November 26, 2018 | By Lee Spencer

Tommy Baldwin Racing is back in business

Tommy Baldwin, Jr., is getting back in the game.

Watching from the sidelines wasn’t nearly as fulfilling as being a NASCAR team owner in stock car racing's most competitive tour.

After taking a year off, Tommy Baldwin Racing will return to the Monster Energy Cup garage in February and attempt to qualifying for the 2019 Daytona 500. The team announced its plans on Monday.

“I probably never got racing out of my system,” Baldwin told RacinBoys.com. “If I was going to tinker around in it, I thought I might as well do it myself. I’m shooing for five to seven races and see where it goes.”

The 52-year-old Bellport, N.Y., native started as a crew chief in 1997. His first victory came with Ward Burton in 2000 at the spring Darlington Race, his second in the Southern 500 the following year. Baldwin also won the 2002 Daytona 500 and led Kasey Kahne to his first Cup victory at Richmond in 2005,

From 2009 until 2017 Baldwin competed as a Cup team owner, first with Toyota, then with Chevrolet starting in 2010. In 403 starts, the company’s best finish was third twice—in 2011 with Dave Blaney at Talladega Superspeedway and with Regan Smith at Pocono Raceway in 2016.

Baldwin will continue to run Chevrolets with ECR engines. Currently, Tommy Baldwin Racing is “charter-free” and has yet to select a driver or a number. Baldwin is looking to get the message out there and then see what sticks.

“It depends on what deals happen between now and then,” Baldwin said. “I’m looking to build up the fleet slowly, methodically, and go from there.”