Jack Lawton (JacksFuture)

Jack Lawton was a Canadian NASCAR driver.
=== NASCAR Pinty's Series ===
==== 2024 ====
Lawton made his Pinty's Series debut at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, driving the #17 for DJK Racing, after longtime driver DJ Kennington decided to focus on his ownership role within the team. Lawton qualified and finished 3rd, and ran as high as 2nd. At Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Lawton qualified 9th and raced up to 7th before a transmission failure forced him to park up. He then finished 2nd at Autodrome Chaudiere. At the first of two Pinty's Twin 125s at Canadian Motor Speedway, Lawton was a late contender to win. After bumping and spinning Nicky Kyler out of the way, Isadore Jenny clipped Lawton coming to the line, spinning him. Lawton eventually crossed the line in 8th place. In the second race, after winning the pole based on speed in Race 1, Lawton was shuffled out of the pack late due to a flat tire, finishing 11th. His best race would come at Toronto, where after starting 3rd, Lawton divebombed the two leaders, Nicky Kyler and Dominic Conway at the first corner, before losing the lead to Kevin Lacroix. On a late restart, Lacroix crashed out of the lead, giving Lawton a front row start. Lawton divebombed on leader Conway into Turn 3, taking the lead and scoring his first Pinty's Series win. Two weeks later at Edmonton, the now 21-year old Lawton took the lead and won late after leaders Lacroix and Conway made contact in the closing laps. At Ohsweken Speedway, Lawton struggled all weekend, qualifying 11th, but rebounded to finish 4th. He finished 5th at Trois-Rivieres and 6th when the Pinty's Series returned to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. A tire failure left Lawton 12th at Riverside. He finished 6th in the first Jukasa race before crashing out of the second race. Lawton would finish his debut season 5th in the standings with 478 points, and scored 2 wins, 1 pole, 4 podiums, 6 top 5's and 9 top 10's.
==== 2025 ====
Lawton's season started with a 3rd place start at Mosport, before a late engine failure with 2 laps to go dropped him from 4th to 21st. At Sunset Speedway, Lawton qualified 5th and finished 3rd. This was followed by a strong weekend at Autodrome Chaudiere, and despite contending for the lead late, a bad overtime restart left him in 4th. At Circuit ICAR, Lawton was the dominant car all day long. However, a pass by Linsay Warner left him on the outside for an overtime restart. Warner locked her brakes into Turn 1, forcing the pair wide. While Warner finished 4th, Lawton only finished 6th. At Canadian Motor Speedway, he fell back to 6th in the first race after starting 3rd. Mechanical issues in the 2nd race left him down 60 laps down in 11th. At this stage in the season, Lawton was 8th in the standings on 269 points, and was highly considered to be out of championship contention. At Edmonton, Lawton started 3rd, and made an early move on Nicky Kyler for 2nd, but Lawton stayed in 2nd the entire rest of the race. At Trois-Rivieres, he qualified 4th, before moving up to 3rd at the halfway point. Leaders Linsay Warner and Dominic Conway collided with a few corners to go, opening the door for Lawton to sneak through for his 2nd win of the season. Despite qualifying 11th at Ohsweken Speedway, Lawton would lead most of the race until the final restart. He would still finish 2nd. With multiple championship contenders finishing outside the Top 10, Lawton moved up to 3rd in points behind Nicky Kyler and Dominic Conway. Lawton would dominate the next two races at Mosport and Riverside, leaving him on 481 points heading into the finale at Jukasa. 2nd place driver Dominic Conway had 484 points, and points leader Nicky Kyler was on 491 points. Qualifying ended up with Kyler 3rd, Lawton 8th and Conway 11th. Lawton worked his way into the Top 5 by Lap 10, and was in 3rd by Lap 15, behind Kyler. After passing Kyler, a caution came out, under which Kyler came down pit road after a transmission issue. The team quickly fixed it and got him back out on track 2 laps down. Conway only ran 7th. Lawton took the lead on the ensuing restart from Jeptha Gracie. After multiple cautions throughout the race, Kyler got back onto the lead lap with 15 laps to go, running 12th. Conway had moved up to 6th by the late caution. Conway was spun on the restart, effectively ending his title hopes. Kyler moved up to 10th due to the crash. With 10 laps left, the race restarted. Lawton still held the lead through all the restarts. Kyler moved up to 8th with 4 laps to go, and Conway ran 13th, a lap down. With 3 laps to go, Conway crashed, bringing out a late caution and triggering an overtime restart. Lawton held the lead on the restart won while Kyler moved up to 6th before making contact with Gary Klutt, sending Kyler wide and down to 9th. Lawton would win the race and the championship by a single point over Kyler.
=== Truck Series ===
In 2025, he was granted a ride in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with DJ Kennington Racing on a part-time basis. Lawton ran 7 races throughout the season with a best finish of 3rd at his home race at Mosport. His only DNF came at Talladega when he was caught up in a late big one.
