Midwest Transit Racing

Midwest Transit Racing was a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series team owned and operated by Hal Hicks and Mike Witter. It was formed in 1998 as #03 with Dan Pardus driving and Midwest Transit as the sponsor. Before the car hit the track however, NASCAR changed the number to 07 for unspecified reasons. The team planned to run as many races as possible, but several starts led to nothing but DNQ's until the Pepsi 400, where Pardus finished 36th after a crash. The team tried again in 1999, only switching its number to 50. When Pardus did not qualify for any of his attempts, he was replaced by Ricky Craven. At first, the combination seemed to work, but in 2000, the team began DNQ-ing again as well as having problems finishing races. After Craven quit the team, Rick Mast drove the car briefly, attempting races on a limited schedule, before Rich Bickle took over for one race at Indianapolis. After that the team suspended operations and closed down, ending a brief but tumultuous run in NASCAR.