Not all ambitions stand the test of time or money. In the world of NASCAR, many teams do not make it because of time (less practice) and money (missing key partnerships). In 2024, Tony Stewart had to roll down the shutters on his 16-year-old powerhouse Cup Series team, Stewart-Haas Racing. Another team is facing the same fate at present, without even reaching the heights of fame that SHR did.

Established in 2018, Reaume Brothers Racing is a solid fixture in the Craftsman Truck Series. It has recorded two top-five and four top-tens in 250 starts. Josh Reaume also pursued a dream to venture into the Cup Series – but that recently encountered the harshest roadblocks.

NASCAR’s walls cave in on a small team

When the Covid-19 pandemic descended in 2020, NASCAR had to curtail racetrack time. For that reason, practice times were also truncated from 2 hours to merely 20 minutes. But even after the pandemic ceased to become a problem, these timings continued. It presented a huge problem to Cup Series drivers trying to wrap their heads around the Next-Gen Car. Also affected was Team Hezeberg – a joint effort of former sports-car driver Toine Hezemans, Dutch businessman Ernst Berg, and Reaume Brothers Racing. The team introduced the No. 27 Ford in the 2022 season, fielding stellar racers like Daniil Kvyat, Loris Hezemans, and Jacques Villeneuve.

Reaume Brothers Racing will host actor-turned-racer Frankie Muniz in the 2025 Truck season. Yet Team Hezeberg represented RBR’s venture into the Cup Series, NASCAR’s premier level. However, it could not cope with NASCAR’s restrictive timings. Josh Reaume opened up recently about why his Cup team had to shutter. “Our ownership group became burnt out. They enjoyed the challenge of trying to become competitive in the Cup series, but without testing, this proved difficult. The inability to make spring changes on weekends due to new practice formats further diminished their interest.”

Most of the smaller teams in the NASCAR Cup Series are associated with a bigger one. For instance, 23XI Racing is linked to Joe Gibbs Racing, or Front Row Motorsports to Team Penske. Similarly, Team Hezeberg needed that assistance from a bigger Ford team – but had none. Josh continued, “It became clear that to be competitive, they would need to pay for a formal alliance with a powerhouse team, which was not appealing to them.” The team founders’ roots are in the Netherlands – so now Hezeberg will focus on Europe. “They remain significantly involved in motorsports in Europe, now channeling the resources once spent on the Cup series into the historic 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

Bidding adieu to any venture can be heartbreaking. However, Team Hezeberg has a solid memory to look back upon.

Fulfilling his wish

The Daytona 500 is one of the most prestigious crown jewel races of the NASCAR Cup Series. In 2025, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will try his hand at the event. Similarly, Team Hezeberg had pieced together an entry for another Indy 500 winner and 1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve. His attempt to qualify via the Duels in 2008 ended in a multi-car crash. That wreck involved other luminaries like Dario Franchitti, Jamie McMurray, and Stanton Barrett. But in 2022, he came prepared. Driving the No. 27 Ford for Team Hezeberg, Villeneuve clinched one of the four non-charter starting spots in qualifying.

The Canadian speedster was beaming with pride after fulfilling his wish. “It’s not like winning the Indy 500 or the F1 championship, but at this point in my career, the last time I tried to qualify here was 14 years ago, just to make the show is incredible because it’s a small team. We didn’t link up with a big team to get the car ready and it’s highly unexpected to be able to make it on time, so it ranks right after these big wins. To be able to make such a big race at such a high level is amazing and when I’m in the race car I don’t realise that I’m 50, which is good.” Villeneuve clinched a respectable 22nd-place finish in the race.

Although Team Hezeberg’s NASCAR Cup Series run was short, it still has memories to look back to. Hopefully, Josh Reaume will again punch a ticket to the Cup Series in the near future.