Several NFL players have switched lanes to NASCAR over the years, including names like Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Joe Gibbs, Marshall McFadden, Josh Bush, and Jeremy Kimbrough. However, transitions from the wrestling mat to the racetrack aren’t something that’s heard ever so often.
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Hendrick Motorsports driver, Alex Bowman’s crew currently includes an intriguing figure from the wrestling world — Donnie Tasser, a former Pitt wrestler who made a career shift right out of college.
Tasser, now the front tire changer for the #48 Hendrick Motorsports driver, boasts championships across all three NASCAR divisions: Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series.
Donnie, who is a former combatant in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with home meets at Fitzgerald Field House at Pitt, pivoted to NASCAR just six months after graduating while he was still juggling two jobs.
He used to freelance as a sportswriter for local publications during the day and loaded trucks by night. When the opportunity arose to join a team at HMS, Tasser seized it, steering his career onto an entirely new track.
Tesser, who was initially completely unfamiliar with motorsports before venturing into NASCAR, expressed, “I honestly don’t know what else I’d be doing. You trade the less optimal parts of the job for the obvious benefits — chasing championships.”
He emphasized that his role extends beyond mere physical exertion, but the teamwork and precision in his duties also play a very big role.
That’s because his pit crew’s task is to execute tire changes in a cramped space in under nine seconds — a critical component in the complex machinery that drives a NASCAR victory.
Tasser’s career trajectory in NASCAR
Tesser’s NASCAR odyssey began in 2014, but it wasn’t until 2019 that he celebrated his first NASCAR championship with Matt Crafton’s #88 truck team in the NASCAR Truck Series, where Crafton clinched his third championship.
Following this win, Tesser joined the #48 team, lending his expertise to Jimmie Johnson until the latter retired from the sport in 2020.
In 2021, when Kyle Larson joined the Hendrick Motorsports team, Tasser was his go-to front-tire changer. Larson’s victories and the NASCAR Cup championship that season further burnished Tasser’s credentials, making him a pit crew member who clinched two championships across different NASCAR divisions within his first eight years in the sport.
By 2024, Tasser completed his trifecta by serving as the front-tire changer for Justin Allgaier’s #7 car in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, securing a championship in NASCAR’s second tier.
Additionally, in 2024, while working on Alex Bowman’s team, he [along with the entire #48 pit crew] earned the Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award.
