JD Motorsports: From the 1983 Goody's 300 to a 2024 Bankruptcy Filing

JD Motorsports was an American stock car team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, owned and run by Johnny Davis. It was one of the oldest teams in the sport, having raced in the first official Xfinity race, the 1983 Goody's 300. Its last entries were part-time cars, and the operation's best years came with its No. 4 and No. 01 cars.

Who ran JD Motorsports and where was it based?

Johnny Davis had been involved with NASCAR for more than 30 years, first as a crew member and fabricator and later as a crew chief for several Cup and Xfinity teams. His first venture into ownership came with competition go-karts in the 1990s. The team later moved into a facility of more than 40,000 square feet in Gaffney, South Carolina.

The team made its own history along the way. It fielded the first female crew chief in 2008 and built the first Nationwide Series Car of Tomorrow. The team's engines came from Clements Racing Engines.

A team with one of the longest Xfinity histories, which put its No. 4 into the playoffs in 2018 before its later struggles.

How long had JD Motorsports been racing?

The team competed in the very first official Xfinity Series race, the 1983 Goody's 300, which made it one of the sport's longest-running operations. Its history covers more than four decades of part-time, full-time and start-and-park entries across numbers and drivers.

That longevity is also what makes its later troubles stand out. In April 2024 the team filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and it laid off several employees, a report that surfaced in July 2024.

What did the No. 0 car achieve in its early years?

The No. 0 car debuted in 2002 for Kertus Davis, Johnny Davis's son. In his first race he started 31st and finished 32nd after a wreck. Davis ran three more races that season, and his best finish of 24th came at Memphis Motorsports Park after Broadway Motors signed on as sponsor.

In 2003 Eagle Jet International became the sponsor, and Morgan Shepherd drove most races. His best finish was 11th at Talladega, and Jason White later became the regular driver. White drove most of the season and had two top-twenty finishes before Gus Wasson finished the year in the car.

For 2005 Kertus Davis drove the No. 0 full-time with Race Girl sponsoring. He ran 28 races, scoring a top ten at Talladega in his rookie season. He qualified for 22 races in 2006, sharing the ride with Randy LaJoie and Morgan Shepherd, even though the team had been rumoured to be closing.

How did the No. 01 car take shape?

The No. 01 debuted in 2006 as Duesenberg and Leik Motorsports, with Jay Sauter driving the Western Union car. In its first season the car started 33 of 35 races, and its best finish was seventh at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

For 2007 Duesenberg and Leik merged with Davis's operation, and the owner's points from 2006 were transferred to the No. 0. Davis then moved into the No. 01 at Daytona in 2008, after his time in the No. 0 was disallowed, and he left the team for Jay Robinson Racing later that year.

Morgan Shepherd drove the No. 01 on a limited basis in 2007, and Kevin Lepage, Shelby Howard and Danny Efland also drove the car that year. Kertus Davis returned after his release from his previous team and ran Michigan, California, Kansas and Charlotte.

What did Mike Wallace do for the No. 01?

Danny O'Quinn Jr. became the full-time driver of the No. 01 in 2009, with Cash4Gold.com, the American Basketball Association and Sun Drop as regular sponsors. Mike Wallace took over later in the season, ran the final 10 races and finished 35th in points.

Wallace returned to the car in 2010 and got the team up to eighth in points after Nashville, although it fell back to finish 18th. In 2011 G&K Services sponsored the car, and the team fought for the win at Talladega. The car flipped on its roof on the last lap, but Wallace drove the battered machine to a 17th-place finish.

In the middle of 2011 the film Cowboys & Aliens backed the car for ten races. Wallace was released after the 2013 season.

Who drove the No. 01 after Wallace?

Landon Cassill moved to the No. 01 for 2014 and became the team's primary driver while also running the full Cup campaign with Hillman-Circle Sport. G&K Services stayed on as sponsor, and Cassill became known for getting the most out of limited equipment, and he was usually inside the top 15.

Ryan Preece was announced as the full-time driver for 2016, a move that followed his Whelen Modified Tour career. He crashed early at Daytona and finished last, but he earned his first top ten at Darlington, finishing tenth. He missed the Chase and finished 17th in points.

