Chad Finchum Bio
James Chadwick Finchum, known professionally as Chad Finchum, is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Garage 66. Over the course of his career, he has also raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the ARCA Menards Series East, building a reputation as a determined underdog on short tracks and superspeedways alike.
Early Life and Background
Chad Finchum was born on September 22, 1994, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Raised in the same east Tennessee region where he would later make his professional debut, Finchum grew up surrounded by a strong regional racing culture that emphasized short tracks and grassroots competition. He attended Halls High School in Halls Crossroads, Tennessee, where he balanced his education with a rapidly growing schedule of regional races.
Finchum began racing at the age of seven, starting his career behind the wheel of a go-kart at Dumplin Valley Raceway in Tennessee. By the time he was thirteen, he had accumulated roughly 200 go-kart victories across both dirt and asphalt surfaces, an early sign of the speed and consistency that would define his career. That foundation in karting gave him the car control and racecraft needed to graduate to heavier machinery.
As a teenager, Finchum moved into full-bodied race cars, regularly competing in late models at Kingsport Speedway in Tennessee. He also raced Bandolero and Legends cars in Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Summer Shootout, gaining valuable experience on bigger stages. His breakthrough at the grassroots level came in 2010, when he won the Tennessee NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship, the title that announced him as one of the region’s top young talents.
Path to NASCAR
Finchum’s first taste of NASCAR’s developmental ladder came in 2011, when he made his initial four starts in the K&N Pro Series East with car owner Lori Williams, a name familiar to fans of Daniel Suárez and Jesus Hernandez. He scored two top-ten finishes that season, including a seventh-place run at Bowman Gray Stadium and another seventh at Gresham Motorsports Park, establishing himself as a promising prospect.
He joined Spraker Racing in 2012 and added another seventh-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway, though the rest of his partial schedule did not produce similar results. After one additional start with Spraker in 2013 that ended in a DNF at Bristol, Finchum eventually aligned with Martin-McClure Racing. In 2016, racing for that organization, he captured the win at the PittLite 125 at Bristol Motor Speedway, leading key late-race restarts against future NASCAR national series standouts Kyle Benjamin, Justin Haley, Kaz Grala, and Todd Gilliland.
That Bristol victory opened the door to NASCAR’s national touring series. In 2017, Finchum signed on for two Xfinity Series races with MBM Motorsports, debuting at Dover International Speedway, and by the end of that year he was announced as the full-time driver of MBM’s No. 40 entry for the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, completing his transition from regional ace to full-time national series competitor.
Chad Finchum Career
Early Career (2011-2016)
Chad Finchum’s early career centered on the K&N Pro Series East, where he methodically built his résumé against future Cup Series names. Driving for Lori Williams, Spraker Racing, and finally his own team and Martin-McClure Racing, he learned the rhythms of stock car racing at the national developmental level, occasionally flashing the speed that had already earned him a state championship.
The defining moment of that period came in 2016 at Bristol, where Finchum led from early in the race and held off a stacked field of young talent. The lone K&N East victory at Bristol cemented his reputation as a wheelman at one of NASCAR’s most demanding tracks and set the stage for his move up to the Xfinity Series.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Breakthrough (2017-2020)
Finchum’s Xfinity Series career began in 2017 with two MBM Motorsports starts, including his debut at Dover, where engine trouble ended his day. Despite the early setbacks, his 1.5-mile track approval opened the door to additional races, and he cracked the top thirty in several events, including a run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
For the 2018 season, MBM Motorsports announced Finchum as the full-time driver of its No. 40 entry. He led second practice at Daytona International Speedway in July and closed the year 30th in the final Xfinity Series point standings, a solid result for a young driver with a small-budget team. In 2019, Finchum surprised the field by qualifying second for both the Rinnai 250 and the Boyd Gaming 300 after rain canceled qualifying, and he ran nearly the full schedule that season, missing only Daytona. His 2020 was limited, with a failed attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 and a handful of starts that included a last-place finish at Las Vegas due to overheating.
He was replaced in MBM’s Daytona 500 lineup in 2021, though he did make a start with the No. 66 at Nashville Superspeedway, where he finished 33rd. The next few seasons saw Finchum take on more part-time work, including a one-off with SS-Green Light Racing in 2023 at Darlington and a return to MBM’s No. 66 car part-time in 2024, alongside a special throwback paint scheme run with Joey Gase Motorsports at Darlington that honored Kevin Harvick’s first Cup Series victory from 2001.