=== Xfinity Series ===
==== 2025: Early Days ====
Lawton was granted a part time ride with Sam Hunt Racing in 2025, and ran 10 races in the #26 Toyota, with sponsorship from Petro Canada, Tim Hortons and Castrol. Lawton led a single lap at Daytona, and ran at the front all day, finishing 3rd on his debut. The next week at Auto Club, Lawton qualified 17th, and finished 22nd after an early crash during pitstops. Lawton raced again a few weeks later at Seattle, where he suffered an early fuel pressure problem, sending him several laps down. He finished 37th, 11 laps behind the winner. At Talladega, Lawton qualified a strong 10th, and early on, fell back and nearly got caught up in a 3-car wreck, but miraculously managed to avoid all cars despite being right in the middle of the wreck. He finished 16th. The next week at Richmond, Lawton qualified 18th and finished 15th. At Charlotte, Lawton was caught up in a wreck late in Stage 1 involving several cars, and was too damaged to continue, ending up 37th. Lawton didn't race again until Watkins Glen, where he qualified 12th and finished an incredible 2nd. At Bristol, Lawton was turned in a pileup on lap 7, and crashed out, ending up only 37th. At North Wilkesboro, Lawton finished 15th. In his final race for Sam Hunt Racing at Homestead Miami Speedway, he managed to qualify 5th and finish 10th. In early December, Lawton announced he would be joining Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2026 season.
==== 2026: The Unlikely Champion ====
In 2026, Jack was granted a full-time ride in the #20 for Joe Gibbs Racing. Lawton's sponsors throughout the year included Petro Canada, Interstate Batteries, TRD, GameStop, Castrol and Sport Clips. He would start in 16th for the Daytona race, but quickly worked his way to the front. After a late caution, he was alongside Alban Quinlan. Lawton would get a good restart, and pull ahead before Quinlan got a run on the outside coming to the white flag. Lawton would sidedraft back ahead before a crash on the backstretch taking out Phillip Watson and involving a couple other cars ended the race early, giving Lawton his first win in his first start for Joe Gibbs Racing. He would score two poles during the season, in consecutive weeks, at Phoenix and Seattle. Seattle would end in a DNF after a mechanical failure. Lawton's most notable moment of 2026 would come at Talladega in April, where he ran up front most of the day, and late in the race was battling young African-American star Phillip Watson. Coming down the backstretch on the final lap, Lawton attempted to sidedraft Watson, but at the exact moment Lawton came down, Watson came slightly up, and the two made contact. Watson's car would go airborne, and flip violently into the fence before landing back on the track upside down and being hit by Alban Quinlan, sending Watson's #99 rolling over two more times before the car skidded down the Turn 3 banking on its roof, coming to rest on the grass. At the moment of caution, Lawton was scored 2nd behind Ezekiel Bart. However, Lawton's spotter, Ian Gale, was under the assumption his driver won, and told Lawton he was the winner. As Bart waited for the scoring to be confirmed, Lawton performed a burnout in the grass, sparking controversy while Watson's health was unknown. Watson would later be extracted from the car and was okay, but was sent to hospital for precautionary checks. Lawton was met with a heavy chorus of boos for his last lap incident with Watson. Lawton apologized for the celebrations, explaining he had not learned of Watson's status until he was sent to the pitlane for post race inspection. In his interview after Bart was credited with the win, Jack said that he did not believe himself to be at fault, saying "I feel horrible for Phil, but I don't think that was my fault. I was trying to sidedraft him down the backstretch because I'd be able to get a better run and maybe come down and block him, but obviously there was a miscommunication there. That was the two of us going for a win, and I feel awful it ended that way. Really hope he's okay. Wishing all the best for him." NASCAR announced on Wednesday that Lawton would not receive any penalties for the incident, sparking massive outrage against the sanctioning body online. Watson and his #99 Stewart-Haas Racing team attempted to appeal the penalty, however it was denied by the appeal panel. While most of his fellow drivers said the last lap crash was a racing incident, when Watson was interviewed the following week at Dover once he was declared fit to race, he called the crash "The most unsportsmanlike way you can possibly take someone out." He would later say "He tried to kill me. Plain and simple. Didn't even bother waiting until he got a run. He just cleaned me out because it was the only way he was ever gonna get around me. The fact he's even allowed at the race track with his attitude about this whole situation is ridiculous. He will kill someone before this year is over." Lawton received heavy abuse online for this incident, especially as Watson's crash went viral. Lawton would attempt to combat some of the abuse in a post later that week online, and apologized again for the accident, but many people branded the apology a "PR move," and labeled his response as fake. After finishing 7th at Richmond, 12th at Dover and 9th at Charlotte, Lawton was a contender to win at Michigan, battling