Chad Finchum

Chad Finchum
Finchum at Richmond Raceway in 2018
BornJames Chadwick Finchum
(1994-09-22) September 22, 1994 (age 30)
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight160 lb (73 kg)
Achievements2010 NASCAR Weekly Series Tennessee Champion
NASCAR Cup Series career
7 races run over 4 years
Car no., teamNo. 66 (MBM Motorsports)
2021 position65th
Best finish52nd (2020)
First race2018 Food City 500 (Bristol)
Last race2024 Ally 400 (Nashville)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
116 races run over 8 years
Car no., teamNo. 66 (MBM Motorsports)
No. 35 (Joey Gase Motorsports)
No. 14 (SS-Green Light Racing)
2023 position52nd
Best finish26th (2019, 2020)
First race2017 OneMain Financial 200 (Dover)
Last race2024 Food City 300 (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
ARCA Menards Series East career
17 races run over 6 years
Best finish24th (2016)
First race2011 Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 (Greenville-Pickens)
Last race2017 Zombie Auto 125 (Bristol)
First win2016 PittLite 125 (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 5 0
Statistics current as of June 30, 2024.

James Chadwick Finchum[1] (born September 22, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang for MBM Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang for MBM Motorsports and the No. 35 Chevrolet Camaro for Joey Gase Motorsports. Finchum has also previously competed in what is now the ARCA Menards Series East (where he won a race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2016).

Racing career

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Early years

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Finchum began racing at age seven,[2] starting his career racing go-karts at Dumplin Valley Raceway in Tennessee.[3] By age 13 he had logged 200 go-kart wins on dirt and asphalt.[2] He then moved to full-bodied cars, often racing late models at Kingsport Speedway in Tennessee,[4][5] and also competed in Bandolero and Legends cars in Charlotte Motor Speedway's Summer Shootout.[6] He would win the Tennessee NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship in 2010.[7]

NASCAR

[edit]

Finchum drove his first four K&N Pro Series East races in 2011 with Lori Williams, who had given Daniel Suárez and Jesus Hernandez rides previously. Finchum scored two top-ten finishes that first year, finishing seventh at Bowman Gray Stadium and Gresham Motorsports Park.[8] He joined Spraker Racing in 2012, finishing seventh again at Bristol Motor Speedway but not finding success in his other three starts.[9] One start with Spraker in 2013 yielded a DNF at Bristol.[10] Finchum then started 2015 driving for his own team but then associated with Martin-McClure Racing later in the year.[11] In only his third start with the team, and his first in 2016, Finchum won the K&N race at Bristol.[12] Starting from the fourth position, Finchum passed polesitter and leader Harrison Burton thirteen laps into the race and never looked back.[13] In a late restart Finchum held off future NASCAR national series drivers Kyle Benjamin, Justin Haley, Kaz Grala and Todd Gilliland.[14] Focusing on the Xfinity Series in 2017, Finchum ran one K&N race, recording a fifth at Bristol.[15]

Finchum racing the No. 40 in 2018 at Road America

Finchum, in conjunction with his K&N Pro Series East team Team McClure Inc., signed on for two races with MBM Motorsports including a debut race at Dover International Speedway.[16] Despite falling out with engine problems at Dover, Finchum was approved for 1.5-mile tracks, yielding another start at Kentucky Speedway.[17] Finchum made five more starts in 2017 ranging from 1-mile Dover to 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, cracking the top thirty three times.[18]

In late November 2017, Finchum was announced as the full-time driver of MBM's No. 40 entry for the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.[19][20] He led second practice at Daytona International Speedway in July.[21] He finished the year 30th in final point standings.

