Jr III (“Junior-Three”) Racing has a special meaning behind the name, William Glavin Jr. (Bill) and William Glavin III (Billy) created the team to continue racing together after Bill retired from business. Father’s Day is special in the Jr III Racing shop because the father-son pair have grown so close due to their love for motorsport.
It all started when Bill bought a 1983 BMW e30 M3 when Billy was in high school. The father-son duo would take the M3 to track days, where Billy would help his dad with the car until he got his race license the day after his 18th birthday. However, it wasn’t until his junior year of college when Billy decided to convert the M3 to a proper race car, a car that the Glavin’s still own. This time in Billy’s life would have a bigger impact than expected.
It was during the track days with his dad that Billy decided he wanted to pursue a career in motorsports. Billy went on to get a degree in physics from Middlebury College in Vermont. After graduating from college, Billy went straight to work at NASCAR powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports. After several years at Hendrick, Billy decided to look for a new challenge and worked at HMS Motorsport on the supply side of motorsports. Not too long after, Bill retired from his long career in business and decided he wanted to spend more time at the race track.
In 2017, the Glavins created Jr III Racing as a way to get to the race track more together. Jr III Racing started as just a service shop for vintage cars and has grown to be home to over 20 vintage cars, two Aston Martin Vantage GT4’s and four Ligier LMP3’s.
"Being at the track with my dad is one of my absolute favorite things to do, and it doesn't really matter what kind of event it is,” said Billy. “We've grown the team so we are racing at IMSA events, WRL events, and lots of vintage/historic events and whenever he can be there it just adds to the weekend for me. He's the one who got me interested in the sport in the first place, and I know he's proud of how the team has grown through the years. He still races himself in the M2 so it's not too surprising that he makes sure to be there for a lot of those weekends!”
To this day, Bill and Billy still get to share the seat of a car. The father-son duo has never competed against each other in the same class, but has competed in several events together in the same car.
"Having had the experience with my dad at the track I think really affects how we go racing as a team,” Billy continued. “Yes we are absolutely cut throat as competitive as we can possibly be and there is a huge focus on the process and execution for anything we prepare to race. But we still have a family-like environment at the track. And we've been so fortunate to have clients that come to race with us who not only appreciate that, but also in a lot of cases, we'll have parents racing with their kids on our team and it's pretty awesome to be a part of that.”
Jr III Racing currently competes in IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar championship, IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge, World Racing League, and a variety of vintage series as well.
Bill gets to as many IMSA events as he can and goes to all of the vintage races as he most recently competed at VIRginia International Raceway during the Wild Hare event put on by BMWCCA. The Glavin family was at Jr III Racing’s first IMSA WeatherTech race of the season at Sebring International Raceway, where Billy was joined by his parents, wife, and two daughters.
"My daughters are not as car-crazy as their dad and grandpa, but they still do love coming to the track. I’m very grateful for my mother and father-in-law who brought both of my daughters to Sebring along with my parents and it was pretty cool. So for us, we don't make a big deal out of fathers day but I have to admit that we wouldn't be here at all if it wasn't for all the great experiences we've had as a family at the track and hopefully a lot more good memories to come!"
Next up for Bill and Billy will be an SVRA race weekend at VIRginia International Raceway in October, where Bill will be behind the wheel of a BMW M2. Before that though, Jr III Racing will be the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen for the team’s second IMSA WeatherTech event on June 25th.