FANTASY NASCAR Racin

ARCHIE ST. HILAIRE - 2/23/1959 -
GoFAS Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. First founded as FAS Lane Racing by long-time crew chief Frank Stoddard, it came into its current form after merging with Archie St. Hilaire's Go Green Racing in 2014. Then changing it's name to Go FAS Racing. FAS represents Stoddard's initials (Francis Allen Stoddard). It is headquartered in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, but operates from a shop in Mooresville, NC. The teams first race came in 2012 in the Southern 500, with Scott Speed at the wheel running the #79. 2013 saw GoFas concentrate mostly on their Xfinity Series team; only racing once in the Cup Series. In 2014, St. Hilaire closed down his Xfinity Series operation to concentrate on his Cup efforts. The team fielded the #32 Ford Fusion full-time for a variety of drivers in 2014. A young Kyle Fowler would make his first Cup start driving the #32 Corvette Parts Ford at Martinsville. Terry Labonte ran the 2014 Daytona 500, and the other super speedway events in his final season, with Said running the

road courses, and Kvapil running the balance of the schedule. Blake Koch was later placed in the #32 for the Sprint Showdown, the Coca-Cola 600 and Dover. K&N Pro Series East driver Eddie MacDonald was hired to run the #32 at Loudon. J.J. Yeley also ran a number of races in the #32. Joey Gase made his debut with the team at Chicagoland. With Terry Labonte, Go FAS Racing had its best team finish, 11th at the rain shortened 2014 Coke Zero 400. The same year, Terry announced his retirement from NASCAR. His last race was the 2014 GEICO 500 at Talladega, where the sides of the 32 were painted similar to the Kellogg's Corn Flakes car he drove to the 1996 championship season, while the roof was painted to replicate the car Labonte debuted in the series in 1978.

The 32 originally had the right side painted in the Piedmont Airlines colors he used in his 1984 championship season, but NASCAR would not allow it on the grounds that the left and right sides must be identical. For the 2015 season, Terry's brother and 2000 Champion Bobby Labonte ran the four super speedway events, also with C&J Energy Services, and Boris Said returned for the two road courses driving the Genesee Beer car. In all ten different drivers wheeled the #32 car in 2015; with Labonte posted a team best 23rd place finish (Talladega). When 2016 rolled around the team followed the same format as in previous season; having a variety of different drivers to fill the seat. Bobby Labonte once again gave the team their best finish of the season - a 19th a Talladega; the teams first ever top

20 finish. Jeffery Earnhardt was picked to run most of the races that season; driving the Can-AM sponsored car on 19 occasions. 2016 was also the first season where NASCAR issued Charters to the teams, and GoFas finished in the bottom three of the teams with Charters. Rules stipulate that any team that finishes in the bottom three among charter teams for three consecutive years can lose its charter to NASCAR. Therefore it was decided to lease it's Charter to the Wood Brothers Race Team as they had decided to race full time in 2017 with young Ryan Blaney as their driver. Blaney parked the Wood Brothers car in Victory lane at Pocono and thus greatly increased the average finish position of the GoFas Charter. That win also locked Blaney into the Chase portion of the season and gave Blaney the shot to win the NASCAR Championship. IF

Blaney won the Championship that could mean a one million dollar pay-day for GoFas. For a team with about a budget of about $5 million, adding $1 million could increase the budget by 20 percent. “That’s all funds that we’ll use to race in the future and make us a better team,’’ said St. Hilaire. "The better Blaney does in the playoffs, the more valuable the charter becomes." Meanwhile; since GoFas leased their Charter to the Wood Brothers, that left their team without a Charter. They leased one from Richard Petty Racing and instead of using a multitude of drivers; they decided to only use one driver to run all the races in 2017. They settled on Matt DiBenedetto who made several good runs in the #32 machine posting the

teams first ever top 10 finish (9th) in the season opening Daytona 500. He improved on that with an 8th place finish at Indianapolis. Early reports show GoFas doing the same in 2018 as they did in 2017; with a one car team with DiBenedetto at the controls. Another one of NASCAR's underfunded teams that just runs one car; GoFas Racing struggles to be competitive. Matt DiBenedetto returned to drive in 2018 and finished inside the top ten on one occasion. He finished seventh at Daytona in the July race. The car isn't a start-n-park effort as the results show they try to complete every race they run. Other then seven occasions the car was running when the checkered flag flew. They generally finish mid-pack with 15 finishes inside the top 25. Late in the season DiBenedetto decided he needed to make a move to try and find a better ride to

showcase his talents. He announced he would be leaving the race team; and had no plans or leads on where he would go. Kasey Kahne was forced to retire due to health issues; and this left the #95 Leavine Family Racing seat open for 2019. LFR hired Corey LaJoie to drive the #32 car full time in 2019 . Corvetteparts.net and KeenParts would return as sponsors. They received some assistance from Penske Racing for an improved pit crew to pit the car. In the 2019 Daytona 500, GoFas Racing made headlines by placing a picture of LaJoie's face on the #32 car as part of Old Spice's sponsorship. LaJoie finished 18th after blowing a right front tire just 20 laps into the race. Statistically

speaking, LaJoie has been GoFas Racings greatest driver in the team's history, having picked up numerous top twenty and top fifteen finishes, plus he added a sixth place finish in the Coke 400 at Daytona and a seventh at Talladega. GoFas Racing partnered with Stewart-Haas for a technical alliance in 2020 and LaJoie returned as their full time driver. LaJoie had his best finish in the season opening Daytona 500 where he finished eighth. The next race he finished 16th at Las Vegas and added two more 16th place finishes and had a total of five Top 20 finishes for the season. Towards the middle of the 2020 season, St Hilaire announced that he was getting out of NASCAR Racing. He stated he wasn't going to jeopardize his business to continue racing in NASCAR with much of the money coming out of his own pocket. GoFas had been an under

-funded team from the start and it was just difficult to run inside the Top 20. Thus St Hilaire's decision to get out of NASCAR. In August it was confirmed that LaJoie would not be returning to the car in 2021. It was announced in October that the race team would be reducing to a part time schedule starting in 2021 with plans to only run a hand full of races. St. Hilaire sold his half of the GoFas Racing charter to B.J. McLeod and Matt Tifft. They would use it in 2021 for a full-time operation with Joe Falk. The new team will be called Live Fast Racing. LaJoie would go to drive for Spire Motorsports in 2021. For it's career GoFas racing ran in 242 Cup races; only running full time the last four seasons. They had six top 10 finishes with a best of sixth at Daytona in 2019. GoFas also fielded a car in the Xfinity Series on a part-time basis from 2009 - 2013. He raced full time in the Xfinity Series in 2018 with Joey Gase as the driver. In that series they made 148 starts with zero Top 10's. St Hilaire didn't get completely out of racing however; and as of 2023 he supplies quality cars for various drivers racing various Super Late Model series.