# King Racing

King Racing was a racing team which fielded cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series as well as in CART and the Indianapolis 500. The team was owned by NHRA drag racing driver Kenny Bernstein.

## NASCAR

For its entire run in NASCAR’s top series, King Racing fielded a car numbered 26 and carrying sponsorship from Quaker State Motor Oil. Bernstein fielded Buick Regals until General Motors pulled the brand from NASCAR following the 1991 season; after that, the team competed with Ford Thunderbirds.
King’s first season was 1986 with the 26 being driven by Joe Ruttman with Larry McReynolds, who had begun working in the sport nearly ten years earlier, as crew chief. In 1987 Ruttman was replaced with Morgan Shepherd, and for 1988 Ricky Rudd joined the team.
The team won its first Cup Series race in 1988 with Rudd at The Budweiser at the Glen. Rudd also won the Banquet Frozen Foods 300 at Sears Point Raceway in 1989 on his way to an eighth place points finish.
Rudd left King Racing to take over for Geoff Bodine at Hendrick Motorsports following the 1989 season, and for 1990 Geoff’s brother Brett Bodine took over the 26. He won the First Union 400 at North Wilkesboro, which proved to be the team’s final victory.
Partway through the 1991 season, Robert Yates Racing signed McReynolds away from the 26 to replace Jake Elder as the crew chief to Davey Allison. Bodine, meanwhile, recorded six top tens, including two top five finishes at Martinsville, on his way to a 19th-place finish in the points.
Bodine would stay on with King for three more seasons, competing in a total of 158 races for the team. 1992 saw him finish 15th in the standings with thirteen top ten finishes and two top fives. He recorded nine top tens and three top fives, finishing 20th despite missing the fall race at Dover due to injury. Then, in 1994, Bodine managed a second-place finish in the inaugural Brickyard 400, scoring his last career top five finish. He followed this up with two more top tens, the last at Charlotte in the fall, and finished 19th in points.
In 1995, Bodine left to join Junior Johnson & Associates as the replacement for Bill Elliott following Elliott's decision to become an owner-driver (something Bodine would do a year later), and Steve Kinser was signed away from the World of Outlaws sprint car series to take over. The multiple time world champion had trouble adjusting to the world of stock car racing, and after he finished 40th or worse three times in five starts and failed to qualify for two other races, Kinser was released from the team. Hut Stricklin was brought in to finish the season and recorded two top five finishes and five total top tens.
After a 34th-place finish in points, Bernstein sold his team to Rudd Performance Motorsports at the end of 1995 and returned to focusing strictly on drag racing.

## Indy cars
### 1988

King Racing made their debut during the 1988 season, fielding the No. 15 and 17 Mac Tools Lola T8700-Buick V6 at the Indianapolis 500 with Jim Crawford in No. 15 and Johnny Rutherford in No. 17. Both qualified mid-pack. Crawford led for eight laps (the only laps not led by a Team Penske driver). Crawford was running in second place late in the race. Crawford then ran too low on the track, getting into the grass, and dropped to 6th place during a pit stop to change the damaged tire.

### 1989–1991

For the 1989 season, the team fielded Crawford again in the No. 15 Mac Tools Lola T8700-Buick V6 at the Indianapolis 500 and qualified in 4th place. Crawford suffered a practice crash. The car was repaired in time to race. Crawford retired with mechanical problems. King Racing did not compete in 1990. They made a return during the 1991 season with Crawford driving the No. 26 Quaker State Lola T9100-Buick V6 and would qualify in 8th place. Crawford would retire with mechanical problems.

### 1992

For 1992 season King Racing would compete in their first race besides the Indianapolis 500 when Roberto Guerrero drove the No. 36 Quaker State Lola T9100-Buick V6 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the streets of Long Beach; he was however off the pace due to CART ruling not giving V6 engines as much boost. However at the Indianapolis 500 King Racing ran a pair of Quaker State Lola T9200-Buick V6 with Guerrero in No. 36 and Crawford in No. 26. The USAC (who sanctioned the Indianapolis 500) regulations for V6 engines gave them more boost. As a result, Guerrero would qualify on the pole position setting new one-lap and 4-lap records with a 4-lap average of 232 mph and one lap at 233 mph. Crawford was also fast but had mechanical problems on pole day and recovered to qualify. Guerrero would spin out during the parade lap and would fail to start as a result. Crawford was running in the top 10 when he spun into the wall, collecting Rick Mears. Mears' teammate Emerson Fittipaldi also spun and crashed on the same lap.

### 1993

For 1993 King Racing would expand to a full-time team with Guerrero driving the No. 40 Budweiser King Lola T9300-Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V8. Jim Crawford would drive No. 80 and Al Unser Sr. in No. 60. At the Indianapolis 500, Guerrero was involved in a crash with Jeff Andretti. Unser led early on but dropped to 13th. Crawford would spin out early on and would not recover. Guerrero would get a best finish of 4th at the New England 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway but was replaced by Eddie Cheever for the last few races of the season. Guerrero would finish 14th in points.

