James Finch | |
|---|---|
| Born | James David Finch 1950 (age 74–75) Lynn Haven, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Owner, Phoenix Construction Owner, Phoenix Racing |
| Years active | 1989–2013 (Phoenix Racing) |
James David Finch Sr. (born 1950) is an American businessman. He is the owner ofPhoenix Construction, aconstruction company that specializes in airport construction. He ownedPhoenix Racing until late 2013 when he sold the team to Harry Scott. Finch began work in construction as a teenager, and later formed Phoenix Construction Services, whose first job was atTyndall Air Force Base. He is the father ofARCA Menards Series driverJake Finch.
Finch began his racing team with driverJeff Purvis in dirt oval track racing. He moved to NASCAR in 1989 in theBusch Series and thenWinston Cup Series racing. Phoenix Racing fielded a single entry, numbered 51 and 09, on a mostly part-time basis in the Cup Series throughout its history before going full-time in its final years, and was known for its sponsorship fromMiccosukee resorts. The team scored one win in the Cup Series, the2009 Aaron's 499 won byBrad Keselowski. Finch announced in 2013 that he was leaving the sport after failing to find consistent sponsorship for the past three seasons.[1][2]
He sold the team to Harry Scott Jr., ofTurner Scott Motorsports, who took over at theFederated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond.[3]
In 2014, Finch partnered with the renamedHScott Motorsports to field an entry in theDaytona 500 forBobby Labonte, with Labonte driving to a 15th-place finish.[4] Later in the year, Finch funded sponsorship worth at leastUS$25,000 forPhil Parsons Racing's No. 98 car atDaytona in July, endorsing the Florida gubernatorial campaign ofDemocratCharlie Crist. The decals were removed out of respect for PPR partnerMike Curb, aRepublican former lieutenant governor ofCalifornia.[5] The relationship between Finch and Crist generated additional controversy when Crist was found to be using Finch's privateCessna plane en route to aglobal warming lecture.[6]
Finch returned to NASCAR sponsorship in 2015, when Phoenix Construction sponsored the No. 98 for theDaytona 500.[7] However, the car suffered an electrical failure prior to itsBudweiser Duel race and failed to qualify.[8] Phoenix Construction would sponsorStefan Parsons, son of Phil, in multiple Truck races across 2018–2020.
In 2020, Finch partnered with former Truck Series team owners Billy Ballew (Billy Ballew Motorsports) and Richie Wauters (Wauters Motorsports) to field a ride forErik Jones atHomestead–Miami Speedway. The effort was spurred by a bounty fromKevin Harvick andMarcus Lemonis for full-time Cup drivers who could beatKyle Busch in a Truck race.[9]
Finch and Phoenix Construction have incurred criticism and several fines for environmental infractions and botched construction work. These incidents include filling a bayou in his home and filling wetlands inPanama City Beach; the latter drew a $23,000 fine from theEPA. Finch has drawn nearly $2 million in fines.[6]
Finch won a $1.7 million contract in the 1990s to build a pipeline acrossSt. Andrew Bay that would carry away sewage from a nearbypaper mill. After construction of the pipeline began, the pipe began to be built above ground, which was a violation of requirements set forth by theDepartment of Environmental Protection (10 feet below channel depth or 4 feet below the mudline) to prevent adredge or anchor from breaking the pipe. Finch received a notice of non-compliance on May 25, 2000, but Finch and Phoenix were eventually cleared of responsibility after the work was corrected in 2005.[10][11][12][6]
In 2009, Finch and Phoenix were fined for allowingstormwater runoff to pollute creeks and wetlands nearNorthwest Florida Beaches International Airport. Finch was fined $1.7 million by the DEP for permit violations in 2010, and the incident led to suits filed between Finch and the airport authority.[10][6]
Finch was arrested on March 18, 2021 inLynn Haven, Florida in correlation to federal indictments of the city's former mayor, Margo Anderson and former city attorney, Adam Albritton on August 18, 2020 who were both charged with more than 60 crimes each and former city manager, Michael White who was indicted in 2019 on federal charges of his own. Finch's company, Phoenix Construction, was labeled in those indictments as "company B" as colluding with "company A" to fix bids in Lynn Haven. Anderson, who was indicted on charges of theft of $5 million inHurricane Michael debris removal funds, faces 63 criminal counts, including conspiring to defraud, numerous counts of wire fraud and a charge of embezzlement of federal funds. Anderson is also charge with depriving the city of Lynn Haven and its residents of their right to honest services, and lying to federal agents. Albritton faces identical charges in addition to scheming to defraud an insurance company, rather than lying. Finch was found not guilty in 2023 after a jury trial on all charges, after the first trial ended in a hung jury.
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