Curb Agajanian Performance Group
| Owner(s) | Mike Curb, Cary Agajanian |
|---|---|
| Series | Winston Cup Series, Nationwide Series |
| Car numbers | 43, 98 |
| Opened | 1984 (Cup), 1996 (Nationwide) |
| Closed | 1988 (Cup), 2010 (Nationwide) |
| Career | |
| Debut | Cup: 1984 Daytona 500 (Daytona) Nationwide: 1996 CARQUEST Auto Parts 250 (Gateway) |
| Latest race | Cup: 1988 Goodwrench 500 (Rockingham) Nationwide: 2010 Dollar General 300 (Charlotte) |
| Race victories | NASCAR: 3 2 (Cup) 1 (Nationwide) |
| Pole positions | NASCAR: 1 0 (Cup) 1 (Nationwide) |
The Curb Agajanian Performance Group is a former NASCAR team. It was owned by record executive Mike Curb and racing personality Cary Agajanian. It fielded an entry in the Winston Cup Series from 1984–1988 and in the Nationwide Series from 1996–2010. The numbers primarily associated with the team are No. 43 (made famous by Richard Petty and first used by Curb when Petty drove for him) and No. 98 (a number Curb first used in 1986).
NASCAR
Winston Cup Series
Curb Racing began running in NASCAR's top series in 1984. Seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty would drive the car; with Petty bringing his STP sponsorship with him from Petty Enterprises. He also brought the number 43 with him. Petty won his final two Cup races with the team (including Daytona) and finished tenth in the final championship standings. He returned in 1985, but fell four spots in the standings after posting only one top five. During the season, Tom Sneva drove the 42 car as a second entry to Curb at Atlanta Motor Speedway, finishing 32nd after an engine failure.
In 1986, Petty and STP left to rejoin Petty Enterprises, and Ron Bouchard became Curb's new driver, switching to the No. 98 with Valvoline sponsorship. They ran a limited schedule and had top-ten finishes at the Daytona 500 and Winston 500, but struggled with engine problems during the second half of the season. Dale Jarrett drove the 98 at Bristol Motor Speedway, bringing Busch sponsorship, starting 28th and finishing 29th. The following year, they began running Buicks and qualified for three races with Ed Pimm. Pimm did not finish any of those races, and only managed a best finish of 27th.
Sunoco became the team's new sponsor in 1988. Pimm qualified for two out of the first three races of the season, but was replaced by rookie Brad Noffsinger. His best finish was 14th at his series debut in Atlanta. Curb Racing folded at the end of 1988.
Hiatus
Curb was without sponsorship for 1989 and had to shut down. However he continued to look for partnerships in NASCAR. He finally found one in Cary Agajanian in 1995 and finally the team resumed operations on the Busch Grand National level in 1996, after an 8-year layoff.
Busch/Nationwide Series
Curb Agajanian returned to NASCAR in 1996 with a NASCAR Busch Series entry at the GM Goodwrench Service 200. The team ran a majority of the races and fielded Ford Thunderbirds driven by USAC driver Stevie Reeves with sponsorship from Clabber Girl Baking Powder.
For 1997 the team again fielded Ford Thunderbirds for Stevie Reeves. With newly signed sponsorship from Big A Auto Parts, the team ran the entire season. Following the season, team co-owners John Andretti and Donald Laird left the team to form Andretti-Laird Motorsports, taking the No. 96 and Big A sponsorship with them.
Following the ownership split, the team switched to No. 43 and again began the season with Stevie Reeves driving Ford Thunderbirds. Due to losing their sponsor, the team ran a partial schedule with Curb Records as primary sponsor. The team switched to Chevrolet Monte Carlos during the season with Brad Noffsinger, Kevin Grubb and future NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson driving races for the team following Reeves release a third of the way through the season.
In 1999, the team purchased hired former Stegall Motorsports driver Shane Hall and signed sponsor Central Tractor. Hall had a fourth-place finish at Myrtle Beach Speedway, and finished 24th in points. Rookie Jay Sauter replaced Hall in 2000, nailing eight top-tens and finishing seventeenth in points. He returned in 2001, and grabbed a pole at Kentucky Speedway, and finished nineteenth in points. Ron Hornaday climbed aboard to relieve Sauter in two races during the season.
In 2002, the team lost sponsorship and cut back to a limited schedule, running three races late in the season with Hermie Sadler driving. The team continued to run part-time with Sauter's brother Johnny in 2003 with sponsorship from Channellock. They picked up their first win as a team at the Funai 250 at Richmond in September, and finished 30th in owner's points. Sauter ran approximately half the season with Curb, as he also was running the No. 21 for Richard Childress Racing in an attempt to win the owner's championship for Childress; Sauter finished eighth in the end of season standings and the win at Richmond was his only win of the 2003 season.
