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About Jesse

ABOUT JESSE LITTLE

Jesse's raced competitively from the age of 7 until he was 25 years old, winning in both the NASCAR/ARCA East and West series.   After graduating from UNCC with a BA in Business Management Information Systems , Jesse decided to use is college education in the corporate world, while at the same time keeping his foot inside NASCAR.  Today, Jesse is working for NASCAR in a management role with his sites set on making a difference in the sport in which he was raised and a sport he learned to love with a passion. 

Jesse Little is no stranger to the sport of auto racing. Jesse was introduced to racing at a very young age and from a unique perspective as his dad was also a race car driver.  Jesse's Dad, Chad Little, drove the #97 John Deere car for Roush Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Ever since Jesse can remember, he's either been at a race or in a race car.

Jesse Little Racing

EARLY YEARS: Jesse started racing competitively when he was seven, starting in the Quarter Midgets. Jesse then progressed through the Bandolero's, Legends, Midgets, NASCAR Late Models and NASCAR ARCA series. Jesse won at each level of competition in these series with over 48 feature wins. In 2010, at the age of 13, he won the the USAC Midget Series points championship.

ARCA SERIES:  At the age of 15, he made his first ARCA (K&N Pro Series) start and become the youngest driver to start a race in the series. In 2013, Jesse ran his first full season in the NASCAR ARCA series, earning the prestigious ROOKIE OF THE YEAR award. In 2014 and 2015, Jesse won 2 races in this prestigious NASCAR series.  Jesse earned his first victory at Loudon, NH and his second victory at Iowa Speedway in 2015.

NASCAR NEXT:  In 2014 and 2015, Jesse was selected as one of the NASCAR NEXT drivers - a 2 year program that recognizes up and coming talent in the sport. 

NASCAR TRUCK SERIES:  From 2016 to 2019, Jesse raced in the NASCAR Truck Series with his family owned team. With lack of sponsorship funding, Jesse raced a limited schedule of only 4 to 9 races each year.  Jesse spent countless hours in the shop preparing his truck for each and every race. His determination and hard work paid off as he consistently ran in the Top-5 and Top-10 each race.  Everyone knew Jesse was there with the goal to win. In 6 of his 9 Truck races in 2018, Jesse finished in the Top-10 with his career best finish of P6 at Iowa. In 2019, his family owned team was sold to Diversified Motorsports. 

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES:  In 2020, Jesse signed with JD Motorsports to run a full season in the Xfinity series. In his Rookie Season with limited funding, Jesse finished a remarkable 19th place in the driver points standings, with 2 impressive Top-10 finishes at Daytona and Pocono.  Additionally, Jesse had 10 Top-15 finishes in his rookie season.  In 2021, Jesse raced a part time Xfinity schedule for BJ McLeod Motorsports, with his highest finish of 14th place at Daytona.

In 2022, Jesse announced this would be his last year of racing.  He raced on a part-time based in 2022 with Youngs Motorsports in the NASCAR Truck Series.  He raced 13 races in 2022 where he consistently finished in the top 15 and 20.  Jesse ended his career with an impressive 6th place finish at Daytona in 2022.

SEE HIGHLIGHTS BY YEAR BELOW

Jesse Little 2021 web

Jesse represented the Shriner's Hospital for Children during his racing career, bringing smiles to many children.  Jesse is also Shriner today.  His desire to become a Shriner started when his cousin, April Little, was born with Cerebral Palsy and benefited greatly from the support and love of the Shiners Hospital.

UNCC graduation

Congrats to Jesse for graduating from UNC Charlotte with a degree in Business Administration, Management Information Systems!  Instead of Jesse's office being behind a wheel, Jesse is now representing NASCAR in a logistics and management role out outside of the racecar.  We wish Jesse the best in his next chapter as he continues his involvement in racing!

View Jesse's racing highlights by Year

2022 News-Race Highlights

NOTE FROM JESSE 9/1/22

2022 Highlights - click the + sign to the right of each Race/Press Release!

2021 News-Race Highlights

2021 News and Press Releases

2020 Highlights

Congrats to Jesse on 2 Top 10 finish at Daytona and Poconco in 2020!

