NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has added NASCAR designer to his extensive resume of work beyond basketball, as he has designed the paint scheme for seven-time Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson’s car in the Daytona 500. Shaq won the right to design Johnson’s No. 84 Carvana Toyota at the end of a well-coordinated marketing stunt culminating in a free throw competition between the two legends of their respective sports.
O’Neal and Johnson began going back and forth with each other several weeks ago on X, beginning with O’Neal ribbing Johnson about attempting another Daytona 500 at 49 years old before the two settled on a free throw competition. Shaq tried to put a lap in Johnson’s car at Daytona on the line, but the wager was brought down to the right to design Johnson’s car.
It was closer than one might have guessed, but Shaq ended up winning the competition, and also earned his own NASCAR Cup Series firesuit. In the end, the Shaq-designed No. 84 Toyota that Johnson will drive is a direct nod to his NBA career, as it resembles the uniform that O’Neal wore at the start of his career as a member of the Orlando Magic. It also features Shaq’s famous “Dunkman” logo.
The next step in the process will be to make sure it races in The Great American Race two weeks from now. As Johnson is in a non-chartered car and no longer competes full-time, he will have to earn one of the four available spots in the 40-car field either through time trial qualifying or his Duel qualifying race. Johnson will attempt two Cup Series races this season, and will reach 700 career starts if he qualifies for both the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.
O’Neal entering the fray for Speedweeks is yet another transaction in the growing NBA-to-NASCAR pipeline. Cleveland Cavaliers great Brad Daugherty won the Daytona 500 two years ago as team co-owner for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., while Michael Jordan will seek his first Daytona 500 win as 23XI Racing co-owner after making it to the Championship 4 a year ago.
