NBA’s Cooper Flagg gets ride from NASCAR rookie Connor Zilisch
FORT WORTH, Texas — NBA high rookie Cooper Flagg obtained a quick ride on the monitor Sunday earlier than the NASCAR race in Texas with one other 19-year-old, Cup Series rookie Connor Zilisch.
Per week after being named the NBA Rookie of the Year, the Dallas Mavericks’ 6-foot-9 ahead was the honorary tempo automobile driver for the race in Texas.
But a number of hours earlier than main the 38-car discipline to the inexperienced flag on the 1½-mile monitor, Flagg was the passenger in that 2026 Chevrolet Corvette. It was then pushed by Zilisch, who’s in his first full Cup season with Trackhouse Racing after profitable 10 races in NASCAR’s second-tier collection final 12 months.
“We got going pretty fast, and I think half the ride I was more scared of what was going on,” Flagg stated. “I’ve never been in a car going that fast, so it was pretty cool.”
Zilisch was driving nicely over 100 mph whereas giving Flagg an up-close take a look at the monitor.
So what do a few 19-year-old guys discuss whereas going across the monitor?
“I don’t know much about racing, but I think just being able to connect on the fact that we’re both young in our respective sports… that was really cool, and to be able to talk to someone who’s going through a lot of similar things at a time in your life,” Flagg stated. “There’s just not many people that have been through this type of stuff at this age, so I think it was cool to connect on that.”
It was the primary time Flagg, who was born and grew up in Maine, has been to any NASCAR monitor. But his mother and father in 1999 began going usually to races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, with Tony Stewart being their favourite driver.
Flagg stated his mother and father, who have been with him, hadn’t been to a NASCAR race shortly since they obtained busy following him and his two brothers. During their go to to Texas, they obtained to fulfill personally with seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, four-time champ Jeff Gordon and owner-driver Denny Hamlin.
Flagg set a number of information as an NBA teenager and edged his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel for the NBA rookie award introduced final Monday. Flagg was the primary rookie since Michael Jordannow a NASCAR proprietor, in 1984-85 to steer his staff in factors, rebounds, assists and steals.
