Day Enterprises Racing
| Series | NASCAR Xfinity Series, ARCA Menards Series |
|---|---|
| Race drivers | Larry Gunselman, Chad Chaffin, Casey Atwood, Burney Lamar |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet, Ford |
| Opened | 1989 |
| Closed | 2012 |
| Career | |
| Debut | 1989 Pepsi 200 (Hickory) |
| Latest race | 2011 Food City 250 (Bristol) |
| Races competed | 276 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 1 |
| Pole positions | 1 |
Day Enterprises Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 1989 to 2011 and in the ARCA Menards Series from 2002 to 2007. It was owned and operated by Wayne Day. The team was best-known for their part-time success, enlisting drivers like Butch Miller and Jeff Green. They later attempted full-time seasons, then faded into obscurity.
Busch Series[edit]
Car No. 16/52/05 history[edit]
The team started as the No. 16 Oldsmobile for David Green. Of his three starts from 1989-90, he never finished a race and his highest position was 29th in fields, topping off at around 34, because of car issues, such as engine and transmission failures. In 1991, the team attempted to go full-time racing for the first time. They brought on driver Butch Miller and changed the car number to No. 52. Besides a win at Hickory, the team's first and only, and a medal finish of third at Volusia, the team often struggled. After fifteen races, and an equal points standings position, Butch Miller and the full-time effort was canceled. Jeff Green was brought on for five races later in the season, with two DNQs and a best finish of 15th at Rougemont. In 1992-93 Green ran a majority of the part-time races. The best finish was 5th in 1993 at Bristol. This was simultaneously the last top 5 and top 10 for the DER team. Green qualified first at Rougemont that year, finishing 16th. This was the team's first and only pole. They would DNQ three times during this stretch. In 1994-2000, the team made fewer and fewer races. Of the 59 races they attempted, they only made around a third of them, missing 38. The team used multiple drivers, mainly Chad Chaffin and Mark Day, who was related to the owner. Their best finish during this time was a 20th at IRP by Chad Chaffin in 1994.
In 2001 there was an improvement as they attempted fifteen races and making all but one. They started the year with David Starr, but eventually settled on Chaffin for most of the races. They had issues finishing races throughout the season, with their best finish coming at the same track and in the same position as 1994. The team increased their schedule again in 2002, also with Chaffin. They attempted nearly the full schedule, making twenty-five of the twenty-eight races they entered. The team received their first top 15 since 1993 at the first Talladega race, finishing 12th. This was their best finish, and they continued to struggle to finish races.
In 2003 they successfully ran the full-time schedule for the first, and only, time, replacing Chaffin with Larry Gunselman, but still struggled. Their best finish of the year was 18th at Talladega, and they only made the top 20 once more in the 34-race season, but by virtue of running the full schedule they finished 21st in the points, a career-best for the team. In 2004-07, they made only 27 races and missed the same number. They started by missing nine races in 2004 and ten in 2005, then they improved and missed only three by 2007. Drivers in this period included Justin Ashburn, Chad Chaffin, Brett Rowe, and Cup series regular David Ragan. The team had one top 15 finish, a 14th at Talladega in 2004 by Ashburn. A bright spot for the team during this time was a top 10 qualifying effort of 8th by Chad Chaffin at Texas in 2005. He would finish 36th, ten laps down. This would also be the last race for the DER No. 16, as after the 2005 season the team's number would change to No. 05.
In 2008 the team attended all of the scheduled races and made most of them. A majority of the races during this season were run by Brett Rowe and former Busch series winner Burney Lamar. Their best finish of the year was a 21st by Rowe at Las Vegas, one of four races the team finished all season, in which they failed to qualify for ten. The number of races finished improved in 2009 and they missed only seven races. However, the team would still be a start-and-park operation. They turned to former Cup series regular Casey Atwood for most of the races. A notable amongst the other drivers who took over in select races was Jeff Green, who returned to the team for the first time since 1993. Their best finish was a 14th, at the Montreal road course (Circuit Gilles Villeneuve), by Victor Gonzalez Jr. Gonzalez made history as the first Puerto Rican to qualify in a NASCAR race.[1] Mark Day would also qualify the car 9th at Memphis before finishing 33rd after the car overheated on lap 86. The last full-time season for DER would be 2010, with another new driver. This time, the team enlisted Willie Allen and switched to running full races over start-and-parking. This would see them improve markedly over the previous years just by finishing races. The previous years' improvements in qualifying could now be considered a trend, going from missing ten to seven to just four races in 2010. They finished the year with four top 15 places, having their last big success at the second Bristol race. Allen would qualify the car in 7th place, earning him a spot on the fourth row. While that's the highest he would run all day, he would still finish 11th after having been mid-pack at mid-race. This was the last top 15 for Wayne Day and DER, though they would get close the next weekend with Gonzalez Jr. finishing 16th at Montreal.
