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Leavine Family Racing

Owner(s)	Bob Leavine Sharon Leavine
Base	Tyler, Texas Concord, North Carolina
Series	NASCAR Cup Series
Manufacturer	Toyota
Opened	2011
Closed	2020
Career
Debut	NASCAR Cup Series: 2011 Samsung Mobile 500 (Texas) Xfinity Series: 2013 Dollar General 300 (Charlotte) ARCA Racing Series: 2011 Prairie Meadows 200 (Iowa)
Latest race	NASCAR Cup Series: 2020 Season Finale 500 (Phoenix) Xfinity Series: 2013 Dollar General 300 (Charlotte) ARCA Racing Series: 2012 Kansas Lottery 98.9 (Kansas)
Races competed	Total: 267 NASCAR Cup Series: 256 Xfinity Series: 1 ARCA Racing Series: 10
Drivers' Championships	Total: 0 NASCAR Cup Series: 0 Xfinity Series: 0 ARCA Racing Series: 0
Race victories	Total: 0 NASCAR Cup Series: 0 Xfinity Series: 0 ARCA Racing Series: 0
Pole positions	Total: 0 NASCAR Cup Series: 0 Xfinity Series: 0 ARCA Racing Series: 0

Leavine Family Racing (formerly Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing and originally Leavine Fenton Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. Owned by Sharon and Bob Leavine, the team was headquartered in Tyler, Texas, but operated its racing team from a shop in Concord, North Carolina. In 2016, longtime NASCAR team owner Joe Falk became part of the ownership group, merging his Circle Sport operation with Leavine Family Racing, however as the 2016 season came to an end, Falk left the team securing his charter, and causing Leavine Family Racing to purchase a charter from Tommy Baldwin Racing.

Leavine Family Racing had a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, with Christopher Bell driving the No. 95 Toyota Camry. The team previously fielded Fords with a technical alliance with Team Penske from 2011 to 2015, and Chevrolets with a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing from 2016 to 2018.

On July 23, 2020, it was reported that Bob Leavine solicited bids for the team due to the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 4, Leavine confirmed that his team had been sold and would cease operations at the end of the 2020 season, with its fleet of Toyota cars to be returned to Joe Gibbs Racing. One week later, the team's assets were purchased by Spire Motorsports.

NASCAR Cup Series

Car No. 59 history

In 2016, Circle Sport - Leavine Family Racing, as part of the Circle Sport merger, agreed to have Ty Dillon drive the No. 95 for the 2016 Daytona 500. Michael McDowell would attempt the race in a second entry, the No. 59 Thrivent Financial / K-Love Chevy. McDowell qualified the 500 by finishing 14th in his Can-Am Duel race. McDowell had a commendable finish in the car during the Daytona 500, finishing 15th. This was the only start in 2016 for the No. 59 other than the season finale at Homestead. Before the weekend, the team acquired a charter from the No. 7 team of Tommy Baldwin Racing, which guaranteed the No. 59 a spot in the race. The car finished 10th in the race, after avoiding a big crash that took out the teammate's No. 95 car with just a few laps left in the race.

Car No. 59 results

• Acquired the owner points of Tommy Baldwin Racing's No. 7 car before the race at Homestead.

Car No. 95 history

David Starr (2011)

Founded as Leavine Fenton Racing by Bob Leavine and Lance Fenton in early 2011, the team planned to compete on a limited basis in the Sprint Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series, with David Starr competing in the former for six events and Fenton driving in the latter for three. Based in Tyler, Texas but with its race shop in Concord, North Carolina, Lightning McQueen from the Cars movies was the inspiration for the team to use no. 95. the team made its debut in the Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway in April of that year; Starr qualified for the race, his first in Sprint Cup competition, and finished 38th following an accident.

Following competing in the Sprint Showdown and Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the team announced that Fenton's share in the team had been acquired by Leavine and his wife, Sharon; the team was renamed as Leavine Family Racing. Fenton had not attempted any Truck Series events before leaving the team. After failing to qualify at Kentucky Speedway, the team next raced at Bristol Motor Speedway in August, scoring its best finish and Starr's career-best in the series, 27th; Leavine Family Racing and Starr would fail to qualify for events at Chicagoland Speedway, Kansas Speedway and in the fall at Texas Motor Speedway over the remainder of the year, only making one further race, at Atlanta Motor Speedway where they posted a 29th-place finish.

Scott Speed (2012–2013)

Starr left Leavine Family Racing following the 2011 season; for 2012, Leavine hired Scott Speed to drive the team's No. 95 Fords in the Sprint Cup Series, with Wally Rogers as crew chief; a 15-race schedule in NASCAR's premier series was planned for the season. The team qualified for races with Speed at Richmond International Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway with Speed, starting and parking, before finishing 25th at Sonoma Raceway. The team also posted a 14th-place finish in the Sprint Showdown, a non-points event. At the 2012 Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen, Speed finished 17th.