Harrison Rhodes returned in 2017 to drive the No. 01 full-time, and Vinnie Miller took the seat in 2018 before leaving for B. J. McLeod Motorsports late in the season. Stephen Leicht ran the full 2019 season in the car.

Why was the No. 4 the team's strongest car?

The No. 4 was the team's most competitive and successful car across its history. In early 2012 the team planned to run the No. 4 mainly for Danny Efland and Daryl Harr, and Efland finished 25th at Daytona in 2013.

Landon Cassill joined in March 2013 and ran 23 races for the team, finishing 24th in points despite missing 10 races. He moved to the No. 01 for 2014, and Jeffrey Earnhardt took over the No. 4 with Warrior 50 sponsorship. Perdue Foods came on at Richmond in April, and The Great RV Outdoors Store backed the car at the Zippo 200 in Watkins Glen.

How did Ross Chastain build the No. 4 program?

Ross Chastain drove the No. 4 Chevrolet Camaro from 2015 and finished 15th in points in his first year with the team. He regressed in 2016 with no top tens, though he still finished 16th in points, the best of any JD team that year.

In 2017 Chastain had his best season with the team. He scored a top five at Iowa and two top tens, finishing a career-high 13th in points and beating J. J. Yeley to be the highest non-playoff driver in the standings.

In 2018 Chastain gave JD Motorsports its first playoff appearance as one of the top twelve drivers in the regular season, although he was eliminated in the first round. The 2019 plan to run Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 42 full-time was scrapped when DC Solar's legal troubles forced the Xfinity operation to shut down, and Chastain moved back to the No. 4 before focusing on his Truck Series campaign.

Who drove the No. 4 after Chastain?

On 7 November 2019 it was announced that Jesse Little would race the No. 4 full-time in 2020. On 22 January 2021 it was announced that Landon Cassill would drive the car full-time that year, and he left at the end of the season to drive Kaulig Racing's No. 10.

Bayley Currey drove the No. 4 in 2022 and returned full-time in 2023, but he left the team after the race at Phoenix. Garrett Smithley filled in for the rest of 2023 before the car ran a series of drivers, including Kyle Weatherman, Ty Dillon, J. J. Yeley and Stefan Parsons at various rounds.

On 6 December 2023 it was announced that Dawson Cram would drive the No. 4 in 2024. On 16 July 2024 the team sold the No. 4 owner points to Alpha Prime Racing, which ran them on its No. 45 car.

What happened to the No. 6 and No. 15 entries?

For 2020 the No. 01 car was renumbered No. 6, and B. J. McLeod moved from the No. 0 to take the seat. Ryan Vargas drove the No. 6 full-time in 2021, and he finished 26th in owner points after swapping them with Landon Cassill's No. 4 car.

Vargas had first driven the No. 6 in September 2020, for six races backed by a social media sponsor, so his path to a full-time seat came in stages.

The 2020 season was disrupted by sponsorship losses linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. David Starr lost his ride with the team on 18 May when his sponsorship fell through, and Jade Buford made his second NASCAR start at Road America in the No. 6.

In May 2022 crew chief Kase Kallenbach was suspended indefinitely for violating NASCAR's code of conduct, and Alex Bird replaced him at Charlotte. Vargas did not return to the team after the final race of 2022 at Phoenix. Brennan Poole drove the No. 6 in 2023, and Garrett Smithley was its primary driver in 2024.

The No. 15 was added in mid-2017 as a start-and-park entry, to help fund the team's other cars. Reed Sorenson drove it at New Hampshire, Indianapolis, Iowa and Charlotte that year. Matt Mills became the full-time driver from Atlanta in 2018, but Joe Nemechek replaced him at Bristol and finished 19th there.

B. J. McLeod ran 22 races in the No. 15 in 2019, and Colby Howard drove the car in 2020 and 2021. The team shut the car down after the 2021 season.

Which smaller entries did the team run?

The No. 10 ran in 2004 for Jason Schuler, with Operation Fire SAFE as sponsor. After six races and a best finish of 27th he was replaced by Gus Wasson, whose best run came at Nashville Superspeedway, where he finished 22nd.

The No. 70 was created in 2003 for Morgan Shepherd, who qualified for three races in it before leaving. The No. 87 was run in an alliance with NEMCO Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing, which gave the team a third car on some weekends.