KANSAS CITY, KS – Steve Turner who fielded teams in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series passed away Thursday night surrounded by his family.
According to his website, in the early stages of Turner Motorsports, Turner fielded many cars at local dirt tracks in Texas. After winning numerous races and seven championships on dirt, Turner decided to move on to asphalt racing. Once again Turner found success, and in 2003, Turner won his first championship on asphalt. In 2009, 10 years after his team was founded, Turner made the decision to enter the world of NASCAR racing. After competing part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) in 2009, the team began the following season fielding two full-time NCWTS entries with drivers Ricky Carmichael and James Buescher.
Later that year, Turner Motorsports purchased Braun Racing, which competed in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NNS) as the largest standalone team on the circuit. Turner’s organization continued to grow and flourish with success, earning its first win in 2011. In 2012, Turner Motorsports captured its first NCWTS win (Kasey Kahne at Rockingham Speedway) and ultimately went on to win a total of seven races that season, with James Buescher earning the team its first NASCAR championship when he captured the NCWTS title on the strength of four victories.
In 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner Harry Scott, Jr., who became a minority owner in Braun Racing in 2009, increased his stake in the organization. Scott became the manager of the company’s marketing, public relations and business development efforts, and the team was renamed Turner Scott Motorsports.
Overall, Turner who served in the Navy was credited with 444 starts as owner in the XFINITY Series with eight wins, 66 top-fives and 180 top-10s. In trucks, the Texan owned 342 Camping World Truck Series starts with 11 wins, 75 top-fives and 162 top-10s with son-in-law James Buescher winning the series title in 2012.
He also fielded entries in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East with Sprint Cup Series owner Scott. Their partnership ended at the conclusion of the 2014 season.
The president and chief executive officer of Wolf Pack Energy Services in Houston also fielded entries in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards where he won three races with Brandon Jones (2) and Kyle Larson (1).
Funeral arrangements are not available at this time.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
