Jimmy Means

Jimmy Means
Jimmy Means
	Means at Texas Motor Speedway in 2019
Born	James Bradford Means; May 29, 1950 (age 73); Texarkana, Arkansas, U.S.
NASCAR Cup Series career
	455 races run over 18 years
Best finish	11th (1982)
First race	1976 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race	1993 AC Delco 500 (Rockingham)
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
	3 races run over 1 year
Best finish	65th (1989)
First race	1989 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last race	1989 Gatorade 200 (Darlington)
	Statistics current as of December 25, 2012.

James Means (born May 29, 1950) is a retired American racing driver and owner, who competed in the Winston Cup Series as an owner-driver. He is currently an adviser for Front Row Motorsports and a former owner of NASCAR Xfinity Series team Jimmy Means Racing.

He competed in NASCAR for eighteen years in mostly his own equipment, posting seventeen career top-tens. He made three career Busch Series starts in 1989, finishing 10th at Darlington Raceway. Following his retirement, Means worked as a crew chief in NASCAR, working for Bud Moore Engineering and Moy Racing. Means was part the Alabama Gang which included Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Neil Bonnett and Red Farmer and later Davey Allison, Hut Stricklin, Steve Grissom and Mike Alexander.

Means' nickname "Smut" originated from his admiration for mechanic Smokey Yunick. Since the nickname "Smokey" was already taken in racing circles, Means' crew nicknamed him "Smut", the residue left behind by smoke.^[1]

He is the father of Brad Means.

Local track career

Means won dozens of late model races in Alabama and Tennessee in the early 1970s, including track championships at Huntsville Speedway and the historic Nashville Speedway USA.

Driving career

Means made his Cup debut in 1976 at the Daytona 500, driving the number five Chevrolet for Bill Gray. He led one lap but finished 40th after an engine failure. He ran an additional eighteen races for Gray in the number 52 car with sponsorship from WIXC, finishing in eleventh place twice. The following season, Means drove twenty-six races and had a career-best six top-ten finishes, but due to twelve DNFs, he finished nineteenth in points.

In 1978, Means began running as an independent driver, except for the Winston 500, where he drove for Bill Champion. He had two top-tens and improved three spots to finish sixteenth in points. He received new sponsorship from Mr. Transmission, but only had one top-ten in 1979, forcing him to fall to 23rd in points. After a sponsorship change to Thompson Industries for 1980, Means failed to finish higher than 12th, but he was still able to move up to 17th in the standings. Broadway Motors became his new sponsor in 1981, and after two top-tens, he continued to move up to fourteenth in points. In 1982, he was able to garner an additional pair of ninth-place runs, and finished a career-best 11th in points. It also marked the first time in his career he ran every race on the schedule.

Means had the highest finish of his career in 1983, when he had a seventh-place run at Talladega. Combined with two other top-tens, he dropped seven spots in the standings. During the 1984, Means suffered injuries in a crash at Talladega Superspeedway, forcing him to miss several races. He did not have a top-ten finish over the next two years, and he lost his Broadway sponsorship, picking up funding from Voyles Auto Savage in late 1986. He also switched his manufacturer to Pontiac.

In 1987, Eureka Vacuum Cleaners became Means' new sponsor, and he had the last top-ten of his career at Richmond International Raceway. He dropped to what was at the time the lowest points finish of his career (30th) in 1988, and continued to struggle in 1989, failing to qualify for several races and dropping another spot in the standings despite a new sponsor in Alka-Seltzer. Means had already chosen to skip two races in favor of Bobby Hillin Jr. in 1991 after being involved with J. D. McDuffie's fatal crash; he continued to relinquish the ride to Mike Wallace at the end of the season.

After losing the Alka-Seltzer sponsorship, Means continued to drive a part-time schedule. After getting part-time funding from NAPA and Hurley Limo, Means ran eighteen races in 1993.

