James D. Davison (born 28 August 1986) is an Australian professional racing driver who drives an

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

Vantage GT3 in the

Blancpain GT World Challenge America The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club si ...

. He has also competed in the

NTT IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the 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. In 1971, ...

, and

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 a ...

. He is sometimes also called JD (or J. D.) Davison. His father Jon Davison was a

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

competitor and was the long-running promoter of racing events at

Sandown Raceway Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in the suburb of Springvale in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately south east of the city centre. Sandown is considered a power circuit with its " drag strip" front and back straights be ...

. Davison's grandfather,

Lex Davison Alexander Nicholas Davison (12 February 1923 – 20 February 1965) was a racing driver who won the Australian Grand Prix four times between 1954 Australian Grand Prix, 1954 and 1961 Australian Grand Prix, 1961 and won the Australian Drivers' ...

, was a four-time winner of the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

. He is a cousin of

V8 Supercar The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

drivers

Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

and

Will Davison William 'THE SOOK' Davison (born 30 August 1982) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently drives the No.17 Ford Mustang GT for Dick Johnson Racing in the Repco Supercars Championship. Davison is a two-time winner of the Bathur ...

. He also competed as a

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boat ...

as part of Scotch College's championship-winning rowing crew in 2003.

Racing career

Open-wheel

Junior formula

In 2004 he joined the ranks of

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

in his native Australia, running in both the Victorian and

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Championships. At the end of 2004 he won a scholarship at the BMW Junior Scholarship Finals in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. For 2005 Davison competed in the Formula BMW USA Junior Series, qualifying on the front row at the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Montreal, won at the US Grand Prix held at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was second at the Denver street circuit and Mid-Ohio and third at Barber Motorsports Park and Road Atlanta. Based on these performances, Davison became part of the Confederation of Australian Motorsport Elite Driver program which included attendance at the Australian Institute of Sport and financial support from the Foundation. At the end of the season, he qualified and finished tenth at the Formula BMW Final at Bahrain. 2006 saw him again compete in the United States in the

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club o ...

series for

Team Australia Team Australia was an auto racing team competing in the V8 Supercars and Champ Car World Series. It was created in early 2005 when two Australian businessmen Craig Gore and John Fish bought into Derrick Walker's Walker Racing operation. After ...

. After the Denver round, he was dropped by the team for fellow Aussie

Michael Patrizi Michael Patrizi (born 4 May 1984) is an Australian racing driver. Biography Starting off in karts in his native Western Australia, he moved to Formula Ford in 2004, then to Formula BMW in Asia 2005, then UK in 2006. In 2007 he joined the compet ...

. 2007 saw Davison progress into the Star Mazda Championship where current IndyCar Series drivers Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal previously competed. Driving for Velocity Motorsports, Davison proved to be an outstanding competitor finishing second in the Championship; earning three pole positions and one win. JamesDavison

Indy Lights

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

found him in the

Firestone Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...

series, racing for

Sam Schmidt Motorsports The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren (competing as Arrow McLaren due to sponsorship) is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. After a series of partnerships and name ...

. He struggled throughout the first half of the season, but captured his first series pole at

Nashville Superspeedway Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee, United States (though the track has a Lebanon postal address), about southeast of Nashville. The track was built in 2001 and is currently hosting the Ally 400, ...

, a concrete oval, in July. His first win came in bizarre circumstances in a wet race at

Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...

. While running second on the last lap, race leader

Jonny Reid Jonathan Ross Reid, more commonly known as Jonny Reid, (born 18 October 1983, in Auckland) is a New Zealand racing driver. Career Early career Reid started his career in karting at the age of 8. In 1996, Reid won his first title, the New Z ...

went into pit lane instead of the finish line, handing Davison the victory. Davison also received the Sunoco Most Improved Driver Award at the IRL Championship Celebration held in Las Vegas. Davison finished second in the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights Championship with a new team

Vision Racing Vision Racing was a racing team in the Indy Racing League founded in 2005 when Tony George purchased the assets of the defunct Kelley Racing and hired his stepson Ed Carpenter to be the driver. The team has previously raced in the Izod IndyCa ...

, again winning at Mid-Ohio. Davison was running at the finish of all fifteen races and finished in the top ten in all but one.

