Junior formula

In 2004 he joined the ranks of Formula Ford in his native Australia, running in both the Victorian and National Championships. At the end of 2004 he won a scholarship at the BMW Junior Scholarship Finals in Valencia. For 2005 Davison competed in the Formula BMW USA Junior Series, qualifying on the front row at the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Montreal, won at the US Grand Prix held at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was second at the Denver street circuit and Mid-Ohio and third at Barber Motorsports Park and Road Atlanta. Based on these performances, Davison became part of the Confederation of Australian Motorsport Elite Driver program which included attendance at the Australian Institute of Sport and financial support from the Foundation. At the end of the season, he qualified and finished tenth at the Formula BMW Final at Bahrain.

2006 saw him again compete in the United States in the Formula Atlantic series for Team Australia. After the Denver round, he was dropped by the team for fellow Aussie Michael Patrizi.^[3] 2007 saw Davison progress into the Star Mazda Championship where current IndyCar Series drivers Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal previously competed. Driving for Velocity Motorsports, Davison proved to be an outstanding competitor finishing second in the Championship; earning three pole positions and one win.

Indy Lights

2008 found him in the Firestone Indy Lights series, racing for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. He struggled throughout the first half of the season, but captured his first series pole at Nashville Superspeedway, a concrete oval, in July. His first win came in bizarre circumstances in a wet race at Mid-Ohio. While running second on the last lap, race leader Jonny Reid went into pit lane instead of the finish line, handing Davison the victory. Davison also received the Sunoco Most Improved Driver Award at the IRL Championship Celebration held in Las Vegas. Davison finished second in the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights Championship with a new team Vision Racing, again winning at Mid-Ohio. Davison was running at the finish of all fifteen races and finished in the top ten in all but one.

IndyCar

In November 2011 he tested for Andretti Autosport at Palm Beach International Raceway, Florida.^[4] He shared the car with Indy Lights driver Gustavo Yacaman.^[5][6]

In 2013 Davison tested a car for Dale Coyne Racing at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. A few weeks later it was announced that he would drive the team's No. 18 car at the race there. It would be his first open wheel race appearance since 2009.^[7] Following the horrific accident by Sebastian Bourdais during qualifying for the 2017 Indianapolis 500, it was announced that James would be stepping into the number 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda for the remainder of the season. In the later stages of the race, Davison matched a record set by Tom Sneva in 1980 and became the third driver in Indy history to start 33rd and lead laps in the race, having led two laps. He then got caught up in a late wreck with 17 laps to go. A year later, Davison barely qualified for the 2018 Indianapolis 500, bumping out longtime IndyCar rival James Hinchcliffe.^[8] He would finish in last place, after a crash on lap 47 caused by contact with Takuma Sato's car. Davison finished in last place again at the 2020 Indianapolis 500 due to a mechanical failure only six laps into the race.

Champ Car Atlantic results

Star Mazda Championship

Indy Lights results

IndyCar Series

Indianapolis 500

Rolex Sports Car Series

IMSA SportsCar Championship

Pirelli World Challenge

Cup Series

Xfinity Series

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points