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Josh Williams
Williams at Dover International Speedway in 2019
BornJoshua L. Williams
(1993-08-03) August 3, 1993 (age 31)
Port Charlotte, Florida
NASCAR Cup Series career
3 races run over 1 year
First race2022 Food City Dirt Race (Bristol Dirt)
Last race2022 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (Indianapolis)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
141 races run over 7 years
2022 position25th
Best finish15th (2020)
First race2016 Menards 250 (Michigan)
Last race2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 8 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2014 position84th
Best finish84th (2014)
First race2014 Kroger 250 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of July 16, 2022.

Joshua L. Williams[1] (born August 3, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving the Nos. 92/36 Chevrolet Camaros for DGM Racing. He previously raced in the ARCA Racing Series, accumulating over 100 starts in that series.[2]

Racing career

Early years

Williams started his racing career in go-kart racing[3] and later raced Fastrucks and Legends cars to advance his early career, eventually earning a berth in the 2009 edition of "Humpy's Heroes", a summer driver development program run by Humpy Wheeler for young drivers.[4]

ARCA Racing Series

Williams' 2013 Kimmel ARCA car at Road America

Williams drove five races in the 2010 ARCA Racing Series in his family car, numbered 02. He recorded the best finish of 15th at Iowa Speedway.[5] Williams caught the attention of those in the racing community with those performances, as he ran three races for Andy Belmont the following year and another three for his family team, which later developed an alliance with Lira Motorsports. Williams recorded two top-tens in Belmont's car and one more in his own car.[6] For 2012, Williams took his Josh Williams Motorsports team full-time, running all but one race while having limited funding. He failed to finish three races and had four top tens with a best finish of seventh.[7]

The 2013 season was a struggle, to begin with for Williams, who remained sponsorless through the first five races of the season despite having two top ten finishes. He then signed a four race deal with Roulo Brothers Racing, making sporadic appearances in their Ford racecars. Running in between races for Roulo with his family team, Williams was signed by Frank Kimmel to drive one of his cars at Road America, starting and parking. Williams drove the next race for GMS Racing, again start and parking at Michigan International Speedway. Williams carried the sponsorship from Allegiant Air for the rest of the year, grabbing his first top-five finish (a second at Chicagoland Speedway). He finished fifth in points while utilizing four teams to get there.[8]

Again hampered by limited funding, Williams scaled back to just over half the schedule in 2014, always running near or in the top ten. He scored another runner-up finish in the season's penultimate race.[9] He raced the full season with the number six in 2015, except for one race with Cunningham Motorsports. He only finished outside of the top ten in five races and finished third in the drivers standings,[10] behind Grant Enfinger and Austin Wayne Self, who passed Williams for second during the final race. 2016 brought new success for Williams, as he won his first two races, at Madison International Speedway[11] and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.[12] The Madison win came after he blew an engine in the previous contests and considered withdrawing from Madison; his crew pulled an all-nighter during the week to get the engine prepared.[3] He finished fifth in points after an inconsistent season with 11 top tens.[13]

Williams had said that he would have liked to run more ARCA Racing Series races in 2017.[14] His team ran two races in the beginning of the season in a partnership with Lira Motorsports,[15] and Williams himself went behind the wheel for the annual Salem Speedway throwback weekend, running fourth.[16]

Williams returned once again in 2018 season behind the wheel of No. 6 Chevrolet at Talladega in a partnership between his own team and Our Motorsports. They finished 5th.

National series

Williams and family made one Camping World Truck Series start in a partnership with T3R2 Racing, falling out at Martinsville Speedway in 2014.[17] He made two Xfinity Series starts as a start and park driver in 2016, one for Jimmy Means Racing and one for King Autosport.[18] He was announced as the driver of King's No. 90 entry for the spring Bristol Motor Speedway Xfinity race on April 21, 2017.[19] Longtime friend Mario Gosselin helped Williams get the ride.[20] Along with the Bristol race, Williams wanted to run about six Truck races for his family team in 2017.[21] The Truck races never came, but Williams garnered six other starts split between King's 90 and 92 cars, mostly starting and parking in the 92 and running full races in the 90. At Daytona in summer, Williams was running just outside the top ten before he was clipped by Daniel Suárez, finishing last.[22] Williams broke the top thirty in all of his full races.[23]

For 2018, Williams took over the majority of the races in the No. 90 and served as crew chief for drivers of the 90 like Donald Theetge and Andy Lally most weekends when he was not in the seat.[24]

