# Circle Bar Racing

Circle Bar Racing was an auto racing team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series from 1997 to 2010. The team was most notable for its relationship with Ford Motor Company as well as its long-time driver, Rick Crawford.

## Beginnings

Although Mitchell's team has found its home in NASCAR, the team originated in 1978 with Circle Bar sponsoring Chet Fillip in late models. The team officially started out as Circle Bar Auto Racing Inc., with Fillip as their driver. The team qualified for the 1982 Indianapolis 500, finishing 24th in a Gurney Eagle with a Cosworth power plant. Fillip also qualified for the 1983 Indianapolis 500 before DNQ-ing for the 1985 Indy 500 with a Lola chassis. The next week at Milwaukee, the team finished 10th with Fillip. CBR made its NASCAR debut with Fillip in 1985, in the No. 31 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Fillip ran sixteen races for Mitchell in 1986, and had a best finish of twelfth in the No. 81. At the end of the year, Mitchell sold his equipment to Fillip. Afterwards, Circle Bar sponsored the late model efforts of John Kelly in 1989, with the shop based in San Antonio, Texas. Moving to Ozona, the team picked up the championship in 1990. The next year, CBR moved to the All-Pro Series with Kelly, but Alabama native Rick Crawford took his place in 1992. Together, they attempted the 1993 Coca-Cola 600, but failed to qualify. Using Circle Bar's equipment, Crawford had great success in the All-Pro Series, beginning a partnership between Mitchell and Crawford to race in the series until 1996.

## Camping World Truck Series
### No. 10 Truck History

Circle Bar Racing fielded a second truck for the first time in 1997, when Tammy Jo Kirk drove the No. 74 at Fontana, as a start-and-park "field filler"; she finished 35th, parking after ten laps. The next attempt came in 2004, when Greg Biffle drove the No. 44 Ford Racing truck to an eighth-place finish at the Ford 200.
CBR added on the No. 10 Truck in 2007, with David Starr behind the wheel. Picking up both Navistar International sponsorship and the owners points of ppc Racing's old Truck Series team, the team had a moderately successful year, finishing 10th in points in their first year. Starr left at the end of the season to return to Red Horse Racing. Brendan Gaughan took over the No. 10 truck in 2008, leaving his defunct family owned team South Point Racing. Gaughan earned two top fives and five top tens and finished 15th in points. At the end of the season, Gaughan departed the team, and rookie driver James Buescher was signed to the 10 truck full-time in 2009 with Jamie Jones as his crew chief. Buescher had three top-tens and a fourteenth-place points finish but departed the team as well at the end of the year. The team was eventually sold to Jennifer Jo Cobb.

#### Truck No. 10 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 | Owners | Pts |
| 1997 | Tammy Jo Kirk | 74 | Ford | WDW | TUS | HOM | PHO | POR | EVG | I70 | NHA | TEX | BRI | NZH | MLW | LVL | CNS | HPT | IRP | FLM | NSV | GLN | RCH | MAR | SON | MMR | CAL 35 | PHO | LVS | N/A | - |
| 2004 | Greg Biffle | 44 | Ford | DAY | ATL | MAR | MFD | CLT | DOV | TEX | MEM | MLW | KAN | KEN | GTW | MCH | IRP | NSH | BRI | RCH | NHA | LVS | CAL | TEX | MAR | PHO | DAR | HOM 8 | | 47th | 216 |
| 2007 | David Starr | 10 | Ford | DAY 20 | CAL 28 | ATL 22 | MAR 11 | KAN 15 | CLT 23 | MFD 19 | DOV 25 | TEX 5 | MCH 13 | MLW 10 | MEM 13 | KEN 12 | IRP 17 | NSH 4 | BRI 17 | GTW 22 | NHA 14 | LVS 14 | TAL 11 | MAR 4 | ATL 15 | TEX 19 | PHO 36 | HOM 6 | | 12th | 2921 |
| 2008 | Brendan Gaughan | 10 | Ford | DAY 34 | CAL 12 | ATL 15 | MAR 11 | KAN 6 | CLT 3 | MFD 30 | DOV 20 | TEX 15 | MCH 5 | MLW 16 | MEM 22 | KEN 28 | IRP 6 | NSH 24 | BRI 13 | GTW 21 | NHA 20 | LVS 20 | TAL 20 | MAR 22 | ATL 16 | TEX 16 | PHO 10 | HOM 18 | | 18th | 2840 |
| 2009 | James Buescher | 10 | Ford | DAY 25 | CAL 13 | ATL 14 | MAR 11 | KAN 12 | CLT 12 | DOV 24 | TEX 18 | MCH 33 | MLW 5 | MEM 20 | KEN 8 | IRP 6 | NSH 17 | BRI 13 | CHI 20 | IOW 14 | GTW 23 | NHA 17 | LVS 13 | MAR 11 | TAL 15 | TEX 17 | PHO 23 | HOM 18 | | 17th | 2884 |

