StarCom Racing

StarCom Racing

Company type	Private
Industry	Motorsports
Founded	2017
Headquarters	Salisbury, North Carolina , United States
Products	Racing teams (NASCAR Cup Series, Michelin Pilot Challenge)

StarCom Racing (SCR) is a U.S.-based motorsports organization that competes part-time in the Michelin Pilot Challenge and previously participated full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. Operating out of Salisbury, North Carolina, the team currently runs the No. 12 Hyundai Elantra TCR car in collaboration with Nitro Motorsports, with driver Andy Lally behind the wheel. In its NASCAR tenure, SCR fielded the No. 00 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on a full-season basis for driver Quin Houff, supported by a technical partnership with Richard Childress Racing. The team was overseen by experienced racer Derrike Cope.

Established in 2017, StarCom Racing entered 164 NASCAR Cup events without securing wins or pole positions before ceasing operations in 2021; its resources were subsequently acquired by 23XI Racing. On February 1, 2024, SCR declared its return to competition through selective participation in the Michelin Pilot Challenge alongside Nitro Motorsports.

NASCAR Cup Series

On September 25, 2017, StarCom Fiber revealed its intention to join the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, appointing veteran driver Derrike Cope to pilot the No. 00 StarCom Fiber Chevrolet. Cope had been sponsored by StarCom during his 2017 stint with Premium Motorsports. The team made its first appearance at Kansas Speedway during the 2017 Hollywood Casino 400 event.

By September 1, 2021, StarCom sold its NASCAR charter. Shortly after, Charlie Langenstein, team foreman and mechanical director, confirmed that operations would conclude following the 2021 season. The charter was officially transferred to 23XI Racing on November 16. Afterward, founders Woehlemann and the Kohler siblings joined forces with The Money Team Racing, owned by boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr..

Part-Time Debut (2017)

StarCom Fiber launched its MENCS campaign with Derrike Cope driving the No. 00 Chevrolet. The team withdrew from their initial race attempt at Dover due to insufficient staffing but successfully made their debut at Kansas on October 22, finishing 40th after encountering several issues. Although Cope initially intended to race at Texas and Phoenix as well, he ultimately competed only at Phoenix. Despite early engine complications that prevented qualifying and forced a last-place start, the team improved during the race to finish in 32nd place.

Full-Time Campaign (2018)

On January 24, 2018, StarCom secured a charter leased from Richard Childress Racing to compete in the full NASCAR schedule, with Derrike Cope originally slated to drive most events. However, Jeffrey Earnhardt was announced as the driver for the 2018 Daytona 500 and the first five races of the season, backed by VRX Simulators sponsorship. Earnhardt’s top result was a 21st-place finish at Daytona before parting ways with SCR on March 18. Landon Cassill then took over driving duties, bringing sponsorship from USFRA.org for two outings.

On April 10, Cassill received backing from TW Cable, LLC and Superior Essex at the Food City 500 race. Joey Gase, primarily an Xfinity Series competitor, joined SCR for Talladega with Sparks Energy sponsorship. Cassill returned at Dover supported by RNH Electric. Road course expert Tomy Drissi drove the No. 00 car at Sonoma. Cassill recorded the team’s best finish of 18th at Las Vegas in the fall race, a result later matched by Gase at the 1000Bulbs.com 500 event.

Landon Cassill (2019)

Following the conclusion of the 2018 season, StarCom Racing secured Landon Cassill as their full-time driver for the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Additionally, the team acquired the charter they had previously leased from RCR. Cassill ended the year ranked 33rd in the overall points standings.

Quin Houff (2020–2021)

Towards the end of 2019, StarCom Racing made a change at the crew chief position for the No. 00 car, replacing Joe Williams with George Church. Quin Houff was confirmed as the full-time driver for both the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

The 2020 campaign proved to be underwhelming, with Houff managing only a single top-15 finish at Talladega Superspeedway. His performance came under scrutiny following a significant mistake during the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 in Texas, which resulted in damage to several vehicles and drew criticism from fellow drivers. The team's average finishing position slipped from 29.3 in 2019 with Cassill to 31.3 during Houff's rookie season.