On March 27, 2018, Finchum announced in a Bristol Motor Speedway promotional video that he would make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut at that track in April 2018.[22][23] The run came in the No. 66 car for MBM Motorsports, whom he also drives for in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.[24] Bristol was a track that Finchum was especially excited to make his debut at, as he considers it a "home track".[25] After starting 38th, he finished 33rd when he retired from the race on lap 335.[26]

In 2019, Finchum surprisingly qualified 2nd for both the Rinnai 250 and the Boyd Gaming 300 after rain canceled qualifying and the field was set by owner points from the 2018 season (due to those races only being the second and third of the new season), which MBM had bought from Chip Ganassi Racing's former Xfinity Series team. They also switched to Ganassi's old number, the No. 42, that year. That season he ran nearly full-time, only missing Daytona, which was run by John Jackson.

Finchum failed to qualify for the 2020 Daytona 500 after finishing 20th in Duel 1 of the 2020 Bluegreen Vacations Duels.[27] In September, he ran the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finishing last when overheating ended his day after 19 laps.[28] He also competed at Kansas and Texas, where he respectively finished 39th and 35th.[29]

He was due to return to the Daytona 500 the following year in the No. 13 for MBM (previously the No. 49),[30][31] but was replaced by Garrett Smithley.[32] He's due to running the Ally 400 with the 66, his debut number in 2018.

On August 28, 2023, it was revealed through the entry list for the race at Darlington in September that Finchum would drive the No. 08 car for SS-Green Light Racing in that race, marking the first time he would drive for a team other than MBM Motorsports in the Xfinity Series and in NASCAR's top 3 series.

Finchum returned to MBM to drive their No. 66 car part-time in the Xfinity Series in 2024. He also made a start for Joey Gase Motorsports in the throwback weekend race at Darlington in May, running the paint scheme from Kevin Harvick's first Cup Series win in 2001 at Atlanta, the same one Harvick himself ran the previous year in the North Wilkesboro All-Star Race with his old No. 29.[33]

Personal life

[edit]

Finchum graduated from Halls High School in Halls Crossroads, Tennessee.[34]

Motorsports career results

[edit]

NASCAR

[edit]

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

Cup Series

[edit]
NASCAR 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 35 36 NCSC Pts Ref
2018 MBM Motorsports 66 Toyota DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI
33 		RCH TAL DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY KEN NHA POC GLN MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH ROV DOV TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 68th 01 [35]
2020 MBM Motorsports 49 Toyota DAY
DNQ 		LVS CAL PHO DAR DAR CLT CLT BRI ATL MAR HOM TAL POC POC IND KEN TEX KAN NHA MCH MCH DRC DOV DOV DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS
39 		TAL ROV KAN
39 		TEX
35 		MAR PHO 52nd 01 [29]
2021 66 DAY DRC HOM LVS PHO ATL BRD MAR RCH TAL KAN DAR DOV COA CLT SON NSH
33 		POC POC ROA ATL NHA GLN IRC MCH DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL ROV TEX KAN
40 		MAR PHO 65th 01 [36]
2024 MBM Motorsports 66 Ford DAY ATL LVS PHO BRI COA RCH MAR TEX TAL DOV KAN DAR CLT GTW SON IOW NHA NSH
38 		CSC POC IND RCH MCH DAY DAR ATL GLN BRI KAN TAL ROV LVS HOM
37 		MAR PHO
36 		60th 01 [37]
Daytona 500
[edit]
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2020 MBM Motorsports Toyota DNQ

