Just like how many NASCAR drivers wear their NBA and NFL fandom on their sleeves, top-tier athletes from those leagues also have their favorites on the track. A classic example is Michael Jordan, whose lifelong love for NASCAR led him to co-found 23XI Racing. New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers is a NASCAR fanatic, too.
Advertisement
Recently, Nabers paid a visit to Atlanta Motor Speedway, hitting the track alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr. for a few high-speed laps. During their ride for Bleacher Report’s Taking Laps, Nabers and Dale Jr. talked shop, covering everything from the wide receiver’s rise through high school and college to the NFL grind, his evolving play style, and the toll the game takes both mentally and physically.
Nabers also opened up about his “welcome to the NFL” moment during a clash with Washington, and the unique friendship he shares with former LSU teammate Jayden Daniels, even now, though they line up on opposite sides of a division rivalry.
Daniels, selected second overall by the Washington Commanders in the 2024 NFL Draft, and Nabers, taken sixth by the Giants, have forged a bond that has stood the test of competition. When Dale Jr., a Commanders fan, expressed admiration for their friendship and likened it to his own early days in NASCAR, Nabers called it “brotherly love.”
“I think the support is what drives us to try to keep on going. When we were at LSU, we always wanted to make it to where we at now. So, it’s like just because we were where we at now doesn’t mean we change that, change our relationship,” Nabers said.
“We [are] going to talk trash to each other. But it’s also a family talk, trash. Like we understand the assignment between those lines. It’s a different way we act,” he added.
Having Daniels in his corner is a blessing for Nabers. That’s a close, supportive friendship similar to the one between Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace in NASCAR.
According to the Giants’ official website, Nabers has credited Daniels with easing the pressure during their time at LSU, saying he wouldn’t be where he is without his former quarterback. Daniels has also echoed the sentiment, saying that despite being in different uniforms, the foundation of friendship they built remains unshaken.
“That’s my brother. We built a very tight connection over these past two years at LSU. Communication, I mean, I talked to him last night, but I don’t see us talking that much this whole week until the game,” Daniels had once said.
As rookie contracts play out, fans can expect the Daniels-Nabers face-off to happen twice a year, each matchup a collision of brotherhood and competition on the NFL stage.
