Dawn Staley to drive pace car for upcoming NASCAR race at Darlington
Dawn Staley’s adventurous offseason continues.
On Sept. 4, Staley will serve as the honorary pace car driver in the Cook Out Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Darlington Raceway, the venue announced Tuesday.
Staley attended a Darlington NASCAR race in September 2017, several months after the Gamecocks won their first women’s basketball national championship. In Tuesday’s press release, Staley said she was ready to return to the racing atmosphere.
“The staff, the drivers and the fans are so welcoming and connected — just like women’s basketball fans are to their teams — and that’s energy I’m always happy to be associated with,” Staley said in the statement.
The Darlington Labor Day race weekend falls on Sept. 3-4. The race that Staley will be a part of kicks off the Round of 16 for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Staley made headlines a few weeks ago with her appearance on ESPN, where she played cornhole against Doug Flutie and other celebrities.
She’s also been outspoken on Twitter about WNBA star Brittney Griner’s sentencing in Russia, tweeting about Griner’s detainment for more than 180 days. Staley also called out ESPN for not inviting star player Aliyah Boston to its ESPY awards ceremony despite her being nominated for an award.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 11:11 AM.
