Struggles & Rebirth
In 2001, Bodine left for Haas-Carter Motorsports, and Fedewa took his place in the 66. Consequently, Stanley was replaced by GNC, and Hank Parker Jr. took over the driving duties for the #36. Green stayed in the #34 and had six top-tens, but was not happy with the results and left. Parker picked up his first career win and finished 15th in points. Fedewa struggled with his new ride however, and would be released midway through the season. Geoffrey Bodine took over for the rest of the season, his best finish being a fourth at Richmond.
In 2002, the Wellivers pulled out of the team after a long association. Cicci sold the 36 and 66 teams to Wayne Jesel. Jimmy Spencer returned to the team as a partner, with the United States Air Force came aboard to sponsor the #34, which was to be driven by rookie Stuart Kirby on a part-time schedule. Kirby ran eight races, but did not finish higher than 17th, and he was replaced by Steve Grissom, who didn't fare any better than a 22nd place run at Richmond. The next season, Former NFL quarterback Jim Kelly came on board as a partner to try to attract sponsors. They could only get LesCare Kitchens to run that season, on a part-time basis. McLaughlin returned after a prior deal had fallen through, and had one top-ten finish, but LesCare did not live up to their sponsorship obligations, causing Spencer to dissolve the partnership.
The team shut down after that, but returned in 2005 with Dollar General sponsoring the car, driven by Randy LaJoie. LaJoie had three top-ten finishes, but was replaced by Todd Bodine on occasion, and finished 19th in points. For 2006, Champ Car World Series driver Paul Tracy took the wheel for 5 races with SportClips and American Crew. Other drivers that drove the car included Bodine, Scott Lynch, Carlos Pardo, Kertus Davis, Mike Bliss, Jason Keller, Jeff Fuller, and Kim Crosby.
For Frank Cicci Racing's 20th year in the NASCAR Busch Series the team was set to run the full 2007 season with new driver Brian Conz,coming over from the ARCA RE/MAX Series, with Scottish Rite as the sponsor. After Steve Grissom drove at Daytona, it was reported that Cicci has placed Conz and his sponsor on notice for failing to pay its financial obligations. Jay Sauter was to drive the car for the most of the 2007 season, but the team suspended operations in April. They attempted to run the Zippo 200 but could not come up with funds to do so.
Read more about this topic: Frank Cicci Racing
Famous quotes containing the words struggles and/or rebirth:
“My struggles with myself seldom reach aerobic level.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“We are constantly thinking of the great war ... which saved the Union ... but it was a war that did a great deal more than that. It created in this country what had never existed before—a national consciousness. It was not the salvation of the Union, it was the rebirth of the Union.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)