Phillip Watson and Hailie Deegan for the win. However, on the last lap, Watson clipped Lawton's right rear, sending the 20 head-on into the outside wall. His car would flip upside down and slide down the race track on its roof. Watson however would not win, and Hailie Deegan would be declared the winner. In his post-race interview, Watson said "Sucks that happened to him. Glad he's okay. He was trying to hold me off and I guess he got in his own head and turned himself. You reap what you sow I guess." When interviewed about the crash later that week, Lawton said "That was pure retaliation over an accident. I tried to talk to him about it. He never replied. I tried to donate my money to the team. They wouldn't take it. I didn't think he'd be so petty over this. I've taken all the steps to try to make things right between us but he hasn't bothered to reply at all." 2 races later at Road America, Lawton would again run into trouble. After qualifying 6th, he made contact going for a move on Alban Quinlan at Turn 3 on the first lap. Lawton's right front tire began rubbing before beginning to delaminate. On the second lap, while going for a pass on Quinlan again at Turn 1, the right front tire blew out. Lawton's car speared through the grass, across the track and into the gravel, avoiding collecting any other cars. His car stopped against the tire barrier. Lawton scored a 3rd place finish at New Hampshire in July, his best result since Talladega, after coming from the back of the field and falling a lap down early on. The next week at Pocono, Lawton would lose control of his car at Turn 3 in the final stage, and make heavy contact with the outside wall. A few weeks later at Indianapolis, he would crash with Watson after a late restart had them side by side going into Turn 2, as both drivers came together going for the same corner. Lawton was the car to beat at Watkins Glen, but on another late restart, he would get turned in the Bus Stop by Phillip Watson, relegating Lawton to 24th. At Daytona, he was running at the front near the end of the race, but got collected in a wreck coming to the white flag, creating a massive pileup. After sliding down the track, Lawton was hit by Lowell Braxton at heavy speeds, causing the Canadian's car to briefly go airborne. Jack walked away under his own power. Lawton would make the playoffs, and finish 7th at North Wilkesboro before an eventful Talladega race saw him get caught up in multiple crashes, including one that saw his car lift off the ground after spinning into Parker Retzlaff. Lawton was seeded 9th heading into the Roval, but after a late caution, fought his way up through the field to 9th, allowing him to knock out one of the season's top drivers, Rajah Caruth, who had gone out early due to mechanical troubles. Lawton would finish 8th at Martinsville, 6th at Las Vegas and 3rd at Phoenix, giving the Canadian enough points to qualify for the Championship 4. He scored 5 Top 10's throughout the 6 Playoff races, making him the most consistent driver in the Final 4. At the finale at Homestead, Lawton qualified 3rd, the highest of the Final 4 drivers. His opponents were Phillip Watson, Derek Griffith and Rajah Caruth. Lawton would qualify 3rd, highest of the 4 title fighters. Watson was 4th, while Griffith was 6th and Smith 7th. Watson would get the better start, and pull ahead of Lawton. The Canadian would briefly overtake Watson, but the 99 managed to get back around him. Lawton fell as low as 5th, battling drivers like Corey Heim, Ryan Sieg and Rajah Caruth. Lawton would eventually find his footing and climb back up to 2nd. He briefly overtook Watson late in the race on pit strategy, but eventually lost out once more, and controversy would soon follow. With 8 laps to go, a small piece of debris from Jaxton Terrance's damaged #47 flew off on the backstretch, ending up below the white line. Controversially, NASCAR threw the caution for this, deeming that if someone overtook below that white line, a potential crash could follow. Lawton would pit under this yellow, along with most of the field. 4 drivers stayed out on track, including race leader Phillip Watson. Lawton won the race off pit road and restarted 5th with 3 to go, launching down the inside of 3 cars before the backstretch, and was able to make a bold move on Watson to take the lead. Watson nearly managed to get Lawton on the outside coming to the white flag, but to no avail. Jack Lawton came off Turn 4, winning his first NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship. Lawton was absolutely elated with his victory, calling it the most intense race he's ever gone through. Phillip Watson and the entire Stewart-Haas Racing team refused to take part in any post-race media. Watson stayed silent until January, when he announced he would stay with SHR for another season in Xfinity trying to "take the championship that was robbed from me". In the aftermath of Lawton's championship, several drivers questioned the validity of the caution, while many said the caution was warranted. Watson's Ford teammate Alban Quinlan said the caution was "Thrown only for entertainment. They really didn't want Phillip to run away with it so when they saw the opportunity to create drama, they went for it." Many fans were outraged by NASCAR's choice to throw the yellow, and Lawton was heavily hit with messages deeming him to be an undeserving champion.
