BK Racing
BK Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that fielded entries in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series from 2012 to 2018. It most recently fielded the No. 23 Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion for J. J. Yeley, Gray Gaulding, and other drivers. In 2018, the team was involved in a court case involving team owner Ron Devine and Union Bank & Trust Company over outstanding loans. In August of that year, after being turned over to a trustee who oversaw the team's operations, BK Racing was liquidated, with the assets going to Front Row Motorsports. However, BK Racing still fielded a car until the end of the 2018 season, with help from Front Row Motorsports and NY Racing Team.
History
BK Racing was owned by a couple of investors who were formerly involved in the ownership of TRG Motorsports Sprint Cup Series team, which closed after the 2011 season. Burger King franchise owner Ron Devine and tomato grower Wayne Press joined Thomas Uberall, former race director of the Red Bull Racing Team, to acquire the assets and race shop of the former Red Bull operation, which also closed after the 2011 season, for around $10 million.Like Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins, principal owner Devine's many Burger King franchises allow him to advertise the brand on the cars when there is no outside sponsor. Prior to the 2012 Daytona 500, Burger King announced a "licensing agreement" with the team, authenticating the paint schemes of the 83 and 93 and the usage of the company's logos, though it is unclear whether or not the company and/or franchisee Devine funds the team. According to a 2013 Autoweek article, the partnership is limited to the licensing agreement, with Burger King not sponsoring the team. The Burger King partnership includes the branding of Dr Pepper, a soft drink served at Burger King restaurants. Dr Pepper has appeared as the primary sponsor of the team on various occasions, and expanded to a newly renumbered 23 car for 2014.
In May 2014, the team expanded to three cars and added another owner and investor in Anthony Marlowe, who purchased a ten percent stake in the team. Formerly a partner in the recently exited Swan Racing, Marlowe founded outsourcing company TMone, and is currently the managing partner in Iowa City Capital Partners and its subsidiary Marlowe Companies Inc. After the 2015 season, Marlowe began the process of selling his stake in the team.
The team used engines from Triad Racing Technologies upon inception. In 2014, the team started an in-house engine program while using Triad engines on occasion. For 2016, the team purchased equipment from the recently closed Michael Waltrip Racing, and hired several former MWR employees, with increased manufacturer support from Toyota.
The team operated out of a facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, which housed former Cup Series team BAM Racing and was the base of GMS Racing until 2015.
In August 2018, BK Racing was liquidated, with most of its assets acquired by Front Row Motorsports. Other teams, including Obaika Racing and Rick Ware Racing, also received portions of the team's assets. FRM won the bankruptcy auction with a bid of 2.08 million, surpassing GMS Racing's offer of 1.8 million. Previously, FRM had purchased a charter from BK Racing after the 2016 season for US$2 million. This transaction is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Union Bank & Trust Company, which claims ownership of the charter due to a lien at the time of sale. On December 20, 2022, team owner Devine was ordered to pay 31 million to the trust managing BK Racing's bankruptcy. On October 18, 2023, Devine was indicted on four counts of failing to pay payroll taxes by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Investigations revealed that some of the misused funds were used to finance the team. On January 17, 2025, an appeals court upheld the 31 million judgment, finding that Devine used multiple corporations and family trusts as alter egos to divert approximately 6.4 million from the team. On April 29, 2025, another appeals court upheld a separate 2.5 million judgment. On June 11, 2025, Devine pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the 2023 payroll tax case.
Cars
Car No. 23 history
;Alex BowmanFor 2014, up-and-comer Ryan Truex tested the No. 93 at Daytona. Truex would wind up in the 83, and fellow up-and-comer Alex Bowman would take over the renumbered No. 23 to run for Rookie of the Year. Dr Pepper stepped up as the full-time primary sponsor of the car, the No. 23 applying to the soft drink's original 23 flavors. When Truex's 83 missed the Daytona 500, his sponsor Borla Exhaust moved over to the 23, which Bowman drove to a solid 23rd-place finish in his Sprint Cup debut. Houston-based Dustless Blasting came on to sponsor Bowman at Watkins Glen and the second Talladega race. In October, DipYourCar.com, a retailer of Plasti Dip automotive finish products, signed to sponsor both the 23 and 83 cars at Martinsville and Homestead. Both cars would promote the film Dumb and Dumber To at Phoenix in November, with Bowman's 23 car featuring the face of Jim Carrey's character Lloyd Christmas. Bowman finished 2014 35th in the driver points, while the No. 23 slipped again to 36th in the owner points.
