Jeff Purvis

Jeffery Purvis (born February 19, 1959) is a former race car driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He is a 15-year veteran with four wins and 25 top-five finishes. He suffered a massive brain injury after a 2002 crash and has not run a NASCAR-sanctioned race since 2004. Before coming to NASCAR he was an accomplished dirt track racer winning the World 100 at Eldora Speedway on three occasions-1983,1984,and 1986.

Winston Cup Series career

Purvis made his NASCAR debut in

Purvis would run six races for Finch in 1991. His best start of that year was 22nd. He set his career best finish to that date at Atlanta. After starting 29th, Purvis completed many laps and finished in the 24th position. He only finished two races that season.

Once again, Purvis would race six times in 1992. He ran two races for Finch finishing 27th at

In 1993, Purvis ran the most races in a season for his career. Making eight starts, Purvis ran three races for Finch and five races for

In 1994, Finch picked up sponsorship for the No. 51 from Country Time, and Purvis raced in the Chevy for six races, replacing original driver Neil Bonnett, who was killed in a practice accident for the Daytona 500. His best finish of the year came in his first start of 1994. At Atlanta, Purvis finished 21st. However, at Michigan, Purvis was able to break his best start record, with a 13th place start in the race. In the fall race at Michigan, Purvis made the race with T.W. Taylor's No. 02 Ford. He started that race in 23rd and finished 28th.

Finch once again found sponsorship from Jackaroo BBQ Sauces for the renumbered No. 44 Chevy. Purvis raced six races again for Finch in 1995. They struggled, and the best finish for Finch and Purvis was a 29th at Talladega, though once again he set a personal best qualifying effort of 12th. In the fall Atlanta race, Purvis drove for Rick Hendrick and the No. 58 Leukemia Society Chevy at Atlanta, finishing 26th, his best finish of the year.

Despite only racing four races for Finch in 1996, the No. 44

In 1997, with Purvis driving for himself in the

After a three-year absence from the elite division of NASCAR, Purvis returned for his final season in 2001. Purvis was able to make four races in the No. 51 owned by Finch, who bought Fords from Bill Elliott Racing. He started in the top-20 for three of the four races, but his best finish of the year was a 34th in the No. 51 Subway Ford at Talladega.

Busch Series career

While racing with Finch's Phoenix Racing many years in the Cup Series, Purvis also competed in the Busch Series for Finch.

In 1989, Purvis made his debut at Charlotte driving the No. 49 Phoenix Racing Buick. He made the field at 14th position. However, engine problems forced him to 40th place in the 42 car field, ending his debut.

In 1990, Phoenix Racing and Purvis once again teamed up, with Purvis driving the No. 15 Buick. In four races, he finished 26th twice (Bristol and Charlotte) and had a best qualifying effort of 22nd at Richmond. The next year, Purvis added four more races to his Busch career, driving Finch's No. 23

Purvis ran two races in 1993, both with Morgan-McClure Motorsports, who he was also racing with in the Cup Series. He qualified in 11th and 7th the two races, the seventh at Atlanta being his career best. In 1994, Country Time Lemonade sponsored Finch and Purvis in the Busch Series in a four-race deal. At Talladega Superspeedway, Purvis and Finch collected their first career Busch Pole Award. Purvis ran up front all day, and finished in fifth position. However, that was the only race he finished, with his next best finish in 1994 being a 29th. However, he qualified fourth at Bristol and ninth at Richmond.

In 1995, Finch and Morgan-McClure decided to resurrect the No. 4 Kodak Busch Series car. Purvis would drive the car in nine races, the most starts in a season to date. Purvis had a career season, finishing ninth at Atlanta and Charlotte, 12th at Michigan, and then back at Charlotte, he set his career best finish of third. He also won the pole at Talladega once again, setting his sights on a full 1996.

In 1996, Purvis and Finch got a new sponsorship deal with MCA Records for five races in 1996. Even without sponsorship for the other 21 races, Purvis got a shot from Finch to do the whole 1996 schedule. Immediately, he won the pole for two of the first three races, at Daytona and Richmond. He finished third at

In 1999, Purvis moved to Diamond Ridge Motorsports. He had two less top-5s than in 1998, but two more top-10s, as well as being able to run every race. A 3rd place at Talladega was his best finish of 1999, but the consistency allowed for Purvis to finish 6th in points, bettering his 1996 standing. Even with the solid 1999, Purvis's job was in jeopardy.

However,

replaced him for that race. Despite not making 3 races, Purvis finished a respectable 11th in points, with 4 top-5s and 11 top-10s

In 2001, Gibbs decided to team Purvis up with

Memphis

and also had finishes of 14th and 17th.

End of career

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Six races later, at Nazareth Speedway, Purvis was among the top-15 drivers, when he blew his engine and spun in his own oil on the backstraightaway. As Purvis' car came to a rest, Greg Biffle slid in Purvis's oil and struck his car causing Purvis to suffer severe head trauma.

On August 5, 2006 while on his way to a crate race at Talladega short track he was involved in a crash on I-65 near Cullman,Alabama. His race hauler he was riding in blew a front tire and crossed the median and collided with a vehicle on the northbound side of the interstate. He suffered a broken neck and broken ribs and cuts and bruises and was taken to Cullman regional medical center where he was then airlifted to Vanderbilt university medical center in Nashville. His wife and son were also injured.

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.)

Winston Cup Series

Daytona 500

Busch Series

ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series

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

Awards

He was inducted in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in the inaugural 2001 class.^[33]

References

External links

• Jeff Purvis driver statistics at Racing-Reference