==== 2027: A Duel for the Ages ====
2027 was a breakout season for the Canadian, and one that put him on the map for several Cup Series teams. His sponsors remained the same for the year, but Petro Canada heavily increased their sponsorship, taking up the majority of the season. Lawton started out the season with a solid 8th place at Daytona. He would finish 4th at California before back-to-back 2nd place finishes at Las Vegas and Phoenix, with Watson winning the former. Controversy arose at Seattle as Lawton and Watson battled for the win all day. With 2 to go, Watson bumped Lawton out of the way, but got into the wall himself, allowing the Canadian to get a run on him. Watson bumped Lawton again into Turn 1, with Watson sliding up the track himself. Lawton blocked heavily down the backstretch before putting Watson in the wall in Turn 3. Watson would hook Lawton coming to the checkered flag, causing Lawton to hit the outside wall before being hit by several other cars. Watson would win but would be heavily booed by the crowd, many thinking their rivalry had gone too far too many times. Watson claimed that since Lawton put him in the wall so many times, he was obliged to get his back at the Canadian. Lawton would win a dramatic duel with Jervis Smith at Atlanta. Lawton would commend Smith in his post-race interview for his clean racing. At Martinsville, Watson won again in dominant fashion, with Lawton finishing 3rd. At COTA, Watson would score the pole and dominate, while Lawton was mired back in 8th. He worked his way up to 2nd before hunting down Watson in the late stages of the race. Lawton made a move with two to go that Watson closed the door on. He made another move in Turn 1 on the final lap, overshooting the corner and allowing the pair to go side by side through the esses. Coming into Turn 3, Watson lost control underneath Lawton, and spun into the inside wall, ending his chances at victory. He would finish 8th, while Lawton scored his 2nd win in 3 weeks. Talladega was disastrous for both drivers, with Watson crashing early and Lawton getting caught up in a last lap pileup. At Bristol, Watson scored his 4th win of the season while Lawton only mustered 9th. At Dover, Watson was 6th while Lawton was 12th. Denver was tough on both drivers, with Lawton 8th and Watson 12th. At Charlotte, Lawton dominated the race, before a late crash triggered a late restart, where Lawton chose to pit, before most of the field behind stayed out. Lawton was mired back in traffic on the final restart, and finished 11th. Lawton finished 2nd at Portland before battling with Watson again at Road America. The pair went back and forth many times in the closing laps, and were way ahead of the rest of the pack, before they made contact at the final corner on the final lap, sending both drivers spinning. Lawton got his car going the right way first, allowing him to take his 3rd victory of the season. He would follow this up with 3rd at Nashville. At New Hampshire, Lawton was running 2nd in the closing stages before a move by Trevor Travis sent the pair spinning into the outside wall, totalling Lawton's car and ending his race early. The next race at Iowa would see a similar fate, with Lawton battling Rajah Caruth for the lead before losing control and slamming head on into the outside wall. This dropped him well behind Watson, and Travis took over 2nd in points. Lawton finished 16th at Pocono while Watson was 6th and Travis scored victory. Watkins Glen became a huge turning point in the season, with Lawton and Watson getting into it multiple times on track. Lawton was sent spinning into the grass by Watson on the first lap, and later in Stage 3 was shoved off again by the 99. A late caution saw Lawton gamble with staying out, while Watson pitted for fresh tires from 3rd. A few laps later, Lawton shoved Watson into the wall coming through the esses, cutting the 99's left rear tire and sending Watson spinning in Turn 6, bringing out a caution. Lawton would fall back to 11th on the final restart. Watson would slam into Lawton multiple times on the cooldown lap, before parking behind him once they reached the pits. Both drivers confronted each other, and had a heated argument over their multiple incidents. As their talk concluded, Watson said several vulgar words to Lawton before walking away, resulting in Lawton throwing several punches at Watson before a fight broke out. Both drivers were pulled away from the incidents and had strong words for each other. Lawton finished 15th at Michigan with Watson 3rd, further increasing the gap. Jack finished 6th at the ultra-wet Indy Road Course race after colliding with Trevor Travis and Ryan Sieg on the last lap for the win, while Watson ended up 25th. Lawton finished 21st at Daytona after being involved in a late crash, while Watson was taken out early in the race. Lawton would finish 5th at Darlington and 4th at Kansas, with Watson crashing out of the latter. At Bristol, both drivers contended for the Regular Season Championship. Lawton finished 9th, while Watson was 11th. Due to the stage points, both drivers tied on points with Watson winning due to having 4 wins to Lawton's 3. He would keep this momentum up by winning Las Vegas, with Lawton runner-up. At Talladega, Watson was involved in several incidents, finishing 24th. Lawton was caught up in an early crash that saw Malone Jaydon's #74 flip over. He recovered and was the leader after a late crash. However on the final restart, Lawton was passed by Kobe Fiske on the line, and lost by only 0.002. Lawton made a bold strategy call at the Charlotte Roval to pit earlier than everyone else, giving him a dominant lead. However, this gap shrunk quickly as the laps wound down, and Leo Gordon and Trevor Travis both passed Lawton. However, heading into Turn 5 on the final lap, Gordon punted Travis into the barriers, destroying his car. Gordon also received damage, allowing Lawton to sneak by for the win. Lawton finished runner-up at Phoenix after a tight duel with Watson, before a wild race at Texas saw the pair fight for the win again. Watson put several good blocks on Lawton, before Lawton made a pass on the outside on the final lap before Watson shoved him into the wall. Lawton pulled a hard left into Watson, with both cars getting into the grass, before Lawton crossed the line first to win, with Watson 2nd. At Martinsville, the two got in a heated battle again, using each other up many times before Lawton plowed into Watson, sending the 99 spinning out of contention. Lawton finished 10th while Watson was 29th, but it didn't matter. Both drivers were locked into the finale at Homestead. Their competitors were Derek Griffith and Jervis Smith. Lawton was the dominant car for the first two stages before a restart in the final stage. Jack was the leader with Watson 2nd, Caruth 5th and Griffith 8th. Lawton got away clean, but his car wouldn't select third gear, stalling his car and giving the lead to Watson. Caruth would also pass Lawton, who fell back to 7th. Over the final stage, Jack worked his way up the field, even forcing Caruth into a half spin, which he recovered from. Over the final 10 laps, Lawton closed the gap to Watson from 2 seconds to about 3 tenths. Lawton got close on the final lap, but couldn't pass the 99, and allowing Phillip Watson to secure his first NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship. Lawton would finish 2nd in the race and the championship. While severely dejected, Lawton thanked his team for their work over the season, and congratulated Watson on his championship.
