future.”(Augusta Chronicle)(3-30-2006)
