James French (racing driver)

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James French
File:James French Driver of Algarve Racing's Oreca 07 Gibson.jpg
French in 2019
Nationality United States American
Born (1992-05-20) May 20, 1992 (age 32)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
United SportsCar Championship career
Debut season 2014
Current team Performance Tech Motorsports
Previous series
2009–2013 SCCA C Sports Racer
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2018 position 82nd
Best finish 82nd (2018)
First race 2018 Johnsonville 180 (Road America)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of November 17, 2018.

James French (born May 21, 1992) is an American professional racing driver.

Racing career

Growing up in Wisconsin French started karting at age five at the Road America Motorplex.[1] In his final season at the Road America Kart Club French finished second in the 80cc Shifter class.[2]

Club racing

French made his debut in the C Sports Racer class at Road America in May 2008.[3] He also raced against his father Brian in the Central Division SCCA championship. The father-son duo also raced at the June Sprints with Brian winning the class, and James finishing in second place.[4] The following season James won the championship in a Swift 014.a with added bodywork.[5] The younger French won also the June Sprints and placed third at the prestigious SCCA National Championship Runoffs.

In 2010 French ran a partial Central Division SCCA club championship in both the CSR and Formula Atlantic classes. He also competed in the SVRA at Road America in a Ralt RT41. The following season French won again the Cen-Div CSR championship.[6] His strong result in the divisional championship earned him a third place in the SCCA Majors Tour.[7] The fast Wisconsin driver also finished third at the June Sprints.[8]

File:2013 SCCA National Championship Runoffs CSR third James French from Sheboygan.jpg
French racing to a third-place finish in C Sport Racer at Road America during the 2013 SCCA National Championship Runoffs

French again repeated his divisional championship in 2012.[9] He did not finish on the podium in the Majors Tour. He again won the June Sprints in 2014.[10] But as he did not win the Central Division championship he could not compete for the Majors Tour title. French competed at the SVRA Spring Vintage Festival winning his race in a Jordan 197.[11]

Sportscar racing

French first raced in the American Le Mans Series in 2011. Competing in the LMPC class French ran one race with Intersport Racing. In 2012 he ran again one race, this time landing on the podium. At the 2012 Road Race Showcase French, Kyle Marcelli and Chapman Ducote finished third in class. For 2013 French ran three races with BAR1 Motorsports. At the season finale, the 2013 Petit Le Mans, French, Tomy Drissi and Rusty Mitchell finished third in class.

For 2014 French joined Performance Tech Motorsports for the last five races of the season. He scored a second place at Virginia International Raceway with teammate David Ostella. The following season he raced a full season in the United SportsCar Championship. The team failed to finish at the 2015 24 Hours of Daytona. However, he scored three consecutive third-place finishes after the season opener. He later scored another two podium finishes securing the sixth place in the championship.

Indy Lights

In November 2015 French tested a Dallara IL-15 with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. He tested at Circuit of the Americas alongside Heamin Choi. During the Chris Griffis Memorial Test French was faster than Choi during all the sessions.[12] During the 2016 season French made his race debut in Indy Lights. As Belardi Auto Racing driver Felix Rosenqvist had other obligations, French replaced the Swede at the Road America round of the championship. French qualified twelfth in a field of fourteen. In both races he worked his way up to eighth place.[13]

Stock car racing

File:55JamesFrench2018Johnsonville180.jpg
French racing in 2018 during his first NASCAR start at Road America

In August 2018, French joined JP Motorsports for his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Road America.[14]

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status
2009 Road America Swift 014.a Toyota CSR 3 3 Running
2010 Road America Swift 014.a Toyota CSR 3 4 Running
2011 Road America Swift 014.a Toyota CSR 4 4 Running
2012 Road America Swift 014.a Toyota CSR 8 5 DNF
2013 Road America Swift 014.a Toyota CSR 3 6 Running
2020 Road America Swift 014.a Toyota Prototype 1 1 1 Running
2021 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ralt RT41 Toyota Formula Atlantic 1 1 Running

American open-wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

Indy Lights

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points
2016 Belardi Auto Racing STP STP PHX ALA ALA IMS IMS INDY RDA
8		 RDA
8		 IOW
 TOR
 TOR
 MDO
 MDO
 WGL
 LAG
 LAG
 20th 26

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2018 JP Motorsports 55 Toyota DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH IOW CHI DAY KEN NHA IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA
38		 DAR IND LVS RCH CLT DOV KAN TEX PHO HOM 82nd 1 [15]

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points
2014 Performance Tech Motorsports PC Oreca FLM09 LS3 6.2 L V8 DAY
 SEB
 LGA
 KAN
 WGL
 IMS
4		 ELK
6		 VIR
2		 AUS
10		 ATL
10		 15th 111
2015 Performance Tech Motorsports PC Oreca FLM09 LS3 6.2 L V8 DAY
7		 SEB
3		 LGA
3		 BEL
3		 WGL
7		 MOS
7		 LIM
7		 ELK
2		 AUS
3		 ATL
DNS		 6th 233
2016 Performance Tech Motorsports PC Oreca FLM09 LS3 6.2 L V8 DAY
6		 SEB
5		 LBH
3		 LGA
4		 BEL
4		 WGL
2		 MOS
4		 LIM
3		 ELK
3		 AUS
3		 PET
2		 4th 305
2017 Performance Tech Motorsports PC Oreca FLM09 LS3 6.2 L V8 DAY
1		 SEB
1		 AUS
1		 DET
1		 WAT
1		 MOS
1		 ELK
1		 PET
3		 1st 283
2018 Performance Tech Motorsports P Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY
8		 SEB
13		 LBH
14		 MOH
11		 BEL
14		 WGL
14		 MOS
DNS		 ELK LGA PET
14		 21st 112
2019 Performance Tech Motorsports LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB MDO WGL MOS ELK
2		 LGA PET 12th 32
2020 Performance Tech Motorsports LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY
 SEB
 ELK
2		 ATL
 PET
 LGA
 SEB
 16th 32
2021 Tower Motorsport by Starworks LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY
 SEB
 WGL
4		 WGL
 ELK
 LGA
 PET
1		 9th 686
2022 Performance Tech Motorsports LMP3 Ligier JS P320 Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 DAY
 SEB
 MDO
 WGL
 MOS
 ELK
6		 PET
 31st 276

References

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External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
PC Champion
2017
With: James French		 Succeeded by
None
(Class discontinued)
Preceded by
Tom Kimber-Smith
José Gutiérrez
Robert Alon
 North American Endurance Cup
PC Champion
2017
With: James French & Kyle Masson		 Succeeded by
None
(Class discontinued)
Preceded by Asian Le Mans Series
LMP2 Champion
2019–20
With: Roman Rusinov & Léonard Hoogenboom		 Succeeded by
René Binder
Ferdinand von Habsburg
Ye Yifei
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