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NASCAR and celebrities have seemed to go hand in hand over the years, each proving to be an attraction for the other.
But there are certain celebrity groups who have taken things a step further. They also become part or full team owners, some at the wheel as drivers, in NASCAR, especially the premier NASCAR Cup Series.
Here’s a list of 12 celebrities, both current and past, who have invested in team ownership or as drivers themselves. There is also
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The late comedy actor joined forces with longtime friend, Hollywood stuntman, producer and director Hal Needham to form Mach 1 Racing in the NASCAR Cup in 1981. It won nine races in nine seasons (all attributed to his NASCAR icon Harry Gant) before closing shop in 1990.
The NBA Hall of Famer and lifelong NASCAR fan started by co-owning Liberty Racing, a truck series team that included drivers such as current NASCAR star Kevin Harvick and the late Kenny Irwin, but that The team lasted only three seasons (1997-99). This eventually led to Daugherty becoming co-owner of his JTG Daugherty Racing along with Tad and Jody Gesichter in 2008, a role Daugherty still holds today.
Armando Christian Perez, also known as singer and rapper Pitbull, will join Justin Marks as co-owner of Truckhouse Racing in 2021. Suarez is of Mexican descent, but Pitbull was born and raised in Miami. It’s Cuban.
The late country music legend Marty Robbins was a longtime NASCAR fan who eventually formed Robbins Racing as both owner and driver, competing in 35 Cup races and one Top 5 finish. bottom. The team competed part-time from his 1966 to his 1982 years, when he died in Nashville on December 8, at the age of 57.
Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman
NFL Hall of Famers and Dallas Cowboys legends Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman were co-owners of Hall of Fame Racing, which was founded in 2006 and lasted only two full-time seasons. The team was sold to Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel after the 2007 season, eventually closing after two years.
NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre partnered with NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett to form Jarrett/Ferb Motorsports in 1999, competing part-time in what was then the Busch Series. However, the partnership did not last long. When Rayovac ended his sponsorship in 2001, the team disbanded shortly thereafter.
Former NFL head coach Jerry Granville raced in six NASCAR Busch Series races in 1992 and 1993 (besting 20th) and 27 Truck Series races from 1995 to 1999. , was the highest 14th place (three times). Granville was also a minority shareholder.
Joe Gibbs: A Pro Football Hall of Famer and former NFL Super Bowl champion coach, he actually competed as a drag racer in Southern California and was a hot rodder before he entered the football game. He eventually launched both his NASCAR Cup team, which continues to this day, and his NHRA Drag Racing team, which he competed in in the early to mid-1990s.
Last year, the NFL Hall of Famer joined forces with up-and-coming driver and former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Jesse Iwuji to run the full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series, which is set to continue in 2023.
The legendary boxer co-owns The Money Team (aka TMT) and will make four NASCAR Cup starts in 2022, with Kaz Gurara at the wheel for the first three races and IndyCar veteran Conor Daly made one start (the team’s best finish was 23rd). , by both Grala in the Coca-Cola 600 and Daly in the Charlotte Roval race).
It is unclear if TMT will return in 2023. Gurara is under contract to race full-time in the Xfinity Series with Sam Hunt Racing in 2023, and it is unclear if Daly will make any further cup appearances in Mayweather’s group.
The shock rock legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee grew up in Motor City before his family moved to the Phoenix area. But when Cooper was a kid, he was obsessed with two things about him: music and racing. He eventually became a co-owner of his team in the 2003 Montgomery Racing Busch Series. Sadly, the team didn’t last her two years and Alice never actually raced the car, but she kept rocking.
NBA Hall of Famer and considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, the NBA will join forces with longtime friend and veteran NASCAR star driver Denny Hamlin to form 23XI Racing in late 2020 and debuted as a full-time race operation in 2021. with Bubba Wallace.
The team has expanded to two cars for 2022 with Kurt Busch. Tyler Reddick will replace Bush in the 2023 season after Bush chose to effectively semi-retire and was forced to miss the rest of the season due to a serious concussion he received in July 2022. increase. And if an extension is not achieved in the coming months, rumors persist that Hamlin’s current contracts with Joe Gibbs Racing and FedEx will end after the next season. In that case, the same rumors claim Hamlin, 42, could race for another year or two with 23XI Racing.
Honorable Expulsion: Wayang Brothers
Renowned comedians Wayan Brothers (Marlon, Keenan Ivory, Damon, and Sean) held a major press conference at Auto Club Speedway in September 2005 to launch a NASCAR Cup team called Star Motorsports. It was announced that the team would form and participate in the next season. Well, it turns out the joke was in NASCAR as the brothers and their planned team never materialized.
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