Swan Racing was a stock car racing team that competed in the NASCARSprint Cup Series until the 2014 season. The team was founded as Inception Motorsports which fielded a single No. 30 team in the Cup Series in 2011 and 2012 before being purchased by Swan Energy CEO Brandon Davis late in 2012. The team was headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States. David Stremme was the team's original driver, before being replaced by rookies Cole Whitt and Parker Kligerman at the end of 2013. The team expanded to two teams in 2014 for Whitt and Kilgerman, attempting and qualifying for every event that season until the woes of sponsorship kicked in following the eighth race of the season. The team shut down in April 2014; its owners points, employees, and most of its assets moved to Xxxtreme Motorsport and BK Racing, though Parker Kligerman remained under contract through year's end.
Before the 2012 Talladega fall race, McSweeney sold the team to 33-year-old Brandon Davis, a racing enthusiast and CEO of independent petroleum company Swan Energy. Davis vowed to change the team's reputation as a start and park entry, and instead run full races. The team utilized engines from Triad Racing Technologies, hired former crew chief Steve Hmiel to be the competition director, and switched names to Swan Racing Company (Swan Racing for short).[3][4] On January 31, 2013, former NFLlinebackerBill Romanowski became a minority owner of Swan Racing. His health supplement company, Nutrition53 (Romanowski wore the No. 53 during his 16-year playing career) was a primary sponsor for ten races and an associate sponsor for the remaining 26.[5]
Prior to the fall race at Richmond in 2013, the team announced that it was releasing driver David Stremme following that weekend's event, and planned to run several young drivers in preparation for the 2014 season. The move blindsided Stremme, who had helped found the team out of his own race shop and was integral in Davis' purchase of the organization in 2012. Stremme also held a profit stake in the team, though it had yet to make a profit.[6][7] On December 3, 2013, the team announced that Cole Whitt and Parker Kligerman would compete for Rookie of the Year honors for them in 2014, as the team expanded to two full-time cars with the No. 26 and No. 30.[8] On January 13, 2014, Anthony Marlowe from Iowa City Capital Partners was announced as a minority owner.[9] On February 4, 2014, it was announced that rapper 50 Cent's headset company SMS Audio will serve as Swan Racing's associate sponsor.[10]
On April 17, 2014, team officials announced that they would be reviewing the team's future due to lack sponsorship, though co-owner Anthony Marlowe stated he intended to run Whitt for the rest of the season.[11] On April 23, the team announced it had sold off both entries, with Whitt, Marlowe, and the No. 26 entry moving under the BK Racing banner. The owners points of the No. 30 team were sold to Xxxtreme Motorsport, which fielded a No. 30 car at Richmond before switching to their usual No. 44. Swan Racing's shop in Statesville, North Carolina was also sold to Xxxtreme Motorsport.[12]
On February 13, 2013, NASCAR approved a temporary number change for the Daytona 500 to allow Swan Racing to compete using the number 26, as a charity effort in honor of the 26 who died during the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Two-time Daytona 500 winner and fellow Toyota team owner Michael Waltrip drove the car, with regular driver David Stremme recruiting Waltrip to "further [the team's] relationship with Toyota." Waltrip was also reunited with former Dale Earnhardt, Inc. crew chief Tony Eury Jr. Waltrip drive the car to a 22nd-place finish.[13][14][15][16] The team ran the No. 30 for the rest of the year.
On January 7, 2014, Swan Racing announced that their new second full-time team would be numbered 26. Former Red Bull Racing and JR Motorsports driver Cole Whitt was hired to drive the 26, after running seven late season races for the team in 2013. New investor Anthony Marlowe was listed as the owner.[17] The car was sponsored by Speed Stick GEAR in the 2014 Daytona 500, and several other early-season races. Whitt qualified for each of the first eight races, and recorded a single top-20 (at Auto Club Speedway). After Darlington, he No. 26 team was sold to former Swan Racing minority partner Anthony Marlowe, who in turn merged his ownership of the team with BK Racing.[12]
The No. 30 team made its debut in the 2011Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway with David Stremme as the driver, qualifying 16th in their first attempt at competition.[18] Steve Lane was the crew chief. Throughout the season, the team attempted 18 races,[19] but failed to qualify for five, including the 2011 Brickyard 400.[20] Inception Motorsports finished 43rd in the 2011 Sprint Cup Series team owners' standings.[21]
For the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, the team ran the full 36 race schedule with Stremme driving in all races except the two road course races, where Brian Simo and Patrick Long drove respectively.[22] They made the field on qualifying speeds for the 2012 Daytona 500, taking the third of three guaranteed starting positions for teams not in the top 35 in owner points.[23] The team later acquired the 2011 owners' points from the defunct TRG Motorsports No. 71 team, which had finished 36th in the owner standings and shut down at the end of 2012.[24] The team qualified for each of the first six races of the season, with a best finish of 28th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,[25] before failing to qualify for the season's seventh race at Texas Motor Speedway. Having failed to reach the top 35 in owners points, the team began to start and park due to a lack of sponsorship, eventually parking in 20 out of 28 races.[26] The team did finish six races and its best 2012 finish was 24th at Indianapolis.
On January 7, 2014, Parker Kligerman, a former development driver for Team Penske and Kyle Busch Motorsports, was confirmed as the driver of the No. 30 for 2014.[17] Unfortunately, Kligerman struggled mightily through eight races, with a best finish of 29th at Daytona, where he crashed out of the race on Lap 193. He also failed to finish at Phoenix (engine), Auto Club (crash), and Texas (radiator), suffered a non-terminal electronic fuel injection problem at Las Vegas and a first lap wreck at Martinsville. The owners points of the No. 30 were later sold to Xxxtreme Motorsport with driver J. J. Yeley due to Swan's financial struggles, with the No. 30 crew following. However, Kligerman continued to remain under contract.[32]
^[httltimpe://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/10287224/swan-racing-takes-investor-announces-lineup "Swan Racing Adds Minority Investor"]. ESPN. January 13, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