;J. J. Yeley
File:TSM350 - 2015 - J.J. Yeley - Stierch.jpg|thumb|right|J. J. Yeley at Sonoma in 2015.
On January 27, 2015, it was announced that J. J. Yeley, who had been the interim driver of the No. 83 following Ryan Truex's release in late 2014, would be joining the team full-time. It was subsequently revealed that Yeley would be driving the No. 23, with Bowman departing for Tommy Baldwin Racing. At Richmond in April, Yeley gave up his seat to teammate Jeb Burton after Burton failed to qualify his ESTES-sponsored 26 car. In August, prior to the fall race at Darlington, it was announced that Yeley and Burton would switch rides on a permanent basis. Also for Darlington, the team unveiled a retro scheme to honor Burton's father Ward, with the ESTES-sponsored Toyota replicating the Caterpillar Inc. cars Ward drove for Bill Davis Racing. After making his first seven attempts in the No. 23, Burton failed to qualify at Talladega; this is the first time the No. 23 has failed to qualify. Burton would qualify for the next three races before missing the race again in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami. Burton would finish the season 38th in the driver points and third in the Rookie of the Year standings, while the No. 23 slipped once again to 40th in the owner points.
;David Ragan
Yeley and Burton were both released from the team at the end of 2015. On January 25, 2016, the team announced that David Ragan would take over the No. 23 full-time in 2016. Ragan was sponsored by Dr Pepper outside of the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond, where he was sponsored by Sweet Frog, and the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono, where he was sponsored by USA Network to promote the network's upcoming NASCAR broadcasts while NBC is airing the Summer Olympics. Ragan's contract with BK was not renewed after the 2016 season.
;Multiple drivers
File:Gray Gaulding 23 Sonoma 2018.jpg|thumb|Gray Gaulding in the No. 23 at Sonoma Raceway in 2018
In 2017, Joey Gase joined the No. 23 team for three races starting at the Daytona 500. Gray Gaulding was later announced as the driver of the car for the other 33 races, running for Rookie of the Year. Gaulding will run some races in the 83. The only race he did not run was the Daytona 500, since NASCAR would not approve him due to the lack of superspeedway experience. Later in the season, Ryan Sieg joined the team at Michigan International Speedway in June, and NASCAR Whelen Euro Series driver Alon Day joined the team to make his Cup Series debut at Sonoma Raceway. In June, Gaulding was released from the team because of financial issues, although he returned to BK for Darlington but in the No. 83 team. On September 22, Day returned to the No. 23 car at Richmond Raceway.
The No. 23 team ran the 2018 season with Gaulding, Yeley, Gase, Day, Blake Jones, and Spencer Gallagher. At the same time, the team filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and team owner Ron Devine was stripped of ownership in favor of a trustee. The #23 became a single-car team run by the trustee who formed a partnership with NY Racing Team to keep fielding the #23 as the 2018 season went on. Eventually, the #23 was sold in a bankruptcy auction to Front Row Motorsports and the primary driver for the rest of the season became JJ Yeley, the normal driver of NY Racing. At the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega, the team switched to the Ford Fusion for the race. The team reverted to Toyota at the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas. For their final race at the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead, the team once again reverted to the Fusion with Yeley behind the wheel.
The No. 23 did not return to Cup in 2019, being renumbered by Front Row Motorsports to the No. 36, with driver Matt Tifft. At the same time, Front Row ended their partnership with NY Racing Team and J. J. Yeley.
