Chad Finchum
Birth nameJames Chadwick Finchum
Birth dateSeptember 22, 1994 (age 32)
Birth placeKnoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight160 lb (73 kg)
Achievements2010 NASCAR Weekly Series Tennessee Champion
Total cup races16
Years in cup6
Cup car teamNo. 66 (Garage 66)
Prev cup pos40th
Prev cup year2025
Best cup pos40th (2025)
First cup race2018 Food City 500 (Bristol)
Last cup race2026 Cracker Barrel 400 (Nashville)
Cup wins0
Cup top tens0
Cup poles0
Total busch races117
Years in busch9
Busch car teamNo. 35/55 (Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen)
Prev busch pos57th
Prev busch year2024
Best busch pos26th (2019, 2020)
First busch race2017 OneMain Financial 200 (Dover)
Last busch race2026 Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 (Atlanta)
Busch wins0
Busch top tens0
Busch poles0
Total arca east races17
Years in arca east6
Best arca east pos24th (2016)
First arca east race2011 Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 (Greenville-Pickens)
Last arca east race2017 Zombie Auto 125 (Bristol)
First arca east win2016 PittLite 125 (Bristol)
Arca east wins1
Arca east top tens5
Arca east poles0
UpdatedJune 1, 2026

James Chadwick Finchum[1] (born September 22, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Garage 66, and part-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 35/55 Chevrolet Camaro SS for Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen. He has also previously competed in the ARCA Menards Series East.

Racing career

Early years

Finchum began racing at the age of seven,[2] starting his career racing go-karts at Dumplin Valley Raceway in Tennessee.[3] By the age of thirteen 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

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, 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 second 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 twentieth 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 nineteen laps.[28] He also competed at Kansas and Texas, where he respectively finished 39th and 35th.[29]

Finchum 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 made a start with the team at Nashville Superspeedway with the No. 66, where he finished in 33rd.

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 three 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]

On December 21, 2024, it was announced on a Facebook post from MBM that Finchum would drive for the team in 2025, beginning at Texas.[34]

On April 26, 2026, Finchum led laps in the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time in his career at Talladega, leading 8 laps after surging to the front from 38th. He would also score his best career Cup Series finish of twenty-eighth in the race.

Personal life

Finchum graduated from Halls High School in Halls Crossroads, Tennessee.[35]

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.)

Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series results
YearTeamNo.Make123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536NCSCPtsRef
2018MBM Motorsports66ToyotaDAYATLLVSPHOCALMARTEXBRI
33		RCHTALDOVKANCLTPOCMCHSONCHIDAYKENNHAPOCGLNMCHBRIDARINDLVSRCHROVDOVTALKANMARTEXPHOHOM68th01[36]
202049ToyotaDAY
DNQ		LVSCALPHODARDARCLTCLTBRIATLMARHOMTALPOCPOCINDKENTEXKANNHAMCHMCHDRCDOVDOVDAYDARRCHBRILVS
39		TALROVKAN
39		TEX
35		MARPHO52nd01[29]
202166DAYDRCHOMLVSPHOATLBRDMARRCHTALKANDARDOVCOACLTSONNSH
33		POCPOCROAATLNHAGLNIRCMCHDAYDARRCHBRILVSTALROVTEXKAN
40		MARPHO65th01[37]
2024FordDAYATLLVSPHOBRICOARCHMARTEXTALDOVKANDARCLTGTWSONIOWNHANSH
38		CSCPOCINDRCHMCHDAYDARATLGLNBRIKANTALROVLVSHOM
37		MARPHO
36		60th01[38]
2025Garage 66DAYATLCOAPHOLVSHOMMARDARBRITALTEX
37		KANCLTNSH
35		MCHMXCPOCATLCSCSONDOVINDIOWGLNRCHDAYDARGTWBRI
35		NHAKANROVLVSTALMARPHO40th5[39]
2026DAYATLCOAPHOLVSDARMARBRI
36		KANTAL
28		TEX
33		GLNCLTNSH
28		MCHPOCCORSONCHIATLNWSINDIOWRCHNHADAYDARGTWBRIKANLVSCLTPHOTALMARHOM-*-*[40]
Daytona 500
YearTeamManufacturerStartFinish
2020MBM MotorsportsToyotaDNQ

