From Leo Jackson Racing To Andy Petree Racing
For 1997, Petree selected four-time winner Ken Schrader to be his driver. Schrader was solid all season long, as he won the pole at both Loudon races and finished tenth in the points. 1998 saw about the same result, with eight finishes of ninth or better, and two more pole positions. APR also expanded to a multi-car operation briefly, fielding the #55 Oakwood Homes Chevy driven by Hut Stricklin at the Pepsi 400. The team became a multi-car full-time in 1999, with Kenny Wallace signing to drive the #55 car with sponsorship from Square D. The year was up and down for Wallace, as he posted a career-best second-place finish at Loudon, but could only muster a 22nd-place points finish. Meanwhile at the #33 camp, NASCAR's community was shocked when long-time sponsor Skoal announced it would no longer continue its association with the #33. After the team signed Oakwood Homes to be a full-time sponsor on the car, Schrader announced he would leave to pursue other opportunities. After a long search, APR decided to hire Joe Nemechek to pilot the car. While he didn't visit victory lane at all in 2000, he did have three top-fives and the first top-25 points finish of his career. After nailing just one top-ten that year, Wallace announced he would leave for Eel River Racing. Wallace finished second at the Winston 500 at Talldega, pushing Dale Earnhardt to the win. It was Earnhardt's last victory before his death the following February at the Daytona 500. It wasn't long before Bobby Hamilton was named to handle the driving chores. When the 2000 season came to a close, APR fielded an unprecedented third team, the #35 for Geoffrey Bodine at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 2001 was a banner year for APR, as Hamilton won at Talladega Superspeedway it was the same car that Kenny Wallace finished second with the previous fall. and finished eighteenth in points, while Nemechek had ups and downs, breaking a shoulder at Dover and being replaced by Scott Pruett, Wally Dallenbach, Jr. and Hamilton's son. When he returned from his injuries, Nemechek was able to rebound with a victory North Carolina Speedway and had a respectable 28th place finish in points. Unfortunately, Oakwood Homes had financial trouble and backed out as sponsor, and Nemechek left to join Haas-Carter Motorsports and pilot their #26 Kmart Ford.
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