Means had planned to race again in 1994 for his own team. Speedweeks 1994 was marred by the deaths of fellow Alabama driver Neil Bonnett, and reigning Goody's Dash Series Champion Rodney Orr. The deaths of Bonnett and Orr convinced Means that he had no more reason to be racing. Means announced his retirement in the days following qualifying for the 1994 Daytona 500. He was winless in 455 starts.

In 1995 he had a brief stint as team manager for the Bud Moore-owned, Lake Speed-driven No. 15 Ford Quality Care Thunderbird.

Car owner

Means continued to own NASCAR cars through the 1990s and 2000s, primarily in the Busch Series (now Xfinity Series). In 2012, he was a part-owner of the new Hamilton Means Racing team, which fielded his traditional number 52.^[2]

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)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1976	Jimmy Means Racing	5	Chevy	RSD	DAY 40	CAR	RCH	BRI																											24th	1752	^[3]
1976		52							ATL 34	NWS	DAR	MAR	TAL 31	NSV 15	DOV	CLT 39	RSD	MCH 23	DAY 11	NSV 24	POC 23	TAL 11	MCH 24	BRI 19	DAR 18	RCH 24	DOV 27	MAR 20	NWS 27	CLT	CAR 23	ATL 17	ONT DNQ		24th	1752	^[3]
1977		52		RSD	DAY 8	RCH 29	CAR 28	ATL 20	NWS 27	DAR 20	BRI 9	MAR 8	TAL 34	NSV 9	DOV 29	CLT 19	RSD	MCH 14	DAY 20	NSV 29	POC 20		MCH 17	BRI 27	DAR	RCH 10	DOV 14	MAR 9	NWS 11	CLT 28	CAR 22	ATL 40	ONT DNQ		19th	2640	^[4]
1977	Osterlund Racing	98	Chevy																			TAL 36													19th	2640	^[4]
1978	Jimmy Means Racing	52	Chevy	RSD	DAY 35	RCH 12	CAR 10	ATL 32	BRI 23	DAR 12	NWS 14	MAR 10		DOV 17	CLT 37	NSV 30	RSD	MCH 15	DAY 13	NSV 24	POC 13	TAL 32	MCH 15	BRI 19	DAR 11	RCH 13	DOV 32	MAR 23	NWS 23	CLT	CAR 13	ATL 23	ONT 22		16th	2756	^[5]
1978	Champion Racing	10	Ford										TAL 26																						16th	2756	^[5]
1979	Jimmy Means Racing	52	Chevy	RSD	DAY DNQ	CAR 24	RCH 27	ATL 33	NWS 30	BRI 28	DAR 30	MAR 28	TAL 12	NSV 11	DOV 31	CLT	TWS 23	RSD 31	MCH 16	DAY 22	NSV 10	POC 16	TAL 13	MCH 22	BRI 19	DAR 16	RCH 20	DOV 16	MAR 17		NWS 24	CAR 31	ATL 19	ONT	23rd	2575	^[6]
1979	Cunningham-Kelley Racing	14	Chevy																											CLT 40					23rd	2575	^[6]
1980	Jimmy Means Racing	52	Chevy	RSD 21		RCH 30	CAR 20	ATL 12	BRI 24	DAR 28	NWS 14	MAR 12	TAL	NSV 12	DOV 27	CLT 14	TWS 19	RSD	MCH 22		NSV 16	POC 14	TAL 15	MCH 14	BRI 22	DAR 16	RCH 13	DOV 27	NWS 12			CAR 13	ATL 20	ONT 31	17th	2947	^[7]
	Jimmy Means Racing	52	Buick		DAY 15															DAY 26
	Price Racing	45	Chevy																											MAR 30	CLT
