Tony "The Shark" King signs for Torquespeed

[Reynard]

Fan's favourite, Tony "The Shark" King, who competed in this year's Days of Thunder series on a shoestring budget will be competing as a full "works" driver for the Torquespeed concern in 2004.

Tony, who hails from Canterbury in Kent and former winner of the Willhire 24 Hours at Snetterton, will be retaining sponsorship from Kent Pharmaceuticals.

It's a well-deserved break for Tony - am looking forward to seeing him at the sharp end of the grid next season! :)

[touring fan]

The more cars that can complete a whole season the better, it's good to see more drivers that don't have to work on a race by race basis. (does this mean torquespeed are going for world domination by owning half the field?:D)

[Reynard]

Torquespeed will be running four cars next year - King and McKellar confirmed, two seats yet unclaimed. AFAIK Deuce-RML and West-Tec will have three each.

If things go to plan, we should be looking at an entry of at least 30 cars.

Torquespeed are also going NASCAR - announcement due later this evening who the driver is, but smart money is on John "I keep biting the wall" Mickel.

[touring fan]

I wonder which NASCAR team they've done the deal with. 30 cars on the grid would be unbelievable, whatever happened to all those teams and cars that ran right at the beginning?

[Reynard]

They've done the deal with Carter Motorsports with John Mickel driving. Should be interesting since Mickel is over-promoted and undertalented... I personally think Mickel will be coming back to the UK with his tail between his legs pretty quickly.

Anyways, the official release reads as follows:

Travis Carter has signed a landmark deal with British-based motorsport outfit Torquespeed UK to form the first UK-based and funded NASCAR Winston Cup team.

The team will be known as Torquespeed Carter with the Torquespeed UK the majority shareholder, and it will operate from the existing Travis Carter Enterprises complex in Statesville , North Carolina .

Carter, who will oversee race operations, boasts an impressive NASCAR resume. His 32-year career includes winning the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship in his rookie year as crew chief for Benny Parsons. After working as crew chief for drivers Bobby Allison, Harry Gant, Rick Mast, Cale Yarborough and Benny Parsons, he joined the owner ranks in 1989 and has amassed six pole positions and more than $18 million in career earnings. He co-owns BelCar Racing and its No. 54 Ford's driven by Todd Bodine

ìI am very excited by the UK team's business and marketing plans,î remarked Carter. ìTheir understanding and knowledge of our sport demonstrates they know what it takes to be successful. We have a lot in common. We are committed to achieving success both on the track and for the marketing partners that will participate in this unique program. With our combined resources, I know we can achieve the business and racing goals we've set for Torquespeed Carter Racing in 2004 and beyond.î

Torquespeed was established in England in August 2000 as a founding team in the European-based Days of Thunder Series, which competes on 1.5-mile and two-mile tracks in the UK and Germany . The team has enjoyed considerable success and won the inaugural championship, now known as The Days of Thunder Series, with John Mickel at Rockingham in 2001. This year Torquespeed became the largest operation in the championship, running a total of five teams.

Paul Musselle, spokesperson for the UK investors, explained Torquespeed decision to join forces with Travis Carter. ìHaving successfully established the UK operation, the shareholders wanted to move to the greatest stock car racing arena on the planet, and that's NASCAR,î Musselle said. ìWe looked long and hard to identify a partner with the expertise, commitment and vision to make this work over the long term and Travis is, without doubt, the right man.î

Musselle added: ìThe first essential was to ensure that the funding for the business was firmly in place and we have comfortably achieved that goal. We have significant business funding in place for the next four years and this provides a solid platform on which to realize our plans. Clearly the next stage is to finalize our racing budgets for 2004 and beyond.î

The team is in discussion with major global brands that have been quick to recognize the exciting opportunities that the unique combination of NASCAR, the expertise of Travis Carter and the UK connections will deliver.

ìTorquespeed Carter's interest in NASCAR validates the growing appeal of our sport, and we welcome them to NASCAR.î said George Pyne, Chief Operating Officer of NASCAR.

Plans for Torquespeed Carter also include establishing a ladder of success for talented European drivers, who will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their ability on the world's most exciting motorsports stage. First of these will be John Mickel, the 2001 Days of Thunder Champion. Mickel, from Cambridge , England began racing at the age of ten on both paved and dirt short ovals in the UK . During the past 21 years, he has secured 17 Championship titles.

Mickel said, ìI'm excited by the opportunity. NASCAR has always been my goal and to have the chance to test myself in this environment is going to be quite a challenge. With people like Travis around me, I know I'm going to get some clear feedback on what I do well and where I need to improve.î

The alliance between Torquespeed and Travis Carter establishes Torquespeed Carter as the only team to operate full-time, all-year-round programs in high-profile motorsports on both sides of the Atlantic .