In August 2012 Leavine Family Racing announced that it had re-signed Speed for the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season, intending to run 28 events on the 36 race schedule. The team had its best finish at the 2013 Aaron's 499 with a ninth-place finish, however, they started and parked most other events. Speed left the team after the Atlanta race, citing his frustration with the team's starting and parking and hinting that the plan had been to run more full races. He was replaced on an interim basis by Blake Koch, Scott Riggs, and Reed Sorenson.

Michael McDowell (2014–2017)

In October 2013, Leavine Family Racing announced that Michael McDowell would drive the team's No. 95 Ford Fusion Cup Series entry in 2014. They ran 20 of the 36 races. On January 28, 2014, Leavine announced that KLOVE, Thrivent Financial, and several other sponsors would sponsor all 20 scheduled races in the 2014 Sprint Cup season. The sponsorship meant the team would be able to run full races, and enabled it to ally with Team Penske.

At the 2014 Coke Zero 400, McDowell and Leavine Family Racing finished their career-best with a 7th-place finish in the rain-shortened event. The team's performance was much improved with the Penske alliance, and additional sponsorship allowed the team to run seven of the final eight events and 22 in total. The team finished 43rd in owners' points.

McDowell returned in 2015, as did K-LOVE and Thrivent. The team once again planned to run at least 20 races and maintained its Penske alliance. McDowell was able to make the Daytona 500, a race he had failed to qualify for in 2014. The team posted four DNQs in 2015, three of which were due to rainouts and an increase in full-time entries. In early summer, the team made the news in unfortunate fashion after part of their shop burned down. This forced them to take refuge on the Team Penske campus, inside their former sports car shop, until their facility was repaired enough for them to return. The team ultimately slipped slightly to 44th in owner points but did finish ahead of the No. 62, a team that attempted all 36 races.

In January 2016, longtime NASCAR team owner Joe Falk became an investor in Leavine Family Racing and the team switched to Chevrolet. Falk brought a charter granted to him, to the No. 95 team, guaranteeing the 95 its first full season of racing. The team formed an alliance with Richard Childress Racing. The No. 95 attempted all 36 races, with McDowell returning to run in at least 26 events with sponsorship from K-Love and Thrivent, and Ty Dillon driving in at max 10 races, with sponsorship from General Mills and AstraZeneca. McDowell ran the majority of the events, and ran the Daytona 500 in a second entry, the No. 59.

Kasey Kahne (2018)

On September 19, 2017, Leavine Family Racing announced former Hendrick Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne would be replacing McDowell in the No. 95 for the 2018 season. On August 16, 2018, Kahne announced that he will step away from full time competition at the end of the year. On September 6, 2018, after heat exhaustion from the Southern 500, Kahne announced that he would sit out the Brickyard 400, which became the first race he missed since he began his full-time Cup Series career. Regan Smith took the wheel of the No. 95 car in Kahne's absence. On October 9, Kahne announced that he will miss the rest of the season due to lingering medical conditions.

Matt DiBenedetto (2019)

On October 10, 2018, Matt DiBenedetto signed a two-year contract with Leavine Family Racing to drive the No. 95 starting in 2019. Also, Leavine Family Racing will switch from Chevrolet to Toyota while entering a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. At the 2019 Daytona 500, DiBenedetto led an impressive 49 laps before Paul Menard spun him from behind, triggering "The Big One" that claimed 21 cars and resulting in DiBenedetto finishing 28th. DiBenedetto scored a career-high fourth-place finish at Sonoma. DiBenedetto then scored four more top 10s in the summer months including an eighth at Daytona, a fifth at Loudon, a sixth at Watkins Glen, and a career-high second for both DiBenedetto and Leavine Family Racing at the Bristol Night Race.

Christopher Bell (2020)

On September 24, 2019, Leavine Family Racing officially announced Christopher Bell as the new driver of the No. 95 for the 2020 season. Prior to the Las Vegas race, the team was docked 10 driver and owner points for an L1 level penalty during pre-race inspection. In LFR's final season, the No. 95 finished 20th in the points standings.

Car No. 95 results

Xfinity Series

Car No. 95 history

In October 2013, Leavine Family Racing announced that they would be adding a Nationwide Series team to the team's operations, with the No. 95 Ford Mustang being driven by Reed Sorenson in selected races late in the 2013 season, with a full-time driver for the 2014 season to be announced. However, the team has since withdrawn from the Nationwide series after 2013.

