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Viva Motorsports Shuts Down Operations

Viva Motorsports, who fields the No. 55 Viva Auto Group Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, announced on Monday they will cease operations, effective this week.

“It takes a tremendous level of commitment to compete at this level of auto racing, especially when striving to get better on limited resources, week in and week out,” said owner Jamie Dick in a release. “It has come to a point where my family and I cannot continue to make the personal and financial commitments that this sport requires. I have always been proud of the quality of race team we brought to the track. Instead of lessening that quality, we decided to take a step back from the sport.

“I want to thank the whole NASCAR community for allowing me to be part of the family,” he continued. “I want to thank our sponsors and our fans for all the support through the years. But most of all, I want to thank the employees of Viva Motorsports, both past and present, for making this team the best it could be.”

The China Grove, N.C.-based team has competed in NASCAR since 2009, making over 70 starts in the Xfinity Series, as well as 13 starts in the Camping World Truck Series. The team split the No. 55 Chevrolet between three different drivers this season, including owner Dick, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Brandon Gdovic. Viva Motorsports earned three top-20 finishes this season, with a best result of 12th by Earnhardt at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Mike Harmon was set to drive the No. 55 on the preliminary entry list for this weekend’s NXS race in Chicagoland but has since been moved to the No. 74.

All of Viva Motorsports’ assets have been purchased by an unknown entity. The release noted that the No. 55 will appear in a handful of races in the 2015 season.

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JohnQ

Is this really such a bad thing? Those Cup drivers are trying to PRACTICE out there yet they have to contend with these underfunded series regulars getting in the way. How dare they!

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