1981	Jimmy Means Racing	52	Chevy	RSD 18					BRI 14	NWS 14				NSV 14																NWS 9					14th	3142	^[8]
			Pontiac		DAY 21	RCH 14	CAR 29	ATL 21			DAR 23	MAR 12	TAL 27		DOV 9	CLT 23	TWS 19	RSD 28	MCH 28	DAY 18		POC 19	TAL 16	MCH 25	BRI 12	DAR 38	RCH 16	DOV 19	MAR 15			CAR 20	ATL 35	RSD
			Buick																		NSV 15
	Negre Racing	8	Dodge																												CLT 12
1982	Jimmy Means Racing	52	Buick	DAY 17			ATL 16		DAR 11	NWS 18	MAR 13	TAL 9			CLT 14	POC 24	RSD 18	MCH 20	DAY 21			TAL 17	MCH 11			RCH 19			CLT 11						11th	3423	^[9]
			Chevy		RCH 18															NSV 14				BRI 14						MAR 9	CAR 15	ATL 13
			Pontiac			BRI 16		CAR 17					NSV 23	DOV 31							POC 17				DAR 23		DOV 17	NWS 14					RSD 12
1983			Buick	DAY 14			ATL 32				TAL 7				CLT 38			MCH 21	DAY 36																18th	2983	^[10]
			Chevy		RCH 16				NWS 14	MAR 10		NSV 12		BRI 14		RSD 18	POC 20			NSV 12				BRI 26	DAR 20	RCH 24	DOV 21	MAR 15	NWS 22	CLT 23	CAR 9	ATL 18	RSD 16
			Pontiac			CAR 14		DAR 12					DOV 12								POC 35	TAL	MCH
1984			Chevy	DAY 17	RCH 28				NWS 25			TAL 40	NSV 22										MCH 26			RCH 18	DOV 15								25th	2218	^[11]
1984			Pontiac			CAR 13	ATL	BRI 17		DAR 14	MAR			DOV 16	CLT 27	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC 25	TAL		BRI 30	DAR 18			MAR 15	CLT 19	NWS 16	CAR 18	ATL 16	RSD 21		25th	2218	^[11]
1985			Chevy	DAY 14	RCH 21		ATL 28	BRI 12				TAL 12			RSD 37			DAY 32					DAR 27												23rd	2548	^[12]
1985			Pontiac			CAR 30			DAR 15	NWS 17	MAR 14		DOV 30	CLT 32		POC 22	MCH 35		POC 23	TAL 42	MCH 15	BRI 27		RCH 23	DOV 13	MAR 13	NWS 21	CLT 38	CAR 18	ATL 41	RSD 20				23rd	2548	^[12]
1986			Pontiac	DAY 39	RCH 11	CAR 19	ATL 41	BRI DNQ	DAR 25	NWS 20	MAR 12		DOV 24	CLT DNQ	RSD 22	POC 22	MCH DNQ	DAY 24	POC 13	TAL 15	GLN 21	MCH 25	BRI 27	DAR 15	RCH 26	DOV 24	MAR 22	NWS 27	CLT 18	CAR 22	ATL 29	RSD 17			22nd	2495	^[13]
1986			Chevy									TAL 16																							22nd	2495	^[13]
1987			Pontiac	DAY 24	CAR 22	RCH 14	ATL 32	DAR 36	NWS 30	BRI 29	MAR 14	TAL 33	CLT 15	DOV 13	POC 19	RSD 23	MCH DNQ				GLN 19		BRI 13		RCH 9	DOV 22	MAR 30	NWS 21		CAR 20	RSD 27	ATL 29			23rd	2483	^[14]
			Chevy															DAY 29	POC 38	TAL 36		MCH 37		DAR 22
	Hendrick Motorsports																												CLT 40
1988	Jimmy Means Racing			DAY 25	RCH 24																														30th	2045	^[15]