In 2021, results deteriorated further, with just one top-20 result—again at Talladega—and a final points placement of 38th. Due to NASCAR’s charter reclamation rule targeting teams that finish poorly in owner points over three consecutive years, StarCom Racing ceased operations and sold its charter to 23XI Racing for $13.5 million. This transaction marked the first instance of NASCAR enforcing this policy.

Car No. 00 results

Year	Driver	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	35	36	Owners	Pts
2017	Derrike Cope	00	Chevy	DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	MAR	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	KAN	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	CHI	NHA	2017 Apache Warrior 400 (DOV) Wth	2017 Bank of America 500 (CLT)	2017 Alabama 500 (TAL)	2017 Hollywood Casino 400 (KAN) 40	2017 First Data 500 (MAR)	2017 AAA Texas 500 (TEX)	2017 Can-Am 500 (PHO) 32	2017 Ford EcoBoost 400 (HOM)	43rd	6
2018	Jeffrey Earnhardt			2018 Daytona 500 21	2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 34	2018 Pennzoil 400 31	2018 TicketGuardian 500 35	2018 Auto Club 400 36																																34th	259
	Landon Cassill								2018 STP 500 38	2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 21	2018 Food City 500 20	2018 Toyota Owners 400 34		2018 AAA 400 Drive for Autism 31	2018 KC Masterpiece 400 25	2018 Coca-Cola 600 28	2018 Pocono 400 31	2018 FireKeepers Casino 400 32		2018 Overton's 400 36		2018 Quaker State 400 33	2018 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 37	2018 Gander Outdoors 400 34	2018 Go Bowling at The Glen 31	Consumers Energy 400 29	Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race 25	Bojangles' Southern 500 30	Brickyard 400 31	South Point 400 18		Bank of America Roval 400 29												-	Joey Gase										style="background:#EFCFFF;" :GEICO 500 (TAL) 27								>style="background:#EFCFFF;" :Coke Zero Sugar 400 (DAY) 25										>style="background:#CFCFFF;" :Federated Auto Parts 400 (RCH) 35			>style="background:#DFFFDF;" :1000Bulbs.com 500 (TAL) 18		>style="background:#CFCFFF;" :First Data 500 (MAR) 35
	Tomy Drissi																		>style="background:#CFCFFF;" :Toyota/Save Mart 350 (SON) 32
	Landon Cassill			style="background:#EFCFFF"|Daytona 500 24	style="background:#CFCFFF"|Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 33	style="background:#CFCFFF"|Pennzoil 400 32	style="background:#CFCFFF"|TicketGuardian 500 33	style="background:#CFCFFF"|Auto Club 400 29	style="background:#CFCFFF"|STP 500 28	style="background:#CFCFFF"|O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 30	style="background:#CFCFFF"|Food City 500 26	style="background:#CFCFFF"|Toyota Owners 400 35	style="background:#CFCFFF"|GEICO 500 34	style="background:#CFCFFF"|Gander RV 400 (Dover) 31	style="background:#CFCFFF"|Digital Ally 400 37	style="background:#EFCFFF"|Coca-Cola 600 37	style="background:#CFCFFF"|Pocono 400 31	style="background:#CFCFFF"|FireKeepers Casino 400 <smaller><smaller><smaller><smaller><smaller><smaller></smaller></smaller></smaller></smaller></smaller></smaller>29	style = " background: #CFCCF">Toyota/Save Mart 31	style = " background: #CFCCF">Camping World 31	style = " background: #DFFFD"> Coke Zero Sugar 11	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Quaker State 32	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Foxwoods Resort Casino 26	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Gander RV 28	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Go Bowling at The Glen 29	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Consumers Energy 30	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race 25	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Bojangles' Southern 25	style = " background: #EFFFF"> Brickyard 40	style = " background: #CFCCF"> South Point 29	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Federated Auto Parts 28	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Bank of America Roval 28	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Drydene 26	style = " background: #DFFFD">1000Bulbs.com 14	style = " background: #EFFFF"> Hollywood Casino 37	style = " background: #CFCCF"> First Data 26	style = " background: #CFCCF"> AAA Texas 27	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Bluegreen Vacations 33	style = " background: #CFCCF"> Ford EcoBoost 28			32nd	285
Quin Houff	39			32	35	34	36	26	35	32	27	32	34	33	35	40	31	23	35	34	24	32	27	32	33	33	23	31	32	34	31		35th	214
2021	bgcolor="#EFCFFF" rowspan=2| Daytona, O'Reilly Auto Parts			bgcolor="#EFCFFF" Daytona	bgcolor="#CFCCFF" Dixie Vodka	bgcolor="#CFCCFF" Pennzoil	bgcolor="#CFCCFF" Instacart	bgcolor="#CFCCFF" Folds of Honor QuikTrip	bgcolor="#CFCCFF" Food City Dirt Race	bgcolor="#CFCCFF" Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief	bgcolor="#CFCCFF" Toyota Owners	bgcolor="#EFFFF" GEICO	bgcolor="#CFCCFF" Super Start Batteries	bgcolor="#CFCCFF" Goodyear	bgcolor="#CFCCFF" Drydene	bgcolor="#EFFFF" Texas Grand Prix	bgcolor="#CFCCFF" Coca-Cola ... (remaining races omitted for brevity)	38th	176