=== NASCAR Cup ===
The Canadian got his first taste of Cup Series racing in Gaunt Brothers Racing's #96 at Michigan in 2025. He would finish 29th, 3 laps down. He would return in 2027 driving part-time for Drive for Diversity Racing, a new team, piloting the #44 Toyota. He attempted to qualify for 6 races, including the Daytona 500, where he failed to qualify after getting caught up in a late wreck in the 2nd Duel. His best finish was 17th at Road America. 
==== 2028: Rookie Stripes ====
In 2028 Lawton joined DFD Racing full time in the #44. Lawton would be sponsored by Petro Canada for the majority of the season, and would also be sponsored by Castrol and TRD. He almost ended up winning the Daytona 500 before being caught up in a huge last lap crash that saw Lawton end up on his roof. He only suffered minor injuries. He wouldn't grab his first Top 10 until Talladega in the Spring, finishing 9th despite being caught up in a few crashes. He scored 3 more Top 10s that year, including a strong 4th place at Watkins Glen. Lawton finished 25th in points. 
==== 2029: Under the Radar ====
In 2029, Jack had a way stronger season. His sponsorship was also stronger, with PetSmart, SiriusXM and Pinty's all coming on to sponsor the Canadian. He started the season as a contender for the Daytona 500, however he was the cause of several crashes during the race, and while trying to make a 3-wide move, was tagged, and spun into several other cars. He also crashed out at Las Vegas while running 9th, due to a tire failure that triggered a fire, which Lawton escaped from. Lawton scored his first Top 10 of the year with 8th at Phoenix, followed by a 6th at Atlanta. Lawton would miss Sonoma due to suffering heat stroke on the Thursday before the race. He would return the next week at Austin, finishing 33rd, 5 laps down after an early fuel pressure problem. Lawton would score his first Top 5 of the season at Talladega, making several bold moves during the race, finishing 2nd behind Bubba Wallace. Lawton would score a 6th at Dover, keeping up his good momentum. At Pocono, Lawton would be involved in a massive pileup on the first lap, spinning into an opening on the inside wall before the car careened back into traffic, taking Lawton and many others out of the race. Lawton would finish 2nd at Road America, losing only to Christopher Bell, with both drivers on a similar strategy triggered by multiple overtime restarts. This would start a streak of 5 consecutive Top 10 finishes, one of the highest streaks of any driver during the season. He got a 7th at Nashville, 5th at Gateway, finished 4th at New Hampshire and 7th at Indianapolis. Lawton would also finish 3rd at Watkins Glen. He also narrowly missed out on a win at the Regular Season Finale at Daytona, finishing 3rd. Lawton's season however, would be mostly remembered for his crash at Denver Motor Speedway.
At the start of Stage 3, on the restart, Lawton was mired back in 27th, having struggled all day. Ty Majeski would crash on the backstretch ahead, and Lawton went to the inside to avoid his spinning #6 car. However, the #21 of Phillip Watson was underneath Lawton, causing both cars to spin to the inside wall. Lawton's car caught air going through the grass, the car went through an opening in between two of the track's catchfences, and caught the latter of them with the left rear, rupturing the fuel cell and causing the car to erupt into flames. The car flew into the track's infield, flipping 5 times with the fifth roll being the one that stranded Lawton's car upside down, while it was still on fire. Lawton's car did 12 rotations from front to rear, from the start to end of the accident. Lawton was unconscious but breathing. He was rushed to hospital, and was awake 2 hours later. His car was absolutely demolished, but miraculously Lawton escaped with only minor injuries, which included a concussion, multiple lacerations, contusions and burns across his head, face, arms, hands, legs, torso, chest, neck, feet, and forearms, along with whiplash. Lawton would miss the next two races before returning at the Charlotte Roval, driving in the first stage before handing his car over to Finley Williams for the remainder of the race. Lawton would finish an incredible 6th at Kansas, running the full distance. The next race at Talladega, Lawton was in contention for the win late, and on a restart attempted to make a 4-wide pass for the lead on the inside while his left rear tire was on fire caused by rubber buildup. Lawton took the lead for a split second in Turn 3 before his tire exploded and took him any several others out of the race late. He would finish 3rd at Martinsville and 4th at the penultimate race at Phoenix, leaving him with 8 Top 5's and 14 Top 10's on the season, and 20th in the final standings.
==== 2030: The Plateau ====
In 2030, Lawton ran his final year in the #44 for DFD Racing, and had sponsorship from Petro Canada, SiriusXM, PetSmart, TRD, Castrol, Pinty's, and picked up NRS Brakes for the Southern 500 and Studio MDHR for Chicago and Watkins Glen. Lawton's season started rocky, with only 1 Top 10 in the first 12 races. He scored his first Cup Series pole at the Coca-Cola 600, and finished 9th. His best chance at victory came at the Chicago Street Course, where through clever strategy, he and Justin Haley were at the front of the pack on a late overtime restart after Chris Buescher stalled on the frontstretch, bringing out a caution. Lawton made a move at the final corner, but clipped the inside wall, sending both drivers into the tire barrier. Lawton's efforts would leave him 20th, and severely displeased with his actions. Lawton was also a contender for the win at Daytona, leading the most laps and briefly led on the last lap before being tagged by Daniel Suarez in a last lap pileup, and finishing 3rd.
