BK Racing

History

The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's BK Racing page on 26 July 2016, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

BK Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The team currently fields the No. 23 Dr Pepper/Sweet Frog Toyota Camry full-time for David Ragan, the No. 83 Dustless Blasting/Cosmo Motors/Burger King Toyota Camry full-time for Matt DiBenedetto, and the No. 93 Dustless Blasting/ScienceLogic/Elk Grove Toyota/Bell Bros. Plumbing Toyota Camry part-time for Matt DiBenedetto, Ryan Ellis and Dylan Lupton.

Ownership and sponsorship

BK Racing is owned by a couple of investors who were formerly involved in the ownership of TRG Motorsports Sprint Cup Series team, which closed after the 2011 season. Burger King franchise owner Ron Devine and tomato grower Wayne Press joined Thomas Uberall, former race director of the Red Bull Racing Team, to acquire the assets and race shop of the former Red Bull operation, which also closed after the 2011 season, for around $10 million.

Like Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins, principal owner Devine's many Burger King franchises allow him to advertise the brand on the cars when there is no outside sponsor. Prior to the 2012 Daytona 500, Burger King announced a "licensing agreement" with the team, authenticating the paint schemes of the 83 and 93 and the usage of the company's logos, though it is unclear whether or not the company and/or franchisee Devine funds the team. According to a 2013 Autoweek article, the partnership is limited to the licensing agreement, with Burger King not sponsoring the team. The Burger King partnership includes the branding of Dr Pepper, a soft drink served at Burger King restaurants. Dr Pepper has appeared as the primary sponsor of the team on various occasions (typically the 93 car), and expanded to a newly renumbered 23 car for 2014 (signifying the drink's 23 flavors).

In May 2014, the team expanded to three cars and added another owner and investor in Anthony Marlowe, who purchased a ten percent stake in the team. Formerly a partner in the recently exited Swan Racing, Marlowe founded outsourcing company TMone, and is currently the managing partner in Iowa City Capital Partners and its subsidiary Marlowe Companies Inc. After the 2015 season, Marlowe began the process of selling his stake in the team.

The team used engines from Triad Racing Technologies upon inception. In 2014, the team started an in-house engine program while using Triad engines on occasion. For 2016, the team purchased equipment from the recently closed Michael Waltrip Racing, and hired several former MWR employees, with increased manufacturer support from Toyota.

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