Borland Racing

Borland Racing, founded by Justin Borland, is one of the few teams that competed in the inagural AARL One season that still compete in AARL One today. Coming into the first season, Borland Racing was one of the favorites, having a very succesful team before the boycott.

## AARL One Series History

### Car Number 40 History

#### Tommy Wingo (2004-2007)

Tommy Wingo began the season with a string of top ten finishes, but could not find victory lane until the seventh race, bringing home Borland Racing's first victory. Wingo dominated the race, starting on the pole and never looking back, leading almost 80% of laps ran under green. Announced the day after Wingo's impressive win was his multi-million, two year contract with the team.

Tommy Wingo followed up his 2004 season with no wins, and finished 3 positions worse in the final standings. Wingo was decidedly the worst Borland Racing car all season long. Wingo did not manage to find victory lane at all this season, but did find his way into four accidents, ruining his chances in the points. However, when Wingo kept his car clean, he did not finish outside of the top 10, finishing in the top 5 three times, and at Bristol he was runner up to his teammate, Jim Long.

In 2006, Wingo was in the last year of his contract, and with Randy Long announced to be racing part time in the 44 for Borland, it was expected that he would take over Wingo's car in 2007 unless Wingo had a good season. Instead, Wingo was winless, and had one less top five than 2005, finishing runner up at Season opener Dover, and season closer Phoenix. He only finished inside of the top ten five times, again one less than in 2005, finishing 9th overall in the standings. However, when Randy Long unexpectedly announced he had signed with Sacks Enterprises for 2007, Wingo signed a one year extension. In 2007, Wingo's final year with the team, he continued to regress, going winless, and with only two top fives. This would be Wingo's first year finishing outside of the top 10 in the points, finishing 12th overall, the worst of all four Borland Racing cars. After he was told that Elle Webb would be replacing him in 2008, Wingo breifly explored options with other teams, but decided to retire following the conclusion of the season.

#### Elle Webb (2008-2010)

Elle Webb drove the 44 for Borland Racing, part time in 2007, earning four top tens in six starts, despite two DNFs. Webb was moved over to the 40, replacing Tommy Wingo, who had been regressing. Webb would finish third out of her **Borland Racing** teammates, 9th overall in the points. Webb nearly earned her first win, a second at Bristol, and a third at Wall, but was unable to get it done either times. However, she did dominate the Rookie point standings, winning the Rookie of the Year Award. Webb would earn a two year contract extension after the season.

In 2009, Elle Webb continued to improve, earning her first career AARL One victory, coming at Richmond. Webb would earn four top five finishes on the year, en route to finish 7th in the standings, two positions better than her 2008 season. She finished 2nd best out of her in house Borland Racing teammates in the points, losing out to Jim Long, and if you include Julee Merrick who had driven both Borland Racing and Peak Motorsports cars that season, she was third out of five, a good result for her second full time season.

### Car Number 41 History

#### Stu Borland (2004-2009)

Stu Borland, son of team owner Justin, began the season with very limited experience driving a race car, only picking up stock car racing in 2002. His last time in a race car before that was before his teen years, driving a go kart. However, Borland looked like a experienced driver, finishing third in the first two events. After a string of finishes outside of the top ten, Borland recovered to win at Talladega, giving his father his second win. Borland finished one point behind Doug Dehart, ending his season 4th.

Stu Borland started the 2005 season with three top 5 finishes, finishing runner up at Richmond and Rockingham. However, Borland was unable to recapture victory lane, finishing 6th in the point standings, 2 spots worse than his 2004 campaign. This was in part due to Borland's two crash involments, and a bad 14th finish at Bristol, and a pit crew mistake laden race at Phoenix. In 2006, Borland took a major step back, begining with finishes of 9th, 21st, and 14th at Dover, Richmond, and Rockingham, tracks he excells at. Borland would only be able to capture two top fives on the year, half of his 2005 statline.

