From a 2011 truck built with a lottery windfall to a 2013 merger with Bob Newberry's NTS team, the Camping World Truck Series operation ran until its final race at Daytona in 2016.
Owned by Bob Newberry, this American outfit competed in the Camping World Truck Series. Its structure took shape in December 2012, when Joe Denette Motorsports merged with the NTS operation, and its last start came at Daytona in 2016. The team also raced in USAC, K&N and ARCA events.
NTS Motorsports was an American team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Bob Newberry, a Californian, owned it, and it took its final shape after Joe Denette Motorsports joined forces with his operation. Both teams had early backing from Kevin Harvick, and the team's last race took place at Daytona in 2016.
The team's history is an unusual one. It began with a lottery win, grew through a series of part-time entries and changing drivers, and ended with its name rather than a championship-level run. Its story is best read as a sequence of short-term projects that were gradually consolidated.
How did Joe Denette Motorsports start in 2011?
Joe Denette, laid off in 2009, won $75.6 million in a Mega Millions drawing and took a lump sum of $46 million. He used the money to start a truck team in 2011, backed by KHI, and hired Jason White as the driver.
After consulting Kevin Harvick, Denette set up his own operation in 2011, relying on Harvick's KHI for trucks and backing, and on Pro Motor Engines for power units. He hired Jason White as the driver. The number 23 came from a coincidence: Denette had bought 23 lottery tickets, and White's sponsor carried that figure.
A team born from a lottery windfall and a Harvick connection, which merged into a bigger operation and then closed its doors after its final Daytona race in 2016.
Who drove the team's trucks in 2011 and 2012?
Elliott Sadler, Hermie's brother and a Nationwide Series driver for Harvick, ran a second truck, numbered 24, for several races late in the 2011 season. The team had growing pains that year, but it logged seven top-10 results and a pole for Sadler at Bristol. White finished 15th in the championship.
In 2012 the team ran both trucks full-time. Denette, a long-time fan of Bill Elliott, renumbered the 23 truck to No. 9. The change came as the squad prepared for a wider programme.
How did NTS and Joe Denette merge?
Bob Newberry, a former driver, founded NTS Motorsports in Bakersfield, California, and was a friend of Kevin Harvick and his father Mike. The outfit ran cars for his son Brennan in USAC, the K&N Pro Series West and East and ARCA. Mike Harvick was the younger Newberry's early crew chief.
Between 2011 and 2012 the outfit also made part-time Truck Series starts. In December 2012 Joe Denette Motorsports merged with NTS and adopted the NTS name. Under the merged banner Ron Hornaday Jr. drove the No. 9, Brennan Newberry the No. 24, and several drivers, Kevin Harvick among them, the No. 14. The operation set up shop at the Kernersville, North Carolina, site that Harvick had used for KHI, with Harvick advising and Bruce Cook as competition director.
What did the 2013 season look like?
The first season under the NTS name was a tough one. The No. 9 truck was driven by Ron Hornaday Jr., a four-time series champion who had won four races the season before. Hornaday posted nine top 10 finishes but struggled to find steady sponsorship, and the team released him with one race to go in the season.
Brennan Newberry began 2013 in the 14 truck as a rookie, with Eddie Pardue as crew chief. He took the pole at Daytona, but a crash left him 33rd. After four races he moved to the No. 24 truck, which he drove to 19th in points, and the 14 was scaled back to part-time. Max Papis also took a turn in the 14 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, finishing sixth on the road course.
How did the 2014 expansion work?
By 2014 the squad had expanded to four rides, two full-time and two part-time, with several drivers sharing the seats. Brennan Newberry, Austin Dillon, Justin Lofton, Chase Pistone, Gray Gaulding and Ron Hornaday Jr. all took turns in the trucks. Dwayne Gaulding joined as vice president of operations, and Newberry had planned a 12-race truck slate.
Gray Gaulding was only 16 at the time, and he took part in nine races on circuits of one mile or less. Alongside that, two full-time K&N Pro Series East cars ran, plus a part-time Nationwide Series car with SS-Green Light Racing. The programme was broad, but it was spread thin across several series.
What happened to the No. 9, No. 14 and No. 24 trucks?
The 9 truck ran most of 2014, although Chase Pistone drove only five races in it, with a best finish of ninth at Gateway. Brennan Newberry scored two top tens in nine starts, and Ty Dillon took over for the finale at Homestead, where he finished seventh. Hornaday returned in September for three races, backed by a different sponsor.
The 14 had started as the team's first Truck Series entry under Bob Newberry. Brennan Newberry failed to make the 2011 Homestead finale field after rain washed out qualifying, and later attempted 12 races in 2012. In 2015 Daniel Hemric drove the 14 full-time, competing for Rookie of the Year and finishing seventh in the points before moving to Brad Keselowski Racing for 2016.
The 24 truck debuted in 2011 with Elliott Sadler, who scored a pole at Bristol. Max Gresham was hired for 2012 but left after eight races without a top-15 finish. Kevin Harvick ran the 24 in a single race in 2013, finishing 25th, and the number was replaced by the No. 9 entry in 2014.
What did the Nationwide, K&N and ARCA efforts involve?
In 2014 Brennan Newberry ran part-time Nationwide Series races in the No. 55, finishing 25th at Loudon, 19th at Watkins Glen and 23rd at Chicago. In 2015 the team partnered with Rick Ware Racing to field Scott Lagasse Jr. in a Chevrolet Camaro at Daytona.
In the K&N Pro Series East, Gray Gaulding ran the full 2014 schedule in the 20 Impala, taking a pole, four top-five finishes and nine top-10 results to end third in points. Brennan Newberry ran the full 16-race East schedule that year and finished 14th in the standings. In the ARCA Racing Series the team made its debut in 2012, with Newberry finishing both of his Michigan and Kansas races in the top five.
How did the 20 truck fit in?
The 20 truck arrived in 2014, with former Daytona winner John King driving at the season opener. Justin Lofton won a pole at Texas and finished second, and Austin Dillon, a former series champion, ran four races in the truck.
How did the team come to an end?
The team's final years were marked by changing drivers and sponsors. In 2015 NTS ran a truck for James Buescher, the 2012 series champion, for the first three races, with others driving the rest of the season. Daniel Hemric moved on to Brad Keselowski Racing for 2016, and the team's final race came at Daytona that year.
What were the team's key milestones?
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Joe Denette Motorsports starts; Sadler scores a pole at Bristol |
| 2012 | Both trucks run full-time; NTS runs part-time in the Truck Series |
| 2012 (Dec) | Merger with NTS; NTS name adopted |
| 2013 | Harvick's former KHI facility in Kernersville becomes the base |
| 2014 | Expansion to four rides across the truck and K&N series |
| 2015 | Daniel Hemric runs the 14 truck full-time |
| 2016 | Final race at Daytona |
