Jimmy Means

Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = James "Smut" Means


Birthdate = birth date and age|1950|5|29
Birthplace = flagicon|USA Huntsville, Alabama
Best_Cup_Pos = 11th - 1982 (Winston Cup)
Cup_Top_Tens = 17
First_Cup_Race = 1976 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last_Cup_Race = 1993 AC Delco 500 (Rockingham)
First_Busch_Race = 1989 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last_Busch_Race = 1989 Gatorade 200 (Darlington)
Busch_Top_Tens = 1
Years_In_Cup = 18
Total_Cup_Races = 455

Jimmy Means (born May 291950 in Huntsville, Alabama) is a former Winston Cup/Nextel Cup owner/driver. Currently, he is an adviser for Front Row Motorsports and owns his own team, Means Racing. He competed in NASCAR for eighteen years in mostly his own equipment, posting one career top-five. 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, Davey Allison, Red Farmer, and Donnie Allison and later Steve Grissom and Mike Alexander. He is the father of Brad Means

Local track career

Means won dozens of late model races in Alabama and Tennessee in the early 70's, 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 #5 Chevy for Bill Gray. He led one lap but finished 40th after an engine failure. He ran an additional eighteen races for Gray in the #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 only 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 but 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 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He also switched his manufacturer to Pontiac as well. 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 1991After 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, posting only one top-ten finish. After getting part-time funding from NAPA and Hurley Limo, Means ran eighteen races before retiring from driving.

Ownership history

NASCAR Owner Infobox
Company Name = Means Racing


Owner(s) Name = Jimmy Means
Racing Series = Busch Series
Championships = 0
Car Number(s) = #52
Driver(s) = Brad Teague
Primary Sponsor(s) = None
Shop Location = Forest City, North Carolina
Homepage = None
A long-time owner in the Cup Series, Means made his debut as an owner in 1978, when he fielded the #52 Chevrolet. He had two top-tens and finished sixteenth in points. He expanded to a multi-car team briefly, fielding the #25 for Charlie Chamblee in the #25 at Nashville, the #53 for Cecil Gordon at North Wilkesboro Speedway, and the #50 for Baxter Price at Texas World Speedway. In 1983, he stepped aside for Lennie Pond at Michigan International Speedway, who finished 22nd. In 1984, he shared the #52 with Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin, Morgan Shepherd, Roy Smith, and Bobby Wawak. Means drove the #52 solely and didn't field a second car until in 1989, when he fielded the #67 Alka-Setzer Pontiac Grand Prix at the Daytona 500 for Mickey Gibbs, where he finished 34th after suffering engine failure. In 1991 Means gave up the #52 on two different occasions; Bobby Hillin, Jr. drove at Dover and Sears Point(finishing 19th & 21st), and Mike Wallace (finishing 31st and 39th) at Phoenix and Atlanta.

Means continued to run a part-time schedule in 1992, while fielding the #52 full-time. Scott Gaylord, Tommy Kendall, John McFadden, Mike Potter, Scott Sharp, and Brad Teague took over in the interim, with Kendall having the car's best finish was 13th at Sonoma. Graham Taylor drove the #53 at both Dover races. Means competed in 18 races in 1993, his final year, and shared the #52 with Gaylord, Jimmy Hensley, Mike Skinner, Taylor, Wallace, and Clay Young, with Hensley having the best finish, 25th at Rockingham. After Means' retirement as a driver, he kept the #52 team open for 1994, as Teague ran eight races in the car, his best finish a 22nd at Bristol Motor Speedway. Skinner, Bob Keselowski, and Kirk Shelmerdine also ran one race apiece for Means that season. Afterwards, sponsorship problems caused the team to close its doors.

In 2001, Means Racing returned to NASCAR in the Busch Series with a partnership with Moy Racing. They began the season with Teague, who ran five races total for them that season, his best finish a 38th at Watkins Glen International. Gaylord also returned to run two races, both resulting in 42nd place finishes. Kertus Davis, Ricky Sanders, and Andy Kirby also drove for the team that year. In 2002, Teague drove eleven races for the team, his best finish 38th at Nazareth Speedway. Jimmy Kitchens, Phil Bonifield, and Eric Jones drove part-time as well for the team that year. Teague made 11 starts for Means in 2003, with Donnie Neuenberger running an additional two races.

In 2004, Bruce Bechtel joined as another driver to the team. He made several attempts, but only made one race, at Pikes Peak. Teague continued to run with the team, his best finish being a 26th at Bristol. The next season, Shane Hall was the team's original driver, but was soon released. Eric McClure began running with the team, with a best finish of 30th at Texas Motor Speedway, but was released in favor of Neuenberger. At the Dover 200, Neuenberger flipped over the Plan B Technologies Ford Taurus on Lap 2. He was uninjured, but as that was the team's only car, the team did not run again for a year.

The #52 returned for the 2007 Orbitz 300 at Daytona but failed to qualify with Brad Teague at the wheel. Teague, Neuenberger, Kevin Lepage, Jamie Mosley and Ian Henderson have driven throughout the season, with Scott Gaylord driving at Montreal, Phoenix and Watkins Glen. Chris Lawson attempted but did not qualify at Memphis. Neuenberger drove four races with Royal Farms sponsorship.

Derrike Cope has been the team's driver for the 2008 season.At the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington, Cope was replaced by Brad Teague. Teague finished 22nd, 4 laps down. Teague mostly drove the car in 2008, but Neuenberger sometimes raced.

References

* [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=meansji01 Jimmy Means Driving Stats at racing-reference.info]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=meansji01 Jimmy Means Owner Stats at racing-reference.info]
* [http://www.everythingstockcar.com/1357o-jimmy-means-nascar-owner.html Jimmy Means NASCAR Owner]