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Darlington Raceway Signs First NASCAR Owned Track NIL Deal With Grayson McCall

by Press Release July 31, 2022 0 comments

DARLINGTON, S.C.  – Darlington Raceway announces the signing of the first NASCAR owned track NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) agreement with Coastal Carolina University standout quarterback Grayson McCall. With the signing, Darlington Raceway becomes the first NASCAR owned track to officially partner with a student-athlete since the new NCAA regulations were passed.

“Grayson McCall is one of the finest quarterbacks in college football, so we are proud to partner with him as the first NASCAR owned track NIL athlete,” said Kerry Tharp, Darlington Raceway President. “Grayson has had a dynamic collegiate career setting NCAA and school records and has lived his entire life in the Carolinas. His playing style exemplifies toughness and competitiveness, and he is the ideal athlete to help promote Darlington’s Too Tough To Tame brand.”

As part of the partnership, McCall will promote the Shriners Children’s presents Darlington Labor Day Race Weekend on Sept. 3-4 as well as next year’s NASCAR slate at Darlington Raceway. McCall will also have an active presence on the track’s digital platforms and be featured in some of the track’s marketing campaigns. He will also promote NASCAR and Darlington on his own social channels.

“I love this town and this area. Coastal Carolina kind of made me into who I am,” McCall said. “I love this school and I love the people here in the region and with Darlington being right down the road and a huge part of the sports culture, partnering with them just makes sense. It just helps fulfill a legacy I want to leave here. Plus, going a couple hundred miles an hour is kind of my thing too.”

McCall, a native of Indian Trail, N.C., is a junior at Coastal Carolina University. In his sophomore season, he set the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) record in passing efficiency rating at 207.6, eclipsing the previous records set by Alabama’s Mac Jones (203.1) in 2020 and LSU’s Joe Burrow (202.0) in 2019. He will enter the 2022 season as the active career leader in all of NCAA Division I FBS in career passing efficiency at 196.09.

In 2021, McCall ranked in the upper echelon of NCAA Division I FBS quarterbacks including first in passing efficiency and yards per pass attempt (11.92), second in completion percentage (73.0) and passing yards per completion (16.32) and top-25 in five other categories (points responsible per game, passing touchdowns, passing yard per game, total offense per game, points responsible for). At season’s end, he was recognized with the Blanchard-Rogers Trophy as the State of South Carolina’s most outstanding college football player.

As the starting quarterback at Coastal Carolina the last two seasons, McCall has led the team to a 20-2 record including the school’s first Sun Belt Conference championship, first bowl game, first bowl win, and first time in the AP/Coaches Polls and entering the College Football Playoff rankings. This season, McCall is on the verge of breaking every offensive record in school history and cementing his legacy as the most decorated player in Coastal Carolina history. He is considered to be one of the top five quarterbacks in the collegiate ranks and projected to be a high NFL draft pick.

To learn more about McCall, visit his website at www.therealmccall.com or his Coastal Carolina webpage.

2022 NASCAR Season

The Shriners Children’s presents Darlington Labor Day Race Weekend on Sept. 3-4, featuring the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 3:00 p.m. and start of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in the 73^rd running of the crown jewel Cook Out Southern 500® over Labor Day weekend on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

NASCAR tickets are available for purchase via phone at 866-459-7223 or online at darlingtonraceway.com.

Stay connected to Darlington Raceway on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the all-new NASCAR Tracks App.

About Darlington Raceway

Darlington Raceway, nicknamed The Lady in Black and the track Too Tough To Tame, is home to the award-winning Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR and annually hosts two NASCAR Cup Series race weekends, along with the NASCAR Xfinity Series and/or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Opening in 1950, Darlington Raceway is “A NASCAR Tradition” and NASCAR’s original superspeedway with its famed 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval, challenging the sports best in one of the most iconic NASCAR races, the Southern 500®. For more information about Darlington Raceway, visit darlingtonraceway.com.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series, NASCAR Peak Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

Source/Photo Credit: Darlington Raceway