Jesse Little

Jesse Hardin Little (born April 15, 1997) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving the No. 34 Chevrolet Camaro for Jesse Iwuji Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 02 and 20 Chevrolet Silverado for Young's Motorsports. He is the son of former NASCAR driver Chad Little. He and his father as well as Jason Little (Jesse's uncle and Chad's brother) previously owned a Truck, East and West Series team, which was known as Team Little Racing and then JJL Motorsports, from 2012 to 2019.

This article is about the NASCAR driver. For the Mormon pioneer, see Jesse Carter Little.
Jesse Little
Little at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2018
BornJesse Hardin Little
(1997-04-15) April 15, 1997
Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, U.S.
Achievements2010 USAC Eastern Young Guns Ford Focus Midget Car Series Champion
Awards2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Rookie of the Year
2010 USAC Eastern Young Guns Ford Focus Midget Car Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
2 races run over 1 year
2018 position70th
Best finish70th (2018)
First race2018 Quaker State 400 (Kentucky)
Last race2018 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
56 races run over 2 years
2022 position110th
Best finish19th (2020)
First race2020 NASCAR Racing Experience 300 (Daytona)
Last race2021 Kansas Lottery 300 (Kansas)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
47 races run over 7 years
2022 position27th
Best finish19th (2018)
First race2015 Lucas Oil 200 (Dover)
Last race2022 UNOH 200 (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 8 0
Statistics current as of November 5, 2022.

Racing career

Early career

A native of Sherrills Ford, North Carolina and a third-generation racer, Little began his racing career in quarter midgets at the age of 7,[1] moving up to Bandoleros in 2007 and Legends cars in 2009.[2] He won the 2010 USAC Eastern Focus Young Guns midget car championship,[3] and in 2011 competed in the UARA Stars late model series.[2]

NASCAR

Little made his debut in NASCAR competition at the age of 15, competing in seven K&N Pro Series East events in 2012;[4] driving a family-owned No. 97 Chevrolet,[5] he was the youngest driver ever to start a race in the series.[2] He returned to the K&N Pro Series East full-time in 2013, driving for Coulter Motorsports;[6] he finished in the top 10 eight times on his way to the series' Rookie of the Year award. He returned to K&N East competition again in 2014, winning his first race at New Hampshire. Little raced in the K&N East series on a part-time basis in 2015, winning at Iowa Speedway with Hattori Racing Enterprises.

In 2015, he added a limited schedule in the Camping World Truck Series in a partnership with ThorSport Racing.[7]

In 2016, he joined his uncle's Truck Series team, JJL Motorsports. He made two attempts in the fall races at Texas and Homestead finishing 20th and 18th respectively.

In 2017, Little and JJL returned, running 4 races. The first one was at Dover, where he finished 14th. He then finished a season-best 8th in Iowa. Little next raced at Bristol, continuing his strong performance, finishing 13th. His last start of 2017 came in Phoenix, where he was involved in a late-race crash, finishing 18th.

In 2018, Little expanded his schedule to 9 races.[8] He finished with six top tens, the highest finish a 6th at Iowa, his best finish to date in the Truck Series. In July 2018, Little joined Premium Motorsports for his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and finishing 35th.[9] Little later joined Gaunt Brothers Racing at Bristol, also finishing 35th.[10]

In 2019, Little increased his Truck schedule again, planning to run 12 to 15 races in the newly renamed Gander Outdoors Truck Series.[11]

On November 7, 2019, JD Motorsports announced Little would race full-time for the team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series starting in 2020.[12] Little finished 19th in points with two top-ten finishes.[13]

Little moved to B. J. McLeod Motorsports' No. 78 for the 2021 season.[13] He lost his ride with McLeod's team to Josh Williams in 2022. On December 22, it was announced that Little would drive for Young's Motorsports in the Truck Series for at least 12 races with the No. 02, splitting with Kaz Grala.[14] Little also ran a one-off Xfinity event at Phoenix, replacing Jesse Iwuji, whom was at his military duties.

On September 14, 2022, Little announced that he would retire from NASCAR after the 2022 UNOH 200 at Bristol.[15][16]

Personal life

He is the son of former NASCAR driver Chad Little. They are not related to NASCAR on Fox pit reporter Jamie Little.

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.)

