Jimmy Means
Means atTexas Motor Speedway in 2019
Born	James Bradford Means (1950-05-29)May 29, 1950 (age 74) Texarkana, Arkansas, U.S.
NASCARCup Series career
455 races run over 18 years
Best finish	11th (1982)
First race	1976Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race	1993AC Delco 500 (Rockingham)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 17 0
NASCARXfinity Series career
3 races run over 1 year
Best finish	65th (1989)
First race	1989Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last race	1989Gatorade 200 (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0
Statistics current as of December 25, 2012.

James Means (born May 29, 1950) is an American former racing driver and owner, who competed in theWinston Cup Series as an owner-driver. He is currently an adviser forFront Row Motorsports and a former owner ofNASCAR Xfinity Series teamJimmy Means Racing.

He competed in NASCAR for eighteen years in mostly his own equipment, posting seventeen career top-tens. He made three careerBusch Series starts in 1989, finishing 10th atDarlington Raceway. Following his retirement, Means worked as acrew chief in NASCAR, working forBud Moore Engineering andMoy Racing. Means was part theAlabama Gang which includedBobby Allison,Donnie Allison,Neil Bonnett andRed Farmer and laterDavey Allison,Hut Stricklin,Steve Grissom andMike Alexander.

Means' nickname"Smut" originated from his admiration for mechanicSmokey Yunick. Since the nickname "Smokey" was already taken in racing circles, Means' crew nicknamed him "Smut", the residue left behind by smoke.^[1]

He is the father of Brad Means.

Means won dozens oflate model races in Alabama and Tennessee in the early 1970s, including track championships at Huntsville Speedway and the historicNashville Speedway USA.

Means made his Cup debut in 1976 at the Daytona 500, driving the number five Chevrolet for Bill Gray. He led one lap but finished 40th after an engine failure. He ran an additional eighteen races for Gray in the number 52 car with sponsorship fromWIXC, finishing in eleventh place twice. The following season, Means drove twenty-six races and had a career-best six top-ten finishes, but due to twelve DNFs, he finished nineteenth in points.

In1978, Means began running as an independent driver, except for theWinston 500, where he drove forBill Champion. He had two top-tens and improved three spots to finish sixteenth in points. He received new sponsorship from Mr. Transmission, but only had one top-ten in1979, forcing him to fall to 23rd in points. After a sponsorship change to Thompson Industries for1980, Means failed to finish higher than 12th, but he was still able to move up to 17th in the standings. Broadway Motors became his new sponsor in 1981, and after two top-tens, he continued to move up to fourteenth in points. In1982, he was able to garner an additional pair of ninth-place runs, and finished a career-best 11th in points. It also marked the first time in his career he ran every race on the schedule.

Means had the highest finish of his career in1983, when he had a seventh-place run at Talladega. Combined with two other top-tens, he dropped seven spots in the standings. During the1984, Means suffered injuries in a crash atTalladega Superspeedway, forcing him to miss several races. He did not have a top-ten finish over the next two years, and he lost his Broadway sponsorship, picking up funding from Voyles Auto Savage in late1986. He also switched his manufacturer toPontiac.

In1987,Eureka Vacuum Cleaners became Means' new sponsor, and he had the last top-ten of his career atRichmond International Raceway. He dropped to what was at the time the lowest points finish of his career (30th) in 1988, and continued to struggle in 1989, failing to qualify for several races and dropping another spot in the standings despite a new sponsor inAlka-Seltzer. Means had already chosen to skip two races in favor ofBobby Hillin Jr. in1991 after being involved withJ. D. McDuffie's fatal crash; he continued to relinquish the ride toMike Wallace at the end of the season.

After losing the Alka-Seltzer sponsorship, Means continued to drive a part-time schedule. After getting part-time funding fromNAPA and Hurley Limo, Means ran eighteen races in 1993.

Means had planned to race again in 1994 for his own team. Speedweeks 1994 was marred by the deaths of fellow Alabama driverNeil Bonnett, and reigningGoody's Dash Series ChampionRodney Orr. The deaths of Bonnett and Orr convinced Means that he had no more reason to be racing. Means announced his retirement in the days following qualifying for the 1994 Daytona 500. He was winless in 455 starts.

In 1995 he had a brief stint as team manager for the Bud Moore-owned, Lake Speed-driven No. 15 Ford Quality Care Thunderbird.

Means continued to own NASCAR cars through the 1990s and 2000s, primarily in the Busch Series (nowXfinity Series). In 2012, he was a part-owner of the newHamilton Means Racing team, which fielded his traditional number 52.^[2]

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

• Jimmy Means driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Jimmy Means owner statistics at Racing-Reference
• Jimmy Means crew chief statistics at Racing-Reference
• Jimmy Means NASCAR Owner

• Living people
• 1950 births
• Sportspeople from Huntsville, Alabama
• Racing drivers from Alabama
• NASCAR drivers
• NASCAR team owners
• NASCAR crew chiefs
• Alabama Gang
• Hendrick Motorsports drivers
• Racing drivers from Arkansas
• Sportspeople from Texarkana, Arkansas

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Short description is different from Wikidata