O'Reilly Auto Parts Series

NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series results
YearTeamNo.Make123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233NOAPSCPtsRef
2017MBM Motorsports40ChevyDAYATLLVSPHOCALTEXBRIRCHTALCLTDOV
34		POCMCHIOWDAYKEN
29		NHABRI
28		ROADARRCHCHIKENDOV
36		49th41[41]
DodgeIND
32		IOWGLNMOH
ToyotaCLT
29		KANTEXPHOHOM
30
2018DAY
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		30th253[42]
ChevyDAR
32
DodgeROV
28
66ToyotaHOM
31
201942DAYATL
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		26th250[43]
13TAL
36		GLN
32		MOH
35		ROA
35		IND
33		ROV
36		PHO
32
66BRI
DNQ		LVS
34
61DAR
30		RCH
26		DOV
31		KAN
26		TEX
15		HOM
35
202013DAY
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		ROVKAN26th322[44]
66IRC
27		ROA
36		DRCLVS
35		TEX
34
61RCH
37		RCH
28		BRI
20		MAR
37		PHO
202113FordDAY
30		DRC48th57[45]
61ToyotaHOM
23		LVS
28		PHOBRI
33		LVSTALROVTEXKANMARPHO
13ATL
39		MARTALDARDOVCOACLT
15		MOHTEXNHA
DNQ		GLNIRCMCHDAYDAR
DNQ		RCH
42NSH
DNQ		POCROAATL
202213DAYCALLVSPHOATL
DNQ		COARCHMAR
DNQ		TALDOV
32		DARTEXCLTPIRNSHROAATLNHAPOCIRCMCHGLNDAYBRI
DNQ		TEXTALROVLVSHOMMAR
36		PHO70th6[46]
FordDAR
DNQ		KAN
202366DAYCALLVSPHOATLCOARCHMAR
DNQ		TALDOVDAR
DNQ		CLTPORSONNSH
DNQ		CSCATLNHA
35		POCROAMCHIRCGLNDAY52nd35[47]
SS-Green Light Racing08FordDAR
22		KANBRI
29		TEXROVLVSHOMMAR
27		PHO
2024MBM Motorsports66FordDAYATLLVSPHOCOARCHMARTEX
38		TALDOV
DNQ		57th27[48]
Joey Gase Motorsports35ChevyDAR
26		CLTPIRSONIOWNHA
SS-Green Light Racing14FordNSH
34		CSCPOCINDMCHDAYDAR
33		ATLGLNBRI
32		KANTALROVLVSHOMMARPHO
2026Joey Gase Motorsports
with Scott Osteen		55ChevyDAYATL
17		COAPHO-*-*[49]
35LVS
DNQ		DARMARCARBRIKANTALTEXGLNDOVCLTNSHPOCCORSONCHIATLINDIOWDAYDARGTWBRILVSCLTPHOTALMARHOM

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

K&N Pro Series East

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
YearTeamNo.Make1234567891011121314NKNPSECPtsRef
2011Lori Williams12DodgeGRE
18		SBORCHIOWBGS
7		JFC
7		LGYNHACOLGRE
26		NHADOV31st486[50]
2012Spraker Racing37ToyotaBRI
7		GRE
12		RCH
36		IOWBGSJFC
25		LGYCNBCOLIOWNHADOVGRECAR32nd96[51]
2013ChevyBRI
34		GREFIFRCHBGSIOWLGYCOLIOWVIRGRENHADOVRAL76th10[52]
2015James Finchum17ToyotaNSMGREBRI
17		IOWBGSLGYCOLNHA34th74[53]
Martin-McClure Racing39ChevyIOW
18		GLNMOTVIRRCHDOV
23
2016ToyotaNSMMOBGREBRI
1*		VIRDOMSTACOLNHA
14		DOV
14		24th135[54]
33IOW
17		GLNGRENJM
201739NSMGREBRI
5		SBOSBOMEMBLNTMPNHAIOWGLNLGYNJMDOV44th39[55]

References

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  2. ^ Moats, Michael (April 30, 2008). "Wins pile up with races for 13-year-old Chad Finchum". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  3. ^ Gregory, Alan (March 15, 2013). "Finchum goes for dream win today". Bristol Herald-Courier. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  4. ^ Marquis, Andy (June 2, 2017). "Chad Finchum Set for XFINITY Debut at Dover". popularspeed.com. Archived December 1, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. 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.
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  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.
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  12. ^ "Driver Chad Finchum 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
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