James West

"I don't have the raw talent that the other drivers have. Whenever I'm fast, it's because of all those years I've been behind the wheel."

- James West, in a 2008 interview.

James West (Born May 29, 1958 in Columbus, Ohio) is a former American racing driver. He is most known for spending more than a decade in the ARLA Elite Series before finally winning a race. He was also the only driver in the field to hold a degree in education.

Early Life
West was not born to a racing family. Both of his parents played in an orchestra that traveled the northern United States, and he was groomed to follow in their footsteps. West was a very skilled violinist by the time he was a teenager, but he eventually decided to pursue a teaching degree.

In 1986, West was hired by a middle school in Columbus to teach 6th-grade music classes and lead the school's orchestra. His students and co-workers were very fond of him. He remained in his position for his entire teaching career.

West met Sharron Bates in 1991 after she moved in next door to him. West and Bates, who was raising her 9 year-old son Jason alone, started dating shortly after they met, but their relationship fizzled out after they could not find many things to enjoy doing together. Despite this, they remained good friends. Bates then introduced West to her friend Lauren Beahm, who taught elementary school students, and the two were married and had a son, Ralph, within three years.

Jason Bates viewed West as a father figure, and as a huge racing fan, he eventually got West hooked on racing. They mostly watched TM Master Cup, but they discovered ARLA together, and the low-budget nature of the series intrigued West.

1997-2001
In 1996, West started shopping around for a way to break into ARLA. He stumbled upon an ad placed by Enterline Motorsports seeking a funded driver for the 1997 season opener at Daytona. West then approached ABC Sharp, the chain of music supply stores that he had shopped at as a teacher, asking for a sponsorship deal. The company agreed to offer West and Enterline some funding, and West was signed to the ride immediately.

When West arrived with the team at Daytona, he found out how he got the ride so easily; Enterline Motorsports was a laughingstock in ARLA at the time. West later recounted that "[Enterline's] last driver had found another ride by that time. He pulled me aside and said that he bolted as soon as he learned he was even being considered for it".

Any horror stories that West may have been told, he immediately believed following opening practice. West placed 33rd in the 37-car field, and couldn't even complete more than 5 straight laps without a problem. Among his more notable incidents, he spun out coming out of turn 4 when the spoiler broke clean off of the car. Immediately after the team replaced it, his hood flew open while he was in the middle of a draft train, severely damaging the windshield. West later said that "I'm pretty sure at least two of the guys working on that car were drunk. Nobody thought it was a problem".

Several teams protested the Enterline entry for the incompetence of the mechanics, but admired West's courtesy towards the faster cars as well as his ability to get the car off the track as quickly and safely as possible when experiencing a mechanical problem. Despite these protests, ARLA officials allowed West to qualify the car, and he placed it in 28th.

During the race, West was only able to keep up with about 5 other cars, but his main goal was to finish the race in one piece. West and his fellow backmarkers were saved from being lapped due to well-timed yellow flags, and West eventually found himself competing for a top 20 in his debut as other cars fell out. The whole field was just outside of the fuel window on the final restart. All of the serious contenders decided to play it safe and pit, but West and the backmarkers that he was racing with decided to roll the dice. This pack of cars drafted single-file to save fuel, and West was right at the front of it, leading the race. Unfortunately, the gamble didn't pay off, and West had to pit with the lead pack with 4 laps left, knocking him back to 19th.

West claims that "Jason [Bates] was ready to throw me a ticker-tape parade when I got home". When he returned to school, he also received a lot of praise from people who had known that he was in the race.

Enterline Racing did not enter any more races that season, leaving West with just the start at Daytona. However, during the summer, West received a call from B&E Shaeffer Racing after Eddie Askins, their primary driver, contracted blood clots and could not finish the season. West accepted the Shaeffers' offer, and competed in the remainder of the 1997 season while teaching during off-weeks. West's results were unremarkable, as he frequently finished laps behind, but he only failed to finish one race after an accident not of his own doing.

The Shaeffers considered West to be a much more dependable driver than Eddie Askins, so West kept the ride full-time from 1998 to 2001. West was never a serious contender for wins, but he made up for this by finishing more races than over two-thirds of the field. He slowly improved his results as he gained more experience, finishing on the lead lap more often. He finished 18th in points after the 2001 season, which was the best points finish for the Shaeffers.

2002-2007
In 2002, B&E Shaeffer Racing was absorbed by Green Flag Racing, which was a much more competitive team that fielded cars for Justin Parker and T.J. Stewart. The team owners retained West, and Green Flag kept most of the Shaeffer staff on the car. West was joined in the Elite Series by Jason Bates, who had landed a ride for the new Karl's Superstores team.