"To see NASCAR and to see everybody join hands and join forces and be together tight, I think that definitely showed that NASCAR is about trying to bring peace and just eliminate all the extra distractions and just the hate and everything in that matter," Kimbrough said.
You got black pit crew members that’s got brotherhood with other guys on pit row." It’s a unity thing.’ And to see that unity being brought into the sport where you don’t think it’s that much, but there’s a lot more that goes on behind the scenes that people were able to take a dive and look deep and see that unit.
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"You see 30 of the 35 drivers embrace Bubba Wallace and let him know, ‘We’re all in this together. I’ve seen NASCAR take a step in the right direction," McFadden said. "I’m always proud to see some positivity. I’m glad I’m doing it."Īfter a 2020 NASCAR season that persevered through a pandemic displayed unity behind the Cup Series' only Black driver, Bubba Wallace and saw a ban of the confederate flag at races, these two Black pit crew members are more excited about the sport and its future than ever. "He texts me during the races like who’s got the better stop and things like that, so being able to have that connection with my dad just coming from football to now NASCAR is definitely a good thing. "Just seeing how it made my dad feel - he watches all the races," he said. Kimbrough said his dad has always been a racing fan, and that bond has deepened since he's worked on pit row. "If you would’ve asked me six years ago, seven years ago, would I be doing NASCAR? I would’ve probably told you no," Kimbrough said. "But I was glad that I was open-minded and willing to adapt." He then was selected for the Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Development Program and graduated in 2016. When he was waived in 2014, he moved back home to Atlanta and worked as a valet for a year before a college teammate got him in the loop for NASCAR's annual pit crew combine, part of a nationwide search for top crew member talent. Also a linebacker like McFadden, he played college ball at Appalachian State and then professionally for the now-Washington Football Team.
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He won his first NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas last season. But to be a part of that is something special."Ītlanta native Jeremy Kimbrough is a tire carrier for the No. And why not get the outside people to look in and see how unique the sport is? The sport is growing, and it’s growing from a diversity standpoint. "So to see the sport come such a long way and get publicized the way it is now with Bubba Wallace, the pandemic and so on, now people are getting the opportunity to see there is diversity and more diversity. "When he first started, he tells us, he could count on one hand how many brothers he saw," McFadden said. McFadden said he's learned a lot from his veteran teammate. Kenyatta "Kap" Houston, a tire changer for Houff, has been involved with NASCAR for more than 15 years. The program has a 100 percent placement rate and drives approximately $2 million in salary. Some of the Chip Ganassi Racing athletes are also former NFL players and most of them graduated from the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Development Program, which boasts more than 55 graduates now working in NASCAR - including more than 25 at the NASCAR Cup Series level. "(Viewers) will get an understanding and respect how we make our living." "You’ll see the hard work we put in but also how we live like everybody else," he said. McFadden said he hopes the docuseries showcases the day-to-day life they live, from preparation and practice, working out to stay ready for race day, the relationships they have with other pit members and teams, and even the life they live beyond the track with their families. He soon signed his first contract with Chip Ganassi Racing, and is now one of five African-American pit crew members who will be featured in NASCAR's upcoming docuseries "The Brotherhood of NASCAR." I was wowed by the business because I didn’t know much about NASCAR." He had a friend who worked for Chip Ganassi Racing so he decided to take a visit one day. McFadden was a linebacker with the Steelers, Raiders and Rams and in the CFL, but he didn’t know what to do after he hung up the cleats for good.
"I switched from gas man to a jackman so this is going to be my first time as a jackman going over the wall, so I’m ready to get that first race out of the way so I can go ahead and get the butterflies out," McFadden said, laughing.
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