Car No. 95 results

ARCA Racing Series

Car No. 95 history

For the 2012 season, Leavine Family Racing added an ARCA Racing Series team to its racing efforts, with Michael Leavine, grandson of the team's owners, racing as a development driver. A six-race schedule was planned for Leavine in the series for 2012; In his first two races of the 2012 season, Leavine crashed in both, with a best finish of 26th at Pocono Raceway; he withdrew following practice at his third attempted race at Michigan International Speedway.

Car No. 95 results

References

1. ^ "Leavine Family Racing adds DiBenedetto, moves to Toyota for 2019 season NASCAR.com". NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
2. "Leavine Family Racing interested in selling?". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
3. "Bob Leavine announces sale of Leavine Family Racing". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
4. "Leavine Family Racing sold; purchased by Spire Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
5. "Texans partner to form new race team". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 7, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
6. "About Us". Leavine Family Racing. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
7. Wright, Scott (April 8, 2011). "Leavine Fenton Racing team carries local hopes to Texas Motor Speedway". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City, OK. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
8. Rodman, Dave (April 14, 2011). "Leavine cites 'awesome' debut, despite result". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
9. "NASCAR teams join new effort for tornado relief". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. May 19, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
10. "Leavine Family Racing: Same Great Team, New Name". Catchfence.com. June 2, 2011. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
11. "David Starr - 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
12. ^ Linesburgh, Scott (June 24, 2012). "Still feeling need for Speed". The Record. Stockton, CA. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
13. Bromberg, Nick (December 13, 2011). "Scott Speed to drive for Leavine Family Racing in 2012". From the Marbles. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
14. "Scott Speed - 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
15. "Scott Speed Re-signs with Leavine Family Racing". Catchfence.com via SPEED Channel/Fox Sports. August 8, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
16. "Scott Speed loses drive with Leavine Family Racing NASCAR team". Autosport.com. September 5, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
17. DiZinno, Tony (2013-10-28). "NASCAR notes: McDowell switches teams, Schrader to retire from Cup". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
18. Larson, Mike (May 12, 2015). "Garage fire forces NASCAR's Leavine Family Racing to move". Autoweek. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
19. "LEAVINE FAMILY RACING, CIRCLE SPORT MERGE FOR FULL SLATE". NASCAR.com. Concord, North Carolina: NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
20. "THRIVENT IS PRIMARY SPONSOR FOR MICHAEL MCDOWELL". NASCAR.com. Minneapolis: NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
21. "RCR FORMS TECHNICAL ALLIANCE WITH CIRCLE SPORT-LEAVINE FAMILY RACING". NASCAR.com. Welcome, North Carolina: NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
22. Mayer, Matthew (September 19, 2017). "NASCAR playoff driver Kasey Kahne to drive for Leavine Family Racing in 2018". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
23. "Kasey Kahne retiring from NASCAR because 'highs' don't outweigh 'lows'". Fox News. August 16, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
24. "Kasey's personal announcement of retiring". August 16, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
25. "Kasey Kahne sidelined for Indy, Regan Smith to drive No. 95". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 6, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
26. "Kasey Kahne says he'll miss rest of NASCAR season". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
27. Albert, Zack (August 17, 2019). "Matt DiBenedetto finishes second — 'I'm not done yet'". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
28. Page, Scott (September 24, 2019). "Christopher Bell joins Leavine Family Racing for 2020". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
29. "Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell lose 10 points, to start Pennzoil 400 at rear for inspection issues". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
30. "NASCAR Cup Series standings for 2020". Racing-Reference.info. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
31. "Leavine team expands into Xfinity Series". Yahoo! Sports. October 1, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
32. "Michael Leavine's First ARCA Racing Series Start at Mobile will Have that Same Old Feeling". Catchfence.com. March 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
33. Hembree, Mike (February 2, 2012). "The Slowing Of Speed". SPEED Channel. Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
34. "Michael Leavine - 2012 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
35. "ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Event #8, Michigan Int'l Speedway, Brooklyn MI, 6-15-12: RainEater Wiper Blades 200, Practice Results". Automobile Racing Club of America. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
36. "2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Event #8, Michigan Int'l Speedway, Brooklyn Michigan, 6-15-12: RainEater Wiper Blades 200, Qualifying Results". Automobile Racing Club of America. Retrieved 2012-06-25.

External links

• Official website
• Leavine Family Racing owner statistics at Racing-Reference
• 2011 official shop tour

• 2011 establishments in Texas
• 2020 disestablishments in Texas
• American auto racing teams
• Companies based in Tyler, Texas
• Defunct NASCAR teams
• ARCA Menards Series teams
• Auto racing teams established in 2011
• Sports clubs and teams in Texas
• Auto racing teams disestablished in 2020