These days, 23XI Racing is known for its heavy fusion of sports and stock cars. But in 2008, Randy Moss brought the NFL world to the track.
The NFL Meets NASCAR: Reflecting on Randy Moss Motorsports:
Competition between sports has always existed. Whether baseball, basketball, football, or NASCAR, competition for views and fans is ever-present and ongoing. But one team brought the two together and found success, Randy Moss Motorsports.
The NFL and NASCAR:
The NFL and NASCAR have had a long-standing competition in the United States. Two Sunday sports that go head to head for a quarter of a season. But many NFL stars are also big fans of NASCAR. For the 1998 Season, Bill Elliott and Miami Dolphins Star Dan Marino created Elliott-Marino Racing. The car was painted in Dolphins Colors and a rookie Jerry Nadeau drove the car. The team dissolved before the beginning of the 1999 season.
Brett Favre, Troy Aikman, and more recently Emmitt Smith have all had ownership stakes in NASCAR. But in 2008, Randy Moss joining the garage was the big talk of the Truck Series.
Who is Randy Moss?
Moss grew up in West Virginia, and told Fox Sports in 2011, ‘To be point-blank, NASCAR is a country, redneck sport,” Moss says with a smile. ”And you know, that’s where I’m from. That’s me. These are my people.’
Randy Moss went to Marshall College and was picked up in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft for the Minnesota Vikings. In his NFL career, he played for the Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, and Tennessee Titans, and retired with the San Francisco 49ers. He won Offensive ROTY in ’98 and was a six-time Pro Bowl player.
Moss’s hometown of Rand, West Virginia is just like the small towns that created some of NASCAR’s greatest. Small Appalachian towns with local dirt tracks, where Moss watched his area’s best slide around on dirt tracks, growing his passion for racing.
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Starting Randy Moss Motorsports:
Moss met Truck Series team owner David Dollar. Dollar was partnered in Morgan Dollar Motorsports, a 13-time winner in the series. Dollar was impressed by the passion Randy Moss showed towards NASCAR. The NFL player had previously sponsored a local dirt track team and was an ambassador for the Urban Youth Racing School.
Moss bought a 50% share of Dollar’s truck team, renaming the team to Randy Moss Motorsport. Randy Moss would partner with Dollar, as the team was highly competitive and had contended for titles in the past. The team would debut at Kentucky in 2008. The team would run the #5 and #81, the latter being a tribute to Moss’s number in the NFL.
The first half-season was a learning experience for RMM. Only 2 Top-Tens and 9 top-twenty finishes. The #81 Truck would be an ‘all-star car’ with drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Landon Cassil making starts for the team. But things would improve for the operation in 2009. By signing Mike Skinner and Tayler Malsam, the team would have the best season of their tenure.
2009: The Highest of Highs
RMM would switch from Chevy to Toyota Tundra’s for 2009. Skinner would win Kansas, Iowa, and Gateway. With 8 Top-Fives, 17 Top-Tens, and 408 laps lead. He would finish third in the championship. Malsam would finish twelve in the championship, with 10 top tens.
RMM would sign David Starr for 2010. Starr would race 16 races for the team, with the team withdrawing from the race at Chicagoland. Tayler Malsam would join the team for the final two races, after a stint at Kyle Busch Motorsports. Mike Skinner would finish 8th in the points standings, with 2 top-fives and 13 top-tens.
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2011: Lowest of Lows
2011 would see Travis Kvapil join the team, but it was the nail in the coffin for the team. Tayler Malsam would DNQ at the first two races of the 2011 season. Kvapil would qualify for the race, but DNF both races. Kvapil would qualify for the next eight races but never finished higher than tenth.
The poor start to the season was the final straw for RMM. After Kentucky, the team closed shop, and assets were sold to other truck series teams.
Randy Moss Motorsports would see the spotlight once again. During the ‘Roast of Tom Brady’ former New England Patriots Quarterback Drew Bledsoe brought up his former ownership of the team.
I believe that Randy Moss laid the footprint for athletes from other sports joining NASCAR. We can look at the success Michael Jordan and 23XI Racing have had, and thank the team at Randy Moss Motorsports.
Our thoughts are with Randy Moss and his family in his ongoing health issues.