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John Wes Townley

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John Wes Townley
Townley at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2015
Born (1989-12-31) December 31, 1989 (age 34)
Watkinsville, Georgia
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
76 races run over 8 years
Car no., teamNo. 05 (Athenian Motorsports)
2016 position111th
Best finish23rd (2009)
First race2008 Camping World RV Sales 200 (Dover)
Last race2016 Sparks Energy 300 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
110 races run over 6 years
Truck no., teamNo. 05 (Athenian Motorsports)
2016 position17th
Best finish8th (2015)
First race2008 Ohio 250 (Mansfield)
Last race2016 Texas Roadhouse 200 (Martinsville)
First win2015 Rhino Linings 350 (Las Vegas)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 24 2
Statistics current as of October 29, 2016.

John Wesley "Wes" Townley (born December 31, 1989)[1] is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 05 Chevrolet Silverado for Athenian Motorsports, and part-time in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 05 Chevrolet Camaro for Athenian Motorsports. Townley's father Tony is a co-founder of the Zaxby's chain of chicken restaurants.

Racing career

Early career

Townley's 2009 Nationwide Series car

Townley drove in the American Speed Association prior to joining NASCAR. He began racing in the Nationwide Series in 2008 when he drove in three races for RAB Racing and had three DNFs. He also competed in 7 Craftsman Truck Series for Roush Racing with a best finish of 18th at both The Milwaukee Mile and Talladega Superspeedway. He returned to the Nationwide Series with RAB in 2009 and qualified for 26 races. He finished 16 races and finished 23rd in points. Townley's driving style proved controversial, resulting in numerous accidents; he received the nickname "John Wrecks Weekly" from fans.[2]

Townley joined Richard Childress Racing for 2010, but was released at the sixth race of the year at Phoenix International Raceway after one of his trademark "It-looks-like-he-just-got-loose" single-car crashes. That resulted in his replacement for the race by Clint Bowyer, and for the rest of the year by Bowyer and Morgan Shepherd. He rejoined RAB Racing for a few races later in the 2010 season.[2]

2012–present

Townley returned to RAB Racing for the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, competing for Rookie of the Year honors.[3]

On February 7, 2012 Townley was arrested and charged with DUI following an auto accident in suburban Oconee County, Georgia.[4][5] He was subsequently suspended by RAB Racing until an "appropriate" amount of time had passed,[6] and was placed on probation by NASCAR through the end of the year.[7] Townley would return to driving for the team in the Camping World Truck Series at the end of March at Martinsville Speedway, where he finished 23rd.[8] He would finish in the top 20 in the following three races, and would return to the Nationwide Series in RAB's No. 99 Toyota at Dover International Speedway[9] and Daytona International Speedway during the summer.

In August, Townley attempted to make his Sprint Cup Series debut at Pocono Raceway, driving for FAS Lane Racing with sponsorship from Zaxby's.[10] Townley hit the wall on his warm-up lap of practice out of the tunnel turn and was replaced by Jason White.[11] On the same weekend he scored his first career top-10 finish in NASCAR, finishing 8th in the Camping World Truck Series race at Pocono.[12]

Townley's 2013 ARCA car at Road America
Townley's 2013 truck at Rockingham Speedway

After the 2012 season, Townley signed with Red Horse Racing to drive the team's No. 7 Toyota in the Camping World Truck Series for 2013.[13] In addition, Townley drove for Venturini Motorsports in the season-opening race for the ARCA Racing Series at Daytona International Speedway; starting from the pole, he went on to win the event,[14] running a partial schedule in ARCA and the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the team.[15] Townley finished 11th in Truck points.

For the 2014 season, Townley moved to Wauters Motorsports to drive the No. 5 Toyota in the Camping World Truck Series,[16] as well as running full-time in the ARCA Racing Series for Venturini Motorsports.[17] Mid-season, Townley moved to Athenian Motorsports, which is owned by his father Tony Townley, for the remainder of the Truck Series season as well as a partial Nationwide schedule.