Williams' 2019 ride in the No. 36

On January 29, 2019, it was announced that Williams would move over to DGM's No. 36 car for the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.[25] After gambling on pit strategy, Williams finished a then-career-best sixteenth in the Boyd Gaming 300 in early March.[26] He later improved on that career-best with his first career top-ten, an eighth at Talladega Superspeedway in the spring. The finish helped Williams and DGM bounce back from a sponsor who failed to pay the team in the beginning portions of the year.[27]

Williams returned to DGM in 2020, piloting the team's No. 92 entry. He reeled off two top-ten finishes in the month of October, including a career-best sixth-place finish at Kansas Speedway that came only a day after the death of one of Williams' employees.[3] On October 31, Williams and the team confirmed another full-season effort in 2021.[28] Following the 2021 season, Williams and DGM parted with Williams taking an opportunity that will help him reach racing on Sundays.[29]

In December 2021, it was announced that Williams would drive the No. 78 in 2022 for B. J. McLeod Motorsports.[30]

On April 12, 2022, it was announced that Williams would make his first career NASCAR Cup Series start at the 2022 Food City Dirt Race, and will drive the No. 78 for Live Fast Motorsports.[31]

On August 22, 2022, Williams announced that he would be returning to his old No. 92 for DGM.[32]

Josh Williams Motorsports

Aside from his NASCAR racing, Williams operates a driver development program, Josh Williams Motorsports, that deals in the Legends car racing, bandolero racing, and late model racing ranks.[3]

Personal life

Williams was born in Florida but moved to the Charlotte area at age 15, taking online classes to get through high school while racing.[3] As a teen, Williams was injured in a head-on four-wheeler collision and spent five days in the ICU.[4] Williams visits children's hospitals to give back to the community in his free time.[33] Williams, with his wife Trazia Rae, owns a company that prepares foreclosed homes for auction, which he works at during the week while racing.[24]

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.)

Cup Series

NASCAR 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 32 33 34 35 36 NCSC Pts Ref
2022 Live Fast Motorsports 78 Ford DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR BRD
25 		TAL DOV DAR KAN CLT GTW SON NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IRC
25 		MCH RCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV
31 		LVS HOM MAR PHO 54th 01

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity 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 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2016 Jimmy Means Racing 79 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH
38 		IOW DAY KEN 80th 4 [34]
King Autosport 92 Chevy NHA
DNQ 		IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN
37 		DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM
2017 90 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI
22 		RCH TAL CLT DOV POC
28 		KEN
26 		DOV CLT KAN HOM
28 		46th 53 [35]
92 MCH
34 		IOW DAY
40 		KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI TEX
34 		PHO
2018 DGM Racing 90 DAY
22 		ATL
24 		LVS
21 		PHO
29 		CAL
25 		TEX
30 		BRI
22 		RCH TAL
26 		DOV CLT
38 		POC
21 		MCH
32 		IOW
34 		CHI
31 		DAY
24 		KEN
35 		NHA IOW
24 		GLN MOH BRI
28 		ROA DAR IND
24 		LVS
20 		RCH ROV DOV KAN
24 		TEX PHO 32nd 208 [36]
92 HOM
DNQ
2019 36 DAY
22 		ATL
21 		LVS
16 		PHO
29 		CAL
33 		TEX
14 		BRI
19 		TAL
8 		DOV
22 		CLT
27 		POC
15 		MCH
23 		IOW
17 		CHI
26 		DAY
28 		KEN
18 		NHA
19 		IOW
15 		GLN
19 		MOH
22 		BRI
30 		ROA
31 		DAR
24 		IND
17 		LVS
18 		RCH
23 		ROV
20 		DOV
15 		KAN
21 		TEX
14 		PHO
15 		HOM
19 		17th 527 [37]
92 RCH
DNQ
2020 DAY
26 		LVS
13 		CAL
10 		PHO
16 		DAR
16 		CLT
14 		BRI
9 		ATL
28 		HOM
20 		HOM
12 		TAL
33 		POC
34 		IRC
22 		KEN
26 		KEN
15 		TEX
22 		KAN
20 		ROA
13 		DRC
24 		DOV
24 		DOV
22 		DAY
9 		DAR
15 		RCH
22 		RCH
25 		BRI
19 		LVS
18 		TAL
7 		ROV
34 		KAN
6 		TEX
9 		MAR
19 		PHO
13 		15th 609 [38]
2021 DAY
21 		DRC
17 		HOM
26 		LVS
16 		PHO
21 		ATL
16 		MAR
16 		TAL
28 		DAR
39 		DOV
38 		COA
DNQ 		CLT
21 		MOH
10 		TEX
17 		NSH
21 		POC
40 		ROA
17 		ATL
18 		NHA
22 		GLN
14 		IRC
15 		MCH
18 		DAY
17 		DAR
15 		RCH
23 		BRI
20 		LVS
24 		TAL
14 		ROV
11 		TEX
19 		KAN
26 		MAR
11 		PHO
32 		18th 531 [39]
2022 B. J. McLeod Motorsports 78 Chevy DAY
31 		CAL
21 		LVS
DNQ 		PHO
35 		ATL
22 		COA
DNQ 		RCH
27 		MAR
DNQ 		TAL
19 		DOV
25 		DAR
34 		TEX
20 		CLT
27 		PIR
22 		NSH
34 		ROA
17 		ATL
25 		POC
21 		IRC
DNQ 		25th 314 [40]
5 NHA
24 		MCH
36 		GLN
DGM Racing 92 Chevy DAY
DNQ 		BRI
21 		ROV
37 		MAR
22
B. J. McLeod Motorsports with EGM 5 Ford DAY
29
DGM Racing 36 Chevy DAR
26 		KAN
24 		TEX
26 		TAL
19 		LVS
34 		HOM
30 		PHO
15

