Jody Lavender, (born December 29, 1979 in Hartsville, SC) is a former NASCAR driver. He was a competitor on the Craftsman Truck Series tour in 2002 for Green Light Racing. Currently, he competes full-time for a local team in the Camping World East Series.
Nationwide Series History[]
Lavender only competed in one Nationwide Series (then known as the Busch Series) race, racing in a family owned #08 Ford. Starting 34th in 2003 at the Darlington, Jody ran a respectable race at the tough track. The result was a solid 23rd place finish, only two laps down.
Camping World Truck Series History[]
Lavender, however, was much busier in the Truck Series. He made his debut in a one-race deal in 2002, driving for Troxell Racing. Lavender started last, 36th, at Richmond. He only managed to improve to 33rd in the race after a rear end gear let go.
Lavender, though, was picked up by Green Light, and ran twenty-one of the twenty-five races in 2003. Lavender never cracked the top-10, but ran a respectable schedule. He finished all but five of his starts, and in those sixteen starts that he was running at the end, he finished in the top-20 eleven times. The highlight of the season was a pair of 13ths at Dover and Memphis. In fact, the worst finish of the year for him was 27th (out of 36 starters per race). Lavender also led one lap of competition at Kentucky, giving him bonus points toward the 17th place finish he got in points.
Curiously, despite the admitted potential of Lavender, Green Light did not pick him up for 2004, and Lavender was not able to find a ride. He has not raced in major NASCAR since.