'Bubba' Wallace teaming up with LeBron James' agent
Roush Fenway Racing will have African-American driver Darrell Wallace Jr. work on marketing opportunities with Maverick Carter, the business manager for NBA superstar LeBron James.
Wallace, whose nickname is "Bubba," will compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year if the team can put together enough sponsorship money to fund the car. If not, he will run at least a partial schedule, Roush Fenway President Steve Newmark said Tuesday.
James and Fenway Sports Group have been business partners since 2011. Fenway Sports Group, led by John Henry, is the 50 percent owner of Roush Fenway Racing and owns the Boston Red Sox, the Premier League Liverpool F.C. and a host of other sports ventures.
Newmark said the plan is to market Wallace in venues beyond auto racing.
"We think there's a lot of creative opportunities to do some really crossover promotions with Bubba," said Newmark. "LeBron is under the Fenway umbrella on the sports marketing side; LeBron and Johnny Manziel. John Henry has kind of created a big empire up there, obviously, with Liverpool, NESN and Roush, but there's also a sports marketing arm that includes a lot of pretty dynamic personalities. And that gets us excited because we're working with them to do things with our drivers, as well."
"It's a huge opportunity for me," Wallace said of the move to Roush Fenway.
He was released from his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing last November after JGR couldn't find sponsorship for him.
"Our hope is that we can get him running for a championship this year," Newmark said of Wallace. "We continue to look for an anchor partner. We think he'd be a great brand ambassador."
