{"id":159763,"date":"2025-08-20T00:42:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T00:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/159763\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T00:42:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T00:42:10","slug":"clemson-tigers-footballs-pathway-into-nascar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/159763\/","title":{"rendered":"Clemson Tigers Football’s Pathway into NASCAR"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEMSON, S.C.– The Clemson Tigers<\/a>‘ last day of fall camp got an unexpected guest appearance, but not from a former Tiger. Instead, three-time NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano greeted the team with a burnout in his legendary No. 22 car<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Logano\u2019s cameo continues a growing crossover between Clemson and the racing world. Just last year, former Tiger Sheridan Jones<\/a> made headlines when he joined the Penske Team, the same team Logano drives for, as a tire changer.<\/p>\n

\n

Always great to have another champion in the building \ud83e\udd1d @joeylogano<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/C3hmx4smHS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) August 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI mean honestly, I\u2019ve never really been a huge NASCAR guy, but that was like top-five coolest things that we\u2019ve ever done in Clemson Football,\u201d Cade Klubnik said post-practice Tuesday. \u201cI got to change one of the tires too which was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The visit originated from a conversation at the P.A.W. Journey Business Week in Las Vegas earlier this year. Not only was Logano at the Clemson practice facility, but also Michael Nelson, a Clemson alumnus who is now the Penske President of NASCAR Operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More and more former Clemson Football players are starting to follow in the footsteps of other ex-Tigers who\u2019ve swapped their shoulder pads for a fire suit. The overlap between the two sports makes sense as both rely on awareness, reaction time and physical toughness to succeed.<\/p>\n

NASCAR even sent scouts to Clemson Football\u2019s Pro Day<\/a> earlier this year ahead of the NFL Draft, searching for players whose discipline and physical ability can translate best to the track.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Landon Walker<\/a> was the first Clemson Tiger<\/a> to transition from the field to the racetrack. Growing up, he was always a fan of the sport, enjoying watching it with family and friends, but football still had his heart at the end of the day.<\/p>\n

Walker joined the program in 2007 and played until 2011, helping lead, at the time, new head coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers to their first ACC Championship in 20 years.<\/p>\n

Following an unsuccessful leap into the NFL in 2012, Walker would receive a call from Hendrick Motorsports inquiring if he had any interest in joining their pit crew. That call would change his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to kind of come check that out and say, \u2018What is this about? I really had kind of a very mild understanding of what it would be and kind of got into it with the right people at the right time,\u201d he said in a 2023 interview with The Tiger<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fast forward over a decade, and Walker is now in his eighth year with William Byron\u2019s car as a fueler.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy advice for a person that would do kind of what I did [13] years ago would be to just have patience and have faith in the plan for it to work out the way it\u2019s supposed to work out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Former linebacker Jonathan \u2018Tig\u2019 Willard<\/a> also successfully jumped to NASCAR following short stints in the NFL and CFL (Canadian Football League), working with Chip Ganassi Racing Teams and Trackhouse Entertainment Group from 2017 to 2023. Currently, he is a tire carrier, fueler and jackman for the Roush Fenway Keselowski No. 60 team, driven by Ryan Preece.<\/p>\n

Jones, who attended with Logano on Tuesday, is the most recent football player turned pit crew member. He currently serves as a tire changer within the Penske Team pit crew. During the visit, Jones showed his former teammates the ins and outs of being involved first-hand, changing tires, and working as a jackman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

It’s always great when our alumni come back, but this one was special. Welcome back, Sheridan \ud83e\udee1 pic.twitter.com\/5yXmA8xMAM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) August 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Through collaborations like these, NASCAR and Clemson show how much they care about the future career plans for athletes while reaffirming the connection between professional success in motorsports and exceptional athleticism at the collegiate level.<\/p>\n