### 1994

For 1994 Scott Goodyear would drive the No. 40 Budweiser King Lola T9400-Ford-Cosworth XB. At the Indianapolis 500 the team hired Davy Jones to drive a spare car numbered 40T (it would be changed to 60 on race day). Goodyear would fail to qualify while Jones would qualify. So Goodyear would replace Jones on race day but retired with mechanical problems early on. Goodyear gave King Racing their only CART win when he drove to victory at the Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway. Goodyear finished 12th in points (King Racing's highest CART position in points).
The 1994 season was the last in CART for King Racing, as Bernstein opted to shut the team down.

## Driver history
### CART IndyCar

* Jim Crawford (1988–1989, 1991–1993)
* Johnny Rutherford (1988)
* Geoff Brabham (1991)
* Roberto Guerrero (1991–1993)
* Willy T. Ribbs (1991)
* Eddie Cheever (1993)
* Al Unser (1993)
* Scott Goodyear (1994)
* Andrea Montermini (1994)

### NASCAR

* Joe Ruttman (1986)
* Morgan Shepherd (1987)
* Ricky Rudd (1988–1989)
* Brett Bodine (1990–1994)
* Dick Trickle (1993; injury replacement at Dover)
* Steve Kinser (1995, replaced after North Wilkesboro)
* Hut Stricklin (1995)

## Racing results
### Complete CART Indy Car World Series results

(key)
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Drivers | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 1988 | | | | | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | POR | CLE | TOR | MEA | MCH | POC | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | MIA | | |
| 1988 | Lola T87/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | Jim Crawford | 15 | | | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1988 | Lola T87/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | Johnny Rutherford | 17 | | | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1989 | | | | | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | POC | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | | |
| 1989 | Lola T87/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | Jim Crawford | 15 | | | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1991 | | | | | SFR | LBH | PHX | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | DEN | VAN | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG |
| 1991 | Lola T91/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | Jim Crawford | 26 | | | | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1991 | Lola T91/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | Roberto Guerrero | 26 | | | | | | 15 | | | | | | 19 | | | | | 18 |
| 1992 | | | | | SFR | PHX | LBH | INDY | DET | POR | MIL | NHA | TOR | MCH | CLE | ROA | VAN | MDO | NAZ | LAG | |
| 1992 | Lola T92/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | Jim Crawford | 26 | | | | 25 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1992 | Lola T91/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | Roberto Guerrero | 26 | | | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1992 | Lola T92/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | Roberto Guerrero | 36 | | | | 33 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1993 | | | | | SFR | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MCH | NHA | ROA | VAN | MDO | NAZ | LAG | |
| 1993 | Lola T93/00 | Chevrolet 265C V8t | Roberto Guerrero | 40 | 19 | 15 | 5 | 28 | 7 | 26 | 24 | 29 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 11 | | | | |
| 1993 | Lola T93/00 | Chevrolet 265C V8t | Eddie Cheever | 40 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 28 | 10 | 14 | |
| 1993 | Lola T93/00 | Chevrolet 265C V8t | Jim Crawford | 60 | | | | 24 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1993 | Lola T93/00 | Chevrolet 265C V8t | Al Unser | 80 | | | | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1994 | | | | | SFR | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MCH | MDO | NHA | VAN | ROA | NAZ | LAG | |
| 1994 | Lola T94/00 | Ford XB V8t | Scott Goodyear | 40 | 10 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 22 | 11 | 28 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 27 | |
| 1994 | Lola T94/00 | Ford XB V8t | Andrea Montermini | 60 | | | | | | | | 16 | 7 | | | | | | | | |

### IndyCar win

| # | Season | Date | Sanction | Track / Race | No. | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine | Tire | Grid | Laps Led |
| 1 | 1994 | July 31 | CART | Michigan 500 (O) | 40 | Scott Goodyear | Lola T94/00 | Ford XB V8t | Goodyear | 12 | 26 |

