2006 Dodge Charger NASCAR

Kevin Lepage was born on June 26th of 1962 in Shelburne, Vermont. During the 1980s he drove for the Busch North Series and the American Canadian Tour Series. He raced in these leagues, with some success, for fourteen years. In 1986 he made his racing debut in the Busch Series at Oxford Plains Speedway. He started the race in 41st position, and ended it in 15th. By 1994, he had become and owner/driver in the number 71 Vermont Teddy Bear Company car. He finished the season 24th in points.

In 1995, he managed to score five Top 10's and ended the season in 18th in points. He lost his sponsorship at the end of the season, but continued to run his car until April. He then joined David Ridling with sponsorship from Famer's Choice Fertizlier.

Lepage's first Busch Series victory came at the end of the season, at the Jiffy Lube Miami 300. He concluded the season with 3 Top 5 finishes, 10 in the Top 10, and a single victory. This earned him eight in points. The following season, he finished 12th in points.

By 1998, Lepage was racing in the Winston Cup Series. There was minimal sponsorship for the team, though he was able to manage two fourteenth-place finishes. In June of 1998 he left LJ Racing, sat out the next six races, and then signed a contract with Jack Roush of Roush Racing. After Lepage was hired, Ted Musgrave was fired and Lepage was given his number 16 Primestar Ford Taurus. Lepages best finish came at Charlotte, where he finished in sixth place. This, along with a pair of Top Ten finishes nearly earned him the Rookie of the Year award.

In 1999, Lepage raced with sponsorship from Primestar, which later switched to TV Guide in April after Primestar was sold to General Motors owned DirectTV. He finished the season 25th in points.

In 2000, he was unsponsored for a short time before picking up some much needed help from Familyclick.com. He finished the year 28th in points, after failing to qualify on two occasions. He had 1 Top 5 finish and 3 Top 10s throughout the year.

The following season, he finished 42nd in points after starting just 10 races. In those races he had 1 Top 5 and 2 Top 10s. He returned to the Busch Series to run his own team, Matrix Motorsports, driving the #71 car in 2001.

In 2002, Lepage found himself again without sponsorship. He later joined the Bewco Motorsports driving the #37 Timber Wolf Chevrolet. He started 24 races that year, finishing in the top ten on six occasion and finishing 25th in points.

He ran at the Cup level on one occasion in 2003, finishing 32nd at the Coca-Cola 600. He teamed with Morgan-McClue in 2004, which lasted for just six races before sponsorship dried-up. He signed with Competitive Edge Motorsports, and left the team shortly thereafter.

In 2005 he finished ninth at the Daytona 500. Near the close of the season, he signed with Peak Fitness Racing and managed a sixth-place qualifying position at Kansas. He also drove with the MacDonald sponsored car for six races in the Busch Series.

In 2005, Brent Sherman was given the duties of driving the #49 Dodge for BAM Racing with sponsorship from Serta Mattresses and State Water Heaters. He was later replaced by Lepage, who had started the season in the #61 Peak Fitness Racing car. The car had been #66 the prior year.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2007