NBA star LeBron James and Brad Keselowski’s NASCAR Cup team teases fans with upcoming collaboration
NBA superstar LeBron James sent NASCAR fans into a frenzy by expressing his support for Brad Keselowski's RFK Racing team ahead of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
It has been a busy week for RFK Racing, as the Concord, North Carolina-based team has been revealing its 2024 paint schemes. The team commenced the series of reveals on Monday, January 22, and continued the excitement through Friday, January 26.
Midway through the week, LeBron James, who is a minority owner of the team, stirred up excitement by expressing his enthusiasm for RFK Racing's 2024 campaign. 'The King' wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter):
"Can’t wait to see what’s cooking!!! @RFKracing"
The surprise post from LeBron James left many fans confused as they failed to connect the dots. The Lakers ace is a minority owner of the Fenway Sports Group, which owns many iconic teams like the Boston Red Sox in MLB, Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL, Liverpool F.C. in the Premier League, and RFK Racing.
This makes James a minority owner of the team, joining the ranks of three NBA players who own NASCAR teams - the other two being Michael Jordan and Brad Daugherty. The LeBron James Family Foundation had previously sponsored Chris Buescher's #17 Ford at Michigan International Speedway in 2022.
RFK Racing recently unveiled the paint schemes of various primary sponsors, beginning with Build Submarines on January 22. The paint scheme for Fifth Third Bank was followed by a new partnership with Consumer Cellular. The paint schemes for returning sponsors Kings Hawaiian and Solomon Plumbing concluded its livery reveal week.
Toyota and Ford executives cautiously optimistic about new NASCAR Cup bodies
Two of the three NASCAR manufacturers have made modifications for the 2024 next-gen challengers. With Chevrolet keeping its Camaro untouched, Toyota and Ford enter the season facing uncertainties but have a cautiously optimistic outlook.
Both manufacturers revealed their bodies in the December test at Phoenix where Toyota debuted its Camry XSE and Ford revealed its Mustang Dark Horse. Elaborating on their expectations from the new car, Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson said (via motorsport.com):
“We all use the same tools to test and develop the bodies, and they’re all virtual. It’s CFD (computational fluid dynamics), and it’s time in the wind tunnel. From those metrics, from all that information, certainly, the numbers look good.”
Wilson added that the new Cup car performed well in the Phoenix test, as he added that the new Camry XSE was the fastest in every session.
Richard Johns, Ford’s NASCAR performance leader stated that all their metrics from the Mustang Dark Horse indicated a net improvement, relative to the previous car.
“All of our metrics point to it being an improvement from last year and from 2022. We’re excited to get to the race track and win another championship,” Johns said.
“We try to get (the car) better across the board with the new submission. If we didn’t think we came in with a target on our backs last year (after winning the 2022 title), we certainly do this year," he added.