Chad J. Finley (born March 17, 1992) is an American professional
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...
driver and team owner. He last competed part-time in the
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock cars. The series is ...
, driving the No. 42
Chevrolet Silverado
The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from the to ...
for
Chad Finley Racing. He is the son of former racing driver
Jeff Finley, who competed in the Truck Series, the
NASCAR Busch Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...
, and the
ARCA Re/Max Series in the past.
Racing career
Finley began his racing career at the age of 10. He finished third in the East Lansing Kart Track Championship points his first season and won the championship the following. He won the Great Lakes Sprint Series Championship and finished sixth in the World Karting Association (WKA) in 2005.
In 2006, Finley made his full-sized stock car debut with the ASA Late Model Series. His first full season in the full-sized stock car came in 2007 when at the age of 15 he won the Outlaw Super Late Model Rookie-of-the-Year award at Spartan Speedway (Mich.).
2008 saw many firsts for Finley. He scored his first career Outlaw Super Late Model feature win at Spartan Speedway (Mich.) and then visited victory lane again just a couple months later, this time driving a Template Pro Late Model in the Super Pro Late Model Series.
In 2009, saw Finley make the jump to the ARCA Racing Series driving for NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski. He won a pole award at Rockingham Speedway (N.C.), scored one top-five finish, and three top-10s in just four starts that season. Finley made seven starts in the ARCA Racing Series in 2010 where he tied his career best finish of third, twice. Those two top-three finishes came at Rockingham Speedway (N.C.) and Pocono Raceway (Pa.). Chad also raced events at major NASCAR venues such as Texas Motor Speedway (Tex.), and Michigan International Speedway (Mich.).
In 2011, Finley competed for JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Championship, finishing third in the overall points standings with five top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes. He scored two season-high second-place finishes at Lucas Oil Raceway (Ind.) and Dixie Motor Speedway (Mich.) respectively.
In 2012, Finley scored his first career win in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour at Columbus Motor Speedway (Ohio). He also won the Fast Qualifier Award in both the ARCA/CRA Super Series and JEGS/CRA All-Stars and finished the year with four top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes.
In 2013, Finley ran events in both the ARCA/CRA Super Series and the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, winning two races in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour. He collected five-top five finishes as well as eight top-10 finishes that season as well. At South Alabama Speedway, Finley broke the track record during the 37th Running of the Rattler 250.
In 2014, Finley posted many solid finishes in both Pro and Super Late Model races around the country. He also ran select races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. At the end of the season, he moved to Mooresville, N.C., where he expanded Chad Finley Development.
In 2015, Finley made his
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock cars. The series i ...
debut, driving the No. 30
Ford F-150 for
Rette Jones Racing at Michigan and Chicagoland where he finished 21st in both events.
In 2017, he and his race team attempted 6
ARCA Racing Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nationa ...
races over the course of the year, scoring a win at the
Nashville Fairgrounds in the early spring.
In 2018, he attempted two Truck Series races with his team at
Gateway Motorsports Park and at
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway (formerly known as the Bristol International Raceway from 1978 to 1996 and as the Bristol International Speedway from 1961 to 1978) is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Bristol, Tennessee. The track ha ...
respectively. He finished an impressive 6th place with their first attempt at Gateway after avoiding some of the late race chaos in the end. While they qualified well at Bristol, the team fell out of the race early. He later ran the Martinsville fall race with
Reaume Brothers Racing, but a wreck towards the end of stage 1 derailed their chances of a good run, finishing 32nd.
For the 2019 season, Chad Finley Racing increased their Truck Series schedule to a full-time slate, hiring
Robby Lyons to share the No. 42 with Finley starting with the
NextEra Energy 250 at
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...
. After the
Ultimate Tailgating 200 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway (currently known as EchoPark Speedway for sponsorship reasons, formerly known as the Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Hampton, Georg ...
, the team's hauler and trucks inside were damaged in an accident while leaving the track, forcing them to miss the following week's
Strat 200 at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway (track complex formerly known as Las Vegas Speedway Park from 1993 to 1996, Las Vegas Speedway in 1992, Las Vegas International Speedway from 1990 to 1992, as the Las Vegas International Speedrome from 1972 to 1990) is a ...
.
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.)
Nationwide Series
Gander Outdoors Truck Series
K&N Pro Series East
K&N Pro Series West
Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points
ARCA Racing Series
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finley, Chad
1992 births
People from DeWitt, Michigan
Living people
NASCAR drivers
ARCA Menards Series drivers