In his first full season in the Xfinity series, Jesse finished an impressive 19th in the driver point standings, with 2 Top 10 finishes at Daytona and Pocono.  Additionally, Jesse had several solid finishes with 10 Top-15 finishes and 17 Top-20 finishes. He consistently battled in the Top 10 and Top 15 in several races, turning the heads of the announcers and gaining TV time; but mechanical challenges prevented several top finishes for the team.  Jesse never gave up and fought hard with resilience in every race, gaining invaluable seat time and experience. Jesse is incredible thankful to Johnny Davis for giving him the opportunity to drive for his JDM team in 2020. His successful 2020 season could not of happened without is partners and he is very thankful for the support of Shriners Hospital for Children, Skuttle Tight, Tufco, Visit Kingsport, KSDT CPA and Series Seating.

  For highlights and press releases, please click + sign to right of each race!

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After a break-out performance in 2018 with his family owned team, Jesse headed into 2019 with high hopes. With little sponsorship funding, Jesse was only able to compete part-time in 9 truck races.  Jesse's finishes did not show his efforts in 2019 as again, Jesse ran in the top-5 and top-10 in several races with a truck capable of the win. However, bad luck and unfortunate circumstances took Jesse out of 3 races for contention, including Dover where he finished 7th in stage 2 of the race. 

At the end of 2019, Jesse's family owned team was sold and Jesse signed with JD Motorsports to run in the Xfinity series in 2020. Jesse is beyond excited to run a full race season with JD Motorsports!

 

Dover Video 5/2/19

Charlotte Video 5/19/19

Jesse Little Racing

Jesse raced nine Camping World Truck races in his #97 Family owned truck. Jesse was competitive in each and every race in 2018. He really showed his racing talents and perseverance, running up front battling for the win every race. Everyone on the track knew Jesse was there with the goal of wining. In 6 of the 9 races for 2018, Jesse finished in the top-10 with his season best P6 finish at Iowa on 6/16/18.

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2018 race summary
2/24/18 Atlanta Motor Speedway Start: P12 Finish: P8
5/4/18 Dover International Raceway Start: P5 Finish: P9
5/18/18 Charlotte Motor Speedway Start: P24 Finish: P16
6/16/18 Iowa Speedway Start: P13 Finish: P6
6/23/18 Gateway Motorsports Start: P9 Finish: P7
8/16/18 Bristol Motor Speedway Start: P9 Finish: P26 (accident)
9/14/18 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Start: P10 Finish: P7
11/2/18 Texas Motor Speedway Start: P24 Finish: P15
11/16/18 Homestead Speedway Start: P9 Finish: P9

Also, in 2018, Jesse also had the opportunity to race in 2 Cup Races with Premium Motorsports on 7/14/18 and Guant Brothers Racing on 8/15/18. Jesse's goal for the 2 Cup races was simply to learn as much as he could and earn the respect fro the top drivers.

View Video below of the the Cup Driver Introductions for Bristol. Each driver selects his own song for introduction - Jesse did not disappoint with his song!

Jesse competed in 4 Camping World truck races due to limited sponsorship funding.   In 2017, you could find Jesse either at college (UNCC) or at the race shop.  Jesse spent countless hours in the shop helping to prepare his truck for each and every race;  he was determined to learn and do whatever it took to run competitively.   His determination and hard work paid off.  In all 4 races in 2017 Jesse turned the heads of notables with consistently running in the top-10 and top-5 each race with a truck that was capable of the win.

  • 2017 Best Qualifying - 5th place at Dover
  • 2017 Best Finish - 9th place at Iowa
  • Raced in 4 Truck races and finished Top-15 in 3 of the 4 races:  P14 at Dover, P9 at Iowa, and P13 at Bristol.

Jesse raced 4 K&N Pro Series races and and 4 Camping World Truck races. For the K&N races in 2016, Jesse had 2 Top-5's with an impressive 2nd place at the season finale in Dover for the K&N series.  Jesse also finished 3rd place at Mobile International and 7th place at Iowa Speedway for the K&N Series. For the Camping World Truck Series in 2016, Jesse competed in 4 races with his family owned Truck. His practice and qualifying efforts raised eyebrows with Top 10 and Top 15 efforts. Being on a limited budget with his family owned truck, Jesse was incredibly appreciative for the opportunity to align with ThorSport for technical advice. This alliance allowed Jesse to gain experience and be more competitive on the track.

In 2015, Jesse's started the year out in the K&N series where he earned the pole and set a new track on April 18th. Jesse competed in six K&N east races in 2015, collecting 2 top-5 finishes, 2 top-10 finishes and a win at Iowa on July 31st, 2015.  Jesse also made his Camping World Truck Debut in 2015 at Dover, where he showed his talent with practice speeds in the Top 5 and qualifying in the Top 10; however Jesse's debut race ended in an early-race accident on lap 33.  Jesse also competed in the Texas and Homestead Camping World Truck races in 2015, where he finished both races in the Top 15.

