Daytona 500-winning owner Brad Daugherty admits that he isn’t capable of doing what Michael Jordan did for Bubba Wallace
Brad Daugherty has advocated diversity in NASCAR for over 35 years.
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Brad Daugherty, Bubba Wallace and Michael Jordan
NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season, we had an impressive start at Daytona International Speedway. The season opener Daytona 500 saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of JTG Daugherty Racing securing the win in double overtime. The two times Xfinity series champion’s win also marled some milestones. One of the team’s principal owners Brad Daugherty became the first black team owner to win Daytona 500, and the No:47 team won the longest Dayton 500 of all time.
Brad Daugherty also tasted a victory over his former NBA rival and current rival team, 23XI Racing, owner Michael Jordan. 23XI fielded three cars against the one Chevy of Daugherty, and the superspeedway gods favored the No:47 team. Jordan has been part of significant changes in NASCAR and its diversity initiatives.
Giving Bubba Wallace, the sole black cup series driver, a car that could challenge for wins every weekend was a significant move from Jordan. Brad Daugherty, who has advocated diversity initiatives in NASCAR since becoming the owner in the late 2000s, respects his formal rival for that. Daugherty pointed out that he would never be able to give Wallace such a competitive ride.
“Without Michael Jordan, we don’t have an African American driver sitting in a seat that’s capable of winning a race every week. This has been my sport for 35 years, I’ve been the guy, the African American guy who’s tried to ply his way towards creating opportunity,” Daugherty said.
“And I’ve been able to do that on my race team by bringing guys in. And you see a lot of faces along pit road of color that started with my race team. And I’m proud of that. But I told Michael the significance is, I was never going to be able to put Bubba Wallace in a race car that was capable of winning every week because we’re just small,” Daugherty added.
In case you missed it: “A big fan of the SRX Series” Kenny Wallace excited to join the SRX Finale
Daytona 500 is the pinnacle of Brad Daugherty’s sports career
Brad Daugherty pointed out that winning the Daytona 500 was his childhood dream as he grew up idolizing Richard Petty. He is proud of the win and revealed that it also was a dream of his late father, who introduced him to the NASCAR world.
“I had dreams as a little kid of winning the Daytona 500. But my dream was that as a driver, which is crazy because my big rear end is not going to drive. But I always you know, we always thought of myself as being Richard Petty one day,” says Daugherty.
“Standing here as a Daytona 500 champion, something that my dad loved — and that’s how I got introduced to this was through my dad — It’s really, really significant. And it might be the pinnacle of my sports career. To be a part of something that’s so significant in my life and be a part of something that’s gone through such a dynamic cultural shift. In the last several years, I just couldn’t be more prouder,” added Dougherty.
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Justin P Joy
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