Brad Daugherty to become team owner

#1

rbroyles

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
14,711
Likes
4
#1
By Terry Blount
ESPN.com
(Archive)


Nationwide Series racer Marcos Ambrose will become a full-time Sprint Cup driver next season, thanks to a new partnership former NBA player Brad Daugherty has with JTG Racing.

Daugherty, now a NASCAR analyst for ESPN, has become a part-owner of JTG Racing. The team will be renamed JTG Daugherty Racing. It will continue to field two Nationwide Series entries, but add a full-time Sprint Cup entry next year with Ambrose at the wheel.

"I have a tremendous passion for racing," Daugherty said Tuesday. "This gives me another avenue to be involved in the sport. It's a big stake to do this at he Cup level, and I hope it opens doors in the sport for other minorities and women."

Little Debbie snack cakes will sponsor the car, which will use No. 47.

Ambrose, 31 and an Australian form Launceston, Tasmania, races for JTG in the Nationwide Series. He ranked 13th in the standings with three top-10 finishes in the No. 59 Ford.

"I can't think of a better partner to be involved with this team than Brad," Ambrose said. "He's a real racer. I hope I can deliver the results for him. We have a lot of hard work to do to get ready for 2009, but time is on our side. I'm just really excited to get started."

Ambrose also raced in the Cup event last month on the road course and Sonoma, Calif., finishing 42nd after a transition failure in the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing.

Daugherty, 42, previously owned a Craftsman Truck Series team and a Nationwide team (then the Busch Series). Robert Pressley won a Busch event in Daugherty' car in 1989. The late Kenny Irwin Jr. won two CTS events for Daugherty's team in 1997.

Daugherty, who grew up in North Carolina and followed NASCAR, was an All-American center for the University of North Carolina in 1986. He played nine seasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA and was a five-time NBA All-Star.
 
#2
#2
I'm surprised he didn't buy up Carl Edwards contract. I mean honestly, he loves Carl more than his own mother
 
#9
#9
Tony never had a grip on the car in practice. I thought he could salvage a top 10 of the day late when Zippy got him good track position, but he dropped like a rock
 
#18
#18
In case anyone really wants to know:

Wikipedia - Brad was taken as the first pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1986 NBA Draft. Cleveland had obtained the rights to the first pick in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers for Roy Hinson. The Cavaliers also drafted Ron Harper with the eighth pick in the 1986 draft and obtained the rights to Mark Price (in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks) the 25th pick (second round). Harper, Price and Daugherty, along with fellow rookie John "Hot Rod" Williams immediately began to pay dividends for Cleveland. Daugherty, Williams, and Harper were all named to the '86-'87 All-Rookie team.

Daugherty averaged nineteen points and ten rebounds per game over eight seasons in the NBA and retired as the Cavaliers all time leading scorer (10,389 points) and rebounder (5,227). Daugherty's all time-leading scorer record stood until March 21, 2008, when LeBron James broke the point barrier against the Toronto Raptors. He played in 41 postseason games and led the Cavaliers as far as the Eastern Conference Finals in 1992. Brad was a five time All-Star (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993) and one of the greatest players in Cleveland Cavalier history. As part of the Cavaliers 30th Anniversary in 1999-2000, Daugherty was a unanimous selection to the All-Time Cleveland Cavalier team.

Brad's career in the NBA was cut short at the age of 28 because of recurrent back troubles. Daugherty never played another game after the 1993-94 season though he did make one appearance in uniform for the Whoopi Goldberg movie Eddie along with teammates Hot Rod Williams, John Battle, Terrell Brandon, and Bobby Phills. After two consecutive seasons of inactivity, he announced his retirement after the 1995-96 season. His #43 jersey, a number he picked as a tribute to NASCAR legend Richard Petty (whom Daugherty lists as his favorite sportsman), was retired by the Cavaliers on March 1, 1997.
 

VN Store



Back
Top