Carter back in NASCAR with eclectic group

At the beginning of 2007, Travis Carter had four employees on the payroll.

He could look around his shop and count his entire stable of cars on one hand.

His budget this year could top $6.5 million, but heading into the fourth race on the season, the team doesn't have a full-time sponsor locked down.

Krisiloff has heritage and heart in racing

Kyle Krisiloff has racing in his blood thanks to his deep family ties. But the pressure is on the young driver to make his own name in the Busch Series as he drives for a single-car team.

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One member of his ownership group is one of Champ Car's biggest supporters. Another is the heiress to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which runs the rival IRL.

The driver, who will celebrate his 21st birthday in March, happens to have all of 18 starts in NASCAR's national touring series -- six of those in the Busch Series -- and has never posted a top-10 finish.

All in all, Travis Carter couldn't be more happy with what he's gotten himself into.

"If I didn't have this, I'd have to go out and get a paying job," he joked.

It's the kind of situation that could overwhelm someone without the experience and connections to pull it off. Travis Carter has both.

As a crew chief, Carter won championships with Benny Parsons and Cale Yarborough. As an owner, he fielded cars for Darrell Waltrip, Jimmy Spencer and two of the Bodine brothers.

When you hang around the sport for more than three decades, you get to know a lot of folks. Travis Carter obviously knows the right ones.

Away from NASCAR for the past three years while helping son Matt further his racing career, starting another team was the furthest thing from his mind. Carter still had his race shop in Statesville, N.C., but little else.

"If Matt wasn't running, I'd have sold the stuff," Carter admitted.

Good thing he didn't.

Enter Steve Krisiloff, former Indy-car driver and father of Kyle Krisiloff, aspiring young driver. Krisiloff's 2006 season ended prematurely when he was released by Billy Ballew after 12 Craftsman Truck Series races. Looking for another opportunity, they contacted legendary chief mechanic Jim McGee, who set up a meeting with Carter.

"Last September, they were down in the Carolinas, looking around, evaluating their situation," Carter said. "They came in to visit for a little bit and we sat and talked for a long time."

The longer the conversation went, the more interested Carter became.

"It seemed like a natural fit," Carter said. "I had the facilities and connections, so we developed a plan. Jim orchestrated the whole deal." (Continued)