MOORESVILLE, N.C. (February 12, 2015) – Mike Hillman, founder of Hillman Racing and the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series No. 40 team, has added West Coast businessman Gordon Smith as co-owner of the newly rebranded Hillman Smith Motorsports, which will continue to field the No. 40 Chevrolet SS for driver Landon Cassill. The addition of Smith as co-owner of HS Motorsports has allowed the organization to expand in the off-season securing additional RCR (Richard Childress Racing) race cars, ECR engines for the entire 2015 Sprint Cup season, as well as adding an in-house, on-site engineering group. Smith, through his aviation and maritime companies, began his involvement with team owner Mike Hillman and the No. 40 team at the start of the 2014 season.
“Adding Gordon Smith as a partner to the racing organization will only strengthen the foundation we have built over the past three years,” Hillman said. “From finishing 12th in last year’s Daytona 500 to our best finish of fourth last fall at Talladega with Landon behind the wheel, we have seen great results with limited resources. Gordon has shown a passion for the sport and demonstrated a loyalty to our employees that convinced me elevating him to an equity stakeholder will allow us to take the next step in the Sprint Cup arena. Gordon has built two great companies from the ground up, and by adding a race team to his portfolio, he will truly be covering land, sea and air.”
Hillman acquired the championship-winning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series assets following the conclusion of the 2011 season and assumed the dual role of owner and general manager of Hillman Racing at the start of 2012. Midway through the 2013 season, Hillman added the No. 40 Sprint Cup Series team to the organization with driver Landon Cassill. Throughout his career, Hillman has worked as a crew chief and general manager in each of NASCAR’s top three series, including drivers as Tommy Ellis, Dick Trickle, Kyle Petty, Joe Nemechek, Mike Wallace, Robby Gordon, and brothers Brett and Todd Bodine. In 1988, Hillman earned a NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship with driver Tommy Ellis, and secured two Truck Series Championships with driver Todd Bodine in 2006 and 2010.
“This partnership is the culmination of a relationship that started with Landon a few years back,” stated Smith. “Landon was driving for Mike Hillman in the Cup Series, so we were introduced and I was immediately welcomed into the fold. I believe the intimate feeling of the organization not only attracts sponsors to the team, but I’ve watched over the past year as the involvement of each sponsor has grown. Mike Hillman has established a great team that not only puts a good product on the race track, but makes every event an experience that brings people back to the track. I’m looking forward to being involved in the operation and adding to it.”
The new partnership kicks off this weekend with qualifying for the 57th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 15. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 will be broadcast live on FOX from Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 22, with pre-race coverage beginning at 12:00 p.m. EST.
Hillman Smith Motorsports Racing is housed in a 22,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville, N.C., and will field the No. 40 Chevrolet SS in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition in 2015 with driver Landon Cassill.
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