Knoxville, Tennessee, native and motorsports champion Chad Finchum, the 2009 Spirit of a Legend Award winner, races primarily in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with MBM Motorsports.
Born September 22, 1994, it didn't take Finchum long to decide his life path. At the young age of six, he strapped into a race car, driving Go Karts on dirt and asphalt, earning triple-digit victories and several local and state championships during his six-year tenure before dabbling in Bandoleros in 2006. Finchum became a quick study, and in his first full-time season in Bandoleros a year later, he drove to three championships, including the Winter Heat 2007 – 2008 Championship. That continued the next season, amassing multiple victories and championships, including the Summer Shootout Series Championship at Charlotte Motor Speedway (NC), The Winter Heat Series Championship, and winning the Nationals event at Speedrome (IN), declaring him the 2008 Bandolero Young Guns division National Champion.
2009 saw a shift in Finchum's career to the Legends Young Lions division, and success continued, driving to the Thursday Thunder Series championship at Atlanta Motor Speedway (GA) as well as finishing second in the Summer Shootout Series. Finchum's on-track driving style and off-track demeanor was rewarded at Charlotte Motor Speedway by him receiving the prestigious Spirit of a Legend Award, the "Heisman" award of Legends Car racing.
In 2010, Finchum moved up to full-size cars, winning his first Late Model Stock Car race in his second start, at Newport Speedway (TN). Over the next few years, Finchum was a force to be reckoned with at every track he entered, driving to victory lane many times, at tracks like Newport Speedway, Motor Mile (VA), Kingsport Speedway (TN), and Lonesome Pine Speedway (VA). In 2013, Finchum's six wins and strong runs during the season catapulted him to the Kingsport Speedway track championship and was crowned the Tennessee State Champion in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series (NWAAS). He also set the pole at the Martinsville is for Lover's Late Model Stock race at Martinsville Speedway (VA), winning his heat race, and his strong season earned him ninth in the nation of 500 drivers.
While he focused on his Late Model Stock career, Finchum also made a few starts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, and in 2016, at his favorite track, Bristol Motor Speedway in his home state of Tennessee, Finchum started fourth and drove to his first series victory.
Adding more victories to his tally in Late Model Stock Car racing in 2016 and 2017, Finchum made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut during the 2017 season, racing seven races to learn and adapt to NASCAR's second-highest series. 2018 saw Finchum move into full-time Xfinity Series status, and after several strong runs, he earned a career-best finish of 14th at Daytona International Speedway (FL) in July.
The 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign found Chad entering 32 NASCAR Xfinity Series Events with a best finish of 15th on Nov. 2 at Texas Motor Speedway.
For 2020 Finchum again raced in 32 NASCAR Xfinity Series events. He notched his best-career series finish on Oct. 3 at Talladega Super Speedway with an 11th-place finish. He also added a trio of Go-Kart victories at Kingsport (Tenn.) Kartway.
The 2021 campaign found Chad making his first NASCAR Cup Series starts with a pair of 33rd-place finishes at Nashville Superspeedway and Bristol Motor Speedway. He also raced in six NASCAR Xfinity Series events with a best finish of 15th, which came at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Limited action in 2022 found Chad only racing a handful of NASCAR Xfinity Series races.