#9 CATERPILLAR FORD TAURUS
Cantrell-Watson Racing was formed when the teams of two high school friends merged in 1998. Craig Watson and Barry Cantrell both started racing pinto's at local dirt tracks. Cantrell Racing and Watson Motorsports, still separate teams, owned the local late model and sportsman divisions. When they moved up to NASCAR's Craftsman Truck division in 1998, they decided to merge. They decided later that year that truck racing wasn't for them and registered for AIR. Watson finished 15th in points and Cantrell in 36th. They decided to give it another try and will be a threat in the second season of AIR.
Craig Watson started racing an ugly, black, number nine, unsponsered, pinto. He won several races and was named most popular driver at Baxter Motor Speedway in 1996. The next year he moved up to his local late model and sportsman divisions. He won the championship for the late model division and finished second in the sportsman division in 1997. In 1998, his team merged with Cantrell Racing and moved on to the Craftsman Truck Series, where he won three races. Watson then decided that truck racing wasn't for him. ''I just like the feel of a race car more than a truck, but man I feel like I'm back home on the dirt tracks with all that great racing.'' Watson finished 15th in the first season of AIR and is ready for season two to start.