Kertus Davis
Encyclopedia
Kertus Davis is a NASCAR
driver. He is currently the competition director for JD Motorsports.
finals at the age of 17. In 1998, Davis began racing Late Model
Stock Cars in various Southeastern tracks, gaining experience and a handful of top-five finishes. He mostly competed at Myrtle Beach Speedway
, Greenville-Pickens Speedway
, and Timmonsville Speedway. During the 1999 season, he made three starts in the USAR ProCup Series.
He competed for Rookie of the Year in 2000 in the USAR Pro-Cup Competing in 20 events, Davis finished the season 17th in points with top ten finishes. In 2001, he finished 11th in the Southern Division points standing with eight top-ten finishes. After a part-time USAR run in 2002, he joined Premiere Motorsports to run a full-time schedule 2003. He won his first race at Smithton, Pennsylvania
and finished third in the Northern Division points, thirteenth for the entire sanctioning body.
for Jimmy Means
. He qualified the #52 Broadway Motors Ford Taurus
in 34th place, but finished 36th after an early engine failure. In the next two races, he finished 42nd at Dover International Speedway
and 40th at the Milwaukee Mile
. He made the switch over to the #77 Gestener Ford for Moy Racing
at the second Dover race, where he finished 34th after a crash.
Davis made five starts in 2002. He ran the #77 Docutech
/Gestetner Ford in his first 2002 race at Richmond
, and had the best weekend of his career at the time with a 29th place start and 26th place finish. For the rest of the season, Davis only drove the #0 Chevrolet for his father's race team, Davis Motorsports. In four starts, his best finish was a 24th at Memphis Motorsports Park
. Davis did not race at all in 2003, due to his USAR commitments, but he played a large role as Davis Motorsports began to run full-time in the series. He worked in the shop and every now and then on the pit box, as the team made its first full season.
He raced again in 2004, starting at Indianapolis Raceway Park for his father's team, where he had a 29th place finish, followed by a 27th at Dover and a 34th at Darlington. Davis moved to the #0 full-time in 2005, with RaceGirl serving as sponsor. He failed to qualify for five races, but had a career-best tenth-place run at Talladega Superspeedway
, and finished thirty-first in points. He also made one start in the #12 Supercuts
/Hot Tamales
Dodge at Texas Motor Speedway
for FitzBradshaw Racing
, but finished in 40th due to a transmission failure. For the 2006 season, Davis attempted to race full-time. The team used former Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie
to get in the race at Mexico,and at Atlanta
, MacDonald Motorsports
aided the Davis team with MacDonald's pit crew. Davis also took one-race deals, driving the #34 Sport Clips
Chevrolet for Frank Cicci Racing
at Darlington, the #43 Ollie's Bargain Outlet
Dodge for the Curb Agajanian Performance Group
at Dover, and at Nashville, he prepared the #20 Rockwell Automation
car for NEXTEL Cup driver Denny Hamlin
. He returned to his own car at Milwaukee, where he finished out the season. He also attempted races for Morgan Shepherd
, CJM Racing
, and Front Row Motorsports
at the Nextel Cup level, but did not qualify for any of those races.
in the #77 Dollar General
Chevy for 13 races, sharing the car with Bobby Labonte
and Kevin Harvick
. Davis ran at Fontana starting 33rd but collided with Eric McClure
who ironically was driving the #0 car that Davis drove before. He recovered to finish 30th, last on lead lap. He then made his first road course start at Mexico where he started 37th and finished 31st one lap down. He was replaced by Ron Hornaday Jr. prior to the race at Milwaukee. Shortly after that, it was announced that had been released by KHI, due to Dollar General wanting only Cup drivers in the car. He ran the rest of the season in the #01 car fielded by his family team.
For 2008, Davis began the season in the #0 car, but moved over to the #01 after one race with RaceGirl sponsoring. This came after his team in the opening race of 2008 was penalized due to an illegal oil tank. The team was penalized 25 driver & owner points, and crew chief Gene Allnut was suspended for 6 races. In the interim, Davis had the 1st ever female crew chief in NASCAR's top touring series at Las Vegas. Kertus at Talladega in 2008 avoided the "Big One" again like in 2005 and he finished 12th on the lead lap falling out of the top 10 in turn 4. Following the race at Nashville where he blew his engine, Davis left his father's team to pursue other racing options. He was 24th in points at the time. He spent the rest of the season driving the #49 for Jay Robinson. In 2009, Davis returned to Jay Robinson Racing
in the #49 car. GetMoreVacations.com sponsored the car for a few races in the beginning of the season. After 14 races in 2009 with JRR, Davis went back to his father's team to drive the #04 Chevy. He has yet to race in 2010, but served as crew chief
for the #0 JD Motorsports Chevrolet
driven by Chrissy Wallace
in the Aaron's 312
at Talladega
. Kertus as of 2011 is the competition director for the team
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
driver. He is currently the competition director for JD Motorsports.
