Bill Davis (1951–)

Arkansas native Bill Davis is a nationally known motorsports figure and National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) team owner who was active in racing seasons from 1988 to 2008. Davis’s cars and drivers were consistent frontrunners during a time when stock car racing was experiencing explosive growth and popularity, with many races attracting up to 200,000 fans each weekend. As a team owner, Davis won the sport’s top event, the Daytona 500, in 2002, as well as a NASCAR Truck Series Championship in 2008. Along with his wife, he also built a successful trucking company, Bill Davis Trucking Inc., based in Batesville (Independence County), and later in his career formed Chimney Rock Cattle Company in Concord (Cleburne County).

William A. (Bill) Davis III was born in Fayetteville (Washington County) on January 18, 1951, to William “Jake” Davis Jr. and Tommye Arbogast Davis; he has one sister. His father worked in sales in the trucking industry and moved the family from northwestern Arkansas to Little Rock (Pulaski County) when he was five. Davis graduated from Little Rock Catholic High School. Beginning as a teenager, he competed in motocross at tracks around Arkansas and nationally in the 1960s and 1970s.

Davis began his career as a Peterbilt truck salesman and eventually moved to Batesville to begin Bill Davis Trucking Inc. in 1975. It would grow to become a staple in the trucking industry for more than fifty years. Davis met his future wife Gail shortly after moving to Batesville, and they were married in 1981.

During the late 1970s, he and his father became friends with trucking industry veteran Julian Martin and his son Mark Martin, a young racecar driver from Batesville who would become a future NASCAR Hall of Famer. Davis assisted with Martin’s successful American Speed Association (ASA) racing efforts in the 1980s, eventually fielding cars for him in prestigious events like the All American 400 ASA/All Pro races in Nashville, Tennessee.

Mark Martin caught a big break in 1988 when he was hired by Roush Racing to compete full-time at NASCAR’s highest level, the Winston Cup Series on Sundays. Davis began fielding cars that same year part-time for Martin in NASCAR’s lower-tier Busch Series, which raced on Saturdays. This owner/driver combination of Arkansans garnered two Busch Series wins.

In 1990, Davis moved to North Carolina, where most NASCAR teams were headquartered. Gail Davis initially split time between managing the trucking company in Batesville and traveling to races before eventually moving with Davis to High Point, North Carolina. Bill Davis Racing started a full-time competition in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1991 with future Hall of Fame NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, who was little known at the time. Gordon won the Busch Series Rookie of the Year honors driving for Davis that season.

In 1993, with sponsorship from Maxwell House Coffee, Bill Davis Racing moved to the top level of NASCAR competition, the Winston Cup Series, with future NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte driving the No. 22 car. Davis earned his first win as a NASCAR Cup Series team owner at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina in 1995 with another new driver, Ward Burton. Davis and Burton proved to be a winning combination, attracting sponsorship from Caterpillar Inc. and winning five races over eight years, including two of the highest-profile races in the sport: the Daytona 500 and the Southern 500 at Darlington, South Carolina.

As NASCAR’s popularity grew in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Davis also expanded his program, fielding a second Cup Series team running different sponsors and number combinations such as Dave Blaney in the No. 93 Amoco car, Kenny Wallace in the No. 23 car, Michael Waltrip in the No. 55 NAPA car, and former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve in the No. 27.

During this same time, Bill Davis Racing maintained a presence in NASCAR’s lower-tier Busch Series, winning four times with driver Scott Wimmer between 2002 and 2003. In 2004, Bill Davis Racing began fielding multiple NASCAR Truck Series teams introducing Toyota as a new manufacturer in NASCAR. The Truck Series effort culminated with driver Johnny Benson Jr. winning Bill Davis Racing its first NASCAR Championship in 2008.

Davis sold his NASCAR racing assets after the 2008 season amid a weakening economy and increased competition for sponsorship, and he and his wife returned to Batesville to manage their trucking company. Shortly afterward, they started Chimney Rock Cattle Company, which focuses on high-quality herds of Brangus cattle and features a world-class onsite livestock auction facility. Davis was elected to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.

For additional information:
“ASHOF Past Inductee Profiles 2016.” Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, https://www.arksportshalloffame.com/past-inductees (accessed February 26, 2025).

Hayman, Syd. “Hall of Famer Reflects on Racing Career.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 17, 2016. https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/jul/17/hall-famer-reflects-racing-career/ (accessed February 26, 2024).

Rogers, Steve. “Davis Enjoys Life Away from Racing.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 27, 2009. https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2009/jun/27/davis-enjoys-life-away-racing-20090627/ (accessed February 26, 2025).

Spencer Andrews
Little Rock, Arkansas