Brad Daugherty Bridges Two Worlds With His Balancing Act Between Nascar And Basketball

Growing up successful Black Mountain, N.C., Brad Daugherty was ever devoted to nan Tar Heel State’s copy passions: assemblage hoops and car racing. Growing up, he utilized to play hoops during nan day, and past caput complete successful nan evening to his friend’s title shop, wherever he often worked past midnight. And he kept his hands successful racing—enjoying it arsenic an off-season pursuit—even during his NBA profession pinch nan Cavaliers. Talking to nan seven-footer today, it’s difficult to show if he was much excited to beryllium nan No. 1 prime successful nan 1986 draught aliases to win nan Daytona 500 arsenic an proprietor successful 2023. Not only is Daugherty a co-owner of Hyak Motorsports, but he is besides an expert for some NBA and NASCAR broadcasts connected NBC. Old habits dice hard.

It’s hardly a astonishment that erstwhile Michael Jordan—his teammate astatine UNC—was reasoning astir becoming an proprietor of a NASCAR team, 1 of nan calls he made was to Daugherty, whose car is driven successful nan Cup bid by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Jordan yet teamed up pinch existent Cup driver Denny Hamlin to shape 23XI Racing, whose colors are carried successful nan Cup bid by drivers Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. More than 30 years aft Daugherty and Jordan battled it retired connected NBA hardwood, they are racing wheel-to-wheel successful NASCAR.

Sports Illustrated precocious caught up pinch Daugherty to not only talk astir Jordan, but besides astir his life and profession successful racing.

During his clip astatine UNC, Daugherty led nan Tar Heels to 2 Elite Eight appearances. / Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

SI: What was your Welcome to Racing moment?

Brad Daugherty: My invited to racing infinitesimal was successful 1989. I had collaborated pinch my champion buddy, Robert Pressley. He was a rookie racing successful what’s now nan Xfinity Series [but was past called nan Busch Series]. We were racing precocious models; I worked connected nan cars and messed astir and conscionable had fun, and he drove, obviously. It was thing I did successful nan off-season. I emotion cars. We had raced local-circuit stuff, and past we decided we were going to springiness nan Busch Series a shot. We had built a title car, and had tally a mates of races to effort to suffice in. We did a beautiful bully job—didn’t tally great, but ran okay.

And we were astatine Orange County Speedway successful Rougemont, North Carolina. I can’t retrieve nan nonstop date. [It was Aug. 12, 1989.] And we were location racing that weekend, and we were having a bully thing, we were racing hard. I really was nan state man connected nan title car. Thank goodness we didn’t person to substance nan car overmuch backmost successful those days—I deliberation that’s why they gave maine nan job. But we were having a bully title that evening. We were moving quick, and I looked up pinch astir 15 laps to go—and we were racing against Chuck Bown, who’s a champion, Tommy Ellis, who’s a champion, conscionable each of these legendary guys—and we’re moving fifth. And we get down to nan achromatic emblem and Robert gets to third, and there’s a large scramble, they’re racing hard. And, lo and behold, we triumph nan race. So that was benignant of my Welcome to Racing infinitesimal because earlier that we were conscionable messing around, having fun, going to section short tracks. Just guys having fun. I was like, Wow, this is simply a large deal. I deliberation I want to do much of this.

SI: Growing up successful Western North Carolina, successful Black Mountain, was your family much astir racing aliases were they much astir basketball?

BD: You know, increasing up successful North Carolina, it’s benignant of for illustration assemblage hoops and racing were almost our authorities bird. It was conscionable everywhere. Our section newspaper was filled pinch nan legendary stories play astir Jack Ingram and Bob Pressley and Harry Gant going nose-to-nose complete astatine Asheville Speedway. And past you move astir and publication astir Norm Sloan’s Wolfpack hoops team, and Dean Smith astatine Carolina. Both of those sports were specified a immense portion of nan taste cloth of nan authorities of North Carolina, and still are today. It's still woven profoundly into it. My dada loved racing. My uncles were resistance racers. We lived connected a small family workplace location successful Black Mountain. And location was an pome character that ever had a concatenation and a winch hung complete it pinch a centrifugal hanging disconnected of it, that type of thing. It was conscionable normal. I cognize erstwhile group started seeing maine astatine their racetrack—you know, a large hoops player, an African-American guy—it was like, “You for illustration to race?” But I grew up going to Bristol and Shadyside and watching races, going to watch banal car races astatine Ashville Speedway, going to Darlington, going to Daytona. I conscionable was ever astir it.

But I played basketball. I played baseball, too, and I played a small spot of football. We conscionable were really a sports-heavy family, and racing was portion of that appetite. So, Friday nights nan large title for america would beryllium complete astatine Asheville Speedway. And past Saturday nighttime they raced astatine Hickory aliases Greenville. And erstwhile we weren’t doing that we were playing hoops aliases playing pickup shot aliases shot or, you know, we were conscionable hunting aliases fishing.

SI: When did hoops go your attraction much than racing?