In 2007, Borland would begin his season with a 15th at Dover, and a 10th at Dover, and finished 4th at the new track, Road Atlanta. He would return to the top ten four more times after that, winning at Talladega, his second career win, and first win since 2004. Borland would finish 10th on the year again, the third best of the Borland Racing cars. Borland's 2008 season was worse, with Stu not returning to victory lane, and finishing the worst out of all of the Borland Racing cars, 13th on the year. He announced that he would return for 2009 at seasons end, but rumours began to swirl that he would move to part time in 2010.

In 2009 Borland began his season with an 8th placed finish at Dover, and 5th at Richmond, before a string of poor finishes. At La Crosse, the 6th race of the season, Borland would be injured in a crash, and Julee Merrick would be brought in to sub for him. Merrick had already been driving part time for Borland Racing in the 44, as well as running full time in AARL Two (winning the inagural championship and Merrick would also earn the 2009 Most Popular Driver Award, beating Doug DeHart who had won the past four.) and had been a prime canadate for a Borland Racing ride. In her four races subbing for Borland, she would earn a 4th place finish at Rockingham and finish runner up at Wall. Borland returned for the final two races, earning a third placed finish at his best track, Talladega, and finishing with a 9th placed finish at Phoenix. Stu announced that he would move to part time racing as he turned 41, with Julee Merrick taking over the 41.

#### Julee Merrick (2009-)

Merrick's first full time season in Borland equipment was an amazing one. The best finishing Borland racing car, she would earn a 3rd placed finish in the point standings, earning two wins and finishing inside the top ten except for a single race. After this great season, Borland would earn a huge contract, through the end of the 2014 season.

### Car Number 42 History

#### Mike Parrott (2004)

Mike Parrott, the youngest driver in the field, started off strong with a top ten, then a top five. However, his inconsistency became his undoing, looking bewildered at one race and cool and collected the next. Parrott had a runner up finish, but was unable to reach victory lane. Parrot finished 8th in the points, but spots three through eighth were extremely close, with only 8 points seperating him from the 3rd place finisher. However, at the end of the season, Mike Parrott left for Sacks Enterprises.

#### Jim Long (2005-2011)

After Mike Parrott signed for Sacks Enterprises, Borland Racing signed Jim Long to compete in the 42. After going winless at CNC Racing in 2004, and finishing 10th in the point standings, the 32 year old earned his first career win, along with a two year contract extension. Long also managed to finish in the top 5 four times, finishing third in the championship standings, the best of the Borland Racing cars. In 2006, Jim Long continued to improve, getting his second career win at Talladega, finishing inside the top 5 four times , and finished second in the Championship standings, 10 points behind Champion Doug DeHart. Jim Long was again the highest ranked Borland car, with his next best teammate finishing 5th overall.

In 2007 Long opened his season with a 5th place finish at Dover, but would DNF the next weekend at Richmond. At Bristol, he would finish second, and would finish third at Pikes Peak and Rockingham, finally winning at the last race of the season, Phoenix. Long would finish 4th in the standings, but it was a three horse race for the championship, one he was fifty points away from. With three Sacks Enterprises cars finishing in the first three spots, Long still beat out the rest of his Borland Racing teammates, and earning one of the biggest contracts at the time, a deal that will keep him with Borland Racing through at least 2011.

In 2008, Long would finish runner up at Dover, but was unable to return to victory lane until Talladega, his only win on the year. Long would earn eight top tens in 2008, one more than the year prior. Long would finish third in the points, nearly thirty points behind champion Randy Long. In 2009, Long would look very slow through the first half of the season, besides a second placed finish at Bristol. At Pikes Peak, however, Long was able to pick up his second top five finish, and despite a 8th placed finish at Rockingham, he would finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the three final races of the season, winning at Talladega in back to back years.

Jim Long would not have the best 2010 season, only managing to finish 6th in the point standings. He would earn eight top tens, but could not return to victory lane, a dissapointing year as Long reached 38 years of age. In 2011 he would finish 8th in the point standings, earning two top fives and again only eight top tens. Long would announce his retirement from full time racing, transitioning to part time racing.