Prior to NASCAR/USAR
Davis began racing in go-karts at the age of eight, competing in his hometown of Gaffney around various tracks. He raced in the karts for a number of years, and finished 3rd in the World Karting AssociationWorld Karting Association
The World Karting Association, or WKA, is the largest sanctioning body for kart racing 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 currently have approximately 5,000 members...
finals at the age of 17. In 1998, Davis began racing Late Model
Late model
A "late model car" is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. The term is broadly used in car racing, and often appears in common use, as in "The officer was driving an unmarked, late model sedan."There is no precise...
Stock Cars in various Southeastern tracks, gaining experience and a handful of top-five finishes. He mostly competed at Myrtle Beach Speedway
Myrtle Beach Speedway
The Myrtle Beach Speedway, originally named Rambi Raceway, was built in 1958 and is located on U.S. Route 501 near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.The speedway is a semi-banked asphaltic oval track that spans...
, Greenville-Pickens Speedway
Greenville-Pickens Speedway
Greenville-Pickens Speedway is a race track located in Pickens County, South Carolina, just west of Greenville, South Carolina, USA, and just east of Easley, South Carolina. The track hosts weekly NASCAR sanctioned races. Several touring series visit the track each year, including the Whelen...
, and Timmonsville Speedway. During the 1999 season, he made three starts in the USAR ProCup Series.
He competed for Rookie of the Year in 2000 in the USAR Pro-Cup Competing in 20 events, Davis finished the season 17th in points with top ten finishes. In 2001, he finished 11th in the Southern Division points standing with eight top-ten finishes. After a part-time USAR run in 2002, he joined Premiere Motorsports to run a full-time schedule 2003. He won his first race at Smithton, Pennsylvania
Smithton, Pennsylvania
Smithton is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 444 at the 2000 census.Smithton's early industry was in coal mining, coke ovens, and shipping goods produced in the valley of Jacobs Creek....
and finished third in the Northern Division points, thirteenth for the entire sanctioning body.
Early NASCAR career
Davis made his NASCAR debut in 2001 at Nazareth SpeedwayNazareth Speedway
Nazareth Speedway was an auto racing track in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania which operated from 1910 to 2004. The track is often associated with local drivers Mario and Michael Andretti. It was associated with Frankie Schneider in its earlier dirt track history....
for Jimmy Means
Jimmy Means
James "Jimmy" Means 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 seventeen career top-tens...
. He qualified the #52 Broadway Motors Ford Taurus
Ford Taurus
The Ford Taurus is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States. Originally introduced in the 1986 model year, it has remained in near-continuous production for more than two decades, making it the fourth oldest nameplate that is currently sold in the North American...
in 34th place, but finished 36th after an early engine failure. In the next two races, he finished 42nd at Dover International Speedway
Dover International Speedway
Dover International Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned race track located in Dover, Delaware, owned by, and serving as the corporate headquarters of, Dover Motorsports, Inc. It is co-located with a harness racing track, Dover Downs, and shares the complex with Dover Downs Hotel & Casino...
and 40th at the Milwaukee Mile
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a -long oval race track in West Allis, Wisconsin that seats about 40,000 spectators. It operated as a dirt track until 1953. The track was paved in 1954....
. He made the switch over to the #77 Gestener Ford for Moy Racing
Moy Racing
Moy Racing was an auto racing team owned by former Ford Motor Company employee Joseph Reilly which fielded entries in the NASCAR Busch Series. Drivers who piloted the Moy Racing Ford included Jimmy Kitchens, Andy Kirby, Carl Long , Bruce Bechtel, Dana White, Brad Teague, Ed Berrier, Donnie...
at the second Dover race, where he finished 34th after a crash.
Davis made five starts in 2002. He ran the #77 Docutech
DocuTech
DocuTech is the name given to a line of electronic production-publishing systems produced by Xerox Corporation. DocuTech and Xerox are registered trademarks of Xerox Corporation....
/Gestetner Ford in his first 2002 race at Richmond
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway is a 3/4-mile , D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series...
, and had the best weekend of his career at the time with a 29th place start and 26th place finish. For the rest of the season, Davis only drove the #0 Chevrolet for his father's race team, Davis Motorsports. In four starts, his best finish was a 24th at Memphis Motorsports Park
Memphis Motorsports Park
Memphis International Raceway is an auto racing park located across the Loosahatchie River from Memphis, Tennessee, approximately ten miles south of Millington, Tennessee. The facility opened in 1987 with a drag strip and 1.8-mile road course...
