# Bahari Racing

Bahari Racing was a NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch team that operated from 1981 to 2001.The Busch team ran from 1989-1996 with Ronnie Sliver and Michael Waltrip driving, and one race with Johnny Benson at Homestead. The team's history of drivers include Geoff Bodine, Michael Waltrip, Johnny Benson, Kenny Wallace, Jeff Fuller, Rick Mast, and Mike Bliss, among others. The team mainly ran Pontiac Grand Prixs, although they did run other manufacturers as well. The team was also known as Bahre Racing and Bahari Racing prior to its purchase by Jack Birmingham in 1999, who renamed the team Eel River Racing. It was under that name that the team ceased operating in 2001.

## Team history
### Beginnings

The team originally started as the Bahre Racing No. 23 Pontiac owned by Dick Bahre in 1981. The team ran part-time until 1986. Chuck Rider entered the fold in 1987. The team at that point was renamed Bahari Racing, using the first two letters of each of the three principal owners' surnames (Dick BAhre, Lowrance HArry, & Chuck RIder). Waltrip, who ran a few races in late 1985 for the team, ran for Rookie of the Year in 1986 in a car sponsored by Hawaiian Punch.
1987 saw the team switch numbers from 23 to 30 and manufacturers from Pontiac to Chevrolet. Hawaiian Punch left the team, resulting in a revolving door of sponsors before All Pro Auto Parts came on for the rest of the season.
1988 saw the team switch back to Pontiac and acquire sponsorship from Country Time Lemonade. Waltrip then proceeded to miss the field for the 1988 Daytona 500. The team bought the Mueller Brothers' No. 89 entry and ran that car in the race to a 22nd-place finish. The June race at Pocono saw Waltrip bring the No. 30 home in 2nd place, in addition to two other top-10 finishes that season. 1989 saw an additional five top-10s for the team, while 1990 (which saw Maxwell House join the team as a co-sponsor to Country Time) saw Waltrip pick up five top 5s and five more top-10s in addition. However, at the end of the season, both Country Time and Maxwell House left the No. 30 for full-time sponsorships on other cars (the No. 68 for Tri-Star Motorsports and the new No. 22 for Junior Johnson Motorsports, respectively).

### The Pennzoil Years

1991 saw Pennzoil brought in as the new sponsor for the team, and Waltrip responded with his best season to that point. The No. 30 won poles at Dover and Michigan in June, the team's first two poles. Waltrip also earned four top-5s and 12 top-10s for the team on his way to a 15th-place finish in points.
1992 began with Waltrip as one of three cars that had a chance to win the Daytona 500, but a blown engine in the last 10 laps relegated him to a disappointing 18th. The rest of the year was disappointing as well, dropping to 23rd in points and recording a 4th at Rockingham as his best finish of the year.
1994 and 1995 were, based on the points standings, Michael Waltrip's two best seasons in the Cup series. Waltrip drove the No. 30 to 12th in points (best among the Pontiacs) both years with nearly identical results. However, after the season, Waltrip left the team to drive the No. 21 for the Wood Brothers.
For 1996, the team hired Johnny Benson, the 1995 Busch Series Champion to take over the No. 30. Benson won the pole for the Purolator 500 at Atlanta in March, but struggled early on, even failing to qualify for the Food City 500 at Bristol. Later on in the season, Benson's performances improved. Benson had the lead late at Richmond in September before fading to 10th. Benson ended the year 21st in points with a best finish of 5th at Pocono in July, in addition to winning the Rookie of the Year award.
1997 was the team's best season in the Winston Cup Series. Benson finished 11th in points, just 1 point behind 10th place Ken Schrader. During the season, Benson won the pole at Michigan and had 8 top-10 finishes. However, Benson left the team to drive the new No. 26 for Roush Racing at the end of the season and Pennzoil left to sponsor the new No. 1 for Dale Earnhardt Inc.