==== 2031: Breakout Season ====
In 2031, Lawton was promoted to Joe Gibbs Racing, driving the #20. Lawton was involved in the big one in the Daytona 500, finishing 34th. Throughout the next 4 races, he finished 3rd, 7th, 6th and 5th. He would only score 3 Top 10's in the next 13 races. At Michigan, Lawton blew a right rear tire mid-race, ending his day early. Lawton was outside the Playoff picture at this point. However, Lawton picked up his momentum after this, scoring a 6th at Milwaukee, beginning a 7-race streak of Top 10's, 5 of which were Top 5's. At Bristol, the second-to-last race before his streak ended, Lawton was looking set to win before a dramatic ending saw Lawton spin coming to the line in a side-by-side battle with John Hunter Nemechek. To add to his woes, the next race at Richmond, Lawton lost 20 points before the race due to multiple inspection failures. He finished 9th in the race, keeping him in the playoff hunt. At the regular season finale at Daytona, Lawton ran in the Top 10 for most of the race, but crashed mid-race. However, as no driver outside of the Top 16 won, Lawton maintained a Playoff spot. He finished 10th at the playoff opener at Darlington, and the following week at Nashville. Lawton made the Round of 12 despite a mediocre 22nd at North Wilkesboro. Despite opening the Round of 12 with 2 shaky races, a 4th place finish at Talladega narrowly locked him into the Round of 8. At Martinsville, Lawton was a top 10 car most of the day, and after contact between Phillip Watson and Carter McMurray sent McMurray out of contention, Lawton lined up 3rd on the final restart behind Watson and Jessie Haydn. Lawton moved both drivers up the track on the restart, while Watson managed to hold his lead on the outside. As they took the white flag, Lawton stayed behind Watson before using him up at the final corner. Lawton and Watson banged wheels multiple times coming to the line, but Lawton held on to win by 0.030. It was his first win in his 142nd start. Lawton qualified for the Championship 4 race at Homestead Miami Speedway. Lawton won the pole and dominated most of the early race, but a botched final pit stop due to a malfunctioning wheel gun cost him a lap, and he could only recover to 14th. 2031 was Lawton's strongest season to date. He finished 4th in points with 1 Win, 11 Top 5's and 21 Top 10's.
==== 2032: Two Steps Back ====
2032 was a rough season for Lawton. He finished the Daytona 500 for the first time, finishing 12th. A strong race at Homestead was ruined by a late caution, knocking him down to 22nd after a late tire failure. Lawton scored his first Top 10 of the season at Las Vegas. At Race 5 at Sonoma, Lawton was leading in Stage 1 before on the last lap of the stage, he was hit by Tristram Xavior, a lapped car, while going through Turn 9. He crashed out and finished 40th. After that, he struggled for the rest of the Spring and didn't score another Top 10 until Indianapolis, finishing 8th. He continued to struggle after that until Race 30 at Texas, where he finished 9th. Lawton finished 12th the next week at Charlotte and was a contender to win at Talladega, winning Stage 1 and leading multiple laps, before spinning from the lead on the final lap after contact with Chandler Smith and finishing 21st. He scored his best finish of the season with 5th at the season finale at Atlanta. He scored 1 Top 5, 4 Top 10's and finished 25th in points.
==== 2033: Falling Apart ====
Lawton was subsequently fired from JGR at the end of the season due to lack of performance. He joined RFK Racing in the #6 for the 2033 season.
2033 started with a 19th place finish in the Daytona 500. He finished 33rd at Sonoma the next week after spinning late. He finished 30th after an incident at Auto Club before crashing out at Las Vegas the next week. He would finish 29th at Phoenix before an engine failure ended his day at Homestead. A few weeks later at Martinsville, he would crash out again after being caught up in a wreck. He was once again a contender at Talladega, winning Stage 1 and leading 34 laps. He would lose out on the final lap to Austin Cindric, and finished 5th. Lawton scored his 2nd Top 10 at COTA the next week, finishing 9th. He would score a 7th place finish at Road America despite spinning late. Lawton did not score another Top 10 until the penultimate race at Martinsville, where he finished 9th. Lawton finished the season with similar stats to 2032, however he scored 9 DNF's and finished 29th in points, the worst points finish in his career.
==== 2034: New Beginning ====
2034 began with Lawton at a new team, that being Legacy Motor Club. He would drive the #42 for the team, alongside teammate in the #43 Rajah Caruth. Lawton began the season with a 2nd place finish in the Daytona 500, followed by a 4th place at California. This would leave Lawton leading the points for the first time in his career. After 2 DNF's followed, Lawton finished 7th at Atlanta despite crashing on the final lap, and 5th at North Wilkesboro two weeks later. However, his performance seriously curtailed after this, scoring only 2 Top 10's in the next 17 races, having recorded 3 DNF's and falling well outside of the Playoff picture. At Watkins Glen, Lawton qualified a strong 3rd, and shot up to the lead early as rain fell in the opening laps. He would lose track position later on but a late caution put him in the hunt for the win. He made a 3-wide pass at Turn 7 with 4 laps to go on Todd Gilliland and Roscoe Miles, taking the lead briefly before losing it again to Gilliland at Turn 1 the next lap. Lawton would retake the lead with 2 to go, and would hold on for his 2nd Cup Series victory, coming exactly 100 races after his first win. This win secured Lawton a spot in the playoffs. He would be eliminated in the Round of 16 after a miserable first round, recording a DNF at Darlington, 14th at Nashville and another DNF at Bristol. He would also miss Charlotte after testing positive for COVID-19. Lawton scored no Top 10's after his Watkins Glen win, finishing the year with 4 Top 5's and 7 Top 10's. He would finish 15th in the points after a 100-point penalty was applied to Chris Buescher at Talladega.