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck 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 NCWTC Pts Ref
2014 Josh Williams Motorsports 66 Ford DAY MAR
34 		KAN CLT DOV TEX GTW KEN IOW ELD POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 84th 10 [41]

ARCA Racing Series

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

ARCA Racing 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 ARSC Pts Ref
2010 Josh Williams Motorsports 02 Ford DAY PBE
20 		SLM TEX TAL TOL
26 		POC MCH IOW
15 		MFD POC BLN NJE
25 		ISF CHI DSF TOL SLM KAN CAR
24 		42nd 600 [42]
2011 Andy Belmont Racing 14 Chevy DAY TAL SLM
6 		TOL
12 		NJE
7 		CHI POC MCH WIN BLN 27th 990 [43]
Josh Williams Motorsports 02 Ford IOW
32 		IRP
8 		POC ISF MAD DSF SLM KAN TOL
14
2012 DAY
33 		MOB
20 		TAL
12 		TOL
13 		ELK POC
10 		NJE
22 		IOW
32 		CHI
20 		IRP
13 		POC
21 		BLN
17 		MAD
7 		DSF
C 		KAN
13 		9th 3285 [44]
Chevy SLM
9 		MCH
29 		WIN
10 		ISF
18 		SLM
22
2013 Ford DAY
15 		MOB
26 		TAL
6 		TOL
8 		POC
10 		MCH
16 		CHI
2 		NJE
12 		POC
13 		5th 4825 [45]
Chevy SLM
19 		MAD
8 		IOW
12 		SLM
6 		KEN
15 		KAN
10
Roulo Brothers Racing 17 Ford ELK
6
Kimmel Racing 68 Ford ROA
23
GMS Racing 23 Chevy WIN
17
Roulo Brothers Racing 99 Ford BLN
9 		ISF
10 		DSF
13
2014 Josh Williams Motorsports 6 Chevy DAY MOB SLM
6 		TOL
11 		NJE
11 		POC
6 		MCH
10 		CHI
11 		IRP POC BLN ISF MAD DSF SLM KEN
13 		KAN
2 		13th 2280 [46]
Ford TAL
11 		ELK
6 		WIN
14
2015 DAY
9 		SLM
19 		TAL
18 		3rd 4650 [47]
Chevy MOB
3 		NSH
7 		TOL
3 		NJE
3 		POC
7 		MCH
6 		WIN
7 		IOW
22 		IRP
6 		POC
5 		BLN
6 		ISF
4 		DSF
4 		SLM
8 		KEN
24 		KAN
26
Cunningham Motorsports 22 Dodge CHI
7
2016 Josh Williams Motorsports 6 Ford DAY
19 		TAL
2 		4th 4175 [48]
Chevy NSH
1 		SLM
13 		TOL
6 		NJE
6 		POC
11 		MCH
20 		MAD
1 		WIN
6 		IOW
10 		IRP
4 		POC
26 		BLN
10 		ISF
16 		DSF SLM
4 		CHI
26 		KEN
6 		KAN
13
2017 31 DAY NSH SLM TAL TOL ELK POC MCH MAD IOW IRP POC WIN ISF ROA DSF SLM
4 		CHI KEN KAN 77th 210 [49]
2018 Our Motorsports 6 Chevy DAY NSH SLM TAL
5 		TOL CLT POC MCH MAD GTW CHI IOW ELK POC ISF BLN DSF SLM IRP KAN 76th 205 [50]

