Childhood & Early Life
Brian Jeffrey McLeod was born on November 17, 1983, in Wauchula, Florida. He was homeschooled throughout his childhood. He finished his schooling from ‘Highlands County Christian School.’ McLeod started ‘ATV’ racing at the tender age of 3. By the time he was 5, he had moved on to go-karting and had made a mark for himself by winning 300 races and 18 championships at the regional, state, and national levels.
McLeod was tempered into working hard since childhood. During his teens, he spent most of his time building cars at his shop, helping his parents with their business trucking company, fixing micro jets in orange groves, and digging ditches, while managing his studies.
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Career
He started his stock-car racing career at an unbelievably young age of 13. He ended up becoming the youngest driver to have won a ‘Super Late Model’ (SLM) race in August 1997, at ‘Orlando Speed World.’ By the time McLeod was 26, he had won 100 ‘SLM’ races and numerous championships in the Southeast. In October 1997, he made history by qualifying and competing in the ‘ASA’-sanctioned ‘Sweet Potato 400’ race at the ‘Southern National Speedway’ in Kenley, North Carolina.
McLeod competed in two races in the ‘Hooters Pro Cup’ series in 2000, at the ‘Hickory Motor Speedway’ in North Carolina and the ‘USA International Speedway’ in Florida. The following year, he raced at the ‘Fairgrounds Speedway’ in Tennessee, for ‘Herzog Motorsports,’ in ‘ASA’s ‘National Tour Race.’
Like most professional drivers, McLeod, too, was focused on ‘NASCAR’ all along. In 2010, he started his ‘NASCAR’ journey by competing in the ‘Camping World Truck Series’ at the ‘Martinsville Speedway,’ for ‘Germain Racing’ in their number 9 car. He gave an impressive performance in his debut season, finishing at the 17th position after qualifying at 23.
In 2011, McLeod split his ‘NASCAR’ schedule among ‘B.J. McLeod Motorsports,’ ‘SS-Green Light Racing,’ and ‘RSS Racing,’ for the season. The following year, he ran a partial schedule with ‘RSS,’ ‘Glenden Enterprises,’ and ‘Hillman Racing.’ However, in 2013, he focused on his team and ran only the season finale at the ‘Homestead-Miami Speedway.’ For the next two ‘NASCAR’ seasons, McLeod participated as the start and park driver for ‘SS-Green Light.’
2015 was a big year for the driver. He made his debut in the ‘NASCAR Xfinity Series’ at the ‘Iowa Speedway,’ for ‘Rick Ware Racing.’ He had to retire after 68 laps, due to brake issues, and was able to secure the 36th position. He also made it to the top racing series of ‘NASCAR’ the same year. He debuted at the ‘Sprint Cup Series’ in the ‘Sylvania 300,’ driving the number 33 ‘Chevrolet SS’ for ‘Circle Sport.’
He returned to the ‘Xfinity Series’ in 2016, to run his first-ever full schedule in a ‘NASCAR’ national series with his own team, ‘B.J. McLeod Motorsports,’ which made its debut at ‘Daytona,’ fielding the number 78 and number 8 cars. McLeod scored three top-20 finishes in his number 78 car and partially drove the number 8 along with Todd Peck, Stanton Barrett, Travis Kvapil, and Jeff Green. Later in the season, the team added the number 99 car to the fleet, expanding it to three cars. He also returned to the ‘Camping World Truck Series’ for just one race in 2016, finishing in the top-15 lead laps for ‘MB Motorsports’ at the ‘Kansas Speedway.’
He continued operating with his fleet of three cars in the 2017 ‘Xfinity Series.’ He assumed the role of an owner for the first three races and opened his season at the ‘Las Vegas Motor Speedway.’
Mcleod made a lead lap top-25 finish at the ‘Phoenix Raceway’ and the ‘Auto Club Speedway.’ However, he delivered his most unforgettable performance at the ‘Daytona International Speedway,’ finishing at the 11th position. In addition to his individual achievements, his team, too, displayed tremendous effort, earning several top-15 finishes. Jeff Green finished among the top-10 drivers at the ‘Talladega Speedway.’ Similarly, Tommy Joes Martins finished at the 11th position, while Josh Bilicki earned a 12th-place finish.
McLeod concentrated more on the business aspect of racing in 2018, creating a state-of-the-art facility on ‘Goodwin Circle’ in Mooresville, North Carolina, which houses more than 28 racing machines on a 15,000-square-foot area, with simulators and a fully equipped gym and training area.
In 2019, McLeod brought in ‘JD Motorsports’ star Vinnie Miller along with Gary Keller. Though Miller is a rookie in the ‘NASCAR Xfinity Series,’ he is going to pilot the team’s flagship number 78 ‘Camaro.’
