GMS Racing, a championship-winning organization in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, will be shutting its doors following the 2023 season-finale at Phoenix Raceway, the team confirmed in a press release on Wednesday.
Additionally, GMS Fabrication, a separate entity that has run alongside the organization’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program, will be shutting its doors following the end of the season in November.
“During the past nine years, GMS Racing has become one of the top teams in the Truck and ARCA Series garage,” said team owner Maury Gallagher. “The people that made this happen have been the hard-working men and women at GMS Racing and GMS Fabrication. Every employee, new and old at GMS has always strived to be the very best. Without their effort and dedication, we would have never been able to win two Truck championships, three ARCA championships, and 68 wins.”
Formerly known as Gallagher Motorsports, the organization was founded in 2012 by Maury Gallagher, CEO of Allegiant Travel Company, and first competed in the ARCA Menards Series for Spencer Gallagher. One season later, the team would break into trucks part-time.
In 2014, the newly-renamed GMS Racing would move into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on a full-time basis, fielding an entry for Joey Coulter, while maintaining a two-car ARCA Menards Series program for Grant Enfinger and Spencer Gallagher.
The organization’s first-ever victory would come a season later at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, with Austin Dillon driving the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado for the team. That would remain the team’s only win until a breakout season in 2016.
Johnny Sauter, Kyle Larson, Ben Kennedy, and Grant Enfinger all won races for the organization in 2016, en route to the team’s first championship in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Since that point in time, the victories have come flowing in quickly for GMS Racing, with the team’s tally currently sitting at 44 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, including 13 by Johnny Sauter, who has the most wins by any driver in the organization’s history.
“Leadership is always critical in any success story. Since 2015, Mike Beam has been the catalyst of this race team’s success. Chevrolet and GMS has also been critical to our success,” Gallagher continued. “With the combination of Chevrolet plus Mike at the helm, we became the team I always dreamed of owning. I can’t thank Mike enough for all his leadership and hard work. We are looking to finish out this year on a high note and close our legacy in this era with another Truck Series championship.”
Currently, GMS Racing fields three full-time entries in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Grant Enfinger (No. 23), Rajah Caruth (No. 24), and Daniel Dye (No. 43), which have scored a total of two wins, six top-fives, and 11 top-10s this season.
“I just want to start off by saying how grateful I am for Maury (Gallagher) and these incredible nine years at GMS Racing. A lot of people, including myself, have poured their hearts and souls into this organization to make it where it is today. Our success wouldn’t have been possible without the talented drivers, crew members, fabricators and administrators that have walked through our doors over the years,” responded Mike Beam. “I also want to thank Chevrolet. Chevrolet has been such a key partner of ours over our entire existence. They have been along for every success GMS has obtained and we couldn’t have done it without their support. As for the rest of this year, we will continue business as usual and chase after a Championship in our final season.”
Grant Enfinger, in the No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado, will be the organization’s final hope at scoring a third championship in the NASCAR Truck Series, as he currently sits sixth in championship standings heading to Milwaukee.
