Iwuji teams with Emmitt Smith on full NASCAR Xfinity season
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Navy Reserve lieutenant commander Jesse Iwuji is now juggling a budding NASCAR career. After 15 total starts across NASCAR’s national series, Iwuji will at last get a chance to run a full season. He’s teamed with NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith to build an Xfinity Series program backed by General Motors. Iwuji will drive No. 34 as a tribute to Wendell Scott, the first Black driver to win a Cup Series race. Although Iwuji will race in the second-tier Xfinity Series, he joins Bubba Wallace as the only two Black drivers competing fulltime at NASCAR’s national level.