### No. 14 Truck History

In 1997, CBR focused its operations towards NASCAR, specifically its all-new Craftsman Truck Series. Continuing his partnership with Crawford and Ford, Mitchell debuted the No. 14 Ford at the Chevy Trucks Challenge in 1997 with Circle Bar sponsoring. Crawford made every race and finished 12th in points, runner up to Kenny Irwin Jr. for Rookie of the Year. 1998 brought the team's first win at Homestead Miami Speedway, but inconsistency put them at 18th in points. Crawford would not win for the next four years, but had two top ten points finishes in between, including a runner-up points finish to Mike Bliss in 2002. Crawford would take his second, and arguably biggest win at the season opening Florida Dodge Dealers 250, with a last lap pass on Travis Kvapil. The win propelled him to a seventh-place points finish. Rick would win again in 2004 at Martinsville, but dropped to twelfth in points. The 2005 season was a mixed bag, as the team won again at Loudon, but Crawford was forced to miss the first race of his career due to a crash during qualifying at Kentucky Speedway. Road racer Boris Said took his place, but was taken out in an early wreck. Rick won again at ORP in 2006 and finished ninth in points. Although the 2007 season was a winless one for the No. 14 team, they added on a second truck with David Starr who brought along sponsorship from Navistar International for both trucks. The added equipment resulted in a near win at Mansfield Motorsports Park and a fifth-place points finish for Crawford. Crawford slipped to seventh in points in 2008, and tenth in 2009 with twenty top-tens in between both seasons. Longtime crew chief Kevin "Cowboy" Starland left Circle Bar after 2009 for Panhandle Motorsports and International departed both the No. 10 and the No. 14 for Randy Moss Motorsports. Despite the lack of sponsorship, Circle Bar gained a new crew chief in Blake Bainbridge and ran the first four races of the season before having to release Crawford before Kansas and having to wait on additional sponsorship to continue running the season. The team has not been heard from since. Team owner Tom Mitchell died in August 2014 at age 83.