History of Car No. 99

Initially, team manager Derrike Cope was expected to pilot the No. 00 vehicle for the majority of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. However, after securing Jeffrey Earnhardt as a full-time driver, StarCom Racing introduced a part-time second entry, the No. 99, which would be driven by Cope alongside other racers. The team aimed to launch the No. 99 at Texas Motor Speedway, with Cope behind the wheel unless a driver with sponsorship was available, but postponed its debut until the AAA 400 Drive for Autism held at Dover International Speedway. In his first outing with the No. 99, Cope was involved in an early crash and finished 37th. The car made a return at Pocono Raceway, where Cope ended up in 34th place. Garrett Smithley made his first appearance in the No. 99 at Michigan but experienced transmission issues on the opening lap. At Chicagoland, Kyle Weatherman took over driving duties and finished 33rd. Landon Cassill competed at Daytona while Joey Gase drove the No. 00 car. Smithley and Weatherman alternated for three events; Smithley’s best result was 36th at Kentucky, while Weatherman secured 31st place finishes at both New Hampshire and Pocono. Gray Gaulding participated in two races, finishing 33rd and 40th respectively. Cope returned during Darlington’s throwback weekend with sponsorship from Bojangles, paying tribute to his tenure with Cale Yarborough Motorsports. The No. 99 earned second place in Darlington’s paint scheme competition and concluded the race in 33rd position. The remaining races were split between Weatherman and Cassill; Weatherman’s top finish was 26th at Las Vegas, while Cassill’s best was a 22nd place at Talladega. Following a 36th-place result at Homestead with Weatherman behind the wheel, StarCom Racing discontinued the No. 99 program for the 2019 season, ending their two-car operation.

Car No. 99 performance

Year	Driver	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	35	36	Owners	Pts
2018	Derrike Cope	99	Chevy	DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	MAR	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	DOV 37	KAN	CLT	POC 34											DAR 33	IND											39th	82
	Garrett Smithley																	MCH 39	SON			KEN 36
	Kyle Weatherman																			CHI 33			NHA 31	POC 31	GLN					LVS 26					KAN 35		TEX 34	PHO	HOM 36
	Landon Cassill																				DAY 24										style="background:#CFCFFF;"# ([[2018 Federated Auto Parts]400)|RCH] 36	[[2018 Bank of America Roval]400)|CLT]]	[[2018 Gander Outdoors]400 (Dover)|DOV]]	style="background:#CFCFFF;"# ([[20181000Bulbs.com]500)|TAL] 22
	Gray Gaulding																									style="background:#CFCFFF;"# ([[20]18ConsumersEnergy400])MCH 33	style="background:#EFCFFF;"# ([[20]18BassProShopsNRANightRace])BRI 40

Sports Car Racing

On January 18, 2024, Derrike Cope suggested an upcoming team announcement via his personal Facebook account.

Then, on February 1, StarCom Racing disclosed a part-time program in the Michelin Pilot Challenge by collaborating with Nitro Motorsports. They plan to compete with a Hyundai Elantra in the TCR category, beginning at Sebring in March. The schedule also includes events at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Road America, Indianapolis, and Road Atlanta. The drivers for this effort have yet to be confirmed.