### Decline

For 1998, Derrike Cope was brought in to replace Benson behind the wheel. Gumout, a division of Pennzoil, provided the sponsorship for the team. However, the season was a big letdown. The team failed to score a top 10 finish for the first time since 1986 and failed to qualify for four races. Cope also missed Martinsville due to injury and was replaced briefly by Jeff Green. The high point for the team was the pole Cope won at Charlotte in October. The best finish for the No. 30 was an 11th at Talladega. In addition, the team fell all the way from 11th in 1997 to 40th in the owners' points standings. Gumout left the team at the end of the season.
1999 saw the team acquire sponsorship from the Sara Lee Corporation. Primary sponsorship would be split between four divisions- Jimmy Dean Sausages, Bryan Meats, State Fair Corn Dogs, and Rudy's Farm. Each division had its own paint scheme.
The season was a complete disaster. Cope failed to qualify for half of the first 22 races before the team was sold to Jack Birmingham and renamed Eel River Racing. He renamed it to Eel River Racing because of his native Massachusetts roots where the Eel River is in Plymouth, where Birmingham is from. Birmingham fired Cope and replaced him with Todd Bodine. Mike Bliss also ran two races in the No. 30 before the end of the season.

### Eel River Racing

In 2000, the car number was changed from No. 30 to No. 27, and after Birmingham's purchase of the team, the team's best finish was a ninth-place run at Talladega on October 15, 2000 with Bliss. The team's only full season was in 2000, when Fuller and Bliss raced for the team. That year the team had 10 DNFs, and would struggle to reach the top-40 in points. After a long season, the team would end up 38th in driver's points.
After running the previous two seasons with sponsorship from Pfizer and its Viagra brand, Eel River Racing began the 2001 season with Kenny Wallace driving a largely unsponsored car. After running with one-off sponsorships for most of the early season races, the team eventually was able to secure sponsorship from C.F. Sauer, who joined the team for the Coca-Cola 600. The No. 27 was painted yellow and carried the logo of Sauer's Duke's Mayonnaise division.

### Demise

The team failed to qualify for a race again until the Pennsylvania 500. Wallace had departed after missing the field at Sonoma, replaced by a returning Mike Bliss. Bliss failed to qualify at all and was replaced by Rick Mast at Pocono. After missing the Brickyard 400, Mast qualified for the next five races after that, ending with the Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400. Mast attempted to qualify for the remaining races in September, through the inaugural Winston Cup race at Kansas, but did not qualify there or at Dover (New Hampshire was postponed to November due to the September 11 attacks in New York). Sauer's and Mast left to prepared for the 2002 with Donlavey Racing, leaving Birmingham with no sponsor, no driver, and no choice but to suspend operations. The team officially closed their doors on October 2, 2001, 2 days after the race at Kansas.

