The team signed "retired" past Champion Texas Terry Labonte to run a few(7) races throughout the year, including the all-important first five, thereby giving them a somewhat guaranteed spot in those races. By qualifying day, February 13, the team, with Frankie acting as his own crew chief, presented a race-ready Ford Fusion, #32, whose hood proudly sported sponsorship from U.S. Chrome. Proving that age isn't the deterrent it's thought to be, Terry brought the car to a 15th place finish, and even led a couple of laps in the bargain.
The little team we laughed at in the beginning instantly became the little team that could.
As the year continued, so did the little #32 team, employing several drivers, the most prominent being Labonte, Mike Bliss and the seemingly ageless Ken Schrader. Sponsorship tended to change from race to race, but Frankie and his gang kept finding it somewhere, and the #32 Ford kept on racing.
The little team qualified for every one of the 36 races on the schedule and never fell out of the top 35 in points. Also worth noting is that never once did this team start and park. At the end of the year, they wound up in 34th place overall and earned $3,353,019 for their efforts, most of which I'm sure went right back into the cost of racing.
With Speedweeks moved back a full week this year, there is little news available yet on the Daytona 500, but confirmation came on Monday that Ken Schrader will return to FAS Lane Racing for nine races during the 2012 season, bringing with him sponsorship from Federated Auto Parts, sponsor of his own Ken Schrader Racing endeavor in other venues.
Those nine races are: Las Vegas on March 11; Martinsville on April 1; Michigan on June 17; Kentucky on June 30; New Hampshire on July 15; Bristol on Aug. 25; Richmond on Sept. 8; Texas on Nov. 4 and Homestead on Nov. 18. It is my understanding that Federated Auto Parts will provide primary sponsorship for the Las Vegas race and associate sponsorship for the remaining eight.
Last year made me a believer in the little team that could, and I haven't a doubt in my mind that when Daytona f-i-n-a-l-l-y gets here, FAS Lane Racing's #32 Ford will be there with a driver yet unnamed and a sponsor not yet secured. I don't know how, but it will get done. It's much easier to believe this year, because FAS Lane Racing is now the little team that did! I wish that would stand as an example to many teams that come only to park and cash a check. Not only can it be done. It was done. Congratulations to FAS Lane Racing. Can't wait to see you back this year.
~PattyKay