. Davis did not race at all in 2003, due to his USAR commitments, but he played a large role as Davis Motorsports began to run full-time in the series. He worked in the shop and every now and then on the pit box, as the team made its first full season.
He raced again in 2004, starting at Indianapolis Raceway Park for his father's team, where he had a 29th place finish, followed by a 27th at Dover and a 34th at Darlington. Davis moved to the #0 full-time in 2005, with RaceGirl serving as sponsor. He failed to qualify for five races, but had a career-best tenth-place run at Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama, United States. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base just outside the small city of Lincoln. It was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in...
, and finished thirty-first in points. He also made one start in the #12 Supercuts
Supercuts
Supercuts is a hair salon franchise with over 2,000 locations across the United States. The company was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1975, by Geoffrey M. Rappaport and Frank E. Emmett. The company's first location, which is still in existence, is in Albany, California. Its headquarters...
/Hot Tamales
Hot Tamales
Hot Tamales are a cinnamon candy manufactured by the Just Born.They are shaped like Mike and Ike candies and were introduced in 1950.In addition to the hot and spicy flavor, there is also Hot Tamales Fire which is more intense than the original, a darker red in color, and less opaque.A spearmint...
Dodge at Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas....
for FitzBradshaw Racing
FitzBradshaw Racing
Trail Motorsports was a NASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, which is near Charlotte. The team is owned by Armando Fitz and Art Shelton, and was previously co-owned by Fitz's former wife Mimi...
, but finished in 40th due to a transmission failure. For the 2006 season, Davis attempted to race full-time. The team used former Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie
Randy LaJoie
Randall LaJoie was a driver in the NASCAR Busch Series , where he is a two-time champion. Presently, he does not have a full-time ride. He is the father of racers Casey and Corey LaJoie.-Early racing career:LaJoie started racing go-karts when he was 12 years old...
to get in the race at Mexico,and at Atlanta
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway is a track just outside Hampton, Georgia, twenty miles south of Atlanta. It is a quad-oval track with a seating capacity of over 125,000. It opened in 1960 as a standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track...
, MacDonald Motorsports
MacDonald Motorsports
MacDonald Motorsports is a NASCAR team owned by former driver Randy MacDonald and his wife Pat. They field the #81 Eagle Convenience Stores/Heartland Harley Davidson Dodge Challenger for Donnie Neuenberger, Scott Wimmer and rookie Blake Koch in the NASCAR Nationwide Series...
aided the Davis team with MacDonald's pit crew. Davis also took one-race deals, driving the #34 Sport Clips
Sport Clips
Sport Clips is a chain of male-oriented haircut salons based in Georgetown, Texas, United States. As of 2011, it operates approximately 800 franchised stores....
Chevrolet for Frank Cicci Racing
Frank Cicci Racing
Frank Cicci Racing was a NASCAR Busch Series team. The team was owned by Frank Cicci of Elmira, New York and was last driven by Jay Sauter.- Beginnings :FCR first began racing as a short track team in Upstate New York...
at Darlington, the #43 Ollie's Bargain Outlet
Ollie's Bargain Outlet
Ollie's Bargain Outlet is a chain of retail stores founded in 1982 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania by the late Morton Bernstein. The first store was opened in Mechanicsburg, just outside Harrisburg. The chain now has 108 locations throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio,...
Dodge for the Curb Agajanian Performance Group
Curb Agajanian Performance Group
The Curb Agajanian Performance Group is a NASCAR Busch Series team. It is owned by record executive Mike Curb and racing personality Cary Agajanian. It has fielded the #43 entry for many years in the Busch Series.- NASCAR Winston Cup :...
at Dover, and at Nashville, he prepared the #20 Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation is a global provider of industrial automation, power, control and information solutions. Brands in industrial automation include Allen-Bradley and Rockwell Software....
car for NEXTEL Cup driver Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin
James Dennis Alan "Denny" Hamlin is an American race car driver. Though originally born in Tampa, Florida, Hamlin was raised for most of his life in Chesterfield, Virginia. After racing in go-karts for a number of years, he worked his way up to Late Models by 2004 and signed a development contract...
. He returned to his own car at Milwaukee, where he finished out the season. He also attempted races for Morgan Shepherd
Morgan Shepherd
Clay Morgan Shepherd has been a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver since 1977. He has also raced in the Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series. He is a born again Christian who serves as a lay minister to the racing community...