## Team Results
### Car No. 27 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 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | Owners | Pts |
| 1981 | Geoff Bodine | 23 | Pontiac | RSD | DAY 22 | RCH | CAR | ATL | BRI | NWS | DAR 30 | MAR | TAL | NSV | DOV | CLT | TWS | RSD | MCH | DAY | NSV | POC | TAL | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | CLT | CAR | ATL | RSD | | | | | | 49th | 210 |
| 1981 | Charlie Glotzbach | 23 | Buick | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | CLT 26 | CAR | ATL | RSD | | | | | | | | | 49th | 210 |
| 1982 | Geoff Bodine | 23 | Buick | DAY 42 | RCH | BRI | ATL | CAR | DAR | NWS | MAR | TAL 29 | NSV | DOV | CLT | POC | RSD | MCH | DAY | NSV | POC | TAL | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | NWS | CLT | MAR | CAR | ATL | RSD | | | | | | | 79th | 37 |
| 1983 | Elliott Forbes-Robinson | 23 | Buick | DAY 40 | RCH | CAR | ATL | DAR | NWS | MAR | TAL | NSV | DOV | BRI | CLT | RSD | POC | MCH | DAY | NSV | POC | TAL | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | CLT | CAR | ATL | RSD | | | | | | | 81st | 43 |
| 1984 | Sterling Marlin | 23 | Buick | DAY | RCH | CAR 35 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 44th | 874 |
| 1984 | Don Hume | 23 | Buick | | | | ATL 26 | BRI | NWS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 44th | 874 |
| 1984 | Morgan Shepherd | 23 | Buick | | | | | | | DAR 26 | MAR | TAL | NSV | DOV 36 | CLT 17 | RSD | POC | MCH | DAY 40 | NSV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 44th | 874 |
| 1984 | Gene Coyle | 23 | Buick | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | POC 18 | TAL | MCH | BRI | | | DOV 21 | MAR | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 44th | 874 |
| 1984 | Connie Saylor | 23 | Buick | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DAR 31 | RCH | | | CLT 34 | NWS | CAR | ATL | RSD | | | | | | | | | | | 44th | 874 |
| 1985 | Morgan Shepherd | 23 | Chevy | DAY | RCH | CAR 38 | ATL | BRI | DAR | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 52nd | 308 |
| 1985 | Dick May | 23 | Buick | | | | | | | NWS 25 | MAR | TAL | DOV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 52nd | 308 |
| 1985 | Michael Waltrip | 23 | Pontiac | | | | | | | | | | | CLT 28 | RSD | POC | | | | | MCH 18 | BRI | DAR 24 | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | CLT 31 | CAR | ATL 39 | RSD | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 52nd | 308 |
| 1985 | Jim Hull | 23 | Chevy | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MCH 32 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 52nd | 308 |
| 1985 | Eldon Dotson | 23 | Chevy | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DAY 38 | POC | TAL | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 52nd | 308 |
| 1986 | Michael Waltrip | 23 | Pontiac | DAY DNQ | RCH 25 | CAR 21 | ATL 19 | | DAR 13 | NWS 26 | MAR 11 | TAL 35 | DOV 12 | CLT 26 | RSD 25 | POC 39 | MCH 22 | DAY 18 | POC 11 | TAL 14 | GLN 17 | MCH 32 | BRI 13 | DAR 16 | RCH 14 | DOV 16 | MAR 14 | NWS 23 | CLT 19 | CAR 13 | ATL 20 | RSD 31 | | | | | | | | 19th | 2853 |