#### Truck No. 14 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 | Owners | Pts |
| 1997 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | WDW 11 | TUS 12 | HOM 18 | PHO 21 | POR 8 | EVG 23 | I70 15 | NHA 6 | TEX 3 | BRI 6 | NZH 18 | MLW 34 | LVL 16 | CNS 6 | HPT 8 | IRP 13 | FLM 15 | NSV 8 | GLN 14 | RCH 34 | MAR 24 | SON 25 | MMR 6 | CAL 10 | PHO 13 | LVS 10 | | 12th | 3149 |
| 1998 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | WDW 29 | HOM 1 | PHO 5 | POR 27 | EVG 21 | I70 18 | GLN 14 | TEX 26 | BRI 38 | MLW 26 | NZH 29 | CAL 15 | PPR 11 | IRP 34 | NHA 22 | FLM 15 | NSV 3 | HPT 15 | LVL 25 | RCH 11 | MEM 5 | GTY 7 | MAR 15 | SON 29 | MMR 27 | PHO 16 | LVS 14 | 20th | 2956 |
| 1999 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | HOM 8 | PHO 6 | EVG 12 | MMR 22 | MAR 33 | MEM 22 | PPR 8 | I70 27 | BRI 21 | TEX 12 | PIR 16 | GLN 10 | MLW 3 | NSV 14 | NZH 17 | MCH 29 | NHA 5 | IRP 12 | GTY 9 | HPT 4 | RCH 12 | LVS 8 | LVL 7 | TEX 23 | CAL 35 | | | 15th | 3018 |
| 2000 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | DAY 34 | HOM 7 | PHO 10 | MMR 9 | MAR 15 | PIR 5 | GTY 12 | MEM 6 | PPR 13 | EVG 14 | TEX 8 | KEN 10 | GLN 9 | MLW 14 | NHA 13 | NZH 13 | MCH 7 | IRP 31 | NSV 10 | CIC 28 | RCH 16 | DOV 3 | TEX 6 | CAL 12 | | | | 11th | 3053 |
| 2001 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | DAY 10 | HOM 8 | MMR 19 | MAR 7 | GTY 4 | DAR 4 | PPR 9 | DOV 14* | TEX 20 | MEM 16 | MLW 25 | KAN 8 | KEN 27 | NHA 27 | IRP 6 | NSH 3 | CIC 5* | NZH 4 | RCH 5 | SBO 24 | TEX 2 | LVS 5 | PHO 3 | CAL 2* | | | | 8th | 3320 |
| 2002 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | DAY 24 | DAR 5 | MAR 3 | GTY 4 | PPR 6 | DOV 3 | TEX 4 | MEM 9 | MLW 14 | KAN 12* | KEN 4 | NHA 17 | MCH 9 | IRP 11 | NSH 2 | RCH 4 | TEX 4* | SBO 3 | LVS 6 | CAL 5 | PHO 3 | HOM 7 | | | | | | 2nd | 3313 |
| 2003 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | DAY 1* | DAR 7 | MMR 6 | MAR 6 | CLT 3 | DOV 8* | TEX 14 | MEM 11 | MLW 3 | KAN 23 | KEN 11 | GTW 5 | MCH 12 | IRP 14 | NSH 3 | BRI 3 | RCH 6 | NHA 18 | CAL 4 | LVS 36 | SBO 5 | TEX 9 | MAR 4 | PHO 11 | HOM 2 | | | 7th | 3578 |
| 2004 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | DAY 4 | ATL 34 | MAR 1 | MFD 7 | CLT 7 | DOV 2 | TEX 15 | MEM 19 | MLW 9 | KAN 3 | KEN 16 | GTW 25 | MCH 32 | IRP 8 | NSH 24 | BRI 17 | RCH 24 | NHA 25 | LVS 11 | CAL 12 | TEX 7 | MAR 16 | PHO 11 | DAR 18 | HOM 28 | | | 13th | 3030 |
| 2005 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | DAY 36 | CAL 14 | ATL 29* | MAR 21 | GTY 5 | MFD 6 | CLT 25 | DOV 11 | TEX 19 | MCH 6 | MLW 8 | KAN 10 | KEN INQ$^†$ | MEM 11 | IRP 6 | NSH 10 | BRI 21 | RCH 28 | NHA 1 | LVS 7 | MAR 16 | ATL 32 | TEX 8 | PHO 4 | HOM 27 | | | 16th | 2975 |
| 2005 | Boris Said | 14 | Ford | | | | | | | | | | | | | KEN 35 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 16th | 2975 |
| 2006 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | DAY 8 | CAL 8 | ATL 10 | MAR 26 | GTY 24 | CLT 11 | MFD 12 | DOV 8 | TEX 3 | MCH 6 | MLW 9 | KAN 2 | KEN 2 | MEM 13 | IRP 1* | NSH 28 | BRI 13 | NHA 7 | LVS 14 | TAL 15 | MAR 9 | ATL 5 | TEX 33 | PHO 33 | HOM 15 | | | 10th | 3252 |
| 2007 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | DAY 10 | CAL 9 | ATL 4 | MAR 3 | KAN 2 | CLT 10 | MFD 23* | DOV 23 | TEX 3 | MCH 6 | MLW 5 | MEM 28 | KEN 30 | IRP 4 | NSH 6 | BRI 5 | GTW 11 | NHA 6 | LVS 9 | TAL 2 | MAR 5 | ATL 12 | TEX 5 | PHO 12 | HOM 3 | | | 5th | 3523 |
| 2008 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | DAY 5 | CAL 14 | ATL 11 | MAR 3 | KAN 9 | CLT 5 | MFD 13 | DOV 9 | TEX 21 | MCH 11 | MLW 8 | MEM 4 | KEN 14 | IRP 12 | NSH 23 | BRI 5 | GTW 8 | NHA 5 | LVS 6 | TAL 28 | MAR 3 | ATL 12 | TEX 11 | PHO 9 | HOM 33 | | | 8th | 3315 |
| 2009 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | DAY 21 | CAL 14 | ATL 16 | MAR 5 | KAN 14 | CLT 11 | DOV 19 | TEX 5 | MCH 12 | MLW 12 | MEM 11 | KEN 17 | IRP 11 | NSH 7 | BRI 19 | CHI 4 | IOW 17 | GTW 10 | NHA 10 | LVS 11 | MAR 15 | TAL 21 | TEX 10 | PHO 14 | HOM 17 | | | 12th | 3161 |
| 2010 | Rick Crawford | 14 | Ford | DAY 28 | ATL 9 | MAR 19 | NSH 10 | KAN | DOV | CLT | TEX | MCH | IOW | GTY | IRP | POC | NSH | DAR | BRI | CHI | KEN | NHA | LVS | MAR | TAL | TEX | PHO | HOM | | | 42nd | 457 |