2011 was the last season for DER, in which they only entered and made five races, taking an extended break between the fourth and fifth races. After crashing out of the first Bristol race and losing the breaks very early at Texas, the team waited until the second Bristol race. They were relatively proficient at this track, but replaced Allen with Starr after he had finished relatively well in both his starts for the team that season. Starr cut a tire down and hit the wall hard on lap 190.[2] This was the end of Day Enterprises Racing in NASCAR. Jeff Green, who first raced for DER in 1991, also participated in their last race while driving for Tri-Star Motorsports. In their last season, their best finish was 21st at the season-opening Daytona race. 31-W, an insulation company that sponsored DER for the majority of its career, has a web page dedicated to the team which was last updated June 3, 2012.[3] DER is now known as Day Racing Products and makes racing engines and other products. Wayne Day still builds cars for local racing series as well.[4]
Car No. 61/6/60/85 history[edit]
The first time Day Enterprises would run a second car would be the No. 61 for Chad Chaffin in 1992, a driver who would be a mainstay in the first car later on. The car would attempt two races, finishing 29th at Rockingham and failing to qualify at Richmond. DER would next field a secondary car for one race in 2002, with Justin Ashburn failing to qualify near the end of the schedule at Memphis. This would then balloon the next year with the main car going full time allowing them to expand their part-time second car as well. The team would be helmed by Ashburn and attempt twenty-four races. Unfortunately, they would fail to qualify for eleven of these attempts. Near the end of the season, Ashburn would fail to qualify for the second Bristol race in the No. 60 then switch to the No. 6 for the second Richmond race in a second of two one-off changes. He would qualify this time, and finish 42nd after a brake failure on lap 8. Of the thirteen races Ashburn did make, his best finish would be a top-20, a 20th at the second Nashville race. The team would return for one race the next year with John Hayden at the second Nashville race. He would finish 32nd after running out of fuel on lap 171. The last time DER would run a second car is in 2009, this time with the No. 85 to go with the main No. 05. Of the seven races they signed up for, they would withdraw from two and fail to qualify for two more. The team was start-and-park, never finishing above 40th.
ARCA Menards Series[edit]
Main car history[edit]
The main car for DER's ARCA team would undergo numerous number changes throughout its existence. It started in 2002 as the No. 58 for Justin Ashburn in preparation for his Busch series debut. He would attempt and make three races, with one top-15 and two top-20 finishes. Ashburn would return the next year, only going to two races at the beginning of the season. While he would never finish above 30th, he did qualify 12th at Nashville. 2004 would see them field the No. 39 for Cain Langford in a one-off start, finishing 18th. The No. 58 would also return for four races this year, qualifying in the top-5 for the first time with John Hayden at Salem This would be the one bright spot for the team, as their best finishes would not crack the top-25. 2005 would see numerous changes. Firstly, they would attempt the full-time schedule for the first time. Second, they would enlist future Cup series winner and regular David Ragan as the driver for most of the season. Finally, they would change the number to No. 90. These changes would bring massive success. Ragan would win at Lanier, along with grabbing three poles, three second-place finishes, eight top fives, and eleven top tens in nineteen races. Ragan would finish 14th in the points despite not running the full schedule because of his success. The win would be the teams only in their history. 2006 would see them go full-time with Brett Rowe to develop him for Busch series competition. He would have one pole at Winchester and a second-place finish at DuQuoin as season highlights. Two top-5's and six top-10's would be the final season totals for Rowe, as he would finish 9th in points. This would be a career-high for DER in the points, as well as their last pole, top 5, and top 10 in this series. As the team finished developing prospects, they would only attempt six races in 2007 and DNQ three of them. While Ashburn would finish top-20 at Salem, the team's last hurrah would be a top-10 qualifying effort of 7th at Toledo by Rowe before crashing out on lap 127 and finishing 31st. After an engine failure at Gateway, Day Enterprises Racing would disappear from ARCA competition to never return for the remainder of their Busch series tenure nor afterward.
References[edit]
- ↑ Montedonico, Ben (August 31, 2009). "Victor Gonzalez Jr. Makes History For NASCAR, Puerto Rico". Beyond the Flag. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- ↑ McNaught, Collin. "2011 Food City 250". YouTube. Collin McNaught. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
- ↑ Insulation, 31-W (June 3, 2012). "Racing – Day Enterprises". 31-W Insulation. 31-W Insulation. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
- ↑ Troxler, Mark. "Day Racing Products". Facebook. Day Racing Products. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
External links[edit]
- Wayne Day owner statistics at Racing-Reference
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