| 1986 | Michael Waltrip | 23 | Buick | | | | | BRI 32 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 19th | 2853 |
| 1987 | Michael Waltrip | 30 | Chevy | DAY 22 | CAR 17 | RCH 12 | ATL 39 | DAR 19 | NWS 24 | | MAR 10 | TAL 25 | CLT 11 | DOV 21 | POC 16 | RSD 32 | MCH 39 | DAY 19 | POC 37 | TAL 17 | GLN 16 | MCH 20 | BRI 14 | DAR 19 | RCH 19 | DOV 18 | MAR 18 | NWS 16 | CLT 35 | CAR 19 | RSD 26 | ATL 38 | | | | | | | | 20th | 2840 |
| 1987 | Michael Waltrip | 30 | Pontiac | | | | | | | BRI 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 20th | 2840 |
| 1988 | Michael Waltrip | 30 | Pontiac | DAY DNQ | RCH 31 | | ATL 12 | DAR 21 | BRI 12 | NWS 32 | MAR 22 | TAL 33 | CLT 23 | DOV 36 | RSD 11 | POC 2 | MCH 28 | DAY 21 | POC 17 | TAL 20 | GLN 33 | MCH 7 | BRI 31 | DAR 25 | RCH 12 | DOV 12 | MAR 25 | CLT 23 | NWS 25 | CAR 19 | PHO 28 | ATL 7 | | | | | | | | 18th | 2949 |
| 1988 | Michael Waltrip | 30 | Chevy | | | CAR 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 18th | 2949 |
| 1989 | Michael Waltrip | 30 | Pontiac | DAY 21 | CAR 12 | ATL 20 | RCH 13 | DAR 9 | BRI 11 | NWS 29 | MAR 25 | TAL 21 | CLT 27 | DOV 22 | SON 10 | POC 14 | MCH 16 | DAY 34 | POC 28 | TAL 36 | GLN 10 | MCH 31 | BRI 32 | DAR 13 | RCH 23 | DOV 6 | MAR 12 | CLT 17 | NWS 23 | CAR 17 | PHO 9 | ATL 26 | | | | | | | | 19th | 3057 |
| 1990 | Michael Waltrip | 30 | Pontiac | DAY 8 | RCH 27 | CAR 28 | ATL 38 | DAR 9 | BRI 20 | NWS 27 | MAR 8 | TAL 5 | CLT 4 | DOV 26 | SON 9 | POC 19 | MCH 21 | DAY 16 | POC 23 | TAL 21 | GLN 4 | MCH 30 | BRI 9 | DAR 26 | RCH 14 | DOV 5 | MAR 30 | NWS 15 | CLT 3 | CAR 15 | PHO 43 | ATL 14 | | | | | | | | 18th | 3251 |
| 1991 | Michael Waltrip | 30 | Pontiac | DAY 38 | RCH 17 | CAR 7 | ATL 5 | DAR 3* | BRI 23 | NWS 7 | MAR 7 | TAL 5 | CLT 15 | DOV 32 | SON 10 | POC 18 | MCH 34 | DAY 6 | POC 38 | TAL 7 | GLN 21 | MCH 9 | BRI 25 | DAR 27 | RCH 30 | DOV 5 | MAR 25 | NWS 27 | CLT 7 | CAR 19 | PHO 24 | ATL 40 | | | | | | | | 15th | 3254 |
| 1992 | Michael Waltrip | 30 | Pontiac | DAY 18 | CAR 4 | RCH 34 | ATL 28 | DAR 14 | BRI 17 | NWS 29 | MAR 27 | TAL 38 | CLT 25 | DOV 15 | SON 20 | POC 15 | MCH 27 | DAY 27 | POC 26 | TAL 7 | GLN 35 | MCH 22 | BRI 14 | DAR 35 | RCH 33 | DOV 17 | MAR 29 | NWS 16 | CLT 23 | CAR 20 | PHO 11 | ATL 14 | | | | | | | | 23rd | 2825 |
| 1993 | Michael Waltrip | 30 | Pontiac | DAY 16 | CAR 26 | RCH 23 | ATL 14 | DAR 33 | BRI 14 | NWS 20 | MAR 16 | TAL 10 | SON 23 | CLT 13 | DOV 27 | POC 21 | MCH 37 | DAY 22 | NHA 23 | POC 14 | TAL 20 | GLN 12 | MCH 16 | BRI 10 | DAR 13 | RCH 19 | DOV 23 | MAR 8 | NWS 14 | CLT 27 | CAR 18 | PHO 9 | ATL 6 | | | | | | | 17th | 3291 |
| 1994 | Michael Waltrip | 30 | Pontiac | DAY 31 | CAR 10 | RCH 31 | ATL 23 | DAR 15 | BRI 5 | NWS 11 | MAR 17 | TAL 3 | SON 16 | CLT 10 | DOV 7 | POC 11 | MCH 8 | DAY 13 | NHA 37 | POC 14 | TAL 11 | IND 8 | GLN 20 | MCH 14 | BRI 7 | DAR 31 | RCH 26 | DOV 33 | MAR 19 | NWS 21 | CLT 10 | CAR 26 | PHO 36 | ATL 10 | | | | | | 13th | 3512 |
| 1995 | Michael Waltrip | 30 | Pontiac | DAY 6 | CAR 17 | RCH 23 | ATL 35 | DAR 7 | BRI 22 | NWS 22 | MAR 15 | TAL 12 | SON 10 | CLT 3 | DOV 8 | POC 9 | MCH 12 | DAY 15 | NHA 14 | POC 21 | TAL 9 | IND 14 | GLN 14 | MCH 11 | BRI 15 | DAR 5 | RCH 28 | DOV 29 | MAR 25 | NWS 12 | CLT 17 | CAR 38 | PHO 34 | ATL 12 | | | | | | 12th | 3601 |
