Mach 1 Racing was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series team. It was owned by Hollywood stuntman Hal Needham and actor Burt Reynolds .

The team made its debut in 1981 , fielding the No. 22 Skoal Pontiac driven by Stan Barrett . Barrett ran ten races for the team that season, his best finish coming at Talladega Superspeedway , where he finished 9th. Midseason, Mach 1 created a second car, the No. 33, driven by Harry Gant . Gant did not win that season, but he won three poles and had thirteen top-tens, finishing third in points.

In 1982 , Gant drove the No. 33 Buick full-time with sponsorship from 7-Eleven / Skoal . He won at Martinsville and Charlotte and finished fourth in points. After just one win the following season, the team switched to Chevrolet , and Gant won three races, finishing a career best second in points. He followed that season up with another three wins in 1985 .

For the next three years, Gant and Mach 1 failed to visit victory lane. Midway into the 1988 season, Gant suffered injuries at the Coca-Cola 600 . Morgan Shepherd filled in for him, and had one top-five and two top-tens. After Gant finished 27th in the final standings, he left the team for Jackson Bros. Motorsports , taking Skoal and No. 33 with him.

In 1989 , Needham sold the team to Bill Edwards, a North Carolina businessman, switched to the No. 66 and signed rookie driver Rick Mast . In their first race together, the Daytona 500 , Mast drove the unsponsored car to a sixth-place finish, an accomplishment he later said was the one he was the most proud of. Mast and Mach 1 ran twelve more races together that season, they were unable to duplicate that effort. Edwards closed the team and sold it to their crew chief , Travis Carter . Travis Carter Motorsports entered NASCAR competition in the 1990 Daytona 500 .

External links [ edit ]

• Hal Needham Winston Cup Owner Statistics