{{short description|Former NASCAR team}} {{About|the NASCAR team|the hockey team|Ireland men's national ice hockey team|Irish A1 Grand Prix team|A1 Team Ireland|Team Ireland (foundation)|Team Ireland Foundation|Olympic Team Ireland|Olympic Federation of Ireland}} {{Infobox NASCAR team | Team_name = Team Ireland | Logo = | Owner_names = Martin Birrane | Base = | Series = Winston Cup Series | Drivers = John Paul, Jr.<br>Bobby Hillin Jr. | Manufacturer = Chevrolet | Debut = 1991 Miller Genuine Draft 500 (Pocono) | Final = 1992 Mello Yello 500 (Charlotte) | Races = 14 | Drivers_champ = 0 | Wins = 0 | Poles = 0 }} '''Team Ireland''' was a stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series between 1991 and 1992. Owned by Irishman Martin Birrane, the team posted a best finish of thirteenth with driver Bobby Hillin Jr.
==Winston Cup Series== ===Car No. 31 history===
Team Ireland made its debut in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, competing in four races with the No. 53 Chevrolet; the team intended to field IndyCar driver John Paul Jr. in its cars, but after Paul proved to have a hard time adjusting to the heavy NASCAR cars, he was replaced after two races by Bobby Hillin Jr., who joined the team for a planned 15-race schedule in 1992.<ref name="High">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xTgdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0aUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6089,331831&dq=martin-birrane+team-ireland&hl=en|title=Aiming High|last=Stout|first=Harold|date=May 3, 1992|work=The Tuscaloosa News|page=C1|accessdate=2013-09-12|location=Tuscaloosa, AL}}</ref> Changing to the No. 31 and using cars and engines supplied by Richard Childress Racing,<ref name="High"/> the team competed in ten races during the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, posting a best finish of 13th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.racing-reference.info/rquery?id=birrama01&trk=t0&series=W&o=1|title=Martin Birrane (owner) - NASCAR Sprint Cup Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=USA Today Sports Media Group|accessdate=2013-09-12}}</ref> before being forced to close due to a lack of sponsorship;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/262940964|title=A speedway phenom gets second chance|last=Fry|first=Darrell|date=February 11, 1993|work=St. Petersburg Times|page=1C|access-date=2013-09-12|location=St. Petersburg, FL}}</ref> the team was unable to pay a fine levied by NASCAR for the use of illegal cylinder heads in the Mello Yello 500 in October,<ref>{{cite book|last=Howell|first=Mark D.|title=From Moonshine to Madison Avenue: A Cultural History of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series|year=1997|publisher=Bowling Green State University Popular Press|location=Bowling Green, OH|isbn=0-87972-739-X|page=26}}</ref> and team owner Birrane chose to leave the sport.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=GB&p_theme=gb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB192BA2472E1DD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Kyle Petty notches fourth straight pole spot at Rockingham|last=Zeller|first=Bob|date=October 23, 1993|work=Greensboro News & Record|page=C5|accessdate=2013-09-12|location=Greensboro, NC}}</ref>
====Car No. 31 results==== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:75%" |- ! Year ! Driver ! No. ! Make ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! 14 ! 15 ! 16 ! 17 ! 18 ! 19 ! 20 ! 21 ! 22 ! 23 ! 24 ! 25 ! 26 ! 27 ! 28 ! 29 ! {{Tooltip|NWCC|NASCAR Winston Cup classification}} ! Pts |- ! rowspan=2| 1991 ! John Paul Jr. ! rowspan=2| 53 ! rowspan=3| Chevy | DAY | RCH | CAR | ATL | DAR | BRI | NWS | MAR | TAL | CLT | DOV | SON | POC | MCH | DAY | style="background:#efcfff;"| POC<br><small>32</small> | TAL | style="background:#dfffdf;"| GLN<br><small>16</small> | style="background:#ffcfcf;"| MCH<br><small>DNQ</small> | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | colspan=4| ! rowspan=2| ! rowspan=2| |- ! rowspan=2| Bobby Hillin Jr. | colspan=25| | style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CLT<br><small>18</small> | style="background:#FFCFCF;"| CAR<br><small>DNQ</small> | PHO | style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ATL<br><small>32</small> |- ! 1992 ! 31 | style="background:#EFCFFF;"| DAY<br><small>38</small> | CAR | RCH | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ATL<br><small>21</small> | style="background:#FFCFCF;"| DAR<br><small>DNQ</small> | BRI | NWS | MAR | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| TAL<br><small>28</small> | style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CLT<br><small>13</small> | DOV | SON | POC | style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MCH<br><small>17</small> | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DAY<br><small>25</small> | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| POC<br><small>25</small> | TAL | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| GLN<br><small>23</small> | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MCH<br><small>26</small> | BRI | style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DAR<br><small>17</small> | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | style="background:#000000; color:white"| <span style="color:white;">CLT</span><br><small>40</small> | CAR | PHO | ATL ! ! |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Racing-Reference owner|Martin_Birrane}}
Category:Defunct NASCAR teams Category:Auto racing teams established in 1991 Category:1992 disestablishments in the United States Category:1991 establishments in the United States