| 1996 | Johnny Benson | 30 | Pontiac | DAY 23 | CAR 20 | RCH 37 | ATL 38 | DAR 24 | BRI DNQ | NWS 24 | MAR 25 | TAL 10 | SON 18 | CLT 38 | DOV 17 | POC 25 | MCH 37 | DAY 25 | NHA 9 | POC 5 | TAL 18 | IND 8* | GLN 15 | MCH 7 | BRI 28 | DAR 11 | RCH 10 | DOV 24 | MAR 17 | NWS 17 | CLT 14 | CAR 40 | PHO 32 | ATL 27 | | | | | | 21st | 3004 |
| 1997 | Johnny Benson | 30 | Pontiac | DAY 28 | CAR 27 | RCH 9 | ATL 11 | DAR 10 | TEX 28 | BRI 31 | MAR 17 | SON 21 | TAL 9 | CLT 15 | DOV 21 | POC 27 | MCH 10 | CAL 13 | DAY 16 | NHA 18 | POC 13 | IND 7 | GLN 11 | MCH 24 | BRI 18 | DAR 19 | RCH 13 | NHA 19 | DOV 28 | MAR 19 | CLT 10 | TAL 19 | CAR 36 | PHO 7 | ATL 10 | | | | | 11th | 3575 |
| 1998 | Derrike Cope | 30 | Pontiac | DAY 37 | CAR 15 | LVS 31 | ATL 38 | DAR 40 | BRI 26 | TEX DNQ | | TAL 22 | CAL 39 | CLT 33 | DOV 35 | RCH 34 | MCH DNQ | POC 26 | SON 38 | NHA 16 | POC 23 | IND DNQ | GLN 39 | MCH 43 | BRI 36 | NHA DNQ | DAR 27 | RCH 24 | DOV 35 | MAR 30 | CLT 14 | TAL 11 | DAY 38 | PHO 33 | CAR 25 | ATL 30 | | | | 37th | 2065 |
| 1998 | Jeff Green | 30 | Pontiac | | | | | | | | MAR 17 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 37th | 2065 |
| 1999 | Derrike Cope | 30 | Pontiac | DAY 18 | CAR DNQ | LVS 34 | ATL 41 | DAR DNQ | TEX 22 | BRI DNQ | MAR 34 | TAL DNQ | CAL 42 | RCH 42 | CLT DNQ | DOV 36 | MCH 32 | POC DNQ | SON 37 | DAY DNQ | NHA DNQ | POC DNQ | IND 32 | GLN DNQ | MCH DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 44th | 1678 |
| 1999 | Todd Bodine | 30 | Pontiac | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | BRI 15 | DAR DNQ | RCH 19 | NHA 39 | DOV DNQ | | CLT 36 | | | PHO 25 | HOM 27 | ATL 43 | | | | 44th | 1678 |
| 1999 | Mike Bliss | 30 | Pontiac | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MAR 32 | | | CAR 42 | | | | | | | | | 44th | 1678 |
| 1999 | Buckshot Jones | 30 | Pontiac | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | TAL 27 | | | | | | | | | | | 44th | 1678 |
| 2000 | Jeff Fuller | 27 | Pontiac | DAY DNQ | CAR 42 | LVS 36 | ATL 22 | DAR 36 | BRI 37 | TEX 38 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 36th | 2048 |
| 2000 | Mike Bliss | 27 | Pontiac | | | | | | | | MAR 35 | TAL 24 | CAL 35 | RCH 41 | CLT 32 | DOV 35 | MCH 37 | POC 33 | SON 22 | DAY 28 | NHA 32 | POC 24 | IND 31 | GLN 39 | MCH 28 | BRI DNQ | DAR 28 | RCH DNQ | NHA 19 | DOV 43 | MAR 28 | CLT 43 | TAL 9 | CAR 21 | PHO 38 | HOM 40 | ATL DNQ | | | | 36th | 2048 |
| 2001 | Kenny Wallace | 27 | Pontiac | DAY 25 | CAR 42 | LVS 31 | ATL 29 | DAR 31 | BRI 38 | TEX 25 | MAR 37 | TAL DNQ | CAL 37 | RCH 40 | CLT 40 | DOV 27 | MCH DNQ | POC DNQ | SON DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 42nd | 1782 |
| 2001 | Mike Bliss | 27 | Pontiac | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DAY DNQ | CHI DNQ | NHA DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 42nd | 1782 |
| 2001 | Rick Mast | 27 | Pontiac | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | POC 35 | IND DNQ | GLN 27 | MCH 39 | BRI 41 | DAR 30 | RCH 34 | DOV DNQ | KAN DNQ | CLT | MAR | TAL | PHO | CAR | HOM | ATL | NHA | 42nd | 1782 |