Bob Leavine to Sell Family-Owned NASCAR Team at the End of 2020 Season

Published 08/04/2020, 12:39 PM EDT

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly had devastating effects all over the world, and NASCAR is no exception. Recently, Leavine Family Racing founder and owner, Bob Leavine, announced that he is putting the team up for sale.

In light of this, the home-grown outfit will potentially cease operations at the end of the 2020 Cup Series season.

The outfit debuted in NASCAR’s top division back in 2011, with veteran racer David Starr. Nearly a decade later, the team fields the No. 95 Toyota at the hands of rookie driver Christopher Bell.

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In a statement, Leavine revealed that the main reason behind pulling the plug is the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact. The virus took a massive toll on the global economy and the team could not overcome the financial obstacle.

“This decision has not been made lightly,” Leavine said in a statement. “Family has always been a part of the team’s name and this is how we view every member of our race team — as our family.

“There is no good time to make this announcement, but doing it earlier allows our people to explore employment opportunities, for next season, to provide for their families.

“There will be opportunities with the new owners which was important to our decision.”

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The Leavine Family Racing NASCAR team: A History

During its NASCAR tenure, the Leavine Family Racing team competed with the badges of all three manufacturers. They raced with Ford from 2011 until the 2015 season, before switching to Chevrolet from 2016 to 2018.

Now, the team is currently competing under the Toyota badge and this partnership will run its course at the end of 2020. It is worth noting that the switch to Toyota includes a technical alliance with the Joe Gibbs Racing team.

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Other notable LFR drivers include Michael McDowell, Kasey Kahne, Matt DiBenedetto, Ty Dillon, and Scott Speed. In fact, DiBenedetto handed the home-grown outfit its best finish, second-place in Bristol’s annual night race last season.

SOURCE- Leavine Family Racing on Twitter

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.