Cup Series and Garage 66 Era (2018-Present)
Chad Finchum made his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut in April 2018 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the track he calls his home track, driving the No. 66 for MBM Motorsports. After starting 38th, he finished 33rd after retiring from the race on lap 335, a steady debut for a driver on a part-time schedule. He continued to appear in Cup Series events over the following years in MBM equipment, including a return to Nashville in 2021.
In late 2024, MBM announced that Finchum would return to drive for the team in 2025, beginning at Texas. More recently, Finchum has been associated with Garage 66, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the Cup Series. At Talladega in 2026, he led laps for the first time in his Cup Series career, pacing the field for eight laps after surging forward from 38th and posting a career-best Cup Series finish of 28th.
Driving Style and Strengths
Chad Finchum has built much of his career on short tracks and intermediate ovals, with Bristol standing out as his strongest venue. His early racing at Kingsport Speedway, combined with the 2016 K&N East win at Bristol, suggests a driver comfortable in tight, physical racing. He is known for clean racecraft and the ability to capitalize on late-race restarts, particularly when working with smaller teams against better-funded competition.
Notable Races and Milestones
Finchum’s signature moment remains the 2016 PittLite 125 at Bristol, where he passed polesitter Harrison Burton and held off a group of future Cup stars. Other highlights include his surprise front-row qualifying runs in the 2019 Xfinity Series at the Rinnai 250 and Boyd Gaming 300, the 2018 Cup debut at Bristol, and his first laps led in the Cup Series at Talladega in 2026, paired with his best career Cup finish of 28th.
Chad Finchum Career Wins
Across the national and regional NASCAR stages, Chad Finchum has recorded one verified feature victory in a NASCAR-sanctioned series. The bulk of his wins came during a long grassroots karting career, where he logged roughly 200 go-kart victories by the age of thirteen and added the 2010 Tennessee NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship before moving into stock cars.
ARCA Menards Series East Highlights
In the ARCA Menards Series East, formerly the K&N Pro Series East, Finchum scored one win, the 2016 PittLite 125 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also recorded five top-ten finishes across his ARCA East career, which stretched from a 2011 debut at Greenville-Pickens Speedway to a final start in the 2017 Zombie Auto 125 at Bristol. His best series points result was a 24th-place finish in 2016.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond his ARCA East success, Finchum built his résumé in late models, Bandoleros, and Legends cars, including Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Summer Shootout. His 2010 Tennessee NASCAR Whelen All-American Series title remains the foundation of his regional record, and he has notched a top-ten and several top-thirty finishes across the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series, despite running primarily with underfunded teams.
Chad Finchum Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Chad Finchum grew up in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area and developed his love for racing through the local short-track scene rather than through a well-known racing family. His progression from Dumplin Valley Raceway go-karts to Kingsport Speedway late models reflects a grassroots upbringing, with the Knoxville and east Tennessee racing community playing a central role in his early development.
Personal Life
Finchum graduated from Halls High School in Halls Crossroads, Tennessee, where he continued to race while completing his education. He has remained closely tied to the east Tennessee region throughout his career, frequently citing Bristol Motor Speedway as a home track because of its proximity to his Knoxville roots.
2025 Season Performance
Chad Finchum’s 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign was a part-time effort, with the No. 66 entry fielded by Garage 66 and a Mustang Dark Horse prepared by MBM Motorsports. The season served as a bridge year, with his slate getting underway at Texas after the December 2024 announcement that he would return to the team. In limited appearances, he finished the year 40th in the final Cup Series standings.
Beyond the Cup Series, Finchum also split time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2024 and into 2025, driving the No. 35/55 for Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen in a Chevrolet. His Xfinity efforts were hampered by mechanical issues and the typical challenges faced by underfunded operations, though he continued to log valuable seat time on ovals ranging from short tracks to intermediates.
Looking ahead, momentum from his 2026 Talladega performance, where he led eight laps and posted a career-best 28th-place Cup finish, suggests Finchum can build on his 2025 platform. Continued support from Garage 66 and MBM Motorsports should keep him in the mix for additional Cup and Xfinity Series starts, with a focus on superspeedways, intermediate ovals, and his beloved Bristol Motor Speedway.