, CJM Racing
CJM Racing
CJM Racing was a NASCAR Nationwide Series team. They fielded the #11 car for a variety of drivers.-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:Victory Motorsports was formed in 2006 when two businessmen, Bryan and Tony Mullet, purchased the Sprint Cup equipment of Faith Motorsports from Morgan Shepherd...
, and Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports is a team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a partnership with Jimmy Means and restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, with Jenkins becoming the full team owner in 2005...
at the Nextel Cup level, but did not qualify for any of those races.
2007 - Present
In 2007, Davis signed to drive for Kevin Harvick IncorporatedKevin Harvick Incorporated
Kevin Harvick Incorporated was a NASCAR team owned by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick and his wife DeLana, who herself is the daughter of a former Busch Series driver, John Linville...
in the #77 Dollar General
Dollar General
Dollar General Corp. is a U.S. chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 2011, Dollar General operated over 9,300 stores in 35 U.S. states....
Chevy for 13 races, sharing the car with Bobby Labonte
Bobby Labonte
Robert Alan "Bobby" Labonte is an American race car driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He currently drives the #47 Kroger/Clorox/Kimberly-Clark/Kingsford/Reese Towpower Hitches Toyota Camry for JTG Daugherty Racing. He currently resides in Trinity, North Carolina. He is married to his wife...
and Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick
Kevin Michael Harvick is an American stock car auto racing race car driver and car owner currently competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing, driving the No. 29 Budweiser/Jimmy John's/Rheem/Okuma/Realtree Outdoors/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet Impala...
. Davis ran at Fontana starting 33rd but collided with Eric McClure
Eric McClure
Eric McClure , is a NASCAR driver. His family owns the Sprint Cup team Morgan-McClure Motorsports. A graduate of Emory and Henry College, he currently drives the #14 Hefty Chevrolet full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for TriStar Motorsports.- Sprint Cup Series Career :McClure has made two...
who ironically was driving the #0 car that Davis drove before. He recovered to finish 30th, last on lead lap. He then made his first road course start at Mexico where he started 37th and finished 31st one lap down. He was replaced by Ron Hornaday Jr. prior to the race at Milwaukee. Shortly after that, it was announced that had been released by KHI, due to Dollar General wanting only Cup drivers in the car. He ran the rest of the season in the #01 car fielded by his family team.
For 2008, Davis began the season in the #0 car, but moved over to the #01 after one race with RaceGirl sponsoring. This came after his team in the opening race of 2008 was penalized due to an illegal oil tank. The team was penalized 25 driver & owner points, and crew chief Gene Allnut was suspended for 6 races. In the interim, Davis had the 1st ever female crew chief in NASCAR's top touring series at Las Vegas. Kertus at Talladega in 2008 avoided the "Big One" again like in 2005 and he finished 12th on the lead lap falling out of the top 10 in turn 4. Following the race at Nashville where he blew his engine, Davis left his father's team to pursue other racing options. He was 24th in points at the time. He spent the rest of the season driving the #49 for Jay Robinson. In 2009, Davis returned to Jay Robinson Racing
Jay Robinson Racing
Jay Robinson Racing is a racing team that competes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Currently, they field the #28 MAXelence Chevrolet Impala for Derrike Cope. Formed in 1995, they moved to the Nationwide Series in 2000, where they have attempted both full-time and part-time schedules.- Car #28...
in the #49 car. GetMoreVacations.com sponsored the car for a few races in the beginning of the season. After 14 races in 2009 with JRR, Davis went back to his father's team to drive the #04 Chevy. He has yet to race in 2010, but served as crew chief
Crew chief
Crew chief may refer to:*Crew chief , the head person on a race team who directs both the driver and pit crew*Crew chief , Part of the Ford Work Solutions Package see Ford Sync...
for the #0 JD Motorsports Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
driven by Chrissy Wallace
Chrissy Wallace
Chrissy Wallace is a NASCAR driver. She is the daughter of NASCAR driver Mike Wallace, who himself is a 3 time winner at Daytona International Raceway, and middle brother of the famous Wallace triumvirate of ABC/ESPN racing analyst and former Winston Cup champion Rusty Wallace and former NASCAR...
in the Aaron's 312
Aaron's 312
The Aaron's 312 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at Talladega Superspeedway. The race's sponsor, Aaron's, is a lease-to-own retailer. The twelve extra miles are tacked on to what would normally be a race for targeted advertising purposes....
at Talladega
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama, United States. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base just outside the small city of Lincoln. It was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in...
. Kertus as of 2011 is the competition director for the team