James Ince (born November 24, 1970) is an American

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

crew chief. He served as crew chief for various teams such as

Roush Racing Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ...

Tyler Jet Motorsports Tyler Jet Motorsports was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series team. History Tyler Jet Motorsports was owned by Tim Beverley, owner of the airplane sales company that shared a name with the race team, and was formed in 1998 when Beverley bought Darrell W ...

MB2 Motorsports MB2 Motorsports was a NASCAR Cup Series team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near the sport's hub in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte. The team was founded by Read Morton, Tom Beard, and Nelson Bowers, from which the original team name ...

, and MBV Racing.

Career

Born in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, Ince was a farmer when his career started in 1991 in the

Winston Racing Series The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series, Winston Racing Series and the Dodge Weekly Series) is a points championship for NASCAR-sanctioned local short-track motor racing in the United States and Canad ...

with Larry Phillips, and the following two seasons, the two won 70 of 80 races, and won two consecutive championships. In 1993, Ince worked with

Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959), nicknamed "the Kid", is an American former stock car racing driver. He most notably drove the No. 6 Ford Motor Company, Ford for Roush Racing for the majority of his career. From 1989 to 2009, Martin wo ...

in the

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 Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

, helping him win seven races; Ince also worked with Martin in the

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

, guiding him to a win at

North Wilkesboro Speedway North Wilkesboro Speedway is a paved oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1947; primarily races sanctioned by ...

. In late 1996, Ince became the crew chief for

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and fro ...

driver

Ted Musgrave Theodore David Musgrave Sr. (born December 18, 1955) is an American former stock car racing driver. Pre-NASCAR Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukega ...

beginning at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...

. He held the position until he was replaced by Joey Knuckles in the 1998 race at

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (formerly named as the Michigan Speedway from 1997 to 2000) is a D-shaped oval superspeedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. It has hosted various major auto racing series throughout its existence, including NASCAR, Cham ...

. In 1999, Ince remained with Roush Racing when he became the crew chief for

Kevin Lepage Kevin Paul Lepage (born June 26, 1962) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who last drove in NASCAR in 2014. Racing career Early career Lepage spent the 1980s driving in both the Busch North series and the Vermont-based ...

, but subsequently left the team. In 2000, Ince became the crew chief for Johnny Benson Jr. of

, and despite being docked 108 points and $10,400 after winning a Winston West race at

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...

for unsanctioned parts in the team's

car, in the Cup Series, the duo recorded 13 top-five finishes and a win at

North Carolina Speedway Rockingham Speedway and Entertainment Complex (formerly known as North Carolina Speedway from 1998 to 2007 and North Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 to 1996) is a D-shaped oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina, United States. The track ...

in 2002, the first Cup victory for Ince. That same year, Ince, along with six other crew chiefs, were each fined $500 for violations at the

Pepsi 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series ci ...

. Also in 2002, Ince served as crew chief in the Busch Series for

Jerry Nadeau Jerry Anthony Nadeau (born September 9, 1969) is an American former stock car racer. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He started racing go-karts before moving up to car racing, driving in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the European Formu ...

. In 2003, Ince was fined $1,000 for violations 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 ...

, and later in the year, Ince missed the

Banquet 400 The Hollywood Casino 400 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN BET) is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. This race is the second of ten rac ...

for personal reasons, and eventually requested for his release from the team. In 2004, Ince joined

Peak Fitness Racing Peak Fitness Racing is a disbanded NASCAR team. It was owned by Hermie Sadler from 2001–2004 and Jeff Stec from 2005–2006, before it was sold. The team was formed in 2001 by Hermie Sadler as SCORE Motorsports. Sadler fielded the No. 13 Che ...

with

Hermie Sadler Herman Marion Sadler III (born April 24, 1969) is an American professional stock car racing driver and broadcaster, businessman and politician. He competed in NASCAR as a driver from 1992 to 2019. In the late 2000s and the 2010s, he scaled back ...

as the driver. In 2005, it was reported that Ince will serve as crew chief for PPI Motorsports driver

Bobby Hamilton Jr. Charles Robert Hamilton Jr. (born January 8, 1978) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He formerly competed in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series. Early career When he was 15 ye ...

, and Ince remained with the team the following season when Hamilton was replaced by

Travis Kvapil Travis Wade Kvapil ( ; born March 1, 1976) is an American former professional stock car driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Silverado for Beaver Motorsports. He was the 2003 ...

. Ince unofficially retired after the 2006 season, but expressed plans to return as the general manager and Director of Race Operations of a Truck Series team in 2009.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ince, James 1970 births Living people Sportspeople from Springfield, Missouri NASCAR crew chiefs Farmers from Missouri