John Wes Townley

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John Wes Townley
Born (1989-12-31) December 31, 1989
Watkinsville, Georgia, U.S.
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
45 race(s) run over 5 year(s)
2013 position 114th
Best finish 23rd (2009)
First race 2008 Camping World RV Sales 200 (Dover)
Last race 2013 History 300 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
50 race(s) run over 3 year(s)
Truck no., team No. 5 (Wauters Motorsports)
2013 position 11th
Best finish 11th (2013)
First race 2008 Ohio 250 (Mansfield)
Last race 2013 Ford EcoBoost 200 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 9 0
Statistics current as of November 16, 2013.

John Wes Townley (born December 31, 1989 in Watkinsville, Georgia[1]) is an American stock car racing driver. He currently competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 5 Zaxby's Toyota Tundra for Wauters Motorsports. Townley is the son of Tony Townley, the co-founder of Zaxby's.

Personal life

A native of Watkinsville, Georgia, Townley participates in mountain biking and enjoys playing the piano and guitar.[2]

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.[3]

Townley joined Richard Childress Racing for 2010, but was released at the sixth race of the year at Phoenix International Raceway a crash in practice at Phoenix resulting in his replacement at RCR by Clint Bowyer. He rejoined RAB Racing for a few races later in the 2010 season.[3]

2012-present

Townley returned to RAB Racing for the 2012 Camping World Truck Series season, competing for Rookie of the Year honors.[4]

On February 7, 2012 Townley was arrested and charged with DUI following an auto accident in rural Oconee County, Georgia.[5][6] He was subsequently suspended by RAB Racing until an "appropriate" amount of time had passed,[7] and was placed on probation by NASCAR through the end of the year.[8] 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.[9] 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[10] 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.[11] Townley hit the wall on his warm-up lap of practice out of the tunnel turn and was replaced by Jason White.[12] On the same weekend he scored his first career top-10 finish in NASCAR, finishing 8th in the Craftsman Truck Series at Pocono.[13]

Townle'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.[14] 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,[15] running a partial schedule in ARCA and the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the team.[16] Townley finished 11th in series points.

For the 2014 season, Townley moved to Wauters Motorsports to drive the No. 5 Toyota.[17]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

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

Sprint Cup Series

Nationwide Series

Camping World Truck Series

* Season in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. ↑ "John Wes Townley team bio". RAB Racing. Retrieved 2012-08-04. 
  2. ↑ Gluck, Jeff (July 30, 2013). "12 Questions with John Wes Townley". USA Today. McLean, VA. Retrieved 2013-10-01. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Minter, Rick (September 3, 2010). "John Wes Townley gives Nationwide team a boost". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta, GA. Retrieved 2012-08-05. 
  4. ↑ "Townley To Drive RAB Racing Entry In 2012". SPEED Channel. Fox Sports. January 13, 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-13. 
  5. ↑ "Oconee Blotter". Athens Banner-Herald. Athena, Georgia. February 10, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-10. 
  6. ↑ 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. 
  7. ↑ "RAB Racing suspends driver John Wes Townley". News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved 10 February 2012. 
  8. ↑ Utter, Jim (March 22, 2012). "Townley placed on probation by NASCAR through Dec. 31". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. Retrieved 2012-03-22. 
  9. ↑ 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. 
  10. ↑ "John Wes Townley, No. 99 Barberitos Southwestern Grille Toyota Camry, Dover Preview". RAB Racing via Speedway Media. May 29, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-29. 
  11. ↑ Turnbull, Doug (July 31, 2012). "What’s the points, Danica demo-derby, and Cup team expansion". WSB Radio. Atlanta, GA. Retrieved 2012-07-31. 
  12. ↑ 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. 
  13. ↑ "Toyota NCWTS Pocono Post-Race Notes & Quotes". Toyota Racing via Speedway Media. August 4, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-04. 
  14. ↑ Gluck, Jeff (December 18, 2012). "John Wes Townley joins Red Horse Racing in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series". SBNation. Retrieved 2012-12-29. 
  15. ↑ Gelston, Dan (February 16, 2013). "John Wes Townley wins 1st ARCA race at Daytona". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2013-02-17. 
  16. ↑ "Townley Inks Partial Season Race Deal". SPEED Channel. Fox Sports. March 12, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-13. 
  17. ↑ "John Wes Townley to Wauters Motorsports for 2014". Yahoo! Sports. December 19, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-19. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Wes Townley.
Personnel
Truck Series drivers
Crew chiefs
  • (7) Mike Beam
  • (17) Butch Hylton
  • (77) Dan Stillman
Notable former drivers
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