IndyCar

James Davison - 2015 Indianapolis 500 - Stierch

In November 2011 he tested for

Andretti Autosport Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...

Palm Beach International Raceway Palm Beach International Raceway (stylized as PBIR and formerly Moroso Motorsports Park) was a motorsports facility located west of Jupiter, Florida. The facility had a quarter-mile drag strip, a road course, 7/10-mile kart track as well as mud ...

, Florida. He shared the car with Indy Lights driver Gustavo Yacaman. In 2013 Davison tested a car for

Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) is an American professional open-wheel racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was founded in 1984 and is owned by former driver Dale Coyne. From 1995 to 2000, the team was known as Payton-Coyn ...

at the

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...

. A few weeks later it was announced that he would drive the team's No. 18 car at the race there. It would be his first

open wheel An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

race appearance since 2009. Following the horrific accident by

Sebastian Bourdais Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...

during qualifying for the 2017 Indianapolis 500, it was announced that James would be stepping into the number 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda for the remainder of the season. In the later stages of the race, Davison matched a record set by

Tom Sneva Thomas E. Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is a retired American race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. A former math teacher from Spokane ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

and became the third driver in Indy history to start 33rd and lead laps in the race, having led two laps. He then got caught up in a late wreck with 17 laps to go. A year later, Davison barely qualified for the

2018 Indianapolis 500 The 2018 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil for sponsorship reasons) was a Verizon IndyCar Series held on Sunday, May 27, 2018, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, I ...

, bumping out longtime IndyCar rival

James Hinchcliffe James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...

. He would finish in last place, after a crash on lap 47 caused by contact with

Takuma Sato , nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...

's car. Davison finished in last place again at the

2020 Indianapolis 500 The 2020 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) was a 500-mile (800 km, 200 lap) automobile race held on Sunday, August 23, 2020, at the Indianapolis Motor ...

due to a mechanical failure only six laps into the race.

Historic racing

In 2011 he drove his Uncle Richard Davison's

Lola T332 The Lola T332 was a race car designed and built by Lola Cars for use in Formula 5000 racing and made its racing debut in 1973. The T332 was successful around the globe with race victories in places such as Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zeal ...

car at

Phillip Island Phillip Island (Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. The island is named after Governor Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, by explorer ...

and Albert Park. In 2012, he returned to drive it again at Phillip Island. In 2019 he drove a Lotus 18 at Goodwood and Lotus 81 at Silverstone. In 2022, he drove a

Hill GH1 The Hill GH1 was a Formula One car used by Embassy Hill during the 1975 Formula One season. It was designed by Andy Smallman. The car was initially designated as the Lola T371, but when Smallman left Lola to work full-time for Embassy Hill it w ...

at the 13th Historic Monaco. Then drove again at Spa in September.

Sports car racing

2010 saw him make his sportscar debut in the Grand-Am Series for Starworks Motorsports Corsa Car Care Dinan-BMW Riley partnering Ryan Dalziel and Mike Forest in the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen finishing seventh. He was then drafted in to run at the

6 Hours of Watkins Glen The Six Hours of Watkins Glen (currently sponsored as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the ...

the Crown Royal 200 also at Watkins Glen. In 2011 he drove for Michael Shank Racing at Laguna Seca. Driving with

The Racer's Group The Racer's Group, or TRG, is a WeatherTech SportsCar Championship racing team located in Petaluma, California, owned by Kevin Buckler and his wife Debra. TRG has competed professionally in road racing since 1995. The team formerly competed in N ...

in an Aston Martin in 2014, he scored four consecutive GTD class poles across the final races of the 2014 and first race of the 2015 season. In 2015 he joined

Nismo , abbreviated as Nismo, is a division of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing focused in motorsport and performance-oriented car models for Nissan. Nismo was initially a company, , formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departmen ...

factory team to drive a

Nissan GT-R The Nissan GT-R (Japanese: 日産・GT-R, ''Nissan GT-R''), is a high-performance sports car and grand tourer produced by Nissan, unveiled in 2007. It is the successor to the Skyline GT-R, a high performance variant of the Nissan Skyline. Alth ...

in the

Pirelli World Challenge The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club s ...

