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NASCAR Driver Jesse Iwuji Teams Up With NFL Hall of Famer to Create a New Xfinity Team

Published 08/22/2021, 2:16 PM EDT

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Over the past couple of years, NASCAR and NFL have joined together on a few occasions. Now, the latest partnership involves NASCAR Truck Series driver Jesse Iwuji and NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith. Together, the duo will soon establish the Jesse Iwuji Motorsports team for the 2022 Xfinity Series season.

In addition to the Xfinity project, Iwuji and Smith will turn to the Esports arena for promotional reasons. The two of them aim to resonate with lower-income communities and improve their way of life.

He said, “We can all go out and try to compete for that, but what are we doing outside of that to create some type of long-lasting legacy, something that creates opportunity and a pathway. A pipeline for people to get in the sport. Whether they want to drive, be part of the industry in general, crew chief, engineers.

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“Whatever it is, we want to figure out different ways to expose people to the sport and do it with having the assets on the race team.”

Apparently, Jesse Iwuji and Emmitt Smith met through the former’s agent. Additionally, one of Smith’s companies, Notable Live, sponsored Iwuji’s #99 car in the Xfinity Series race in Texas. Around that time, he convinced Smith to enter the NASCAR arena as co-owner.

Who is NASCAR driver Jesse Iwuji?

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A former U.S. Navy Reserve, the 34-year-old has five Xfinity Series races under his belt. In addition to that, he also boasts of 14 Camping World Truck Series starts over a span of four years. The Carrollton native has also played some college football in his youth and was a big fan of Emmitt Smith.

USA Today via Reuters

Of course, Iwuji’s plans are all talk for now, as there is no formal announcement yet. Furthermore, he and Smith have to take several calls with regard to manufacturer, car number, team alliance, sponsors, and crew chief.

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However, Jesse Iwuji has designs to compete on a full-time schedule. For now, he will want to see out the remainder of the 2021 Truck Series season before talks with Smith get serious.

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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