BlackStorm Motorsports

*"BlackStorm Racing" redirects here. For the similarly named sister team, see Team BlackStorm-Honda.*

**BlackStorm Motorsports** (**BSM**), originally named **Brandon Walker Racing**, is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Little Caesars Touring Series, ARCA UNOH Pro 4 Truck Series, NASCAR Blue-Emu Dash Series, ARCA Hoosier Northwest Series, ARCA Hoosier Southwest Series and the Xtreme Dirt Tour. The team, founded in 2011 by Brandon Walker, is considered one of the Dirt Tour's premier organizations. As of 2022, BlackStorm Motorsports have won seven dirt tour championships.

BlackStorm Motorsports currently fields three full-time Touring Series teams with the Honda Accord including the No. 3 DoorDash/Pepsi/Target/ULTA Beauty for Raven Ray, the No. 25 Krispy Kreme/Tide for Marie Washington and the No. 28 Taco Bell/Mtn Dew/Yum! Brands for Brandon Walker. They also field the No. 05 on a part-time basis for Alicia Oehler with support from Dutch Bros. Coffee and Everett Scott with support from HendrickCars.com.

In the ARCA Truck Series, the team fields the No. 82 HendrickCars.com Honda Ridgeline part-time for Everett Scott with team owner Brandon Walker driving the No. 82 Taco Bell for the preseason exhibition race. The team plans to run the No. 82 for Everett Scott on a full-time basis in 2023 alongside a second truck on a part-time basis for multiple drivers.

BlackStorm Motorsports debuted a super late model program with the ARCA Hoosier Pro Late Model Division in 2022. The team fields the full-time No. 5 Dutch Bros. Coffee Chevrolet for Alicia Oehler in the ARCA Hoosier Southwest Series. The team will also field two part-time entries in the ARCA Hoosier Northwest Series including the No. 3 Larry's Drive-In Chevrolet for Raven Ray and the No. 28 Weinstein Beverage/Mtn Dew Chevrolet for Brandon Walker.

In June 2022, the team announced they would field the No. 28 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet SS part-time for a rotating cast of drivers in the later half of the ARCA Menards Series West season. Team owner Brandon Walker will drive the car at Evergreen Speedway while Raven Ray will pilot the car at Portland, Marie Washington at All-American and late model driver Alicia Oehler at the Las Vegas Bullring.

In the Xtreme Dirt Tour, BSM currently fields three full-time teams including the No. 04 GoDaddy late model for Everett Scott, the No. 37 iRacing late model for Bobby Carter and the No. 38 for Caleb Stevenson.

BlackStorm Motorsports is headquartered at the 88-acre BlackStorm Motorsports Campus in Boise, Idaho. The campus includes the 1.55 mi (2.425 km) Proving Grounds road course for testing purposes. They also utilize some of the shop space used by their open-wheel sister team Team BlackStorm-Honda in Hickory, North Carolina. Although related, the two teams are legally separate entities. BlackStorm previously had a technical alliance with NASCAR Cup Series team Hendrick Motorsports from 2018 until 2021, with the team receiving Hendrick-built engines as well as technical data.

## History

What is now BlackStorm Motorsports was founded prior to the 2011 season by Brandon Walker as Brandon Walker Racing with entries in the NASCAR Safeway Series and the Xtreme Dirt Tour. The team struggled to find sponsorship and shutdown its NASCAR operation halfway through the 2012 season to focus on dirt which proved wildly successful out of the gate. Walker ended up signing with Six Star Motorsports for the remainder of 2012 and drove for the team through the 2017 season.

Brandon Walker won five straight Xtreme Dirt Tour championships from 2011 to 2015 cementing BWR as the number one team in the field. Walker had wanted to expand the organization beyond his one car and during the 2015 offseason, he met with fellow team owner Kelly Crouch about founding a new operation. Walker bought a minority ownership stake in Crouch's race team PlayFast Motorsports. Walker would continue to own the No. 28 car which would be folded into the three car stable with the new operation debuting in 2016 as **BWR-PlayFast Motorsports**.