. He continued with Always Evolving Racing in the GT-R in 2016 before moving to

for the 2017 season.

NASCAR

Davison made his first

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. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

start in 2016, driving the No. 90

King Autosport DGM Racing (formerly King Autosport) is a Canadian professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Mario Gosselin. The team is now located in Lake Wales, Florida,The team formerly ...

car in the

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 a ...

for the

Road America 180 The Henry 180 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that has taken place at Road America since 2010. Henry Repeating Arms holds the naming rights to the race, and the pole and race winners are awarded matching, custom Henry 180 Edition Big Boy Lever-Act ...

. He started 18th and went down one position after making contact with

Scott Heckert Scott Heckert (born November 21, 1993) is an American professional racing driver. He previously drove full-time in NASCAR for three years in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East; in the last of those years, 2015, he finished second in the point standing ...

on the last lap. In 2020, Davison raced in the

Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the 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. In 1971, ...

for the first time in the Pocono Organics 325 at

Pocono Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...

with

Spire Motorsports Spire Motorsports is an American auto racing organization competing in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is a subsidiary of Spire Sports + Entertainment. In the Cup Series, the team currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 teams: the No. 7 for Cor ...

. His Cup debut had been delayed on two occasions earlier in the season, with a

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

start for

Jonathan Byrd's Racing Byrd Racing is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series. The team is owned by Virginia (Ginny) Byrd and her sons David and Jonathan Byrd II. They also run select races in partnership with Rick Ware Racing starting in select races in 2020 in t ...

ultimately failing to materalise, while his

GEICO 500 The GEICO 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The race is usually held in April or May. The 1997 event stands as the fastest NASCAR race to date ever run with an average speed of ...

entry at

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...

with Spire was disallowed due to his lack of experience on such tracks. He returned to the series at Loudon with

Rick Ware Racing Rick Ware Racing (RWR) is an American motorsports team which currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the NTT IndyCar Series. History The organizational roots of RWR date back to Ware & Sons Racing with ...

. Davison committed to an approximately 26-race schedule with RWR for the 2021 Cup season. In May, he dominated the

eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series was a series of '' iRacing'' sim racing events originally organized for NASCAR drivers to compete in after its 2020 seasons were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drivers from all of NASCAR's ...

race at

Circuit of the Americas Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand ...

, leading 32 of 33 laps and finished 12 seconds ahead of

Anthony Alfredo Anthony Francis Alfredo (born March 31, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 23 Chevrolet Camaro for Our Motorsports. Racing career Early career After ...

. He continued his dominance in the series at the virtually-designed Chicago Street Course, capturing the pole, leading every lap, and winning by 56 seconds over his Rick Ware Racing teammate

Josh Bilicki Joshua M. Bilicki (born June 3, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Live Fast Motorsports. He has also previously competed in the ...

. He also raced at the 2021 YellaWood 500 for the No. 66

MBM Motorsports Motorsports Business Management LLC, operating as MBM Motorsports (and sometimes known as Carl Long Motorsports), is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. M ...

Ford with sponsorship from Rich Mar Florist.

Motorsports career results

American open-wheel racing results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

Champ Car Atlantic results

Star Mazda Championship

Indy Lights results

IndyCar Series

Indianapolis 500

Sports car racing results

(

)

Rolex Sports Car Series

IMSA SportsCar Championship

Pirelli World Challenge

NASCAR

(

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series

Xfinity Series

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

Complete S5000 results

References

External links

* *
Profile on Driver Database

Indy Lights Profile

2006 Atlantic standings

2007 Star Mazda review

Grand-Am Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, James 1986 births Living people Racing drivers from Melbourne Formula Ford drivers Formula BMW USA drivers Atlantic Championship drivers Indy Pro 2000 Championship drivers Indy Lights drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Australian IndyCar Series drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers NASCAR drivers Joe Gibbs Racing drivers USAC Silver Crown Series drivers Team Meritus drivers Walker Racing drivers Arrow McLaren SP drivers Vision Racing drivers Starworks Motorsport drivers Meyer Shank Racing drivers Dale Coyne Racing drivers KV Racing Technology drivers Belardi Auto Racing drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers