Daniel Efland (born October 4, 1988) is an American professional
stock car racing driver, engineer and crew chief who works for
Petty GMS Motorsports as the engineer for the No. 43
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by
Erik Jones in the
NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...
. He formerly competed as a driver in
USAR Pro Cup, what is now the
NASCAR Xfinity 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 ...
, and the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Racing career
From 1999–2002, Efland won 7 state championships as well as 5 National
World Karting Association
The World Karting Association, or WKA, is the largest sanctioning body for kart racing in North America. The WKA was founded in 1971 and is located directly behind Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The WKA is believed to curren ...
championships. Moving on to the Pro 4 Mod class at Florence Motor Speedway in 2002, he won the track championship as well as rookie of the year honors. He won his first
late model
A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.)
The precise definition ...
race in 2005, and went on to win 8 more races in 2006.
In 2007, Efland made his
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 ...
debut at
New Hampshire International Speedway
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mil ...
. Driving the No. 01
Chevrolet for
JD Motorsports
JD Motorsports, is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It is owned and operated by Johnny Davis. It currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro SS teams: The No. 4 for Bayley Currey an ...
, he started 36th and finished 40th after retiring due to handling problems. He ran two more races that season and failed to finish either of them. In 2008, he returned to JD and competed in 18 races. Success was hard to find and he only managed a best finish of 23rd at
Lowe's Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including t ...
.
Efland made two
start and park
Start and park is a term used in auto racing, particularly in NASCAR-sanctioned races, to describe the practice of racing teams starting races but pulling the car off the track after just a few laps in order to collect prize money while avoiding e ...
efforts for
Corrie Stott Racing Corrie may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* nickname of ''Coronation Street'', a long-running British television soap opera
** '' Corrie!'', a play written to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of ''Coronation Street'' in 2010
* The Corries, a Scott ...
in the
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, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of ...
in 2009, finishing 33rd and 31st. Efland returned to the Nationwide Series to run a limited schedule in 2010 and 2011, scoring a best career finish of 16th at
Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is ...
.
Efland planned to run a partial 2012 schedule in the No. 4
Chevrolet for
JD Motorsports
JD Motorsports, is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It is owned and operated by Johnny Davis. It currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro SS teams: The No. 4 for Bayley Currey an ...
.
To date in 2012, Danny has finished both Nationwide Daytona races in 13th position. He also picked up a strong finish at Talladega in 16th position.
It was announced on January 21, 2013 that Efland would return to the No. 4
JD Motorsports
JD Motorsports, is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It is owned and operated by Johnny Davis. It currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro SS teams: The No. 4 for Bayley Currey an ...
Chevrolet in 27 of the 33 races for the
2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, but he was released from the team in late March. He also returned to the Truck Series at
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 2011 ...
, driving the No. 6 for
Eddie Sharp Racing
Sharp Gallaher Racing (formerly known as Eddie Sharp Racing) is a disbanded NASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina that competed in the ARCA Racing Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team fielded the No. 6 Chevrolet ...
.
In March 2014, Efland joined
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richar ...
, working as an engineer for the team's No. 33 Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series.
In 2022, Efland worked for
Petty GMS Motorsports as the engineer for the No. 43 car driven by
Erik Jones. In the
race at Pocono, Efland served as the interim crew chief for the team after crew chief Dave Elenz was suspended for the race due to a rocker box assembly violation.
Personal life
Efland graduated with honors from
Dutch Fork High School and graduated from the
University of South Carolina with a degree in
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
.
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
Camping World Truck Series
Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Efland, Danny
Living people
1988 births
Sportspeople from Columbia, South Carolina
Racing drivers from South Carolina
NASCAR drivers
CARS Tour drivers
University of South Carolina alumni
People from Irmo, South Carolina