NASCAR NEXT - In 2015, Jesse was again selected as one of the drivers for the NASCAR NEXT program. NASCAR Next is a program that recognizes up and coming talent in the sport - drivers selected are limited to 2 years in this program. This was Jesse's second and final year in the NASCAR Next class - Congrats Jesse on this accomplishment!!

VIDEO: Bristol Pole Award

VIDEO: NEXT NEXT VIDEO Announcement:

 

In 2014, Jesse competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, finishing 6th in the championship standings. In 2014, Jesse competed in 19 K&N Pro series races and had an impressive season of stats:
13 Top 10's
7 Top 5's
2 Poles (Iowa and Dover)
1 Win (Loudon on July 11th, 2014)

Jesse was also selected as one of the NASCAR NEXT drivers for 2014, a 2 year program that recognizes up and coming talent and NASCAR's next superstars.

VIDEO - Jesse's first K&N Pro Series Win!

     

In 2013, Jesse raced his first full season in the NASCAR K&N East Pro Series. He finished 9th in the point standings and earned the prestigious ROOKIE OF THE YEAR title.  Jesse is also the second member of his family to be named the top rookie in NASCAR K&N Pro Series action. His father, Chad Little, earned the rookie award in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West in 1986 and the overall series title in 1987 before going on to a career that spanned more than a decade at the top levels of NASCAR racing. In 2013, Jesse earned 5 Top-5 finishes and 7 Top-10 finishes, which included a 2nd place finish at the season finale for the K&N WEST series.

BOWMAN-GRAY Racing, 2013

 

 

Jesse made NASCAR history as the youngest driver to start a NASCAR K&N Pro race at the age of 15 years, Richmond International Speedway. In 2012, Jesse started 7 K&N Pro races finishing 3rd at Greenville-Pickens and 5th at Rockingham Speedway. At Rockingham, Jesse led 33 laps becoming the first 15 year old to lead laps for a NASCAR K&N Pro race. Jesse also ran several Late Model races in 2012 earning 3 poles, 6 top five finishes, and 11 top ten finishes. Heading into the 2013 season, Jesse had over 48 feature wins.

VIDEO - Rockingham Race, 2012

VIDEO - Greenville-Pickens Race, 2012

In order to gain experience in Late Model racing, Jesse competed at several different tracks in 2011. Jesse also made a car number change in 2011, running a number that is familiar to the Little Family - #97. That was the number his Dad ran in the Cup series while driving for the Roush Racing organization. In 2012, Jesse earned a pole at Greenville Pickens Speedway and had seven top 5 finishes. Jesse finished 3rd in only his third start in the UARA Late Model Series at Hickory Motor Speedway. In October, 2011, Jesse competed in the largest Late Model race in the nation as the youngest driver to ever race in the prestigious Martinsville 300.

Video of Martinsville 300 racing - 5th place
 

 

After six successful years in the Quarter Midgets, Bandoleros and Legend car racing, Jesse progressed to USAC Midget cars and Late Models in 2010.   At 13 years old, Jesse continued to dominate by winning the Point Championship for the USAC Midget series.   In his first season racing a Late Model car, Jesse clinched his first win in only his 2nd start at Orange County Speedway on June 26th, 2010.  In the late model series, Jesse won 8 of the 20 races  races in 2010. He also had 5 poles, 10 front row starts, and 16 Top 5 finishes.

   

Jesse started racing Quarter Midgets at the age 7 years old, progressing through the Bandolero's and Legends series.   At the age of 12,  Jesse finished 3rd in first ever race in the Legends series race and top 5 in points in first full season.  Jesse also loved racing on the dirt, finishing 2nd place at the Dirt Nationals in 2009.

 

VIDEOS of Jesse's first win

Jesse's first K&N Pro Series win at Loudon, NH and press conference following win  "It's one I'll always remember" - Jesse Little

 

 

 

 

 

 

charlotte race 5

Quick Facts on Jesse Little

HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated in June 2015 from Bandys High School
COLLEGE: Graduated from college in Dec 2020, UNC Charlotte.  B.S. in Business Administration-Management Information Systems
BIRTHDATE: April 15th, 1997
HOMETOWN: Sherrills Ford, NC
FAMILY: Chad Little (Dad), Donna Little (Mom) and Haley Little (sister)

Congrats to Chad Little, inducted into the West Coast Hall of Fame

Jesse Little Racing

Today, Chad Little currently works as a Managing Director at NASCAR

Jesse Little Racing
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