Following the 2017 season, Walker bought out Crouch's stake to become majority owner of BWR-PlayFast Motorsports and subsequently renamed the operation to **BlackStorm Motorsports** for 2018. According to Brandon Walker, the BlackStorm name was a random choice he simply thought sounded "kinda cool."

The same year BlackStorm Motorsports debuted their new branding, the team returned to NASCAR competition, fielding two entries for Walker himself and his older brother Kyle who signed a 5-year (3+1+1) contract. The organization expanded to three cars in 2020, although only one was run full-time. For 2021, the team fielded three full-time cars and two part-time cars while they will continue to run three full-time cars and only one part-time car in 2022.

On May 29, 2021, the team announced they would be switching to Honda engines for 2022, fielding the Honda Accord as part of the debut of the Fifth-Generation Touring Series car.

## 2023 Team Lineup

### NASCAR Little Caesars Touring Series

* No. 05 Honda Accord (pt) | Alicia Oehler & Everett Scott
* No. 3 Honda Accord | Raven Ray
* No. 25 Honda Accord | Marie Washington
* No. 28 Honda Accord | Brandon Walker

### NASCAR Blue-Emu Dash Series

* No. 82 Chevrolet Sonic | Cassandra Miller

### ARCA Menards Series West

* No. 28 Chevrolet SS (pt) | Brandon Walker; Raven Ray; Marie Washington; Alicia Oehler

### ARCA UNOH Pro 4 Truck Series

* No. 25 Honda Ridgeline (pt) | TBA
* No. 82 Honda Ridgeline | Everett Scott

### ARCA Hoosier Northwest Series

* No. 5 Honda Accord (pt) | Alicia Oehler
* No. 3 Honda Accord (pt) | Raven Ray
* No. 28 Honda Accord (pt) | Brandon Walker

## Touring Series

### Car No. 5 history

#### Alicia Oehler (2021-present)

The No. 5 car made its debut in 2021 with support from Dutch Bros. Coffee, the Boston Beer Company, Subway and State Farm, with driver Alicia Oehler attempting her first full season in the Touring Series. She will attempt all of the oval races with teammate and relief driver Alfonso Alvarado driving the road course events and Xtreme Dirt Tour driver Everett Scott attempting the dirt race. Alicia made her debut in the no. 5 at the season opener at Daytona, managing to qualify for the main event and finishing ninth. Her best finish so far was 3rd at Memphis. Partway through the season Alica Oehler announced she would not return to the No. 5 team in 2022 despite signing a three-year contract. Two weeks later, BlackStorm Motorsports announced Oehler will contest a part-time schedule for the team in the 2022 ARCA Hoosiers Pro Late Model Division, Southwest Series season while competing late models in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Development driver Raven Ray has been announced as the driver of the No. 5 for 2022, which will be renumbered to the No. 03. Current team sponsors Subway and State Farm will return in 2022 while DoorDash and Target move from Ray's development ride to the No. 03 team.

### Car No. 25 history

#### Kyle Walker (2018-2019)

The number 25 car made its debut in 2018 driven by Kyle Walker with support from Mtn Dew and Valvoline. Both primary sponsors scaled back their support in 2019, with KFC and Safeway joining the team for a total of four races. Mtn Dew and Valvoline both declined to renew their sponsorship for 2020, leaving the 25 struggling for sponsorship. Safeway signed on for 10 races and sponsored the car at the season-opener at Daytona before the COVID-19 pandemic put the season on hold. When the season resumed, PlanBSales.com and HendrickCars.com joined the team for five races each while KFC returned for four races, one more than 2019. Despite the new sponsorships, Kyle Walker informed the team on June 7 that due to the pandemic, he would not be returning in 2021, leaving the 25 car empty. After making the playoffs and eventually winning the championship, Walker agreed to return in 2021 albeit on a part time schedule. He will retire from the Touring Series following the 2021 season, leaving the 25 car empty.

