User:Greg the White Falcon/Jasson Fox


 * The article below, and most of the names contained within, are entirely fictional. This is more an exercise in article writing than anything.

Jasson Clay Fox (born October 19, 1978) is an American stock car racing driver who competes in both the NASCAR Nextel Cup and Craftsman Truck Series.

He was born in Tempe, Arizona and is the son of John "Jay" Fox, a local dirt track champion. His name is not a misspelling of "Jason" but a shortened form of "Jay's Son", a compromise reached between his parents who disagreed on whether to name him John, after his father.

Beginnings
Jasson took an interest in racing from an early age. When he was 12, he and his family moved to Avon Lake, Ohio where John had taken work at the nearby Ford Motor Company facility. Jasson took up spectator stock racing in 1994 at age 16 with his first car, a 1986 Ford Thunderbird. Because of his birthday being late in the year, he was forced to make his debut in the final round of the season at Lorain Speedway. He finished second in the short race and went on to win the feature race, returning to Lorain in the same car to win seven races the following year. Throughout this season and ever since, he has kept #94 as his racing number after the year in which he scored his first win.

After graduating from Avon Lake High School, Fox spent three more years racing in Ohio, winning the 1999 E-Mod championship at Lorain before returning to his native Arizona. With financial aid from his father, he established John Fox Racing, a name which Jasson himself said was more a mark of gratitude for John's help than his actual involvement in running the team.

With Jasson behind the wheel, JFR attempted to break into the Winston West Series in 2000, but early results were disastrous and sponsors began to pull out as the season went on. The team was unable to find enough funds to attend the season finale at their home race at Phoenix International Raceway, and JFR's operations were put on temporary hiatus as Jasson looked for drives with other teams. He spent 2001 driving lower-tier stock cars at various tracks in the Southwest before deciding to embark on a different endeavour the following year.

Overseas
At the conclusion of the 2001 racing season, Jasson left the United States to try out with a single-car team, OK Mobile Racing, in the British Touring Car Championship. He was successful in preseason testing and was signed to drive the 2002 season. Driving a BMW 320i, Jasson won three races and finished consistently high enough in most of the others to win the Production Class championship, holding off Thomas Muller in the last race at Donington Park to secure the points.

Fox returned to the BTCC the following year, moving up to the Touring Class and entering as an independent - reviving the John Fox Racing name - with a year-old Proton Impian. The car proved to be unreliable and Fox failed to impress, however he would return in a new MG ZS the following year, retaining his OK Mobile sponsorship. He finished the 2004 season in 3rd place, well behind the Vauxhall Astras of Graham Carlton and Patrick Treffers.

Champ Car
Buoyed by his success in Britain, Fox announced that he would return to the United States in time to field a three-car team in the 2005 Champ Car World Series season, under the JFR banner. He signed up-and-coming British driver Callum Jackson and Terri McLeason, an Ohio native who had raced with Fox in the E-Mod series at Lorain.

During this season, JFR became known for their wild paintjobs which changed from race to race, to reflect the venue they were racing at (eg, the cars sported a bright yellow "Swiss cheese" livery for the race at Milwaukee, and a black livery with a giant guitar surrounded by "purple haze" for the Grand Prix of Cleveland.

The season was a success as each of the three JFR drivers won a race; Fox at Long Beach, McLeason at Milwaukee and Jackson at Toronto. The team also recorded 7 pole positions (Fox 6, Jackson 1).

Fox, McLeason and Jackson finished 2nd, 7th and 11th respectively in the final standings. There was talk of whether the team would return the following season, but when Jackson left to join Cannon Racing, Fox elected to sell the Champ Car operations and resume his quest for a career in stock car racing.

Return to NASCAR
Fox signed with Kenny Wallace to drive a Dodge in the Whelen Modified Tour for 2006, where he won 9 out of the 15 races en route to a championship victory. He also won the Made in America Whelen 300 at Martinsville Speedway, the combined all-star race for drivers from the North and South Whelen series.

During the 2006 season, Fox's success in Whelen Modifieds earned him part-time stints in Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series competition.

For 2007, he has signed with Roush Fenway Racing to drive the #94 Tomcar/Arizona Ford Dealers Ford F-Series in Craftsman Truck competition, and plans to also run a partial Nextel Cup schedule for John Fox Racing, driving the #94 US Airways/Duck Products Ford Fusion.

Other ventures
Fox expanded JFR's operations to run a Whelen Modified team in 2007; Greg Drayman drives the #49 Ford Mustang sponsored by Duck Products.

Fox also announced plans to enter a Dodge Viper in the American Le Mans Series for 2008. Former BTCC driver Torsten Kraft of Germany is expected to join Fox and Drayman at this team.

Trivia

 * The '86 Thunderbird first raced by Fox is still in existence; it was restored and moved to Phoenix where it is now parked in the lobby of John Fox Racing headquarters in Tempe.


 * When not racing, Fox frequently attends Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Coyotes games.


 * His favorite band is Collective Soul; he is also a fan of hair metal and enjoys listening to bands such as Van Halen and Mötley Crüe to "psyche up" before a race.

Quotes

 * "I'm not the typical stock car guy. I was raised in the suburbs, I hate country music, and I'd rather leave the dirty hands to my crew."
 * (On Toyota's entry into NASCAR) "They belong here like tofu belongs at a barbecue."