Monster Energy Cup Series
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 MENCC Pts Ref
2018 Premium Motorsports 7 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY KEN
35		 NHA POC GLN MCH 70th 01 [17]
Gaunt Brothers Racing 96 Toyota BRI
35		 DAR IND LVS RCH CLT DOV TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM

Xfinity Series
NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2020 JD Motorsports 4 Chevy DAY
19		 LVS
14		 CAL
28		 PHO
21		 DAR
36		 CLT
15		 BRI
26		 ATL
20		 HOM
18		 HOM
15		 TAL
13		 POC
10		 IND
18		 KEN
14		 KEN
14		 TEX
14		 KAN
33		 ROA
28		 DAY
18		 DOV
23		 DOV
23		 DAY
10		 DAR
18		 RCH
25		 RCH
33		 BRI
25		 LVS
23		 TAL
25		 TEX
15		 MAR
22		 PHO
29		 19th 527 [18]
15 CLT
30		 KAN
19
2021 B. J. McLeod Motorsports 78 Chevy DAY
17		 DAY
14		 ATL
22		 MAR
32		 TAL
26		 DAR
32		 DOV
37		 MOH
24		 TEX
29		 GLN
27		 IND DAR
32		 RCH BRI
28		 LVS TAL CLT TEX
31		 KAN
30		 MAR PHO 33rd 215 [19]
Toyota HOM
32		 LVS
26		 PHO
40		 COA
DNQ		 CLT
18		 NSH
27		 POC
29		 ROA ATL
28		 NHA
28
99 MCH
32		 DAY
2022 Jesse Iwuji Motorsports 34 Chevy DAY CAL LVS PHO
DNQ		 ATL COA RCH MAR TAL DOV DAR TEX CLT PIR NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IND MCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL CLT LVS HOM MAR PHO N/A 0 [20]

Camping World Truck Series
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NGTC Pts Ref
2015 Team Little Racing 97 Toyota DAY ATL MAR KAN CLT DOV
30		 TEX GTW IOW KEN ELD POC MCH BRI MSP CHI
30		 NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX
15		 PHO HOM
14		 42nd 87 [21]
2016 Rette Jones Racing 30 Toyota DAY ATL MAR KAN DOV CLT
DNQ		 35th 62 [22]
81 TEX
19		 IOW GTW KEN ELD POC
Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota BRI
17		 MCH MSP
MB Motorsports 63 Chevy CHI
29		 NHA LVS TAL MAR
JJL Motorsports 97 Toyota TEX
20		 PHO HOM
18
2017 DAY ATL MAR KAN CLT DOV
14		 TEX GTW IOW
9		 KEN ELD POC MCH BRI
13		 MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO
18		 HOM 33rd 110 [23]
2018 Ford DAY ATL
8		 LVS MAR DOV
9		 KAN CLT
16		 TEX IOW
6		 GTW
7		 CHI KEN ELD POC MCH BRI
26		 MSP LVS
15		 TAL MAR TEX
7		 PHO HOM
9		 19th 275 [24]
2019 DAY ATL
23		 LVS
19		 MAR TEX
13		 DOV
29		 KAN CLT
14		 TEX IOW
22		 GTW
21		 CHI KEN POC ELD MCH BRI
32		 MSP LVS TAL MAR PHO
DNQ		 HOM
17		 26th 149 [25]
2020 Diversified Motorsports Enterprises Chevy DAY
24		 LVS CLT
21		 ATL
35		 HOM POC KEN TEX KAN KAN MCH DAY DOV GTW DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL KAN TEX MAR PHO 90th 01 [26]
2022 Young's Motorsports 02 Chevy DAY
6		 LVS ATL
15		 COA MAR
27		 BRI DAR
14		 KAN
24		 TEX
19		 CLT
32		 GTW
20		 SON KNO NSH
19		 MOH BRI
25		 TAL HOM PHO 27th 213 [27]
20 POC
26		 IRP
15		 RCH KAN
28