At Pocono Raceway in August, Townley was involved in an accident during ARCA qualifying, and was forced to sit out the remainder of the weekend as a precaution.[18] In December, it was announced that Townley would return to the Truck Series full-time in the No. 05 for Athenian Motorsports while also running part-time in the Xfinity Series in the No. 25 for Athenian Motorsports.

In 2015, he won his first career Truck race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when Matt Crafton pitted for fuel with 6 laps to go. Townley stayed out on the gamble and won in the process.

During the 2016 Drivin' for Linemen 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park, Townley was involved in a fight with Spencer Gallagher after the two crashed during on lap 154.[19] He was eventually fined $15,000 and placed on probation until the end of the year. Townley missed the following race at Kentucky Speedway for concussion treatment and was replaced by Parker Kligerman.[20] He missed another race when he skipped the Texas Motor Speedway Truck race to nurse an injured left ankle, with Cody Coughlin taking over the No. 05 for the event.[21]

Personal life

A native of Watkinsville, Georgia, Townley participates in mountain biking and enjoys playing the piano and guitar.[22]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

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

Sprint Cup Series

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. ^ "John Wes Townley team bio". RAB Racing. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  2. ^ a b Minter, Rick (September 3, 2010). "John Wes Townley gives Nationwide team a boost". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta, GA. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  3. ^ "Townley To Drive RAB Racing Entry In 2012". SPEED Channel. Fox Sports. January 13, 2012. Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  4. ^ "Oconee Blotter". Athens Banner-Herald. Athena, Georgia. February 10, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  5. ^ Pockrass, Bob (February 10, 2012). "RAB Racing's John Wes Townley arrested on DUI charges in Georgia". SceneDaily.com. The Sporting News. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  6. ^ "RAB Racing suspends driver John Wes Townley". News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  7. ^ Utter, Jim (March 22, 2012). "Townley placed on probation by NASCAR through Dec. 31". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. Retrieved 2012-03-22.
  8. ^ Dryden, Cortney (March 23, 2012). "John Wes Townley Returns to Driver's Seat of RAB Racing's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Entry at Martinsville". RAB Racing. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  9. ^ "John Wes Townley, No. 99 Barberitos Southwestern Grille Toyota Camry, Dover Preview". RAB Racing via Speedway Media. May 29, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  10. ^ Turnbull, Doug (July 31, 2012). "What's the points, Danica demo-derby, and Cup team expansion". WSB Radio. Atlanta, GA. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  11. ^ Gluck, Jeff (August 3, 2012). "Jason White To Replace John Wes Townley In No. 32 Sprint Cup Car At Pocono". SB Nation. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  12. ^ "Toyota NCWTS Pocono Post-Race Notes & Quotes". Toyota Racing via Speedway Media. August 4, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  13. ^ Gluck, Jeff (December 18, 2012). "John Wes Townley joins Red Horse Racing in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series". SBNation. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
  14. ^ Gelston, Dan (February 16, 2013). "John Wes Townley wins 1st ARCA race at Daytona". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  15. ^ "Townley Inks Partial Season Race Deal". SPEED Channel. Fox Sports. March 12, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  16. ^ "John Wes Townley to Wauters Motorsports for 2014". Yahoo! Sports. December 19, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  17. ^ "John Wes Townley". Automobile Racing Club of America. February 27, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  18. ^ Pennell, Jay (August 1, 2014). "John Wes Townley hospitalized after Pocono ARCA wreck". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  19. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (June 26, 2016). "Townley, Gallagher wreck, wrestle and then slug it out after Gateway wreck". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  20. ^ "POSSIBLE CONCUSSION SIDELINES TOWNLEY AT KENTUCKY". NASCAR. July 6, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  21. ^ "JOHN WES TOWNLEY RULED OUT FOR TEXAS RACE". NASCAR. November 2, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  22. ^ Gluck, Jeff (July 30, 2013). "12 Questions with John Wes Townley". USA Today. McLean, VA. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
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