Building a firm foundation: Jordan Anderson Racing thriving in Xfinity Series

Jordan Anderson spent hours playing on the PlayStation while growing up in South Carolina, allocating most of that time to racing games. That's where his initial desire to become a team owner came into play. Anderson remembers designing paint schemes on NASCAR Racing 2003, customizing a schedule and starting an organization from scratch. Fast forward more than two decades, and he's built a multicar company using similar techniques at the NASCAR Xfinity Series level. RELATED: Jordan Anderson Racing career stats "Back then, I always enjoyed the driving part, but I was intrigued by [ownership] almost as much as I was the driving," Anderson told NASCAR.com. "Growing up, I never had the opportunity to go run for people. I'd be working on the car and drive it to the race track. I was learning [the business] side of it and not realizing what I was learning along the way." That way of living changed as Anderson made it to the NASCAR national series level in 2014. With the need for longevity, Anderson kick-started a Craftsman Truck Series team in 2018. After three years of running the full schedule, it was time to make the Xfinity Series jump in 2021. Anderson was set for the full 2021 slate, but an untimely rain shower hit Daytona International Speedway, canceling qualifying. The No. 31 team didn't have owners points to make the race and didn't tally its first start until the 11th race of the year at Circuit of The Americas, with Tyler Reddick piloting the No. 31 Chevrolet. That got the ball rolling, leading to three consecutive top-10 finishes with Reddick and Josh Berry. "It's kind of been the story of our team," Anderson said of catching a break. "From the outside looking in, a lot of things that people would say are bad things happening to us. In hindsight, it was one door closing and another door opening. When qualifying got rained out, I thought we were going to be shut down and out of business before it even started." Over the last five seasons, drivers with something to prove have joined JAR. Myatt Snider made a one-year stop in 2022 before the team expanded to multiple entries in 2023 with Jeb Burton and Parker Retzlaff. Blaine Perkins replaced Retzlaff in the No. 31 car for 2025, though the team is inflating once again and has frequently entered three cars into events. Notably, Katherine Legge, Austin Green and Rajah Caruth have made attempts with the No. 32 team. [caption id="attachment_486096" align="aligncenter" width="1300"]David Jensen | Getty Images[/caption] The recipe for success has grown in a mere half-decade, with Anderson frequently making personnel changes behind the scenes. Shane Whitbeck, formerly with Brad Keselowski Racing and recent crew chief for Burton, became JAR's first competition director in 2025. It was a move that benefited the entire organization. "I would say Jordan has some good people around him that helps," Burton said of Anderson's leadership. "Shane Whitbeck steers the ship and does a lot behind the scenes. He can be a crew chief, a shop floorman -- a jack of all trades -- and does a lot to keep this place moving." The company has more than 30 full-time employees and operates on a set schedule. Rarely does the team work extended hours, which is one of the benefits of Whitbeck's organizational skills. "One thing [Anderson] has preached to me all year is we all have to work together 33 weeks out of the year, so we all have to make sure we get along," Perkins said. "We work together as one team between the 31 and 27. That's been 100% preached to us: teamwork and camaraderie." Despite a sizable partnership with Chevrolet, Anderson knows the best shot his company has at winning is at superspeedways. Burton was ruled inches behind Austin Hill at Talladega Superspeedway in the spring when the caution flew on the final lap. The No. 27 car won that same race in 2023. Jordan Anderson Racing is continuing to build a stable foundation for years to come. "We joke about building this LEGO tower, but when you build a LEGO tower and you have four or five missing at the bottom, that thing is going to topple over when you get it big enough," Anderson said. "We're making sure the foundation is big, wide and strong and has some depth to it. We are continuing to work on the sponsor side of things, driver side and keep growing our relationship with Chevrolet." Anderson won't let his organization fail. Late in 2021, John Bommarito, a Midwest entrepreneur, became an official team partner. The pairing has become best friends away from the race track as Anderson learns from the automotive juggernaut. "This is my baby; this is what I eat, sleep, breathe," Anderson said of his race team, noting that he doesn't have any outside businesses. "Outside of my wife and future son that's coming, this is all I care about, making sure the people are taken care of, the team is growing, we have the funding to keep pushing. "This is my whole life. I love it and wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I think that's what has pushed us -- when you have that from the top down -- hopefully everyone else starts that culture and looks at it that way." Admittedly, Anderson doesn't know what the next five-year plan looks like, but he intends on being around as a team owner for an extended amount of time, "20, 30, 40, 50 years," he said. The likelihood of expanding to three full-time entries in 2026 is even on the team's radar. "We've transitioned from surviving to thriving and getting better every year," Anderson said. "We want to keep getting better. We're hungry. In the corporate world, there are challenger brands that exist and go against the status quo and go against the grind. That's what we want to do. That's how things have been done since we've been here, and we're trying to do things a little differently." MORE: Xfinity Series standings | Xfinity Series schedule With finishes of seventh, eighth and ninth last weekend at Portland International Raceway, JAR had its three entries in the top 10 finishes for the first time in a single race. Anderson returns to the driver's seat this Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), making his second start of the campaign. Burton, meanwhile, currently sits 31 points below the cutline -- the first driver outside the 12-driver playoff grid -- heading into the regular-season finale. "What we're building here is special," Anderson said. "I want to make sure that I can protect that opportunity and put as much into that as we can."