### Car No. 28 history

#### Brandon Walker (2011-12; 2018-present)

BlackStorm has run the No. 28 car since their inception as Brandon Walker Racing in 2011. For the 2011 season, the No. 28 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was driven part-time by Brandon Walker without sponsorship, resulting in a 30th place finish in the points. For 2012, Shriners Hospitals for Children came aboard for the first four races before pulling their support. Without a sponsor, BWR was forced to shutdown its NASCAR operation three races later. (12 races between 2011 & 2012. Walker would get an offer to drive the final four races of 2012 for Six Star Motorsports.)

BWR would return to NASCAR competition in 2018 as BlackStorm Motorsports, once again fielding the No. 28 for Brandon Walker. Mtn Dew and Valvoline signed on to sponsor both of BlackStorm's cars for the team's inaugural season. Taco Bell took over as primary sponsor for 12 races in 2019, with Mtn Dew and Valvoline scaling back their support. Hooters joined the No. 28 for 2020 as a secondary partner for all races and primary for four. Taco Bell and Mtn Dew continued their support into 2021 sponsoring 10 races each, with Target, HBO Max, Axalta picking up the other four.

#### Alicia Oehler (2019)

Brandon Walker was forced to miss five races in 2019 due to his obligations to NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Walker was replaced by Alicia Oehler for three of these races in her NASCAR debut. Her performances in the No. 28 would eventually secure her the No. 82 ride for 2020.

#### Alfonso Alvarado (2019)

Brandon Walker was forced to miss five races in 2019 due to his obligations to NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Walker was replaced by Alfonso Alvarado for two of these races in his NASCAR debut.

###  Car No. 52 history

#### Brittney Zamora (2021-present)

The No. 52 car made its debut in 2021 driven by Brittney Zamora with support from Polar Bear Coolers. NAPA Auto Parts eventually signed on and will return to sponsor the majority of races in 2022. Dutch Bros. Coffee announced they will move their support from the No. 5 team to the No. 52 beginning in 2022, sponsoring six races with Brittney Zamora.

### Car No. 82 history

#### Various drivers (2020-present)

The No. 82 made its debut in 2020 as a part-time development entry with three drivers splitting time in the seat. Alicia Oehler returned and made her first appearance at the season opener at Daytona Raceway Park with support from Dutch Bros. Coffee. Brittney Zamora made her debut at the Return to Racing 125 in Tampa Bay with support from her own Brittney Zamora Racing. Rebecca Smith made her debut at the Freedom 200 at Daytona with support from medical supply company Gaia Medical.

For 2021, the No. 82 will be piloted part-time by Raven Ray with support from Taco Bell before she goes full-time in 2022.

## Sponsors

* No. 5:
	+ Dutch Bros. Coffee (3 year deal; 2020-2022)
	+ Boston Beer Company (1 year deal; 2021)
	+ Subway (4 year deal; 2021-2024)
	+ State Farm (3 year deal; 2021-2023)
* No. 25:
	+ Mtn Dew (2 year deal; 2018-2019)
	+ Valvoline (2 year deal; 2018-2019)
	+ KFC (3 year deal; 2019-2021)
	+ Safeway (3 year deal; 2019-2021)
	+ PlanBSales.com (2 year deal; 2020-2021)
	+ HendrickCars.com (1 year deal; 2020); (1 year extension; 2021)
* No. 28:
	+ Mtn Dew (2 year deal; 2018-2019); (3 year extension; 2020-22)
	+ Valvoline (2 year deal; 2018-2019)
	+ Taco Bell (3 year deal; 2019-2021); (2 year extension; 2022-2023)
	+ Hooters (3 year deal; 2020-2022)
	+ Target (3 year deal; 2021-2023)
	+ HBO Max (1 year deal; 2021)
	+ Axalta (1 year deal; 2021)
* No. 52:
	+ Polar Bear Coolers (2 year deal; 2020-2021)
	+ NAPA Auto Parts (3 year deal; 2021-2023)
* No. 82:
	+ Dutch Bros. Coffee (3 year deal; 2020-2022)
	+ Brittney Zamora Racing (1 year deal; 2020); (1 year extension; 2021)
	+ Gaia Medical (1 year deal; 2020)
	+ Taco Bell (1 year deal; 2021)
	+ DoorDash (2 year deal; 2021-2022)

