St. James Davis

St. James Harley Davis (October 24, 1943 – July 2018) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He primarily competed in the NASCAR Winston West Series, running 120 races over 19 seasons and scoring four top-ten finishes.

Racing career

1970s Davis debuted in the NASCAR Winston West Series in 1978, where driving the No. 22 Dodge at Craig Road Speedway, he finished out of the race in 15th with an oil leak. He competed in five other races in 1978, failing to finish in all of them, including failing to start at Sonoma. He also failed to qualify for the season finale at Phoenix International Raceway. He only competed in one West Series race in 1979, where he finished 15th at Ascot Park, running at the finish despite only completing 11 of 100 laps.

1980s Davis attempted three West Series races in 1980, including his first Cup attempt in a combination race at Riverside International Raceway, although he failed to qualify for both this race and the race at Laguna Seca, and finished 14th in the race at Stockton 99 Speedway. He also made his only appearance in the USAC Stock Car Series, finishing 35th in a race at Texas World Speedway, falling out with engine issues after ten laps. In 1981, Davis competed in three West Series races, although mechanical issues prevented him from finishing his first two starts and a lap 2 crash at Riverside ended his day early; his best finish in these three races was 12th at Laguna Seca. Davis did not compete in NASCAR in 1982, but returned for two West races in 1983, where oil pump issues knocked him out of the race early at Riverside and he crashed at Phoenix, finishing 18th. He also attempted the 1983 Winston Western 500, but failed to qualify. 1984 saw Davis expand his schedule to nearly the full season, attempting nine of the eleven races. He failed qualify for the combination race with the Winston Cup Series at Riverside and failed to finish every race he ran, with his best finish being 14th at Shasta Speedway. Davis ran the full 1985 West Series season, although he failed to qualify for both combination races. He failed to finish all but one race, that race being an event at Stateline Speedway where he scored his first career top-ten in ninth. He attempted the full eight race schedule in 1986, again failing to qualify for both combination events and failing to finish every standalone race, with his best result of the season being a 20th in the race at Race City Speedway. He competed full time again in 1987, once more failing to make the field for both combination races but only failing to finish once, having drive line issues in the season opener. Davis was running at the finish in every other race, scoring a best finish of 12th at Spokane. Davis' 1988 season was similar, as he again attempted every race, failed to qualify for the combination races, and was running at the finish more consistently. His best finish came at Mesa Marin, where he finished 13th. He and his team traveled overseas to compete in the Goodyear NASCAR 500 in Australia. They were involved in controversy after packing their engine builder, Mitch Klon, in the shipping container with the car to save money. Upon arriving in Australia, Klon was turned over to Australian authorities, quarantined, and released into the custody of Bob Jane, where he would earn his return fare doing manual labor for the authorities. The actual race itself was short for Davis, as he fell out of the race after just two laps due to handling issues. The West Series expanded to an 11 race schedule in 1989, and Davis attempted the full season, failing to make the field for the combination races as in past years, and only running at the finish in three races, his best result being an 11th at Redwood Acres Speedway.

1990s Davis continued attempting the full schedule in 1990, again failing to qualify for both combination races with the Winston Cup Series. He was running at the finish of four races in 1990, scoring a best result of 12th in the longest race of the season at Evergreen Speedway. The 1991 season opened at Evergreen, and Davis scored his second career top-ten, finishing tenth. He attempted the full season, failing to qualify for the combination races as in past years, although was running at the finish of all but one race. This would ultimately be his final full-time season in the series, and he finished 11th in points for the sixth time. Davis competed in seven races in 1992, scoring two straight top-tens at Saugus Speedway and Shasta Speedway. These would be his final top-ten results in the series. After not competing in NASCAR in 1993, Davis attempted eight races in 1994, failing to qualify for the combination race at Phoenix and failing to finish in every race, scoring a best finish of 14th at Cajon Speedway. Davis again attempted eight races in 1995, failing to qualify for the combination race at Sonoma and failing to finish with various issues in all but one start, with a best finish of 14th at Tucson Speedway despite running no laps due to engine issues. Davis attempted ten races in 1996, although failed to start in three of them and was only running at the finish at Colorado National Speedway; his best finish of the season was 15th at Madera Speedway despite failing to start the race. Davis attempted nearly the entire 1997 season, although failed to qualify at Mesa Marin. His best result was 11th at Pikes Peak International Raceway. He also finished in the top-ten in points for the first time, ending the season ninth in the standings. He also attempted to qualify for a NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour race at the Los Angeles Street Circuit, but failed to qualify. Davis made one final attempt in the West Series in 1999, failing to qualify for the fourth race of the season at California Speedway.

2005 chimpanzee attack and aftermath Davis and his wife LaDonna had a pet chimpanzee named Moe who was treated as if he was a child. They adopted Moe in 1967 not long after his birth in Tanzania. After he bit several people, he was seized by the city of West Covina, California, then placed into an animal sanctuary near Bakersfield, California. St. James and LaDonna had a long but unsuccessful legal battle to recover Moe, and would often visit him at the sanctuary. He was married to LaDonna Davis, who was an important part of his race team, serving as the team's owner, crew chief, and engine builder. 1983 Davis Racing

Unknown DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV BRI CLT RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL

134th 0 1985 DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT

POC MCH DAY POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD

130th 0

20

DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT

POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL

22W

1987 2 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR NWS BRI MAR TAL CLT DOV POC

MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR

ATL

136th 0 1988 22W DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV

POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR

ATL

129th 0 1989

DAY CAR ATL RCH DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR

ATL

126th 0

DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV

POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR

Chevrolet

ATL

1991 Buick DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR

ATL

118th 0 1994

DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR

ATL 127th 0 1995 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL

CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 93rd 0 Winston West Series