“Beside every great man is a great woman,” is not the exact cliché most will recall, but those words certainly personify Bill and Gail Davis.
Opposites did not attract in Bill and Gail’s situation; in fact, the two could not be more alike. They share similar backgrounds, both hailing from Arkansas. They both possess a keen business sense and both are pure entrepreneurs who have managed to build two successful businesses in two of the most competitive industries in the country: NASCAR and trucking. Most importantly, they are a pair of the most friendly and down-to-earth people one can meet.
Gail has been instrumental in helping her husband grow and maintain both of their businesses—Bill Davis Trucking, Inc., in Batesville, Ark., and Bill Davis Racing, Inc., in High Point, N. C. Gail has always been an entrepreneur, exploring different business ventures since becoming self-employed in her early 20s. Some of her undertakings have included stints in the antiques retail industry, real estate and bottled water distribution, the latter of which eventually led to her and Bill’s initial encounter.
To Make a Long Story Short
After a deliveryman quit at her bottled water distribution company, Gail took matters into her own hands and started making deliveries on her own. One of her customers was a truck dealership outside of Little Rock, Ark., at which Bill and his father were employed at the time.
Bill observed Gail making the deliveries and knew she needed help. He told her about a friend who he knew would be a reliable deliveryman for her business. She heeded his direction and hired his friend. That is when Bill started visiting her business to check on his friend and to see Gail.
Gail soon moved on from the bottled water business, as it was not as popular at the time as it is today. She moved back to Batesville to work in advertising and then in real estate. While she was trying to find her niche, Bill had made a name for himself as a successful salesman for a truck dealership in Little Rock. With the help of a co-worker, he also decided to start a small trucking business on the side.
Running a trucking business was turning out to be Bill’s destiny. He took a job with a family friend, Julian Martin, of Julian Martin, Inc. Julian owned a trucking company and hired Bill to show him all there was to know about the trucking business. In return, Julian taught Bill about stock car racing. Julian’s son, Mark, was an aspiring racer, so Bill traveled with Julian to help Mark race. Little did anyone know at the time, Julian and Mark were fostering an interest that would eventually bring Bill and Gail into NASCAR.
Getting Down to Business
Bill moved out from under Julian’s wing in 1978 and set up an office outside of Batesville, where he and Gail started their own truck business. The Martin and Davis families weren’t trucking together anymore, but they were racing together. In fact, Mark Martin was the Davis’ first driver to compete in a NASCAR Series event. After running limited schedules in the NASCAR Busch Series with Mark, Bill decided to try to run a full-time NASCAR program.
To effectively run a full-time team, Bill needed to be in North Carolina. He and Gail decided it would be best for him to move to High Point, N.C., while Gail would remain in Arkansas to run the trucking company. Gail focused all of her efforts on the trucking business, doing whatever needed to be done from dispatch to accounting.
Soon Gail found herself traveling almost weekly between Arkansas and North Carolina to run the truck company and help with the race team. Once again, she did whatever it took to get the job done, managing everything from personnel and accounts payable to sponsorship development for Bill Davis Racing.
Together, through teamwork and determination, Bill and Gail made many sacrifices and took many risks to grow both of their businesses. Soon, after both companies became firmly established, Gail didn’t have to spend so much time going between North Carolina and Arkansas. The Davis’ time and effort finally also started to pay off As NASCAR grew from the passion of few to national notoriety.
Bill and Gail will both admit there were moments in both businesses it would have been easier to give up, but they didn’t. Today, Bill Davis Trucking remains a successful trucking operation, while Bill Davis Racing continues to surpass many expectations thanks to its dedicated employees and sponsors. Gail and Bill both make the trip between Arkansas and North Carolina to make sure everything is in running order, but they definitely have more time to take a step back and admire their history and work as well.
Almost 30 years after their first encounter, Bill and Gail are successful business owners and partners in life, but most of all they are best friends who—quite literally—keep on trucking no matter what. To learn more about Bill and Gail Davis and the entire BDR organization, log onto www.billdavisracing.com.