K&N Pro Series East
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 NKNPSEC Pts Ref
2012 Team Little Racing 97 Chevy BRI GRE RCH
11		 IOW
18		 BGS JFC
17		 LGY CNB COL IOW NHA
23		 DOV
22		 GRE
3		 CAR
5		 20th 210 [28]
2013 BRI
14		 GRE
16		 FIF
26		 RCH
16		 BGS
5		 IOW
14		 LGY
3		 COL
12		 IOW
4		 VIR
11		 GRE
7		 NHA
6		 DOV
5		 RAL
16		 9th 449 [29]
2014 NSM
18		 DAY
12		 BRI
13		 GRE
4		 RCH
10		 IOW
16		 BGS
16		 FIF
6		 LGY
9		 NHA
1		 COL
4		 IOW
10		 GLN
5		 VIR
8		 GRE
9		 DOV
23		 6th 546 [30]
2015 Toyota NSM GRE BRI
25		 IOW
3		 BGS LGY COL NHA
11		 DOV
30		 21st 184 [31]
Hattori Racing Enterprises 1 Toyota IOW
1		 GLN
13		 MOT VIR RCH
2016 Rette Jones Racing 29 Toyota NSM MOB
3		 GRE BRI
Wth		 VIR DOM STA COL NHA
17		 IOW
7		 GLN GRE NJM DOV
2		 21st 161 [32]
2017 JJL Motorsports 97 Toyota NSM GRE BRI
23		 SBO SBO MEM BLN TMP NHA 34th 55 [33]
Hattori Racing Enterprises 01 Toyota IOW
10		 GLN LGY NJM DOV

K&N Pro Series West
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NKNPSWC Pts Ref
2013 Team Little Racing 97 Chevy PHO S99 BIR IOW L44 SON CNS IOW EVG SPO MMP SMP AAS KCR PHO
2		 49th 42 [34]
2014 PHO IRW S99 IOW KCR
5		 SON SLS CNS IOW EVG KCR
3		 MMP AAS PHO
4		 21st 121 [35]

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References
  1. Kaminski, Steve. "Jenison-based business teams with third-generation NASCAR driver". September 25, 2013. Grand Rapids, MI: The Grand Rapids Press. Accessed 2013-10-19.
  2. "Jesse Little". NASCAR.com. Accessed 2013-10-19.
  3. "Clauson Feted During USAC Banquet". December 4, 2010. National Speed Sport News. Accessed 2013-10-19.
  4. "Jesse Little Carving Out His Own Career". September 10, 2013. National Speed Sport News. Accessed 2013-10-19.
  5. Courchesne, Shawn. "Jesse Little, Son Of Whelen Modified Tour Series Director Chad Little, To Compete In K&N Pro Series East In 2012 Archived 2013-10-19 at archive.today". October 12, 2011. Hartford, CT: Hartford Courant. Accessed 2013-10-19.
  6. "Jesse Little joins Coulter Motorsports K&N Pro Series East Team". August 17, 2012. Spokane, WA: The Spokesman-Review. Accessed 2013-10-19.
  7. Pace, Doug. "Behar to test with Rev Racing". October 4, 2013. Spokane, WA: The Spokesman-Review. Accessed 2013-10-19.
  8. "JJL Motorsports set for increased NASCAR Truck Series presence in 2018". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  9. Boarman, John (July 10, 2018). "Jesse Little making MENCS debut at Kentucky". Tireball Sports. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  10. Long, Dustin. "Gaunt Brothers Racing expanding its schedule". NASCAR on NBC. NBC Sports. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  11. "Jesse Little; JJL Motorsports set to return to Trucks in 2019 – JJL Motorsports". Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  12. "JD Motorsports with Gary Keller tabs Jesse Little to race full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2020". JD Motorsports. November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  13. Estrada, Chris (December 8, 2020). "Jesse Little moving to BJ McLeod Motorsports for 2021 Xfinity season". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  14. Christie, Toby (December 22, 2021). "Jesse Little Joining Young's Motorsports For Majority of 2022 NASCAR Truck Season, Possibly More". TobyChristie.com.
  15. Jesse Little [@jesselittle97] (September 14, 2022). "Some personal news👇🏼 Looking forward to finishing strong @youngsmtrsports" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. "Jesse Little Announces Bristol Truck Race Will Be His Last". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  17. "Jesse Little – 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  18. "Jesse Little – 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  19. "Jesse Little – 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  20. "Jesse Little – 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  21. "Jesse Little – 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  22. "Jesse Little – 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  23. "Jesse Little – 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  24. "Jesse Little – 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  25. "Jesse Little – 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  26. "Jesse Little – 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  27. "Jesse Little – 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  28. "Jesse Little – 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  29. "Jesse Little – 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  30. "Jesse Little – 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  31. "Jesse Little – 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  32. "Jesse Little – 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  33. "Jesse Little – 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  34. "Jesse Little – 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  35. "Jesse Little – 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
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