NASCAR
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jesse Iwuji and NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith officially introduced Jesse Iwuji Motorsports on Monday. The team plans to compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as the No. 34 with full support from Chevrolet. Team co-owner Iwuji intends to drive in each event for the team.
Iwuji, 34, is also an officer in the Navy Reserves after serving seven years of active duty. He’s made five career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2020-2021, and 15 starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series from 2018-2021.
“There couldn’t be a more authentic manufacturer partnership for me than one with Chevrolet,” said Iwuji. “When I decided to pursue a professional racing career, I started getting seat time in my Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06, which I still own today. The story of going from the Navy to NASCAR and having my Corvette play a key part in that journey makes this partnership not only authentic but inspirational for any person out there looking to accomplish big goals and dreams. This journey gives people hope and shows how much life truly rewards those who stay strong enough, long enough.”
Emmitt Smith, NFL Hall of Famer who notoriously played 13 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, met Iwuji through a sponsorship at Texas Motor Speedway and immediately liked his goals and aspirations.
“It was something I got behind,” Smith said. “Once you get a chance to know this young man and spend time, visit with him and understand his process, the way he thinks. Not to mention the service he provided to this great nation. All of those things became part of my yes, I can get behind this and help push this young man to where he’s trying to go.
“Our mission is not only to go out there to compete but also to inspire others to their levels of greatness. The best way we can do that is to provide this young man with the experience he needs to have on track and the training that he needs to get off track.”
With the major cultural movement among ownership in NASCAR, Emmitt Smith agreed that seeing those like Michael Jordan and Pitbull enter the sport factored in his own entry.
“Of course it did,” Smith said. “When there’s an opportunity, especially when you’re at the beginning of something as exciting as this is and as big of a sport that NASCAR has been and will continue to be, and Jesse himself, when you know people you can hitch your wagon too and help support, yeah it makes a big difference. He created an opportunity for me to come in and be a part of it so here I am and I’m excited that NASCAR has really taken a leap of faith, that’s what I’m going to call it, as well as creating opportunities for others.
“I think by them doing that, there’s going to be some folks out there that may not agree with it but that’s okay. They don’t want to change, they want things to stay the same. If you want things to stay the same, you’re going to regress, if you want things to progress, you have to change. Change is something that most people are scared about but in this particular case, change creates opportunities for us to get better and to embrace it is the way I look at it.”
I wanted to know of the cultural movement in ownership with guys like Michael Jordan and Pitbull helped push @EmmittSmith22 to join that growing list. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/kkDxk73nQR
— Noah Lewis (NASCAR) (@Noah_Lewis1) February 7, 2022
With the full manufacture support from Chevrolet, Jesse Iwuji Motorsports will also lease engines from Hendrick Motorsports all season long, helping their expected performance tremendously. Team crew chief Jason Houghtailing, who made his start in the sport sweeping shop floors, is excited about the engine partnership.
“Our ownership group was able to come to an agreement with Hendrick Motorsports,” Houghtailing said. “We have a full-blown lease engine deal for the whole year at Hendrick. I’m pretty excited about that and we’ll see what we can do, right?…We feel confident in our ability to build a fast racecar but when you can have a power plant like that underneath the hood, it’s pretty exciting.”
Houghtailing and everyone involved agrees the big goal is making and finishing each race this season. They’ll begin working to that goal at Daytona International Speedway on February 19th.
Written by Noah Lewis
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Photo credit to Garry Eller/HHP for Chevy Racing
