Chris Lawson (racing driver)

Christopher W. Lawson (born November 6, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing crew chief who works for Rick Ware Racing as the crew chief for Justin Haley's No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR Cup Series. He previously worked with Todd Gilliland in the NASCAR West Series for Bill McAnally Racing, where the duo won two consecutive championships in 2016 and 2017 and twelve races together. Prior to becoming a crew chief, Lawson was a driver for underfunded, start and park teams in NASCAR and ARCA until 2011.

Chris Lawson
Nationality	American
Born	Christopher W. Lawson (1985-11-06) November 6, 1985 (age 38) Medway, Ohio
ARCA Racing Series career
Debut season	2011
Former teams	Fast Track Racing
Starts	1
Wins	0
Poles	0
Best finish	132nd in 2011
Finished last season	132nd (2011)
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
4 races run over 4 years
2011 position	88th
Best finish	88th (2011)
First race	2009 Kroger 200 (IRP)
Last race	2011 Scotts EZ Seed 300 (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2009 position	89th
Best finish	89th (2009)
First race	2009 Heluva Good! 200 (New Hampshire)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Last updated on: June 18, 2020.

Racing career

Driving career

Lawson gained notoriety in 2011 as the driver who replaced Jennifer Jo Cobb at Bristol Motor Speedway in the 2nd Chance Motorsports No. 79 entry after Cobb left the team on the day of the race after a dispute with team owner Rick Russell on being told to start and park in that race.^[1] Rookie of the year contender Charles Lewandoski was initially set to be the team's substitute driver, but was unable to get prepared in the car in time for the start of the race, so Russell then got Lawson to jump in Cobb's car and start and park it.^[2] Lawson had failed to qualify for the Bristol race in another start and park entry, the No. 03 for R3 Motorsports. He was the only DNQ for the race, and was still at the track when it was about to start. This race would end up being Lawson's last as a driver.

Crew chiefing career

In 2019, Lawson served as Tanner Gray's crew chief in the ARCA Menards Series for DGR-Crosley.^[3]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

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

Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide 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	34	35	NNSC	Pts	Ref
2007	Jimmy Means Racing	52	Ford	DAY	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL	BRI	NSH	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	CGV	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM DNQ	TEX	PHO	HOM	N/A	0	^[4]
2009	Jimmy Means Racing	52	Chevy	DAY	CAL	LVS	BRI	TEX	NSH	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP 36	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI	CGV	ATL	RCH DNQ	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO DNQ	HOM	141st	55	^[5]
2010			Ford	DAY	CAL	LVS	BRI DNQ	NSH	PHO	TEX	TAL	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT																								122nd	83	^[6]
			Chevy													NSH 40	KEN	ROA	NHA DNQ	DAY	CHI	GTY DNQ	IRP 41	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI DNQ	CGV	ATL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	GTY	TEX	PHO	HOM
2011	R3 Motorsports	03	Dodge	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI DNQ																																88th	3	^[7]
	2nd Chance Motorsports	79	Ford				BRI 41	CAL	TEX	TAL	NSH	RCH	DAR	DOV	IOW	CLT	CHI	MCH	ROA	DAY	KEN	NHA	NSH	IRP	IOW	GLN	CGV	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck 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	NCWTC	Pts	Ref
2009	Fast Track Racing Enterprises	47	Chevy	DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	KAN	CLT	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	MEM	KEN	IRP	NSH	BRI	CHI	IOW	GTW	NHA 33	LVS	MAR	TAL	TEX	PHO	HOM	106th	64	^[8]

ARCA Racing Series

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

ARCA Racing 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	ARSC	Pts	Ref
2011	Fast Track Racing	18	Dodge	DAY 22	TAL	SLM	TOL	NJE	CHI	POC	MCH	WIN	BLN	IOW	IRP	POC	ISF	MAD	DSF	SLM	KAN	TOL	132nd	120	^[9]

References

1. "Cobb replaced for refusing to 'start and park'". Fox Sports. March 19, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
2. "UPDATE: Jennifer Jo Cobb Refused to Start-and-Park, Stands up for what is Right". Speedway Digest. STS Motorsports Inc. March 19, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
3. "David Gilliland says massive NASCAR penalty was the result of a '100 percent legal' ARCA test". Autoweek. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
4. "Chris Lawson – 2007 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
5. "Chris Lawson – 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
6. "Chris Lawson – 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
7. "Chris Lawson – 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
8. "Chris Lawson – 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
9. "Chris Lawson – 2011 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 17, 2020.

External links

• Chris Lawson driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Chris Lawson crew chief statistics at Racing-Reference