Phillip Bonifield (born June 23, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He was the owner/driver of Team Racing, which competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with various drivers including himself driving their trucks. He also competed in the Busch Series part-time from 2001 to 2003 as well as in two West Series races in 2007.

Racing career

Bonifield began his racing career in 1973, when he began competing with BMX bicycles. Racing across the United States, he won several championships from 1979 to 1983. In 1987, he moved to go-karts, where he raced against Kevin Harvick and Casey Mears, before competing part-time in the NASCAR Elite Division Featherlite Southwest Series in 1991.

Bonifield became a driving instructor at the Buck Baker Racing School in 1993, after he moved to the Southeast from California. Around the same time, he opened his own fabrication shop, and worked for various Winston Cup teams. In 1998, Bonifield closed his fabrication shop and began fielding entries in the Truck series. His first race as owner in a points-paying event came that season at Walt Disney World Speedway in the No. 11 Red Line Oil Chevrolet, driven by Brett Bodine, who qualified 13th but finished 32nd after an engine failure. Bodine ran two more races for Bonifield that season, both races resulting in DNFs.

In 1999, Bonefield decided to pull double duty as an owner and driver, with Tom Mazzucchi coming aboard as a partner in the No. 23 Red Line Oil truck. He made his Craftsman Truck Series debut at Evergreen Speedway, finishing 30th. Bonifield would compete 13 more times that year, and finished 31st in points, and seventh in Rookie of the Year standings. In 2000, he ran just eight races, and did not finish a single race.

In 2001, Bonifield posted a career-best 24th twice, at California and Las Vegas. That same season, he began running races part-time for Impact Motorsports, and purchased Impact's owner's points and equipment after it shut down, renaming his operation Team Racing. He also made his Busch debut at the MBNA Platinum 200 for Jay Robinson Racing, starting 34th but finishing 36th after engine problems plagued the team.

In 2002, mechanical problems continued to plague Bonifield and his team, as he failed to finish any of his eleven starts that season. Despite this, he finished 31st in points. He also ran six Busch races, two for his own team, one for Bost Motorsports, and the rest for Means Racing. His best finish was a 30th at Fontana, the only race he finished that year. 2003 marked Bonifield's best Truck Series season, as he ran 21 of 25 races, and finished 20th in points. His best finish was 23rd at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Unfortunately, his success was not carried over into 2004. Neither Bonifield nor his team ran many races that season. Bonifield only qualified for events, and was twice parked for driving too slow. During the season, Bonifield sold the trucks to Bill Davis Racing and shut down the team. He and spent 2005 and 2006 developing ARCA Re/Max Series and NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series driver Andrew Myers. He returned to the Truck Series in 2006, fielding the No. 86 Chevrolet.

Motorsports career results NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series NASCAR Busch Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Pts Ref 2001 Jay Robinson Racing 49 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV KEN MLW GLN CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM PHO CAR HOM 127th 55 2002 Team Racing 90 Pontiac DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT 73rd 270 Means Racing 52 Ford DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI Bost Motorsports 4 Chevy DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL CAR PHO HOM 2003 22 DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX TAL NSH CAL RCH GTY NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL PHO CAR HOM 150th 43

Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Pts Ref 1999 Team 23 Racing 23 Chevy HOM PHO EVG MMR MAR MEM PPR I70 BRI TEX PIR GLN MLW NSV NZH MCH NHA IRP GTY HPT RCH LVS LVL TEX CAL 31st 972 2000 DAY HOM PHO MMR MAR PIR GTY MEM PPR EVG TEX KEN GLN MLW NHA NZH MCH IRP NSV CIC RCH DOV TEX CAL 39th 617 2001 DAY HOM MMR MAR GTY DAR PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA IRP CAL 33rd 932 25 NSH CIC NZH RCH SBO TEX PHO 86 LVS CAL 2002 Team Racing DAY TEX MCH IRP 31st 704 23 DAR MAR GTY PPR DOV MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA NSH RCH TEX SBO LVS PHO 25 CAL HOM 2003 23 DAY CLT DOV MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI NHA TEX MAR PHO 20th 1524 86 DAR MMR MAR TEX MEM RCH CAL LVS SBO HOM 2004 25 DAY ATL MAR MFD CLT DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI RCH NHA LVS CAL TEX MAR PHO DAR HOM 107th 64

West Series NASCAR West Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pts Ref 2007 Pam Lippard 30 Chevy CTS PHO 50th 140 Ford AMP ELK IOW CNS SON DCS IRW MMP EVG CSR AMP

References

Racing One West Series Winner Considering Truck Series Future

External links

Official website