Xfinity Series

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NASCAR Xfinity 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 NXSC Pts Ref
2017 MBM Motorsports 40 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL CLT DOV
34 		POC MCH IOW DAY KEN
29 		NHA BRI
28 		ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV
36 		49th 41 [38]
Dodge IND
32 		IOW GLN MOH
Toyota CLT
29 		KAN TEX PHO HOM
30
2018 DAY
28 		ATL
35 		LVS
32 		PHO
36 		CAL
36 		TEX
34 		BRI
36 		RCH
34 		TAL
39 		DOV
25 		CLT
DNQ 		POC
30 		MCH
29 		IOW
26 		CHI
38 		DAY
14 		KEN
31 		NHA
21 		IOW
37 		GLN
29 		MOH
29 		BRI
30 		ROA
22 		IND
21 		LVS
25 		RCH
26 		DOV
34 		KAN
16 		TEX
17 		PHO
37 		30th 253 [39]
Chevy DAR
32
Dodge ROV
28
66 Toyota HOM
31
2019 42 DAY ATL
26 		LVS
21 		PHO
19 		CAL
32 		TEX
23 		BRI
20 		RCH
34 		DOV
30 		CLT
38 		POC
37 		MCH
22 		IOW
21 		CHI
24 		DAY
27 		KEN
28 		NHA
30 		IOW
32 		26th 250 [40]
13 TAL
36 		GLN
32 		MOH
35 		ROA
35 		IND
33 		ROV
36 		PHO
32
66 BRI
DNQ 		LVS
34
61 DAR
30 		RCH
26 		DOV
31 		KAN
26 		TEX
15 		HOM
35
2020 13 DAY
20 		LVS
21 		CAL
20 		PHO
24 		DAR
24 		CLT
22 		BRI
24 		ATL
34 		HOM
30 		HOM
21 		TAL
22 		POC
26 		KEN
16 		KEN
33 		TEX
24 		KAN
29 		DOV
29 		DOV
24 		DAY
25 		DAR
20 		TAL
11 		ROV KAN 26th 322 [41]
66 IRC
27 		ROA
36 		DRC LVS
35 		TEX
34
61 RCH
37 		RCH
28 		BRI
20 		MAR
37 		PHO
2021 13 Ford DAY
30 		DRC 48th 57 [42]
61 Toyota HOM
23 		LVS
28 		PHO BRI
33 		LVS TAL ROV TEX KAN MAR PHO
13 ATL
39 		MAR TAL DAR DOV COA CLT
15 		MOH TEX NHA
DNQ 		GLN IRC MCH DAY DAR
DNQ 		RCH
42 NSH
DNQ 		POC ROA ATL
2022 13 DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL
DNQ 		COA RCH MAR
DNQ 		TAL DOV
32 		DAR TEX CLT PIR NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IRC MCH GLN DAY BRI
DNQ 		TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR
36 		PHO 70th 6 [43]
Ford DAR
DNQ 		KAN
2023 66 DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR
DNQ 		TAL DOV DAR
DNQ 		CLT POR SON NSH
DNQ 		CSC ATL NHA
35 		POC ROA MCH IRC GLN DAY 52nd 35 [44]
SS-Green Light Racing 08 Ford DAR
22 		KAN BRI
29 		TEX ROV LVS HOM MAR
27 		PHO
2024 MBM Motorsports 66 Ford DAY ATL LVS PHO COA RCH MAR TEX
38 		TAL DOV
DNQ 		57th 27 [45]
Joey Gase Motorsports 35 Chevy DAR
26 		CLT PIR SON IOW NHA
SS-Green Light Racing 14 Ford NSH
34 		CSC POC IND MCH DAY DAR
33 		ATL GLN BRI
32 		KAN TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

K&N Pro Series East

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NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NKNPSEC Pts Ref
2011 Lori Williams 12 Dodge GRE
18 		SBO RCH IOW BGS
7 		JFC
7 		LGY NHA COL GRE
26 		NHA DOV 31st 486 [46]
2012 Spraker Racing 37 Toyota BRI
7 		GRE
12 		RCH
36 		IOW BGS JFC
25 		LGY CNB COL IOW NHA DOV GRE CAR 32nd 96 [47]
2013 Chevy BRI
34 		GRE FIF RCH BGS IOW LGY COL IOW VIR GRE NHA DOV RAL 76th 10 [48]
2015 James Finchum 17 Toyota NSM GRE BRI
17 		IOW BGS LGY COL NHA 34th 74 [49]
Martin-McClure Racing 39 Chevy IOW
18 		GLN MOT VIR RCH DOV
23
2016 Toyota NSM MOB GRE BRI
1* 		VIR DOM STA COL NHA
14 		DOV
14 		24th 135 [50]
33 IOW
17 		GLN GRE NJM
2017 39 NSM GRE BRI
5 		SBO SBO MEM BLN TMP NHA IOW GLN LGY NJM DOV 44th 39 [51]