Car No. 23 results
Car No. 26 history
;Cole WhittFile:Cole Whitt Sonoma 2014.jpg|thumb|Cole Whitt in the No. 26 at Sonoma Raceway in 2014
On April 23, 2014, during a two-week hiatus between the spring Darlington and Richmond races, it was announced that Anthony Marlowe had acquired the No. 26 team from Swan Racing and merged his ownership with BK Racing. The 26 team's driver Cole Whitt was carried over in the transaction, with Marlowe being listed as the owner on the No. 26. The team inherited Swan Racing's Speed Stick GEAR sponsorship, and the company proceeded to extend their sponsorship for six additional races starting at the Coca-Cola 600. Additional sponsors, came on race by race, leaving only two races to be filled by Burger King logos. Scorpyd Crossbows joined the team for its first two races under the BK Banner. Iowa Chop House partnered with the team at Kansas. Rinnai Water Heaters came on to sponsor the team at Sonoma, then returned for Atlanta Motor Speedway and Loudon. Scorpion Window Film sponsored the car at Daytona in July. Axxess Pharma and their TapouT Muscle Recovery brand signed on for multiple races in June, starting with the first New Hampshire race. Anthony Marlowe's Iowa City Capital Partners came on to back the car at Michigan and Chicagoland. At Watkins Glen, local New York winery Bully Hill Vineyards sponsored the 26. A strong road course racer, Whitt qualified a solid 18th and was running in 19th when his brakes failed entering turn 1, sending him into the distant tire barrier in an eerily similar fashion as Jimmie Johnson's notorious Busch Series crash in 2000.
At Richmond in September, Standard Plumbing Company signed on to sponsor. Uponor would sponsor the fall races at Dover and Martinsville, the latter of which resulted in an 18th-place finish. Moen was on the car for the second Kansas race. At Talladega, with Bad Boy Mowers sponsoring, Whitt led his first lap in Sprint Cup competition after staying out under caution. He would go on to post his then-career-best finish of 15th in the race. Fuelxx was on the hood for the penultimate race at Phoenix, unfortunately Whitt would be caught up in a mid-race wreck after an earlier parts failure. Whitt and the No. 26 finished the season 31st in both driver and owner points. Whitt did not return to the No. 26 for the 2015 season, moving to the No. 35 at Front Row Motorsports.
File:TSM350 - 2015 - Jeb Burton - Stierch.jpg|thumb|left|Jeb Burton at Sonoma in 2015.
;Jeb Burton
On February 8, 2015, the team announced that former Camping World Truck Series driver Jeb Burton would be the replacement for Whitt and would compete for the series Rookie of the Year award. Burton failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 after being involved in an accident during his Budweiser Duel qualifying race. Burton would qualify for the next five races afterward, before failing to qualify at Texas Motor Speedway. Shortly afterward, Estes Express Lines, who had sponsored Burton at ThorSport Racing in the Truck Series, announced that they would sponsor the No. 26 beginning at Richmond. When he failed to qualify at Richmond in April, Burton and Estes moved to the 23 for one race, supplanting J. J. Yeley and regular BK sponsor Maxim Fantasy Sports. Burton failed to qualify for seven of the first 24 races in 2015, leading the team to put him in the 23 car for the remainder of the season beginning at Darlington. Yeley would take over the 26. In his first race in the 26, needing to qualify on speed, Yeley was able to run 36th to make the field. He finished 34th. After Yeley ran Richmond and Chicagoland, qualifying for both races, Josh Wise stepped in for a single race at New Hampshire, due to Yeley's driving duties with JGL Racing in the Xfinity Series. Yeley returned at Dover. At Charlotte, being required to qualify on speed for the first time since Darlington, Yeley was once again able to make the field, this time in 35th place. Yeley qualified on speed at Kansas and Talladega as well, with the latter being his best start in the No. 26, at 30th place. Ultimately, the No. 26 would not miss a race in the final third of the season, but still tumbled to 43rd in the owner points; Yeley was ineligible for driver points in the Sprint Cup Series as he had declared for the Xfinity Series at the start of the year.
Burton and Yeley were both released from BK Racing at the end of 2015. With the team reportedly only eligible for two guaranteed starting spots under a proposed revision to NASCAR's qualifying system, and with Marlowe divesting himself from the team, the No. 26 ceased full-time operations.
;Final Race
The No. 26 car returned for the 2016 Daytona 500 with Robert Richardson Jr. driving, with sponsorship from StalkIt. After DiBenedetto raced the No. 93 in through the Can-Am Duels, Richardson was able to qualify on speed, starting 40th in the race. However, he suffered an engine failure and finished 38th.