“I’ve put so much blood, sweat, and tears into this sport of NASCAR racing.” Brad Daugherty emotionally stated this when Ricky Stenhouse Jr won the Daytona 500. The JTG Daugherty Racing team has thrived under the five-time NBA All-Star. Daugherty has been part of various NASCAR team ownership groups since the 1990s, but 2024 spelled a slight change in his usual ownership duties.

Daugherty’s Cup Series team has scored a win in each of the last two years and plans to continue this trajectory. So, in the mood to take up the team’s commitments a notch, a rebrand, a new name, and an ownership shuffle have entered the story. The current management has handled the team for the last three years. But Daugherty insists that the change is only a step forward.

Brad Daugherty is invested in his team’s success

Ricky Stenhouse Jr capped off the year with a victory at Talladega Superspeedway. Now, he will wave a newly worded banner with Hyak Motorsports as the new name for his team, heralded by principal owner Gerald Smith at the helm. Brad Daugherty will act in a co-owner capacity along with Mark Hughes and Ernie Cope. Formerly JTG, the team will continue to deliver thrilling race performances starting with the NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray on February 2, 2025. Despite this massive overhaul of the 29-year-old stock car racing team, its NBA veteran leader insists that the goals are the same.

The 7-foot Brad Daugherty is pumped to see his team reach new heights of success. “I’m really excited about 2025 as our company continues to evolve. Our goal is to compete and win races at the highest level of NASCAR. The name change signifies that commitment and desire to be our very best.” Having grown up in the Southern Appalachian Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, Daugherty has always kept racing close to his heart. So after achieving his 5-time All-Star distinction with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Daugherty entered NASCAR. He became the first Black principal owner to win the Daytona 500 in 2023.

Now Brad Daugherty is sharing his team’s success with Gordon Smith and others. The banner under which the team is transitioning is fascinating – ‘Hyak’ means “fast” in Chinook Jargon. This is a trade language of the Pacific Northwest that incorporates terms from Chinook, Chehalis, and many other local languages. In line with the company’s trademark logo, the team’s crew is pumped to start its new chapter. “This rebrand is exciting for the team and myself,” said Ricky Stenhouse Jr. “I’m excited for everyone to see the rebrand this offseason and in 2025. The team has won the most iconic of races with the Daytona 500, so this is just a continuation of building its legacy.”

And this legacy was partly the result of Brad Daugherty’s blood, sweat, and tears, as he explained to his compatriot last year.

Tough commitment to follow

When Michael Jordan was first contemplating his entry into NASCAR, he had a guiding voice. During his NBA career, he battled frequently with his NBA rival, Brad Daugherty. The two basketball legends crossed paths again in stock car racing. However, Daugherty cautioned Jordan about the fickle nature of the sport. A tremendous wealth of investment can result in a bad racing day. Along with former Cup driver Robert Pressley, Daugherty had invested time and effort in building and running their first Busch Series car. In 1989, the team won a 200-lap race at Orange County Speedway. This made Daugherty the first rookie owner to ever win in the series. Daugherty had to risk not being accepted as a Black team owner, considering he was the first in the sport.

So he warned his former NBA rival about the risks in NASCAR. “I told Michael before he got into it that this was a different animal,” Brad Daugherty said. “There’s no collective bargaining process. There’s no revenue sharing to any significant degree. You have the capacity, obviously, to do what you need to do, but come into this with your eyes wide open, because I have several friends who’ve come into this and are very, very wealthy people. They spent a tremendous fortune to do nothing but just win a couple of trophies and now they’re gone.” He added, “This sport will take every dollar you put at it, and just suck it into a black hole.”

Now Michael Jordan is fighting against that very black hole in the NASCAR lawsuit. Meanwhile, his NBA compatriot turns a new chapter in his ownership stint.