References

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  1. ^ "Team Event Rosters – Texas Motor Speedway – Saturday, October 24, 2020" (PDF). NASCAR. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Moats, Michael (April 30, 2008). "Wins pile up with races for 13-year-old Chad Finchum". Knoxville News Sentinel. Knoxville, TN. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  3. ^ Gregory, Alan (March 15, 2013). "Finchum goes for dream win today". Bristol Herald-Courier. Bristol, TN. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  4. ^ Marquis, Andy (June 2, 2017). "Chad Finchum Set for XFINITY Debut at Dover". popularspeed.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  5. ^ Kenney, Pat (May 27, 2017). "Chad Finchum cruises to victory at Kingsport Speedway on Friday". Kingsport Times-News. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  6. ^ "13-Year-Old Chad Finchum among the Rising Stars". Charlotte Motor Speedway. July 28, 2008. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  7. ^ Fleser, Dan (May 31, 2017). "Knoxville's Chad Finchum to get two starts on Xfinity Series". Knoxville News Sentinel. Knoxville, TN. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  8. ^ "Driver Chad Finchum 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  9. ^ "Driver Chad Finchum 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  10. ^ "Driver Chad Finchum 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  11. ^ "Driver Chad Finchum 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  12. ^ "Driver Chad Finchum 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  13. ^ King, Alanis (April 17, 2016). "Chad Finchum and Toyota dominate NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Bristol race". Autoweek. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  14. ^ "Finchum Flies To Victory At Hometown Track". Nascar.com. April 16, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  15. ^ "Driver Chad Finchum 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  16. ^ Wilson, Steven B. (May 30, 2017). "Chad Finchum to make NASCAR Xfinity Series Debut". Speedway Digest. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  17. ^ Kaplan, Phil (July 5, 2017). "Chad Finchum to get second NASCAR Xfinity Series start in Kentucky". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  18. ^ "Driver Chad Finchum 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  19. ^ "Carl Long's 2018 plans". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. November 24, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  20. ^ Herbst, Alex (November 24, 2017). "NASCAR: MBM Motorsports announces early 2018 plans". Beyond the Flag. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  21. ^ Coburn, Wesley (July 5, 2018). "Ryan Reed, Chad Finchum Lead XFINITY Practices at Daytona". frontstretch.com. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  22. ^ "Chad Finchum to make Cup debut at Bristol". ESPN.com. February 28, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  23. ^ "Chad Finchum to make Cup debut at Bristol Motor Speedway in April". March 27, 2018. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  24. ^ McFadin, Daniel (March 28, 2018). "Chad Finchum to make Cup debut at Bristol Motor Speedway in April". Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  25. ^ Alewine, Mark (March 28, 2018). "Knoxville driver Chad Finchum to make NASCAR Cup Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  26. ^ "2018 Food City 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  27. ^ "Logano, Byron win Bluegreen Vacations Duel races at Daytona". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  28. ^ Beard, Brock (September 27, 2020). "CUP: Chad Finchum's first Cup start in more than two years ends all too soon". LASTCAR. Blogger. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  29. ^ a b "Chad Finchum – 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  30. ^ "MBM Motorsports Announces Driver Line-Up for Daytona 500 and 2021 Plans". The Racing Insiders. December 18, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  31. ^ "MBM Motorsports to run #13 in Cup Series". Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  32. ^ Srigley, Joseph (February 5, 2021). "Garrett Smithley, Trophy Tractor Inc Attempting 2021 DAYTONA 500 in MBM Motorsports No. 13". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  33. ^ "(Twitter post)". Twitter. May 8, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  34. ^ Sports, WVLT. "Knoxville native Chad Finchum loves racing at 'home track'". wvlt.tv.
  35. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  36. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  37. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  38. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  39. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  40. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  41. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  42. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  43. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  44. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  45. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  46. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  47. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  48. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  49. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  50. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  51. ^ "Chad Finchum – 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
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