BK Racing plans to run full races all season

Tomato grower Wayne Press and his partners had originally planned to start their own team with the equipment from #71 TRG Motorsports, which was managed by Kevin Buckler. But they couldn't get access to that equipment, so Press, Scott Gunderson and others bought equipment and assumed the owner points from Red Bull Racing, which went out of business after last season. Their two-car BK Racing organization will make its debut Sunday in the Daytona 500.

The team has signed Landon Cassill to drive a full season in the #83 car while David Reutimann and Travis Kvapil will drive the #93. Reutimann is in the car at Daytona and Kvapil will drive at Phoenix. Kvapil likely will run more races, and the team hopes that Reutimann drives in the 10 races when he isn't in the #10 Tommy Baldwin Racing car he will share with Danica Patrick. Because they have the owner points from Red Bull, the team will start the season with guaranteed starting spots in the first five races. They plan to stay in the top 35 to keep those guaranteed spots, something that TRG Motorsports wasn't always able to accomplish.

Why BK Racing? There are Burger King logos on the hood of the cars and the uniforms of the drivers, but the fast-food restaurant's headquarters hasn't announced a sponsorship. Some of the investors are Burger King franchise owners. Press said he hopes some of the company's vendors will also get involved in sponsoring races. Burger King executives will be at the track for the Daytona 500, and Press said he hopes some of the company's vendors also will get involved in sponsoring the team.

Harry McMullen, the former TRG general manager, is the team's general manager. It has 17 cars from Red Bull but it has been a scramble since the purchase was completed less than a month ago. "We survived on a shoestring [budget] with the 71," Press said. "We're so much better funded it's unbelievable going into this venture with the 83 and the 93. BK Racing is here to race every weekend, every race, every lap. We're not start-and-parkers. We intend to do this correctly. We want some longevity out of this." More at SceneDaily