Athletes from the Valley of the Sun recently made their way to Phoenix Raceway to drive and ride in a NASCAR racecar. The one-mile oval racetrack in suburban Phoenix hosted members of the Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, and MMA fighters for an afternoon of stock cars and high-speed laps.
From the field to the frontstretch, a few of our friends at the @Dbacks joined us in taking on the Championship track 🏆#NREChampionship | @NASCARRaceExp pic.twitter.com/zGMpO59M2h
— Phoenix Raceway (@phoenixraceway) October 25, 2022
“I’ve always wanted to drive a racecar,” said Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Josh Rojas. “To experience it today was pretty awesome.”
Rojas was joined by Diamondbacks teammate Stone Garrett. Victor Dimukeje, Jesse Luketa and Cameron Thomas of the Arizona Cardinals took part in the event. Sullivan Cauley and A.J. McKee of Bellator MMA both got a first-hand NASCAR experience at Phoenix Raceway.
“This is a real feeling,” said Demuke. “It’s something I’ve never done before and I can’t wait to get back out there.”
Each participant drove a NASCAR racecar around Phoenix Raceway and afterwards were put in the passenger seat as NASCAR Hall of Famer and three-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Jarrett gave them a proper lap around the track.
“We compete in two different worlds and to see these guys out of their element it’s a lot of fun to show them what I did for a long time,” said Jarrett. “Because I wouldn’t want to do and try to do what they did.”
