Jeff Davis (born January 29, 1959) is an American entrepreneur and former professional stock car racing driver. He primarily competed in the NASCAR West Series during the 1990s and early 2000s, but also ran in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, open-wheel racing series like Indy Lights, and sports car racing as part of the Sports Car Club of America.

Racing career Growing up after being born in Indianapolis, Davis began racing go karts before moving to California to buy the Van-K Wheels company, the premiere kart racing wheels manufacturer and one of only three companies in the United States to make wheels for kart racing. In 1985 and 1986, he competed in Formula Ford, followed by Formula Super Vee in 1988. At the end of 1989, he purchased a Formula Mazda car and prepared to run for the series' championship in 1990. He did that, while also winning Rookie of the Year. He won the Formula Mazda championship the following year., cont. from page 1

In 1991, Davis contested the full Indy Lights schedule running on a tight budget that had him basically running an old worn out car with a proven team as a field filler entry since the series wanted more cars in the races. He finished tenth in points after taking the checkered flag in every race except for the season openers at Long Beach & Phoenix that he'd missed by starting after they'd already been run. Although all Indy Lights drivers drove spec Buicks, Davis had little financial support, receiving it from "people who were stretching their budgets just to be there." Davis could never get the Indy Lights car to handle since it had a really loose, worn-out tub and suspension tuning failed to make much difference.

During the 1991 racing season, Davis also participated in sports car racing. In February, he ran the 24 Hours of Daytona, driving a Spice Engineering Chevrolet for Tom Milner Racing in place of Paul Newman who had paid to run that race but couldn't show up in time for practice, something that was required by IMSA. The team retired with engine problems after 448 laps and finished 14th overall, sixth in the GTP class. Other sports car starts included racing in the Trans-Am Series, winning a race at Portland International Raceway.

Stock car racing In 1992, Davis made his NASCAR Winston West Series debut at El Cajon Speedway, finishing ninth. Later in the year, he competed in the Pyroil 500K at Phoenix International Raceway in a NASCAR Winston Cup Series/Winston West companion race, driving a Ford from Roush Racing. He qualified 39th in the 42-car grid, with various Winston West cars being sent home after qualifying too slowly. Davis, who had no experience with races that featured multiple pit stops and restarts, finished 26th; he was the second-placed West Series driver in the race behind John Krebs (23rd).

The following season, in what he called his "first really disappointing year in auto racing", he attempted to run five Cup races, but the series' competitiveness made "a quantum leap from one year to the next" and he only qualified once (Sears Point Raceway, where he finished 42nd). During the year, he also ran two ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series races at Texas World Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway; he finished 23rd and 21st after suspension failure and a crash, respectively.

Davis ran the full 1994 Winston West schedule, recording nine top tens and a best finish of fourth at Tri-City Raceway as he finished fourth in the standings. In August, he and thirteen other West drivers attempted to qualify for the Cup Series' inaugural Brickyard 400, a race that saw a NASCAR-record 86-driver entry list. In the first round of qualifying, he recorded a speed of (60th), which he improved upon in the second round at (57th), but he ultimately failed to make the race; the other West drivers were also unable to qualify on speed, with points leader Mike Chase being guaranteed a position on a provisional.

In 1997, Davis returned to the Cup Series at Sears Point, driving the No. 9 Ford for Melling Racing. Although he competed under Melling's banner, Davis owned the car and equipment used in the race; the team, plagued by sponsorship issues, had skipped the race to save money, and all points earned by Davis went to Melling in the owner's championship. He finished 37th after being involved in a wreck with John Andretti on lap 64. Two years later, he joined Zali Racing's No. 92 for the 1999 Las Vegas 400; after being the 50th-fastest driver in the first round of qualifying, he was replaced by Morgan Shepherd for the second round. A similar driver change occurred later in the year at the Brickyard 400, when Davis qualified the No. 62 of Fenley-Moore Motorsports in round one (54th) before Lance Hooper took over the car.

After the 1997 and 1998 Cup seasons, Davis entered the series' exhibition races in Japan at Suzuka Circuit and Twin Ring Motegi, respectively. In the former's NASCAR Thunder Special Suzuka, he was one of nine Winston West drivers to compete as he finished 26th. Motegi's Coca-Cola 500 featured ten entrants from the West Series including Davis, who also fielded a car for Japanese driver Hideo Fukuyama. Davis and Fukuyama finished fourteenth and seventeenth, respectively.

Davis competed in the West Series until 2005, with his final start being a twentieth-place finish at Stockton 99 Raceway. In 56 career races, he has seventeen top-tens.

