CMI Motorsports

CMI Motorsports (formerly Ciccarelli Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, fielding the No. 49 Chevrolet Silverado full-time for Tim Viens as well as the No. 83 part-time for Ray Ciccarelli, who is also the team's owner. The team also previously fielded a car in the ARCA Menards Series, the No. 38, part-time in 2017.

CMI Motorsports
Owner(s)Ray Ciccarelli
SeriesNASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Race drivers49. Tim Viens
83. Ryan Huff, Ray Ciccarelli (part-time)
Sponsors49. Ciccarelli Moving & Installation, Springrates, Patriots First of America PAC, BELIMO
83. Springrates, SubSafe, Patriots First of America PAC
ManufacturerChevrolet
Ford
Toyota
Opened2017 (ARCA)
2019 (Trucks)
Career
Debut2019 NextEra Energy 250
Latest race2020 Lucas Oil 150 (Phoenix)
Races competed42
Drivers' Championships0
Race victories0
Pole positions0

Although the team is currently in operation, Ciccarelli announced on June 10, 2020 that he would be closing down the team and selling off all its equipment after the conclusion of the 2020 Truck Series season. His decision to shut down his race team came in response to NASCAR's announcement on the same day that they would be banning the display of the Confederate flag from all tracks following the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests happening in the world at the time. Ciccarelli believed that the sport was getting too political and unnecessarily taking sides in those matters.[1] Though they said in a Twitter post in October 2020 that they would return in 2021 in some capacity.

History

Car No. 38 history

Ciccarelli ran the season-opener at Daytona in 2017 with his own team, the No. 38 Ford, under the name Ciccarelli Racing. It was not his first race in the series, as he previously drove part-time in the series in 2014, 2015, and 2016 for teams Carter 2 Motorsports, Kimmel Racing, Hamilton-Hughes Racing, and Hixson Motorsports. Ciccarelli returned with his team to Talladega, although he drove the No. 3 instead of the No. 38, using owner points from Hixson (a team he drove for in a few races the prior year) to have a better shot of qualifying for the race, which he successfully did. The No. 3 was running the full season while the No. 38 had only attempted Daytona. He started his team after buying a superspeedway Ford car from Lira Motorsports,[2] an ARCA team which fielded multiple cars in 2016 but had downsized to one car due to financial problems for the 2017 season and therefore was selling off equipment.

Truck No. 49 history

Ciccarelli's No. 49 for his own team at Daytona in 2019.

The team was restarted in 2019 when Ciccarelli, who previously drove in the Truck Series part-time for Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing, bought trucks and equipment from Premium Motorsports, which closed down their Truck Series team after the 2018 season. He kept the same number that Premium ran with, the No. 49, and the owner points that their No. 49 (driven mostly by Wendell Chavous) accumulated the prior year. The name of the team was CMI Motorsports, which stands for "Ciccarelli Moving & Installation", a company owned by Ciccarelli and which is one of the team's sponsors. The team made its debut at the season-opening 2019 NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona, where Ciccarelli successfully qualified for the race. However, he finished 28th after a crash ended his hopes of a good run.[3] Ciccarelli attempted a part-time schedule for the rest of that season, totaling about half of the races. This included an upset ninth-place finish at Michigan. The team had two other surprisingly strong runs that year at Texas in March and Pocono, both top-20 finishes.

For 2020, the No. 49 started the year with Ciccarelli himself behind the wheel of truck, failing to qualify for the season-opener at Daytona with Ciccarelli, unlike the previous year. The team signed Bayley Currey on January 30, 2020 to drive for them at the following race at Las Vegas. In that announcement, CMI indicated that the No. 49 would be attempting the first five races to start the year.[4] Currey ended up driving the next two races at Charlotte and Atlanta. He was supposed to have competed at Homestead but left the team in what was considered by many to be a one-screen departure after Ciccarelli made his remarks about the Confederate flag. [5] Tim Viens later drove this truck at Kentucky, Texas, and Michigan. Roger Reuse made his Truck return in August 2020 for the Sunoco 159 at the Daytona International Speedway road course, driving this truck.[6]

Truck No. 49 results

Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NGTC Pts Ref
2019 Ray Ciccarelli 49 Chevy DAY
28
ATL
26
LVS MAR
DNQ
TEX
16
DOV
24
KAN TEX IOW GTW CHI KEN
DNQ
POC
19
ELD MCH
9
BRI MSP LVS TAL MAR
21
PHO HOM
31
33rd 135 [7]
Stefan Parsons CLT
24
2020 Ray Ciccarelli DAY
DNQ
HOM
29
POC
27
KAN
32
KAN
24
DAR RCH
31
BRI LVS
26
TAL
27
MAR PHO 38th 136
Bayley Currey LVS
DNQ
CLT
28
ATL
32
Tim Viens KEN
35
TEX
26
MCH
26
KAN
32
TEX
37
Roger Reuse DAY
38
GTW
27
Tyler Hill DOV
30

Truck No. 83 history

CMI debuted a second truck, the No. 83, at the second race of the 2020 season at Las Vegas with Stefan Parsons driving it.[8] It was also entered in the next two races at Charlotte and Atlanta with T. J. Bell driving it. Tim Viens later drove this truck for a part-time Truck schedule beginning at Pocono.[9] Owner Ray Ciccarelli later drove this truck at Kentucky and Michigan.

Truck No. 83 results

Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NGTC Pts Ref
2020 Stefan Parsons 83 Chevy DAY LVS
29
41st 103
T.J. Bell CLT
33
ATL
38
HOM
Tim Viens POC
29
DAY
24
DOV
31
GTW DAR RCH
35
BRI LVS
33
TAL PHO
Ray Ciccarelli KEN
32
TEX KAN KAN MCH
34
KAN
26
TEX
22
MAR
25

References

  1. Fernandez, Gabriel (June 10, 2020). "NASCAR driver Ray Ciccarelli says he's leaving at end of the season, citing disagreement with flag policy". CBS Sports.
  2. "Ray Ciccarelli forming own team; to compete at Daytona & Talladega". ThePitLane. December 9, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  3. "Driver Ray Ciccarelli 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  4. "Ray Ciccarelli plans to enter the first five Truck races; adds Currey to roster". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 30, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  5. https://twitter.com/BayleyCurrey/status/1271186989753270273. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. Srigley, Joseph (August 11, 2020). "What You Need to Know About NASCAR's Newly Implemented Starting Lineup Procedure". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  7. "NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series 2019 Final owner point standings". Motorsports One. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  8. Eggert, Seth (February 20, 2020). "Stefan Parsons joins CMI Motorsports at Las Vegas". Kickin' the Tires.
  9. Srigley, Joseph (June 19, 2020). "Ray Ciccarelli's CMI Motorsports Reveals Plans for Full-Time Schedule, Taps Tim Viens for Multi-Race Deal in No. 83 Truck". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
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