Tommy Baldwin Jr. launched the Cup Series operation in January 2009, announcing a full-time programme after his release as crew chief from the defunct Bill Davis Racing team. Initially built from volunteers laid off from other organisations, the team fielded the No. 36 Toyota for driver Scott Riggs in its debut season, qualifying for the Daytona 500 and finishing 25th. The car number 7 was later adopted as a tribute to Baldwin's father, who had raced under the number 7NY in NASCAR's Modified division.
The team's most high-profile early arrangement came in 2012, when Tommy Baldwin Racing partnered with Stewart-Haas Racing to field the No. 10 for rookie Danica Patrick in ten Sprint Cup races, beginning with the 2012 Daytona 500. Patrick brought GoDaddy.com sponsorship to the arrangement, while David Reutimann served as the primary driver for the remaining 26 races of the season. The partnership raised the team's profile significantly without requiring Baldwin to absorb full sponsorship risk for one of NASCAR's most recognised drivers.
Dave Blaney joined TBR for the 2011 season and gave the team its most consistent early-period results, including a third-place finish at the October 2011 Talladega race — the best finish in team history at that point. Blaney remained through 2012 before transitioning roles. In 2013 the car was renumbered to No. 7 and driven by Blaney alongside Justin Marks, who made his Cup debut at Sonoma with GoPro sponsorship. Michael Annett drove the No. 7 full-time in 2014 with Pilot Flying J sponsorship carried over from the Nationwide Series, finishing sixteenth at Talladega Superspeedway as a season highlight.
Alex Bowman drove the No. 7 in 2015 before departing, and Regan Smith took over in 2016. Smith's best result came at the second Pocono race, where he finished third after staying out under caution during the final 28 laps — a season-best for both driver and team, and the best finish in the organisation's Cup history.
In November 2016, Tommy Baldwin announced that the team would cease full-time Cup competition after that season, selling its charter to Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing. Despite the announcement, TBR fielded the No. 7 on a part-time basis in 2017 in partnership with Elliott Sadler, J. J. Yeley, and Hermie Sadler, primarily at superspeedway events. On September 4, 2017, Tommy Baldwin Racing was officially acquired by Premium Motorsports, with remaining 2017 races completed under the Premium banner.
Baldwin announced the rebirth of the team for 2019 and subsequently fielded the No. 7 part-time in 2020 with drivers including Josh Bilicki, J. J. Yeley, and Reed Sorenson. Yeley achieved the team's best result in the revival period with a 25th-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. After 2020, Baldwin allowed Spire Motorsports use of the No. 7 for the 2021 season.
TBR maintained a presence in NASCAR's secondary series for many years. The team's Busch Series programme ran drivers including Ward Burton and Wally Dallenbach Jr. in the early 2000s before being sold to Evernham Motorsports after 2005. In 2012 the team returned to the Nationwide Series with the No. 36, notably fielding Ryan Blaney — son of then-Cup driver Dave Blaney — in six races with SealWrap sponsorship. The team developed a relationship with driver Ryan Preece through these efforts and partnered with Team SLR and driver-owner Scott Lagasse Jr. for selected events.
Tommy Baldwin Racing built a reputation as a scrappy, independent Cup operation that provided race opportunities for drivers ranging from veterans to developing talent. Blaney's third-place finish at Talladega in 2011 and Smith's third at Pocono in 2016 demonstrated that underfunded teams could compete with and occasionally beat larger organisations. The team's history also illustrates the increasing difficulty of sustaining independent Cup operations in the era of the charter system, which reshaped the competitive economics of back-of-field teams.