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. ^ "Team Event Rosters – Texas Motor Speedway – Saturday, October 24, 2020" (PDF). NASCAR. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  2. ^ "Driver Josh Williams Career Statistics - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  3. ^ a b c d e Long, Dustin (October 23, 2020). "Friday 5: How a career-best finish was heartbreaking for Josh Williams". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Anderson, Chris (June 2, 2009). "Growing up fast". Sarasota Herald Tribune. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "Driver Josh Williams 2010 ARCA Racing Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  6. ^ "Driver Josh Williams 2011 ARCA Racing Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  7. ^ "Driver Josh Williams 2012 ARCA Racing Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  8. ^ "Driver Josh Williams 2013 ARCA Racing Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  9. ^ "Driver Josh Williams 2014 ARCA Racing Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  10. ^ "Driver Josh Williams 2015 ARCA Racing Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  11. ^ "Josh Williams Wins ARCA Race At Madison". Beyond the Flag. 2016-06-20. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  12. ^ "Josh Williams wins ARCA race in Nashville". Auto Racing. 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  13. ^ "Driver Josh Williams 2016 ARCA Racing Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  14. ^ Winningham, Brett. "ARCA: Josh Williams Talks Season, Biggest Influence, and Expectations for 2017". Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  15. ^ "2017 #6 Josh Williams Motorsports - ARCA Racing Paint Schemes". www.thepitlane.org. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  16. ^ "Driver Josh Williams 2017 ARCA Racing Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  17. ^ "Driver Josh Williams 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  18. ^ "Driver Josh Williams 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  19. ^ "Josh Williams grateful for Bristol XFINITY Series debut with King Autosport". Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  20. ^ Wilson, Steven B. "Josh Williams grateful for Bristol XFINITY Series debut with King Autosport". Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  21. ^ "Josh Williams Steers Blue Collar Team to ARCA Championship Mix, NASCAR Future". Motorsports Tribune. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  22. ^ "XFINITY: Crash puts brakes on strong run for Josh Williams and Gosselin team at Daytona". brock.lastcar.info. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  23. ^ "Driver Josh Williams 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  24. ^ a b Gluck, Jeff. "How I Got Here with Josh Williams". player.fm. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  25. ^ Seelman, Jacob. "Josh Williams Returning To DGM Racing In Xfinity". Speed Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  26. ^ Seelman, Jacob. "Josh Williams Has Career Day Again in Las Vegas". Speed Sport. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  27. ^ Seelman, Jacob. "Josh Williams Soaks In Career-Best Xfinity Result". Speed Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  28. ^ Segal, Davey. "Josh Williams Returning to DGM Racing in 2021". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  29. ^ "Josh Williams Not Returning to DGM Racing in 2022". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  30. ^ Estrada, Chris. "Xfinity: Josh Williams joins BJ McLeod Motorsports in multi-year deal". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  31. ^ Srigley, Joseph (April 12, 2022). "Josh Williams Making Cup Series Debut with Live Fast Motorsports at Bristol". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  32. ^ "Josh Williams Returning to DGM Racing at Daytona". Jayski.com. August 22, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  33. ^ "This Homecoming Like None Other For Josh Williams And Team". shorttracks.us. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  34. ^ "Josh Williams – 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  35. ^ "Josh Williams – 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  36. ^ "Josh Williams – 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  37. ^ "Josh Williams – 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  38. ^ "Josh Williams – 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  39. ^ "Josh Williams – 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  40. ^ "Josh Williams – 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  41. ^ "Josh Williams – 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  42. ^ "Josh Williams – 2010 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  43. ^ "Josh Williams – 2011 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  44. ^ "Josh Williams – 2012 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  45. ^ "Josh Williams – 2013 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  46. ^ "Josh Williams – 2014 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  47. ^ "Josh Williams – 2015 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  48. ^ "Josh Williams – 2016 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  49. ^ "Josh Williams – 2017 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  50. ^ "Josh Williams – 2018 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
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