BD: It started successful precocious school. You know, nan racing point was not going to happen. There were a bunch of things. First of all, if you look astatine me, I person nary business trying to—racing for a surviving was astir apt not going to activity retired astatine 6'10", 6'11". It conscionable wasn't going to happen. And conscionable financially, location was nary way. My family comes from humble intends and trying to beryllium successful nan racing business successful immoderate capacity different than moving connected title cars.... I wasn’t going to activity connected title cars for a living. I conscionable did it to person nosy because I emotion cars.

The hoops thing, it sewage maine thinking, I’m beautiful bully astatine this. I bask it. I’m benignant of a lone-wolf-type personality. I bask being by myself. I could spell sprout hoops for hours. And location were a mates of hoops courts wrong a 4th mile of my house, truthful I went to 1 of them astir each day, and I could sprout each time agelong and dress I was David Thompson. And past erstwhile I sewage to precocious schoolhouse I realized that this would beryllium a awesome measurement to spell to assemblage for free. So, that was my first thought. And past I sewage amended and, lo and behold, by nan clip I was a elder successful precocious schoolhouse I had 5-to-600 assemblage danasiwa opportunities. 

In summation to his squad co-ownership, Daugherty has besides served arsenic an expert for NASCAR coverage. / Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC

SI: You sewage to North Carolina erstwhile you were 16 because you skipped eighth grade?

BD: I’d really conscionable started schoolhouse early. My day is successful October. So, looking backmost connected it, I deliberation my parents were sick and tired of maine being astir nan house. I went to kindergarten early, astir a twelvemonth and a half early. I ended up astatine Chapel Hill astatine 16, and past turned 17 that October.

SI: Did you utilized to talk astir racing pinch Michael Jordan?

BD: No. You know, Michael, his affinity for racing benignant of grew. I deliberation it became overmuch deeper aft he was successful college. Every erstwhile successful a while we talked a small spot astir racing, but not a full lot. There was truthful overmuch going on. I mean, we were successful Chapel Hill. We were chasing hoops and girls, you know? It benignant of wasn’t 1 of those things you conscionable talked about. We were assemblage kids. We were talking astir our earth science classes—what a symptom successful nan butt they were, really difficult they were, and that type of thing. We didn’t talk astir racing. We talked about, obviously, trying to triumph hoops games, and besides conscionable nan normal things that guys talked astir backmost successful nan ’80s successful college.

SI: I presume it’s difficult to attraction connected thing but hoops erstwhile you’re astatine Carolina and past you’re nan No. 1 prime successful nan NBA draft?

BD: Yeah, but racing was ever successful nan summertime. So, you know, we messed astir pinch title cars usually successful June and July. That's erstwhile nan little, section short-track worldly would footwear up. They’d commencement racing a small spot earlier that, but erstwhile it sewage basking and dense I’d usually hook up and spell title pinch Robert Pressley. By June we’d person vanished up our exams. I was usually done pinch schoolhouse successful nan mediate of May, and past I’d spell activity retired each day, activity connected my basketball, and past spell play pinch title cars. And that’s what Robert worked connected each day. And I would meet him astatine nighttime astatine nan title shop, and we would activity connected a title car from fundamentally six o'clock until midnight. And past connected nan play we’d spell race.

SI: When did you meet Robert Pressley?

BD: I didn’t meet Robert until correct aft my elder twelvemonth of college. His dada was a legendary short-track racer—won complete 500 short-track races. My rookie twelvemonth successful nan NBA, I befriended Robert astatine a title astatine Asheville. I was location pinch my buddies. We had a mates of guys who raced that were successful our hometown, conscionable section guys, and maine and my precocious schoolhouse buddies, we benignant of helped those guys a small bit. We were ever moving connected title cars and messing around. But we were astatine a title astatine Asheville, and aft nan race—[Robert had] won nan race—I was stepping down pit road, and location was Robert each by himself. So I walked complete location and started talking to him. I was like, “You look for illustration you request immoderate help.” He started laughing. He said, “Yeah, I’ll return each nan thief I tin get.” I said, “I don’t cognize much, but I emotion racing. I’ll activity connected your title car.” He told maine to travel connected retired to his shop. The adjacent day, I loaded up and went out. And from past on, that’s wherever I was each time until I went to play basketball.

SI: Him driving and you moving connected nan precocious models, right? 

BD: Yeah, we were moving precocious models for a mates of years, and we won way championships astatine Ashville, Greenville, Hickory. We supplier that precocious exemplary each complete nan state during nan summer. We raced everyplace from Pulaski, Virginia, to Daytona—just each over. Robert was a talented driver. He was beautiful rough, but he was decidedly talented. We won a Mid-Atlantic location title 1 year—my mathematics mightiness beryllium wrong, but we won for illustration 18 retired of 25 races aliases thing crazy. Maybe 18 retired of 30 races, thing for illustration that. That was astir apt astir ’86 aliases ’87. So, I whitethorn person been a rookie successful nan NBA.

SI: When did you make nan jump to Cup racing?

BD: Myself, Tad Geschickter and [his wife] Jodi Geschickter, that was JTG Racing. We raced together [beginning successful 2008] for good complete a decade. We ran bunch of races together. We won nan Daytona 500 successful 2023 pinch Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Now my partner’s Gordon Smith. Our institution is called Hyak, which is Chinook for go fast. 
And, you know, we’re conscionable beating correct along, trying to build our programme and proceed to title arsenic a single-car team. Small guys—got a mini operation—but man, we title difficult and we emotion racing.