### Car Number 43 History

#### Multiple Drivers (2005)

Randy Long and Carlo Soto split the 43 car in 2005, both driving five races each. Randy Long raced two races in 2004, finishing 6th in the inaugural race, and 7th at Sonoma, for Peak Motorsports. Despite these strong showings, the 25 year old had only one race of sponsorship for the upcoming 2005 season. Long came into the season without a ride, and signed with Borland Racing in the middle of the season after rookie Carlo Soto was injured in an accident at Bristol. Long's first race with Borland Racing netted him a runner up finish at Daytona, so Borland Motorsports decided to put him in for half of the remaining season, since the car was already primarily unsponsered. Long finished his year with another top three, and beat the man he was sharing the car with in the point standings, also beating two full time cars.

Carlo Soto was initially going to race full time in the 43, starting the season with two top five finishes, but was involved in two accidents which resulted in him being injured for two weeks. After his subsitute earned some extra time in the seat, Soto returned to the race at Sonoma, finishing 9th. Overall, Soto finished 21st of 22 in the points, and as he was the only Rookie in the field, he earned the Rookie of the Year Award.

#### Carlo Soto (2006-2009)

Coming off of a slightly worse season in the 43 than Randy Long, Carlo Soto was given the 43 for 2006, and a 44 created for Randy Long, part time. Soto's 2006 season was very impressive, finishing 5th in the point standings, and winning his first career race at Bristol the race where he was injured the year prior, as well as two runner up finishes, at Daytona and Kansas. Soto would finish in the top five six times, but his two DNF's at Dover and Rockingham would ruin his chances in the points, only finishing four points behind third place finisher Terry Kummrow. After his impressive first full time season, Soto would be signed through 2009, with the team hoping to build around him as the other Borland drivers in 2006 were all older than 33.

Soto's 2007 season started off with a very strong showing at Dover, finishing second, nearly winning. Soto would later win that season at Daytona, and came close again at Sonoma. Soto would finish 5th in the points, again second to Jim Long (out of the Borland Racing cars). For Soto's 2008 season, he would win the season opener at Dover, and nearly won at both Pikes Peak and Phoenix, finishing runner up in both events. However, Soto would have two DNF's, resulting in his worst points finish so far, 7th. Soto would enter into 2009 without a contract for 2010, and with 2006 Rookie of the Year Award winner Julee Merrick being developed by Borland Racing and their alliance member Peak Motorsports for years, looking to move up, he could very well be the one to lose a seat.

Soto took a major step back in 2009, failing to win, and only earning two top fives. Soto would finish 11th in the point standings, and not be offered an extension for 2010, as Borland Racing had signed over Jon Ayres from HYT Racing. Soto would find a ride at CNC Racing for the 2010 season, being labled as another failed Borland development driver.

#### Jon Ayres (2010-)

Jon Ayres would sign with Borland Racing, a somewhat suprise signing considering the ammount of bright rookies Borland and Peak Motorsports had been grooming - Naoki Hattori and Lance Miller both solid canadites racing full time for Peak. However, Ayres proved his worth, finishing 7th in the points, and earning a win for Borland. In 2011, Ayres would earn two race wins driving the 43, finishing 6th in the point standings, a very solid result for him. Ayres would be signed for four years coming off of the strength of these two seasons.

### Car Number 44 History

#### Randy Long (2006)

After driving the 43 in 2005 to replace an injured Carlo Soto, and impressing Borland Racing, they created a new team, the 44 for Randy Long to drive part time in 2006, with the expectation he would replace Tommy Wingo in 2007. Randy Long would only drive this car for three races, filling out the rest of the season with Peak Motorsports's 12. While in the 44 for Borland, Randy Long would begin the season with a DNF, and finish 11th at Daytona, after leading most of the race but getting into some late race contact. At Wall, in his final Borland start of the season, Long would win his first career race, again leading most of the laps. Combined with the rest of his Peak Motorsports starts, Long would finish a very respectable 8th on the year. Expected to replace Tommy Wingo in 2007, Long would instead sign a suprise two year contract with Sacks Enterprises, causing Borland to resign Tommy Wingo for a year, and come into 2007 looking very flat footed.

