Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall a fan — and promoter — at Darlington NASCAR race
Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall, the two-time Sun Belt Player of the Year, threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in the Chanticleers’ win over Army on Saturday.
A few miles away, his face was on the side of a race car.
McCall has been the face of Darlington Raceway’s marketing campaigns this weekend, following through on a deal the 21-year-old inked with the oldest active speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series in July. He was on the side of Ryan Vargas’ car for Saturday’s Xfinity race and has been featured in videos all week leading up to Sunday’s Cup Series race.
And what did the QB think of having his face on a car?
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“It was amazing to see,” McCall told reporters in Darlington’s media center. He said he first saw it on Twitter and didn’t know of that plan prior to Saturday: “It was actually kind of a surprise for me.”
McCall, donning a blue and yellow Chase Elliott shirt and a mullet that perfectly encapsulates this racetrack’s “too tough to tame” motto, said that he wasn’t a huge NASCAR fan growing up, but that he came to Myrtle Beach as a kid on vacation and “drove past this track many times.” Darlington claims kinship with Myrtle Beach — one of South Carolina’s top tourist destinations — and so its partnership with Coastal Carolina’s best-known star makes sense.
“I always got to see it from the outside but never from the inside,” he said. “So you know, when I got to come here and see how big this place really was and how special it is out here, it was really cool for me.”
McCall has had a presence on the track’s digital platforms and has also promoted NASCAR and Darlington on his own social channels this week. The deal is new territory for both parties: When the deal was first announced, racetrack officials dubbed it “the first NASCAR-owned track NIL deal.”
McCall said he and Darlington Raceway will be producing content “all season” and really enjoyed promoting his brand and the racetrack’s brand all at once.
The NCAA last summer began allowing athletes to sign name, image and likeness deals. Posting content to social media is the most frequent kind of NIL activity, according to sports marketing company Opendorse, followed by such things as personal appearances and autograph signings.
When asked who he was supporting Sunday — McCall shrugged his shoulders.
“I got the shirt,” he said with a smile, “so I’m rocking with Chase today.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2022 at 5:29 PM.
