Over the years, hundreds of drivers have cut their racing teeth at Southside Speedway in Chesterfield County. Several have gone on to successful NASCAR careers, including Lennie Pond, Tommy Ellis and most recently Denny Hamlin.

Now, 18-year-old Mechanicsville resident Brad Davis hopes to add his name to the list, and he may have the right stuff to do it. While the 2008 Hanover High grad undergoes a full-time engineering program at J. Sargent Reynolds Community College, he also holds down a job constructing custom wiring harnesses at Powertrain Control Solutions in Hanover Air Park.

Despite the full schedule, the energetic young man finds time to do his best work behind the wheel of his royal blue No. 18 Chevy Monte Carlo.

Brad’s passion for racing began in 1997 while watching his father Jeff compete in dirt track karts. After getting his first kart the following year, the youngster immediately turned his focus from baseball to racing, and never looked back.

“A wonderful friend of the family gave Brad that go-kart,” Brad’s mother Dona said. “I still say ‘Thanks a bunch, Jimmy’ every time I see him,” she added jokingly.

Brad started running dirt ovals before he turned eight, and still does on occasion.

“Since my brother still does it and my Dad still builds engines for people, I can’t get totally away from it,” he said.

Brad began racing Allison Legacy Cars late in 2004 and ran the touring series once or twice a month through 2006, with a best finish of third.

The travel got to be a bit much, so the family narrowed their focus to the local racing scene at Southside. Brad ran MACKA karts there in 2007, won four races and the track championship.

The speed of the headline Late Model Sportsman cars quickly captured his imagination, and he wanted a shot at them.

With a 4.0 GPA, Brad was as good a student as he was a driver, and had lived up to his father’s expectations on and off the track. Therefore Jeff Davis fully supported his son’s dream to step up to the bigger cars.

“Brad did really well in the Legacy Car,” Jeff said. “He handled it like there was nothing to it.”

Jeff, a house-framer by trade, struck a deal with Creech Motorsports to acquire a freshly re-skinned rolling chassis. He and Brad installed the engine and transmission themselves and got the car painted and lettered just in time to make the final race of the 2007 season.

“It really flew together at the last minute,” Brad said.

He ran well in his first race and brought the car home in 13th without a scratch on it. More impressively, he had leapfrogged straight from karts into the track’s premier division and looked like he belonged there.

One year later, with almost a full season under his belt, Brad has exceeded almost everybody’s expectations but his own. If not for a few mechanical problems and a couple of bumps on the track, he might already have a checkered flag or two.

“I’m so competitive… deep inside I wanted to do better,” Brad said.

When he is not at school, at work or running hot laps, Brad stays busy cleaning and working on the chassis. Jeff, the team’s crew chief, directs his attention under the hood. On race day Brad’s younger brother Daniel helps out on an experienced crew that includes Modified driver T.J. Guthrie, and MACKA drivers Mark Claytor and Buzz Moore.

They must be doing something right – their preparation of Brad’s Chevy has contributed to impressive runs against some pretty stiff competition. Track announcer Buck Reuss took note of their speed early in the season.

“With limited knowledge as a first-year team, how they manage to devise their setups surprises me,” Reuss said.

With one race remaining in the season, Brad has two top-5s, three top-10s, and has led the most laps in two other races. He came ‘oh so close’ to his first Late Model victory in a 75-lap feature on Sept. 12.

Davis led most of the event, but by Lap 70 Chris Hopkins had inched alongside the Davis’ Monte Carlo. The two cars rubbed several times as they ran side by side around the track. Exiting turn four on lap 72, Hopkins nosed ahead on the inside as Davis manhandled his car up high.

Davis’ left front banged into Hopkins’ right rear in “one of them racin’ deals” near the start-finish line, resulting in Hopkins spinning to the outside near turn one. Davis received the black flag, and the ensuing stop-and-go penalty resulted in a 16th place finish.

The penalty could prove costly in Davis’ pursuit of Rookie of the Year honors. He trails fellow contender Alan Purser by 100 points, which equates to five finishing positions.

Whatever happens, the Mechanicsville native has made quite an impression on competitors, officials and fans alike in his rookie season. If he can maintain his current course, the wins will certainly come.
“Denny Hamlin ran out here for two years and never won,” Reuss said. “I see a lot of promise in this young man. The hardest thing is getting discovered at a non-NASCAR sanctioned track.”

One or two NASCAR Nationwide Series teams may have already taken note of his accomplishments.

Whether it takes more perseverance or money can be argued, but either way Brad has his sights set firmly on the future.

At almost $500 per set, tires eat up most of the budget, and need to be replaced weekly to remain competitive. Sponsors such as Monarch Masonry, Custom Choice Electrical and Premier Home Construction help out with the bills.

Like most racers, the search for additional sponsorship remains a full-time endeavor, but Brad knows to whom he owes the greatest thanks for his successful young career.

“If it wasn’t for my Dad, I wouldn’t be doing anything in racing,” he said.