==== 2035: Minor Regression ====
Lawton would open the year with 7th at the Daytona 500, despite spinning twice during the race. He would DNF the next week at California, and crash on the final lap at Las Vegas. He would score a surprise 2nd on a late overtime finish at Phoenix and finished 4th at Atlanta. Similar to the year before, performance fell off significantly afterwards, and Lawton went 16 races with no Top 10's. He finished a sensational 3rd at Iowa, and finished 9th and 4th in the final two regular season races at Watkins Glen and Daytona. However, he missed the playoffs due to inconsistency mid season. He would score 2 Top 10's in the final 3 races including a Top 5 at the season finale at Homestead.
==== 2036: Revenge Tour ====
Before the Clash, Trackhouse Racing announced Jack Lawton would drive the #99 car for the team beginning in 2037, replacing long-time driver Daniel Suarez. Lawton began the 2036 season with a 17th in the Daytona 500 after being caught up in a late big one. At Atlanta, Lawton would score only his 3rd career Cup Series victory in remarkable fashion after a 4-wide pass for the win on the last lap while battling Daniel Suarez, Phillip Watson and Alaina Aishatu. Lawton beat Suarez by 0.0003 seconds. Lawton would score Top 10's at Phoenix, California and Mexico during the West Coast Swing, before scoring his 2nd win of the season at Richmond on a late restart.
=== Reputation ===
While Lawton is generally well-liked by the majority of racing fans, he's also received backlash from numerous drivers, fans and the media for his sometimes aggressive racing style against certain drivers. Lawton has a simple motto that he will often race people the way they race him, whether it's clean or not. However this isn't always the case. In 2029, Lawton triggered several accidents in the Daytona 500, one of which would include him being taken out of the race.
=== Racing Record ===
Pinty's Series Results
2024	MOS
21	CHA
4	SUN
24	TOR
3	EDM
11	WYA
1	WYA
4	TRO
9	TRO
5	FLA
1	MOS
7	OHS
2	DEL
6	5th	Points
478
2025	MOS
21	SUN
3	CHA
4	ICAR
6	TOR
1	FTE
6	FTE
11	EDM
2	TRO
1	OHS
2	MOS
1	RIV
1	JUK
1	1st	Points
527
Truck Series Results
2025	DJK Racing	17	Toyota	DAY
15	CAL	LVS	BUL	MAR
23	BRI	KAN	DOV	CLT
10	IOW	NSH	POC	GLN
5	MCH	MSP
3	DAR	RCH	BRI	LVS	TAL
31	KAN	TEX	MAR
14	ATL		
Xfinity Series Results
2025	Sam Hunt Racing 	26	Toyota	DAY
3	CAL
22	LVS	PHO	SEA
37	ATL	MAR	COA	TAL
16	RCH
15	DOV	MDO	CLT
37	MCH	ROA	NSH	NHA	IOW	POC	IND	MCH	GLN
2	DAY	DAR	KAN	BRI
37	NWS
15	ROV	TAL	PHO	LVS	MAR	HOM
10	15th	
2026	Joe Gibbs Racing	20	Toyota	DAY
1	CAL
10	LVS
12	PHO
8	SEA
35	ATL
2	MAR
11	COA
6	TAL
2	RCH
7	DOV
12	CLT
9	MCH
23	POR
7	ROA
38	NSH
11	NHA
3	MDO
6	POC
36	IOW
19	IND
35	GLN
24	DAY
20	DAR
6	KAN
7	BRI
9	NWS
7	TAL
15	ROV
9	MAR
8	LVS
6	PHO
3	HOM
2	1st 	
2027	Joe Gibbs Racing	20	Toyota	DAY
8	CAL
4	LVS
2	PHO
2	SEA
13	ATL
1	MAR
3	COA
1	TAL
8	RCH
9	DOV
12	DEN
8	CLT
11	POR
2	ROA
1	NSH
3	NHA
27	IOW
24	POC
16	GLN
11	MCH
15	IND
6	DAY
21	DAR
5	KAN
