The worlds of American Football and American Stock Car racing have often crossed over. There have been several times when the NFL and NASCAR have tied up, especially for promotional events. But did you know that there was an NFL athlete who had once taken part in NASCAR races? And to make things even more surprising, he had quite some success in both arenas.
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And that man was none other than the former San Francisco 49ers kicker Mike Cofer. He was an integral part of the team back when they won the Superbowl in 1988 and 1989. In his NASCAR career, Cofer won a Southwest Tour race in 1994 and even had plans of running trucks full-time in 1995.
Only one person has won a Super Bowl as a player and won a NASCAR race as a driver
Mike Cofer was the 49ers kicker when they won in 1988 and 1989. He won a Southwest Tour race in 1994 and planned to run Trucks full-time in 95 but returned to the NFL. He ran 3 Truck races in 2002 pic.twitter.com/4tL5Nqf0JP
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) February 11, 2024
In his six career starts, Cofer not only was able to win but also managed to finish 3rd on points. In an interview, he said that if he could take baby steps and make a lot of them, he would go a lot further in his career experiencing the best of the two worlds. However, he returned to the NFL soon after, only to come back and run three Truck races again in 2002 for Las Vegas-based Quality Motorsports.
Cofer lost two Superbowl rings in the most unexpected way
About ten years ago, Cofer was at his home on a Thursday, watching his son’s high school baseball match when burglars invaded his four-bedroom home in Las Vegas. Cofer told FOX5 news station in Las Vegas, “When I saw the front door bashed in, I pretty much knew what was going on.”
Needless to say, Cofer was heartbroken at the loss of the rings. “Something that you cherish, something that you feel proud of, put a lot of hard work into, and someone thinks they deserve it more than you do,” he wailed.
“They can take a ring or a watch or whatever, but they weren’t on the field that night, so they’ll never be able to take that memory,” he added.
But what the thieves gave Cofer in return was truly hilarious. Cofer’s ex-wife Lisa reported to the Las Vegas Sun that the thieves had left back a diamond ring. Now, whether that was by mistake or on purpose remains unknown. The thieves also took away a coin collection, an Xbox gaming console, and with that, several games.
