Swan Racing restructures, splits up two-car Sprint Cup operation - MotorSportsTalk

Swan Racing has restructured its two-car Sprint Cup team, the organization announced Wednesday afternoon.

Minority owner Anthony Marlowe has merged his ownership stake in the No. 26 Toyota driven by Sprint Cup rookie Cole Whitt (photo) with BK Racing, which now expands to a three-car operation. Meanwhile, the No. 30 team has been sold to John Cohen, owner of XxxTreme Motorsports.

Whitt will make his first appearance under the BK banner in Saturday night’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

“I am thrilled about the merger with my new partners at BK Racing,” Marlow said in a Swan media release. “My friend Ron Devine and the BK ownership group really stepped up to enable me to keep the No. 26 on the track.”

Whitt will remain behind the wheel of the entry starting with Saturday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

As for the No. 30 team, Sprint Cup rookie Parker Kligerman is out, to be replaced by NASCAR veteran JJ Yeley. Stephen Lane will remain as crew chief, and several of Swan Racing’s crewmembers will also be staying with the team.

XxxTreme has struggled itself this season, having entered but also failed to qualify for four Cup events.

It’s expected that Yeley will be in the No. 30 at Richmond.

Davis was forced to take the actions he has due to expected sponsorship that failed to materialize. In addition to Marlowe, the team had two other minority investors: former NFL star Bill Romanowski and rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.

“Over the past couple weeks, we worked tirelessly to find an alternative to ending operations,” Davis said in a statement. “Fortunately, we were able to find a home for the No. 26 team and the No. 30 team thanks to Anthony Marlowe and Jonathan Cohen.

“I am very relieved to know that the Nos. 26 and 30 will be in good hands and will continue to compete the remainder of the 2014 season. Most importantly, most of the team members have the opportunity to continue their employment in the sport and to support their families.”

Kligerman remains under contract to Davis and the remnants that remain of Swan Racing. Davis is reportedly looking at ways to get Kligerman into another ride, but nothing has materialized as yet.

“Although it’s unfortunate we are having to scale back, I look forward to the future and the exciting things that I’m confident we will accomplish at Swan Racing or with another team,” Kligerman said in a statement.

Kligerman, 23, has struggled significantly in his first full season in the Cup series. In eight starts, he has four DNFs and a season-best finish of just 29th in the season-opening Daytona 500.

“I value the relationship that I’ve had with Brandon Davis and am very grateful for him giving me an opportunity to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series,” Kligerman said. “Whether I continue to race with Brandon and Swan Racing or end up with another team, I will always give it my all on and off track to be the best I can be.”

Davis added in his statement that other organizations have shown interest in Kligerman.

“We are encouraged by the response we have received from interested parties. Parker continues to be one of the most talented young drivers in NASCAR,” Davis said. “He brought this racing team one of its strongest results in his first race with us, and we are certain of his success in the future.”

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Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

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