Floyd Mayweather joining NASCAR with The Money Team Racing
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
The race to make the Daytona 500 got a little added punch Tuesday.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., the winner of 15 world boxing titles and owner of a 50-0 professional record, has entered the ring, so to speak.
Mayweather is a co-owner of The Money Team Racing, which will make its debut next month with Kaz Grala behind the wheel of the appropriately numbered No. 50 Chevrolet. Tony Eury Jr., a former crew chief who has worked with notable drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick, will crew chief for the team.
"I love fast cars, and I love to compete," Mayweather said in a news release. "I know NASCAR will not be easy, but anything easy isn't worth doing, to me.
"With that being said, this move into auto racing seems to be a perfect fit for the Mayweather brand."
The team is expected to run a part-time schedule depending on sponsorship, likely taking advantage of Grala’s prowess on road courses for at least some events. Sunglasses company Pit Viper will be the sponsor for the Daytona 500. The team will get engines from ECR Engines.
"It’s an honor to be behind the wheel for Floyd Mayweather’s entrance into NASCAR," the 23-year-old Grala said. "It’s a really exciting time in our sport as it globalizes and reaches new audiences.
"I know Floyd is here to win, and I absolutely feel that everyone involved in this program is capable of making that happen. We know we will need some time to grow together as a new organization, but I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of building this team from the ground up."
Making the Daytona 500 would be the first big step for The Money Team.
Grala — who has 74 NASCAR national series starts, including a sixth-place finish in the Cup race at Talladega last April — will be among the drivers attempting to fill the four open spots in the Daytona 500 field.
Of the 40 drivers who will compete in NASCAR’s biggest race Feb. 20 at Daytona International Speedway, 36 are locked in because they drive for teams with charters (NASCAR’s version of a franchise), which leaves four spots available to non-chartered cars, typically referred to as "open" cars.
Six drivers are expected to be in open cars: Grala, Noah Gragson (Beard Motorsports), Jacques Villeneuve (Team Hezeberg) and Timmy Hill (Motorsports Business Management) have been announced. JJ Yeley (MBM) and Greg Biffle (NY Racing) are likely entries that have yet to be formally announced. Open teams can enter drivers until Feb. 15.
Open drivers control their Daytona 500 fates through single-car qualifying Feb. 16 and qualifying races Feb. 17. Based on single-car qualifying speed, the drivers are split evenly for the two qualifying races. The first race features the first-, third- and fifth-fastest among the open cars in that 21-car field (assuming 42 total cars entered), and the second qualifying race includes the second-, fourth- and sixth-fastest open cars.
The top-finishing open car in each qualifying race will make the Daytona 500, and the final two spots will be determined based on qualifying speed.
The Mayweather team will be run day-to-day by co-owner Willy Auchmoody, with support from Mayweather management's Brent Johnson and James "P-Reala" McNair. The former owners of StarCom Racing (Michael and Matt Kohler and Bill Woehlemann) also have invested in the team.
Auchmoody has worked the past few years to formulate a path for Mayweather’s entry into the sport.
"This deal has been a long time coming, and we are finally at the starting line," Auchmoody said. "Every time we thought we would be able to hit the track, something happened, including a global pandemic.
"We are very excited to be racing."
Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
