Warsaw-based NASCAR Nationwide Series team closing its doors
Posted
Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
For ML Motorsports, life in the fast lane has come to a screeching halt. In a telephone intereview Thursday morning, Mary Louise Miller, owner of the Warsaw-based NASCAR Nationwide Series team, confirmed that the lack of a corporate sponsor has forced her to close the racing operation. “It was a very hard decision,” said Miller. “It came down to finances, and the lack of a sponsor. It’s a very tough business, and it became more and more expensive to go racing.” ML Motorsports was founded in 1998 and competed in its first race in February of 1999 when Jimmy Kitchens drove the team’s No. 67 car in the season-opening ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway. Daytona is where the team would be headed in a few weeks, ready to start another season, but at the 40,000-square-foot shop on U.S. 30 Thursday it was eerily quiet. Team Manager Tony Barnes, who has been with the team since its inception, was the only crew member working – taking inventory and preparing cars, parts and equipment to be sold. “We had a good run, but like they say, all good things come to an end,” said Barnes. “It’s been 15 years of blood, sweat and tears. You gotta have sponsors in this business, that’s just the way it is. It’s not just us...look at (Joe Gibbs Racing), they shut down one of their Nationwide teams, laid everyone off. It’s happening to the big teams too.” According to Barnes, ML Motorsports had seven full-time shop employees. There was also office help, as well as pit crew members who used vacation time to show up and work at the track. “I want to thank all of our team members,” said Miller. “It was their dedication and willingness to do whatever it took that made this team work for so long. We had a great group of guys from right here in Warsaw, and they worked really, really hard.” ML Motorsports competed in the ARCA Series from 1999 to 2005, winning six races – two with Jason Jarrett and four with Walkerton native Chad Blount. ML Motorsports produced two Rookie of the Year drivers in the ARCA Series – Jarrett, son of 1999 NASCAR champion Dale Jarrett, and Plymouth native Brian Ross. The team moved up to what is now called the Nationwide Series, changing to the No. 70 and making its first NASCAR race with Justin Diercks behind the wheel at Richmond International Raceway in 2006. ML Motorsports competed in 144 Nationwide Series races, with its best finish of fifth-place coming with driver Mark Green at Talladega Superspeedway in 2008. “It was a dream job,” said Jeremy Marsh, who like Barnes and a number of the other crew memebers is a Warsaw Community High School graduate. “We got to go places and do things we otherwise wouldn’t have. This has been the experience of a lifetime. We have to thank Mary Louise and (her husband) Dane for that. They ran a NASCAR team out of Warsaw, Indiana. Not many other people at the track can say they worked for a hometown team, or never had to move to Charlotte to get a job.” Barnes said what made ML Motorsports special was that it was like a family. It was the same core group of guys that stuck together for so long. That group included Barnes, Marsh, Tim Frantz, Mike Neer, Larry Carpenter, Tony Baker Jr., as well as long-time pit crew members Carson Kintzel, Craig Barnes and Ken Nisly. ML Motorsports allowed high school and college students to intern there, which benefitted the likes of Dylan Woodling and Zach Shepler. During the last couple seasons, ML Motorsports forged a great working relationship with highly successful team owner Richard Childress and his Richard Childress Racing teams. Childress, who won six championships with the late Dale Earnhardt, is known as the working man’s team owner. He started with nothing and built a racing empire. Those close to ML Motorsports know that Childress took a liking to the team from Warsaw and provided technical support. “We want to thank Richard Childress,” said Miller. “He cared about this team, and he believed in us. He really supported us. We’re very grateful for that.”