4	BRI
9	LVS
2	TAL
2	ROV
1	HOM
2	TEX
1	MAR
10	PHO
2	2nd 	
NASCAR Cup Results
2025	Gaunt Brothers Racing 	96	Toyota 						 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	MCH
25	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 		
2027	Drive for Diversity Racing	44	Toyota 	DAY
DNQ					 		 	 	TAL
26	 	 	 	 	 	SON39	 	 	 	IND
29	 	GLN
DNQ	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	HOM
18		
2028	Drive for Diversity Racing	44	Toyota 	DAY
23	CAL
26	LVS
42	PHO
17	ATL
28	SON
42	TEX
13	BRI
19	MAR
26	TAL
9	KAN
31	DOV
11	COA
14	CLT
25	NWS
19	ROA
16	GTW
14	CSC
19	NHA
11	IND
10	POC
42	GLN
4	MCH
18	RCH
15	NSH
23	DAY
16	DAR
41	ATL
14	BRI43	ROV
26	KAN
39	TAL
19	MAR
23	LVS
11	PHO
11	HOM
5	Points
25th	
2029	Drive for Diversity Racing	44	Toyota 	DAY
29	CAL
14	LVS
43	PHO
8	ATL
6	SON	COA
33	BRI
19	MAR
24	TAL
2	KAN
11	DOV
6	CLT
19	POC
43	MCH
17	ROA
2	MIL
7	DAY
3	NHA
4	IND
7	NAZ
26	GLN
3	RCH
14	ATL
28	DAR
21	NSH
5	DEN
42	GTW	BRI 	ROV
17	KAN
6	TAL
29	MAR
3	LVS
18	PHO
4	HOM
29	Points
20th	
2030	Drive for Diversity Racing	44	Toyota 	DAY
41	CAL
13	LVS
15	PHO
25	HOM
4	SON
34	ATL
19	COA
20	MAR
11	TAL
11	BRI
19	KAN
16	GTW
19	CLT
9	DEN
20	DEN
7	MCH
36	ROA
23	CSC
20	ATL
18	NHA
11	POC
36	GLN
8	RCH
16	DOV
9	DAY
3	DAR
9	NSH
24	BRI
18	ROV
2	TEX
16	TAL
16	MAR
19	HOM
14	PHO
19	LVS
30	Points
18th	
2031	Joe Gibbs Racing 	20	Toyota 	DAY
3	ATL
3	LVS
7	PHO
6	CAL
5	SON
12	TEX
19	COA
23	BRI
16	TAL
10	MAR
23	KAN
10	DEN
28	GTW
23	CLT
7	DOV
29	POC
24	MCH
41	MIL
6	CHI
4	IND
4	NHA
3	GLN
3	BRI
2	RCH
9	DAY
35	DAR
10	NSH
10	SEA
22	NWS
5	CLT
17	TAL
4	MAR
1	LVS
19	PHO
6	HOM
14	Points
4th	
2032	Joe Gibbs Racing 	20	Toyota 	DAY
12	CAL
10	LVS
22	PHO
18	SON
41	COA
11	ATL
25	BRI
12	MAR
13	TAL
11	KAN
23	DEN
29	NWS
11	CLT
29	GTW
36	SEA
12	CHI
14	MIL
18	POC
42	IND
8	NHA
41	MCH
27	GLN
11	RCH
12	DOV
42	DAY
28	DAR
42	NSH
31	BRI
21	TEX
9	CLT
12	TAL
21	LVS
31	PHO
21	MAR
42	HOM
5	Points
25th	
2033	RFK Racing 	6 	Toyota 	DAY
19	SON
33	CAL
30	LVS
43	PHO
29	ATL
27	BRI
18	MAR
38	RCH
30	TAL
5	COA
9	DEN
18	DOV
43	KAN
36	CLT
23	ROA
7	NWS
17	POC
33	SEA
22	CHI
36	NHA
29	IND
24	GLN
13	POR
15	MCH
34	DAY
22	TEX
19	NSH
22	BRI
17	LVS
29	CLT
43	TAL
38	HOM
40	PHO
21	MAR
9	DAR
43	Points
29th	
2034	Legacy Motor Club 	42	Chevrolet	DAY
2	CAL
4	LVS
41	PHO
42	ATL
7	COA
12	NWS
5	MAR
18	BRI
18	TAL
41	DOV
15	DEN
35	KAN
18	CLT
7	GTW
21	ROA
11	MIL
15	SEA
29	CHI
39	NHA
15	POC
25	IND
9	MCH
13	RCH
39	GLN
1	DAY
11	DAR
43	NSH
14	BRI
38	TEX
17	TAL
26	CLT	LVS
40	HOM
41	MAR
27	PHO
12	Points
15th	
2035	Legacy Motor Club 	42	Chevrolet	DAY
9	CAL
43	LVS
18	PHO
2	ATL
4	SON
28	COA
22	NSH
42	MAR
19	TAL
26	ELD
13	KAN
21	DOV
38	CLT
17	GTW
13	DEN
22	MIL
43	ROA
14	SEA
41	NHA
43	POC
13	IRP
3	IND
23	MCH
41	GLN
9	DAY
4	DAR
24	CHI
21	BRI
17	TEX
21	TAL
36	CLT
39	LVS
22	PHO
10	MAR
25	HOM
5	Points
19th	
2036	Legacy Motor Club 	42	Toyota 	DAY
17	ATL
1	LVS
22	PHO
3	CAL
6	MEX
2	RCH
1	MAR	TEX	TAL	DOV	KAN	DEN	CLT	GTW	CHI 	IOW	NHA	MIL	ROA	POC	IND	MCH	SEA	DAY	DAR	ATL	SON	BRI 	NSH	TAL	CLT	LVS	PHO	MAR	HOM		
Category:JacksFuture