### Complete 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 | Owners | Pts |
| 1986 | Joe Ruttman | 26 | Buick | DAY 28 | RCH 2 | CAR 33 | ATL 42 | BRI 19 | DAR 21 | NWS 5 | MAR 2 | TAL 17 | DOV 11 | CLT 32 | RSD 42 | POC 7 | MCH 9 | DAY 7 | POC 38 | TAL 8 | GLN 33 | MCH 30 | BRI 17 | DAR 38 | RCH 6 | DOV 6 | MAR 5 | NWS 6 | CLT 25 | CAR 9 | ATL 9 | RSD 5 | | | 15th | 3295 |
| 1987 | Morgan Shepherd | 26 | Buick | DAY 16 | CAR 5 | RCH 31 | ATL 10 | DAR 22 | NWS 27 | BRI 8 | MAR 17 | TAL 10 | CLT 2 | DOV 32 | POC 31 | RSD 35 | MCH 25 | DAY 5 | POC 36 | TAL 39 | GLN 22 | MCH 3 | BRI 24 | DAR 9 | RCH 30 | DOV 40 | MAR 5 | NWS 4 | CLT 20 | CAR 5 | RSD 25 | ATL 39 | | | 17th | 3099 |
| 1988 | Ricky Rudd | 26 | Buick | DAY 17 | RCH 2 | CAR 17 | ATL 24 | DAR 30 | BRI 20 | NWS 2 | MAR 18 | TAL 29 | CLT 7 | DOV 19 | RSD 3 | POC 30 | MCH 11 | DAY 22 | POC 12 | TAL 41 | GLN 1 | MCH 16 | BRI 16 | DAR 10 | RCH 26 | DOV 10 | MAR 24* | CLT 8 | NWS 7* | CAR 2 | PHO 26* | ATL 4 | | | 11th | 3547 |
| 1989 | Ricky Rudd | 26 | Buick | DAY 19 | CAR 32 | ATL 24 | RCH 4 | DAR 12 | BRI 8 | NWS 6 | MAR 23 | TAL 31 | CLT 10 | DOV 6 | SON 1* | POC 20 | MCH 4 | DAY 9 | POC 31 | TAL 17 | GLN 29 | MCH 8 | BRI 3 | DAR 3 | RCH 4 | DOV 5 | MAR 8 | CLT 21 | NWS 9 | CAR 28 | PHO 29 | ATL 14 | | | 8th | 3608 |
| 1990 | Brett Bodine | 26 | Buick | DAY 17 | RCH 8 | CAR 25 | ATL 11 | DAR 8 | BRI 22 | NWS 1* | MAR 12 | TAL 12 | CLT 29 | DOV 18 | SON 41 | POC 4 | MCH 14 | DAY 22 | POC 16 | TAL 33 | GLN 3 | MCH 17 | BRI 25 | DAR 10 | RCH 31 | DOV 20 | MAR 4 | NWS 3 | CLT 8 | CAR 17 | PHO 15 | ATL 18 | | | 13th | 3440 |
| 1991 | Brett Bodine | 26 | Buick | DAY 22 | RCH 24 | CAR 13 | ATL 15 | DAR 16 | BRI 22 | NWS 30* | MAR 4 | TAL 11 | CLT 28 | DOV 33 | SON 11 | POC 33 | MCH 36 | DAY 36 | POC 8 | TAL 32 | GLN 25 | MCH 37 | BRI 10 | DAR 14 | RCH 18 | DOV 32 | MAR 2 | NWS 7 | CLT 8 | CAR 30 | PHO 14 | ATL 29 | | | 19th | 2980 |
| 1992 | Brett Bodine | 26 | Ford | DAY 41 | CAR 8 | RCH 33 | ATL 20 | DAR 6 | BRI 11 | NWS 10 | MAR 8 | TAL 16 | CLT 20 | DOV 30 | SON 15 | POC 8 | MCH 19 | DAY 12 | POC 8 | TAL 10 | GLN 10 | MCH 12 | BRI 9 | DAR 4 | RCH 18 | DOV 22 | MAR 3 | NWS 7 | CLT 28 | CAR 7 | PHO 12 | ATL 40 | | | 15th | 3491 |
| 1993 | Brett Bodine | 26 | Ford | DAY 17 | CAR 22 | RCH 32 | ATL 8 | DAR 12 | BRI 9 | NWS 17 | MAR 7 | TAL 30 | SON 24 | CLT 41 | DOV 16 | POC 29 | MCH 39 | DAY 19 | NHA 13 | POC 5 | TAL 9 | GLN 20 | MCH 14 | BRI 7 | DAR 2 | RCH 5 | | MAR 6 | NWS 21 | CLT 15 | CAR 35 | PHO 28 | ATL 40 | | 20th | 3183 |
| 1993 | Dick Trickle | 26 | Ford | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DOV 25 | | | | | | | | | | 20th | 3183 |
| 1994 | Brett Bodine | 26 | Ford | DAY 32 | CAR 6 | RCH 8 | ATL 31 | DAR 36 | BRI 13 | NWS 23 | MAR 24 | TAL 17 | SON 13 | CLT 42 | DOV 32 | POC 8 | MCH 32 | DAY 16 | NHA 12 | POC 35 | TAL 17 | IND 2 | GLN 28 | MCH 12 | BRI 14 | DAR 29 | RCH 8 | DOV 26 | MAR 30 | NWS 33 | CLT 6 | CAR 18 | PHO 13 | ATL 36 | 20th | 3159 |
| 1995 | Steve Kinser | 26 | Ford | DAY 40 | CAR 27 | RCH 28 | ATL 41 | DAR 40 | BRI DNQ | NWS DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 34th | 2369 |
| 1995 | Hut Stricklin | 26 | Ford | | | | | | | | MAR 33 | TAL 24 | SON 33 | CLT 7 | DOV 4 | POC 5 | MCH 37 | DAY 16 | NHA 27 | POC 41 | TAL 36 | IND 22 | GLN 40 | MCH 10 | BRI 33 | DAR 7 | RCH 32 | DOV 38 | MAR 36 | NWS 25 | CLT 18 | CAR 28 | PHO 35 | ATL 38 | 34th | 2369 |