Daugherty calls his triumph astatine nan Daytona 500 pinch Stenhouse Jr. successful 2023 a profession achievement. / NADIA ZOMORODIAN/NEWS-JOURNAL / USA TODAY NETWORK

SI: Did Jordan activity you retired for proposal earlier he became a NASCAR owner?

BD: Yeah, I talked to Michael. He was conscionable truthful passionate astir getting involved. He’s awesome friends pinch Denny [Hamlin], and Denny benignant of coaxed him into it. I deliberation Michael was really comfortable pinch conscionable being a instrumentality and enjoying it. I deliberation Denny—you know, they play a batch of play together and they’re bully buddies, and I deliberation Denny showed him what it could be, particularly pinch Toyota.

And Michael, he called maine and said, “I’m astatine nan extremity of my profession pinch hoops and being an owner, and I want to get into nan racing business successful a large way. And so, we talked astir nan business and really it works. I told him, “I’m a small fish, and this is really I make it work. My aspirations are to beryllium successful. I don’t want to beryllium big. But now, for you, you’re going to person different opportunities, different resources, because you’re a taste icon. Everybody’s going to want a portion of that. Every manufacturer’s going to effort to fig retired a measurement to beryllium getting into nan Michael Jordan business.” I conscionable told him, “It’s going to travel astatine you for illustration h2o retired of a occurrence hose. So beryllium prepared and, you know, person nosy pinch it.”

And he loves it. He loves his racing, man. And he loves each forms of racing. He owned a Superbike team. People don’t recognize that. He was heavy into motorcycles and motorcycle macing. That was his passion. A batch of group don’t cognize that. And he conscionable loves racing, truthful it’s fun, man. I’m looking astatine Bubble Wallace complete these past respective weeks, and I deliberation he’s developed himself into a driver that connected immoderate fixed play is going to triumph a race—for nan remainder of his career. And Michael’s sewage to beryllium exceedingly proud astir that. I cognize he is. He gave Bubba a hellhole of an opportunity.

I had a chance astatine Bubba: I talked to him erstwhile he was exiting Roush, and I talked to my partner, Tad [Geschickter], astir trying to get Bubba successful a title car for us. And I conscionable hated it that we couldn’t do it. I talked to Bubba astir it. It would person been benignant of a disservice to him, because my title team, we person to scrap—kind of for illustration nan title teams he went and drove for earlier he sewage to Michael. And I wanted Bubba to person nan aforesaid opportunities that his peers had. His adjacent group sewage into nan premium rides. They went done Hendrick and Penske, and he hadn’t had that opportunity. And so, erstwhile it didn’t activity retired for him to get successful our title car—which would person been conscionable a lateral move for him anyway—I was truthful tickled. I told Michael, “Man, convey you. I’m truthful proud of you, and I’m truthful happy. It makes my bosom lukewarm that [Bubba’s] going to person a existent opportunity to showcase his talent and his ability.” And now he’s showing it.

SI: Was winning nan Daytona 500 a profession accomplishment for you?

BD: Yeah, it’s nan pinnacle of nan sport. As a small kid I was watching it connected ABC, watching nan Allisons trying to whoop Cale Yarborough’s down connected nationalist TV! And my uncle, Booker Mitchell, utilized to return maine to Daytona arsenic a kid. We’d thrust each nan measurement to Florida and watch those races. You know? I’m reasoning back. My dada was—oh, man—we utilized to person this large car. It was truthful fun. My dad, we’d get successful nan car and return disconnected and, you know, that was backmost successful nan precocious ’70s aliases whatever. And you deliberation of coming really overmuch nan world has evolved. We’d get successful nan car, my dad’s yelling astatine everybody, rolling nan windows up. He’s smoking. He’s chain-smoking and we’ve sewage nan windows rolled up and we’re driving down nan interstate! He’s like, “Put those damn seatbelts down betwixt nan seats earlier they deed personification and personification gets hurt!” You know? It was conscionable truthful different than it is today.

Being a mini team, winning nan Daytona 500, that’s arsenic bully arsenic it gets. We’re ne'er going to triumph a championship. We’re not going to out-resource those large teams. They sewage each nan resources of nan manufacturers lined up down them to triumph those championships. But if you tin triumph races, you triumph astatine Talladega, you triumph astatine Daytona—you know, we’re really bully astatine actual places, our small title team. We could person a cleanable day. We could triumph Dover, we could triumph Bristol, possibly location for illustration Nashville aliases Atlanta, wherever we deliberation we’ve sewage a chance. That’s what it’s about. The family ambiance of our title squad and conscionable america against them.

And yeah, we get our teeth kicked successful a lot. But man, we spell astatine it and we emotion it. And it’s fun. The pursuit is fun. Then erstwhile you get to thing for illustration nan Daytona 500, that Harley J. Earl Trophy, it’s for illustration looking astatine a diamond. You know? And we person one.