	Jimmy Means Racing		Pontiac			CAR 40	ATL 42	DAR 35	BRI 32	NWS 30	MAR DNQ	TAL 23	CLT 12	DOV 27	RSD 43	POC 20	MCH 36	DAY 27	POC 39	TAL 23	GLN 14	MCH 38	BRI DNQ	DAR 24	RCH 29	DOV 19	MAR 23	CLT 42	NWS DNQ	CAR 39	PHO 24	ATL 38
	Donlavey Racing	90	Ford																										NWS 24
1989	Jimmy Means Racing	52	Pontiac	DAY DNQ	CAR 33	ATL 18	RCH DNQ	DAR 38	BRI DNQ	NWS 32	MAR DNQ	TAL 41	CLT 41	DOV 24	SON DNQ	POC 29	MCH 28	DAY 12	POC 24	TAL 39	GLN 33	MCH 27	BRI DNQ	DAR 26	RCH 19	DOV 21	MAR 31	CLT 37	NWS 22	CAR 31	PHO 25	ATL DNQ			31st	1698	^[16]
1990				DAY 29	RCH 18	CAR 21	ATL 31	DAR 31	BRI 29	NWS 28	MAR 19	TAL 21	CLT DNQ	DOV 22	SON DNQ	POC 27	MCH 39	DAY 12	POC 21	TAL 30	GLN 39	MCH 27	BRI 22	DAR 36	RCH 18	DOV 24	MAR 16	NWS 30	CLT 39	CAR 28	PHO 25	ATL 28			29th	2271	^[17]
1991				DAY 39	RCH 31	CAR 27	ATL 31	DAR 23	BRI DNQ	NWS DNQ	MAR DNQ	TAL 20	CLT 38	DOV	SON	POC 26	MCH 27	DAY 26	POC 21	TAL 23	GLN 39	MCH 27	BRI DNQ	DAR 28	RCH 35	DOV 23	MAR DNQ		CLT 24	CAR 35	PHO	ATL			33rd	1562	^[18]
1991			Olds																									NWS 28							33rd	1562	^[18]
1992			Pontiac	DAY DNQ	CAR 33	RCH 35	ATL 38	DAR 20	BRI	NWS 32	MAR 30	TAL 34	CLT 42	DOV 31	SON	POC 35	MCH 23	DAY 39	POC 39	TAL 32	GLN	MCH 39	BRI 24	DAR 22	RCH 29	DOV 23	MAR DNQ	NWS DNQ	CLT 38	CAR 26	PHO				32nd	1531	^[19]
1992			Ford																													ATL 21			32nd	1531	^[19]
1993				DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL 22	DAR 31	BRI 16	NWS 27	MAR DNQ	TAL 32	SON	CLT 38	DOV 26	POC 22	MCH 28	DAY 36	NHA 34	POC DNQ	TAL 25	GLN	MCH 25	BRI 18		RCH 26	DOV 17	MAR DNQ	NWS DNQ	CLT	CAR 29	PHO	ATL DNQ		36th	1471	^[20]
1993		53																							DAR 39										36th	1471	^[20]

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1976	Jimmy Means Racing	Chevrolet	20	40
1977			23	8
1978			39	35
1979			DNQ
1980		Buick	26	15
1981		Pontiac	26	21
1982		Buick	40	17
1983		Buick	42	14
1984		Chevrolet	41	17
1985		Chevrolet	25	14
1986		Pontiac	42	39
1987		Pontiac	40	24
1988		Chevrolet	37	25
1989		Pontiac	DNQ
1990			37	29
1991			39	39
1992			DNQ

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	NBSC	Pts	Ref
1989	Mac Martin Racing	92	Pontiac	DAY 30	CAR	MAR	HCY	DAR	BRI	NZH	SBO	LAN	NSV	CLT 30	DOV	ROU	LVL	VOL	MYB	SBO	HCY	DUB	IRP	ROU	BRI	DAR 10	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	CAR	MAR	65th	280	^[21]

References

External links

Jimmy Means driver statistics at Racing-Reference
Jimmy Means owner statistics at Racing-Reference
Jimmy Means crew chief statistics at Racing-Reference
Jimmy Means NASCAR Owner

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