For 2004, the team switched to Dodge and signed Aaron Fike as the driver. Fike ran thirteen races, his best finish a seventeenth at Dover. In 2005, Fike switched between the 43 and Brewco Motorsports, with his older brother A. J. filling in. He was not able to crack the top 20, and was released at the end of the season. Aaron returned to the ride full-time.
In 2006, Fike qualified for most of the races, but soon departed for Kevin Harvick Incorporated. A permanent replacement was not named, although P. J. Jones and Chris Cook ran a handful of races apiece, with Erin Crocker and Kertus Davis running one race deals as the team went part-time.
Due to a lack of sponsorship, CAPG was mostly inactive in the 2007 season, before attempting the Sam's Town 250 with Bobby East driving with sponsorship from Kick Butt Energy Ballz.
Following the 2007 season, the team was merged with Baker-Curb Racing where they scored two runner-up finishes with driver Greg Biffle.[1]
IndyCar Series
First partnership with Beck Motorsports (2001)
For the 2001 season, the team partnered with Beck Motorsports and returned to full-time competition with veteran driver Billy Boat. Boat finished 2nd at Nashville Superspeedway and finished 4th in points.
2002
Boat went on to form Agajanian/Boat Racing with Cary Agajanian in 2002 and captured the pole at Nashville and finished 13th in points.
2003
In 2003 Agajanian joined forces with Sam Schmidt Motorsports at the Indy 500 to field a car for Richie Hearn who was knocked out by an accident.
Second partnership with Beck Motorsports (2004–2009)
In 2004 CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports came into being and P. J. Jones drove their entry in the Indy 500 to a 28th place DNF. In 2005, the team fielded a last-minute Indy 500 entry for rookie Arie Luyendyk Jr., however the car never handled properly and Luyendyk's best speed was easily bumped by Felipe Giaffone, leaving Luyendyk and the C/A/B team the only entry bumped from the field that year.
The team merged with Team Leader Motorsports to field 2 cars for the 2006 Indianapolis 500. The first team with driver PJ Jones was Beck Motorsports owned by Greg Beck which was founded in 1995. The second team driven by Stephan Gregoire was owned by Kent Baker which was founded in 1988. Both Baker and Beck had many years experience working with their own and various other Indy Car teams. They were joined by Cary Agajanian and Mike Curb of Curb Agajanian Motorsports. The two teams ended their partnership for 2007 with PJ Jones competing for Team Leader Motorsports.
The team made a surprise entry into the 2007 XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and participated in it, the Kansas Speedway race and the Indy 500. Alex Barron drove in all 3 races and finished 15th in the Indy 500, 1 lap down.
The team made its 2008 debut at Twin Ring Motegi with Roger Yasukawa at the controls. Yasukawa also attempted to qualify the Curb Records car in the Indianapolis 500 as well but was bumped from the field.
In 2009, the team fielded a full-time IndyCar Series entry, beginning the season with NASCAR driver Stanton Barrett behind the wheel. Barrett and sports marketer Steve Sudler both joined as partners of the team and the new name was CURB/Agajanian/3G Racing (3 Guys Racing).[2] Jaques Lazier was brought on to replace Barrett at Texas Motor Speedway after the team went home after a practice crash the previous week at the Milwaukee Mile. Lazier drove the next three oval races and Richard Antinucci was brought in to drive the remaining road and street course races of the schedule. Barrett drove at Twin Ring Motegi, where he had sponsorship, and Lazier drove on all other remaining ovals.
2010
For the 2010 Indianapolis 500, Curb Agajanian provided a co-entry for KV Racing Technology driver Mario Moraes.
2011
For the 2011 Indianapolis 500, Curb Agajanian provided a co-entry for Bryan Herta Autosport driver and Dan Wheldon who won the Indianapolis 500 in 2011.[1]
2016
For the 2016 IndyCar Series, Curb Agajanian provided a co-entry for Andretti Herta Autosport driver Alexander Rossi. Alexander Rossi won the 2016 Indy 500 in this ride.
Driver history
Curb-Agajanian
Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. (1980)- Mike Chandler (1983)
- Roger Mears (1980)
CURB/Agajanian/Beck
- Alex Barron (2007)
- Billy Boat (2001–2002)
- P. J. Jones (2004)
- Roger Yasukawa (2008)
Team Leader Motorsports
Stephan Gregoire (2006)- P. J. Jones (2006)
CURB/Agaganian/3G Racing
- Richard Antinucci (2009)
- Stanton Barrett (2009)
- Jaques Lazier (2009)
USAC
2012
In 2012, Curb Agajanian became the first car owner to win all three USAC Championships in the same year (Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget).[1]
2013
In 2013, Curb Agajanian again won all three USAC Championships in the same year (Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget).[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 http://www.mikecurbracing.com
- ↑ Cavin, Curt. Meira joins Foyt's team, Indianapolis Star, September 26, 2008
External links
- Curb Agajanian Performance Group owner statistics at Racing-Reference
- Mike Curb Racing
- Mike Curb - NASCAR Owner