## Late Models

### Car No. 25 history

#### Kyle Walker (2021-present)

The No. 25 pro late model made its debut in the 2021 ASCRA Pro Late Models West Tour at the Elko East/West Shootout driven by Kyle Walker and with support from iRacing. Walker will also drive the car at the Iowa East/West Shootout and will make his ASCRA Pro Late Models West Tour, Northwest Series debut at the 2021 Big Al's Idaho 100 at the Meridian Speedway.

Walker is expected to return to the car for a partial Northwest Series schedule.

### Car No. 28 history

#### Brandon Walker (2021-present)

The No. 28 pro late model made its debut in the 2021 ASCRA Pro Late Models West Tour at the Elko East/West Shootout driven by Brandon Walker and with support from Wenatchee-based Weinstein Beverage and Mtn Dew. Walker will also drive the car at the Iowa East/West Shootout and will make his ASCRA Pro Late Models West Tour, Northwest Series debut at the 2021 Big Al's Idaho 100 at the Meridian Speedway and return two weeks later for the Neal Newberry 125 at the Wenatchee Valley Super Oval.

Walker is expected to return to the car for a partial Northwest Series schedule.

### Car No. 82 history

#### Cassandra Miller (2022-present)

The No. 82 Super late model will make its debut in the 2022 ARCA Sunoco Super Late Model Pro Series driven full-time by development driver Cassandra Miller with support from Subwayand iRacing.

## Dirt Tour

#### Everett Scott (2017-present)

On November 19, 2016, Brandon Walker Racing announced they had entered joint venture with PlayFast Motorsports with Walker moving his No. 28 car over to the three car team. The joint venture was called **BSM-PlayFast Motorsports**. Driver Everett Scott was resigned to drive his No. 04 car for the new team. He originally made his debut in 2016.

### Car No. 5 history

#### Alicia Oehler (2020-present)

The number 5 car made its debut in 2020 driven by Alicia Oehler part-time with support from LVMS and Motorsport.com. She only competes at the two races in Las Vegas.

### Car No. 28 history

#### Brandon Walker (2014-present)

The number 28 car made its debut in 2014 driven by Brandon Walker with support from McCabe's Auto Salvage resulting in a 15th place finish in the points.

Motorsport.com replaced McCabe's for 2015 where Walker got his first career victory.

On November 19, 2016, Brandon Walker Racing announced they had entered a joint venture with PlayFast Motorsports with Walker moving his No. 28 car over to the three car team. The joint venture was called **BSM-PlayFast Motorsports**. Walker would go on to win championships between 2016 and 2019.

#### Bobby Carter (2017-present)

On November 19, 2016, Brandon Walker Racing announced they had entered a joint venture with PlayFast Motorsports with Walker moving his No. 28 car over to the three car team. The joint venture was called **BSM-PlayFast Motorsports**. Driver Bobby Carter was resigned to drive his No. 37 car for the new team. He originally made his debut in 2016.

#### Caleb Stevenson (2017-present)

On November 19, 2016, Brandon Walker Racing announced they had entered a joint venture with PlayFast Motorsports with Walker moving his No. 28 car over to the three car team. The joint venture was called **BSM-PlayFast Motorsports**. Driver Caleb Stevenson was resigned to drive his No. 38 car for the new team. He

originally made his debut in 2016.