#### Elle Webb (2007)

Rookie Elle Webb was signed for 2007, to drive the 44 to eventually replace Tommy Wingo. She began her AARL One career with a DNF at Dover, but in her second race at Richmond she finished 6th. At Bristol, she DNF'd again, but bounced back with a 10th placed finish at Sonoma, and a 3rd place finish at Wall. After these promising results, she was moved to the 40 for 2008, to race full time.

#### Julee Merrick (2008-2009)

With Elle Webb taking over the 40 in 2008, Julee Merrick would be signed to drive the 44 part time. Merrick had driven for Borland Racing's alliance member, Peak Motorsports full time in 2006 and 2007, winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2006. Merrick would be given a one year contract with Borland, while having a deal with Peak that lasted through 2009. Merrick would underpreform while driving for Borland, finishing third at Richmond, with a DNF at Road Atlanta, and a plethora of problems at Dover, Rockingham, and Wall, where she finished midpack. However, in her races for Peak, Merrick would earn her second career win, and three top fives. After her promising season, she was signed by Borland Racing through 2010, driving a split season again for Borland and Peak in 2009.

In her 2009 season, Merrick was planned to run the first four races as well as the 9th and 10th races in the 44. She did run the first four, earning a win at Bristol, but at La Crose Stu Borland was injured in an accident, so Merrick would fill in for him in races seven through ten. Because of this, Borland Racing was allowed to let her race in the 44 car, which she did to finish out her season, a 13th in a damaged car at Talladega, and a respectable 6th at Phoenix. Merrick would also earn the 2009 Most Popular Driver Award, beating Doug DeHart who had won the past four.

#### Stu Borland (2010)

Stu Borland would have an unenventful 2010 season, after stepping back from full time racing the year prior. Borland would earn three top tens in six starts, his best finish coming at Sonoma. After the season, it was initially announced that he would run four races in 2010, but it was later changed to only two, to make more seat time for Kenny Kierkendorf and Matt Moon.

#### Multiple Drivers (2011-)

Four drivers split the 44 in 2011, with Andy Raines running the majority of races, four. In his races, he would earn a top five, but finish outside the top ten in all of his other starts. Stu Borland and Kenny Kierkendorf both ran two races each, both not earning any top tens. Stu's best finish was 11th at the season opener, and Kierkendorf finishing 12th at Daytona. Finally, Matt Moon ran a single race, finishing a very impressive 14th at Wall Stadium.

## AARL Two Series History

### Car Number 45 History

#### Naoki Hattori (2009)

Naoki Hattori would race full time in AARL Two's inagural season, while racing full time in AARL One with Borland Racing's alliance member Peak Motorsports. Hattori would earn six top tens in his 2009 season, but only finished inside the top five twice, a third at Bristol and runner up at La Crosse. Despite this, Hattori would finish second in the points, albiet a full sixty points behind teammate and champion Julee Merrick. Due to not being eligeble to run the full season in 2010, he raced for Peak Motorsports in AARL Two in 2010.

#### Kenny Kierkendorf (2010-)

Moving over from Peak Motorsports, Kenny Kierkendorf would drive for Borland Racing in 2010. He finished second at the season opener of Dover, earned his first win, at Pike's Peak. Kierkendorf would finish inside the top five six out of the ten races, winning the championship over teammate Lance Miller. Somewhat suprisingly, Kierkendorf was announced to be racing full time in AARL Two again in 2011, with only 2 races worth of AARL One seat time planned. In his final full time AARL 2 season, Kierkendorf would not return to win the championship, coming up just short to CNC Racing's Jake Watts. Kierkendorf would win at Sonoma, and finish inside the top five in half of the races that season

### Car Number 46 History

#### Julee Merrick (2009)

Julee Merrick was signed to drive the 46 full time in 2009, while she was driving for both Borland Racing and Peak Motorsports in AARL One. Merrick would dominate, not DNF'ing once, and not finishing worse than fifth, finishing inside the top three six times, along with winning at Bristol and Pikes Peak. Merrick would win the championship by over 60 points ahead of team mate Naoki Hattori, helping her to be signed full time in AARL One by Borland Racing.

