A Welshman... in NASCAR?

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Salamander
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A Welshman... in NASCAR?

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Despite the face that his racing career began at the relatively late age of 15, from the moment he first turned a wheel, James Davies always looked destined for stardom. The Monmouth-native's first handful of kart races marked himself out as a prodigy behind the wheel, and it quickly earned Davies a seat in Formula Ford. One year later, and with a championship under his belt, Davies found himself on to British Formula 3, and after another successful campaign there, the Welshman was on his way to Formula 3000 in 2001.

Davies' meteoric rise through the ranks continued there, culminating in 4 wins in the last 5 races to overhaul Justin Wilson, Davies had impressed enough to get a call up to Formula 1, to finish out the last 3 races in what was Jos Verstappen's Arrows - the Dutchman having fallen out with Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw. Being only 18 at the time, this made Davies the youngest driver to start an F1 Grand Prix, and it seemed to be a case of too much, too soon. The day after Davies had started from pole, set the fastest lap, and led every lap in order to record his 5th F3000 win, he was nowhere to be found in the Italian Grand Prix. Languishing in the back of the pack, unable to challenge even the Minardi's on pace, James Davies' F1 début was one to forget, as he eventually retired anonymously with a crankshaft failure.

His other two starts did not go much smoother - a 17th place start in the US Grand Prix went to waste when Davies stalled, and spent the rest of the afternoon in last place. The Japanese Grand Prix looked like being a turnaround for Davies, with a good start leading to him holding his own in the midfield, until he collided with Olivier Panis on lap 16, taking both cars out of the race. Arrows opted not to keep Davies for 2002, instead keeping Enrique Bernoldi for his Red Bull money, and hiring the older and wiser Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Davies initially signed with Prost for 2002, but when Prost went bankrupt shortly before the season started, it left the Welshman out in the cold.

James was not interested in returning to lower formulae, but as the Formula 1 grid was full up for 2002, and none of the larger teams seemed interested in Davies as a developmental driver, it seemed as though Formula 1 was closed to him. Davies instead cast his eyes Stateside, where many a F1 reject had carved a respectable career in American IndyCars. However, tests for both IndyCar and ChampCar teams resulted in frustration as Davies found himself unhappy with the cars he was given. It seemed as though Davies' career had come to a standstill, but watching the 2002 Daytona 500 piqued Davies' interest in stock cars.

The Welshman quickly got in contact with several team owners, eventually signing for Robert Yates Racing. The intention was for Davies to run selected Cup races through 2002 and 2003 as he developed through ARCA and NASCAR's feeder series. However, this was much too slow for someone such as Davies, and shortly after winning his first ARCA race, James Davies and Robert Yates Racing parted ways. Davies returned to the UK temporarily, as he feverishly worked to start up his own NASCAR team. Two months later, Burnt Rubber Racing was founded, with little more than a backmarker's Chevy and barrels of enthusiasm to it's name. After starting 10 races in the back half of the season, James Davies announced his intention to run the full schedule in 2003.

He had shown some sparks of promise, the same talent which carried him with such ease through karts, Formula Ford, Formula 3, and Formula 3000, and this had attracted some sponsors and crew members from other teams. Davies' announcement also features claims of winning a race sometime that season, and finishing in the top 10 in points. However, only time would tell if Burnt Rubber Racing and James Davies would live up to their expectations, or fall by the wayside...

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Yes, for the zero people who remember this, it's back. The game I'm using for this is NASCAR Racing 2003 season, races at 25% distance, with Arcade driving mode since I'm using a keyboard to control. I've already finished the first season, and will be posting the results over the next few days.
Sebastian Vettel wrote:If I was good at losing I wouldn't be in Formula 1.
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