James Davison has turned heads in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio with a fourth-place finish.

After qualifying 11th, the cousin of Will and Alex Davison, James Davison climbed to as high as second and was pushing for victory in the final stages in the #20 for Joe Gibbs Racing on the road course.

He locked a brake and was then pushed wide off the track by Brendan Gaughan, who is in the middle of a title chase in the second-tier NASCAR series.

Davison slipped back to seventh before two late cautions set-up a tight finish with plenty of push and shove on the twisty Mid-Ohio layout.

He climbed back to fourth before Andy Lally squeezed by. Not to be outdone, Davison claimed the place back and played the team game by not challenging fellow JGR racer and championship contender Matt Tift through to the finish.

The race was won by Sam Hornish Jr. followed by Daniel Hemric.

“Pretty awesome experience today,” Tweeted Davison.

“Man those cars are tough to drive! Fought an issue getting into 2nd gear from half distance. Top 5”

Davison has forged a reputation in the US as a solid driver across a number of categories. At this year’s Indianapolis 500 he showed his credentials after being called into substitute for Sebastien Bourdais who was injured in qualifying.

Davison’s performance far outscored his previous 19th place and will no doubt put him at the top of NASCAR teams’ lists for road course races in the future.

Next on the list is another appearance for JGR at Road America on 27 August.

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