Personal life Davis was born in and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and graduated from North Central High School, followed by earning his business management degree at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis.

Near the end of his high school years, he started a landscaping company that he incorporated and named Lawnicure Inc., which he ran through his college years along with plowing snowy driveways and small parking lots in the winters. After selling Lawnicure in 1984, he saw an opportunity to buy Van-K Engineering in southern California while on a trip to help a friend race in a support race at the Long Beach Grand Prix. Van-K Engineering is a go-kart wheel manufacturing business that was started a few years earlier by Mike VanKralingen. Davis then moved with his wife across the country to start a new life on the west coast. His Van-K business sponsored him throughout his racing career, and he owned the company until he sold it to Circle Wheels in 2000 and he worked for them for a year to help them grow into the country's go-kart racing wheel market. Van-K Wheels is the leading manufacturer in the US for the racing kart industry and sells through dealers and distributors and to chassis building companies.

Motorsports career results NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series NASCAR Winston Cup Series results Year Team 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 30 31 32 33 34 Pts Ref 1992 Jeff Davis Racing 44 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO26 ATL 76th 85 1993 81 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON42 CLT DOV POC MCHDNQ DAY NHA POC TAL GLNDNQ MCHDNQ BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHODNQ ATL 93rd 37 1994 81W DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SONDNQ CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL INDDNQ GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHODNQ ATL NA - 1997 Melling Racing 9 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR TEX BRI MAR SON37 TAL CLT DOV POC MCH CAL DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO ATL 66th 52 1999 Zali Racing 92 Ford DAY CAR LVSDNQ ATL DAR TEX BRI MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY NHA POC NA - Fenley-Moore Motorsports 62 Ford INDQL† GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO HOM ATL† – Replaced by Lance Hooper for second round qualifying.

West Series NASCAR West Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts Ref 1992 Sellers Racing 99 Pontiac MMR SGS SON SHA POR EVG SSS CAJ9 TWS MMR 23rd 303 Jeff Davis Racing 44 Ford PHO26 1993 81 TWS23 MMR SGS SON42 TUS SHA EVG POR CBS SSS CAJ TCR MMR PHODNQ 27th 430 1994 Chevy MMR23 TUS6 CAJ8 TCR4 LVS6 MMR5 4th 1958 Ford SONDNQ SGS5 YAK7 MMR12 POR5 INDDNQ PHODNQ TUS5 1997 Jeff Davis Racing 81 Ford TUS AMP SON TUS MMR LVS9 CAL17 EVG POR PPR AMP 16th 683 4 SON15 MMR16 LVS15 1998 TUS26 LVS8 PHO20 CAL12 HPT20 MMR9 AMP8 POR12 CAL6 PPR8 EVG19 SON6 MMR15 LVS22 10th 1745 2000 76 Ford PHO MMR LVS CAL LAG IRW POR EVG IRW RMR MMR IRW24 69th 91 2002 Sellers Racing 1 Chevy PHO LVS CAL19 KAN DCS15 LVS20 19th 563 Christina Adair 3 Pontiac EVG17 IRW13 S99 RMR 2003 KC Racing 1 Pontiac PHO22 CAL27 13th 1214 Chevy LVS23 MAD15 TCR18 EVG16 IRW16 S9920 RMR14 DCS18 PHO20 Sellers Racing 15 Chevy MMR24 2004 KC Racing 1 Pontiac PHO28 MMR CAL S99 EVG 43rd 206 RICH-PAK Racing 4 Pontiac IRW12 S99 RMR DCS PHO CNS MMR IRW 2005 PHO MMR PHO S99 IRW11 EVG S9920 PPR CAL DCS CTS MMR 33rd 233

ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Pts Ref 1993 Jeff Davis Racing 81W Ford DAY FIF TWS23 TAL KIL CMS FRS TOL POC MCH FRS POC KIL ISF DSF TOL SLM WIN 106th - 81 ATL21

American open–wheel racing (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Indy Lights Indy Lights results Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points Ref 1991 Leading Edge Motorsports LBH PHX MIL10 DET11 POR10 CLE10 MEA9 TOR9 DEN7 MDO9 NAZ6 LAG11 10th 39

Sports car racing (key)

24 Hours of Daytona 24 Hours of Daytona results Year Class No Team Car Co-drivers Laps Position Class Pos. Ref 1991 GTP 5 Tom Milner Racing Spice Engineering SE89P Chevrolet Mike Brockman Tim McAdam Fred Phillips 448 24 6

References

External links