#### Lance Miller (2010)

Lance Miller would have a solid 2010 season, starting with a DNF at Dover, but after that, he would not finish worse than 9th. In the final race of the season at Talladega, he would win his first race, but teammate Kenny Kierkendorf still captured the championship. Lance Miller would not return in 2010, Borland instead opting to replace him with Dylan Borland.

#### Dylan Borland (2011-)

Dylan Borland's first full time season in AARL 2 would happen while he ran his first full AARL 1 season. Dylan preformed stronger than expected in AARL 1, but underpreformed in AARL 2, finishing 4th at Bristol - his best, when it was expected he would earn at least one win. Dylan finished 6th in the point standings, but would run fulltime again in 2012, looking to be a clear title favorite.

### Car Number 46 Results

#### Elle Webb and Tommy Wingo (2009-2010)

Elle Webb and Tommy Wingo split the 47 car in AARL Two's inagural season, with Webb running six races, the max ammount of races she could run, with Wingo filling in the other two. In Webb's races, she would finish 6th at her first race in Dover, and continued to progress, earning a victory at La Crosse, and finishing 7th in the standings, despite missing two races. In Wingo's two races in the 47, he would DNF at Bristol, and finish 5th at Wall, both unremarkable races for him. Again in 2010, Tommy Wingo and Elle Webb would split the 47. In Webb's five races, she would have a best finish of 4th at Pike's Peak, finishing the majority of her races outside of the top five, a dissapointing stint. In Wingo's races in the 47, he would earn two top fives, DNF'ing at the Milwaukee Mile. It was announced that the next year Webb would drive part time in the 49, and Wingo would drive the 47 full time.

### Car Number 47 Results

#### AARL One Regulars and Tommy Wingo (2009)

The 48 car would be split among four drivers in 2009, starting with Tommy Wingo finishing third at Dover. While Wingo was in the car, he would earn a 6th placed finish at La Crosse, and another third place finish at Rockingham. Carlo Soto drove the car for three races, with a very simmilar statline to Wingo's, only with a fourth place finish. Jim Long drove the car for one race, finishing runner up at Bristol, while Stu Borland would win at Talladega, his first race back from his injury.

#### Jon Ayres and Tommy Wingo (2010)

Jon Ayres and Tommy Wingo would split the 48 in 2010, with Ayres finishing his five races very respectfully, three top fives and a 9th placed finish at Sonoma, as well as a DNF. In Wingo's time in the car, he would have a very similar statline, three top fives, and a 10th placed finish, as well as a DNF.

#### Julee Merrick and Naoki Hattori (2011-)

Julee Merrick and Naoki Hattori would have split seat time in the 48, driving five races each. In her five, Merrick would win at Dover and Pike's Peak, finishing 19th in the points. That was one spot better than Hattori's 20th, who earned a single win at Atlanta, with three top fives, the same mark as Merrick.

### Car Number 48 Results

#### Dylan Borland and Tommy Wingo (2009)

In 2009, Dylan Borland, grandson of team owner and son of Stu Borland would run all the tracks he was allowed to race, Road Courses and tracks shorter than half a mile, since he was only 16. In those races, he would finish 15th at his first race, Road Atlanta, 8th at Bristol, and 6th at Wall. In Tommy Wingo's single race in the car, he would DNF at Pikes Peak.

#### AARL One Regulars and Dylan Borland (2010)

Three drivers would split the 49 in 2010, Dyland Borland driving four races, and Jim Long and Stu Borland driving a race a peice. In Dylan Borland's four, he would earn four top tens, his best coming at Wall, a third place finish. Jim Long would lead the most laps at Bristol, finishing second, and Stu Borland would finish 6th at Talladega, after getting damage early.

#### AARL One Regulars (2011-)

In 2011 four AARL 1 regulars would drive the 49. Jon Ayres would drive it for five races, earning four top fives, two of those being runnerup finishes, while winning at Wall Stadium. The other three drivers drove a race a peice, the most succesful being Jim Long's runnerup finish at Bristol. Stu Borland also drove at Talladega, finishing sixth, while Elle Webb drove at Pike's Peak finishing eigth.