Racer at heart, Daugherty much more than meets eye

What you see -- that is, if you look hard enough -- is what you get with Brad Daugherty.

But you have to look past the obvious, for Daugherty is not what most people seem to think at first glance, or even after several cursory glances. The former University of North Carolina basketball star who went on to become the No. 1 overall draft pick in the National Basketball Association is 1986, Daugherty these days is all about NASCAR when he's not "playing bad golf" and spending time with his wife and his two teenage children in Asheville, N.C.

Brad Daugherty

There was precious little time for him to enjoy the latter activities in 2007, when the 7-footer co-hosted ESPN's nightly NASCAR Now show and served as an analyst on NASCAR Countdown, the network's pre-race show. He also provided some in-race analysis on the actual race telecasts, both in the Busch and Cup series -- and looks forward to doing much of the same in 2008.

Daugherty is arguably the most visible black involved in NASCAR today, but he is no newcomer to the sport. Briefly a former car owner in the Busch Series and for more than four years part-owner of a Truck Series team that employed a couple of then unknown drivers named Kenny Irwin Jr. and Kevin Harvick, Daugherty said his love of racing can be traced back to the childhood influences of his father, Roy, and his uncles.

"They were all big gearheads," he says.

His one uncle, Booker Mitchell, built quite a reputation as drag racer in and around Daugherty's hometown of Black Mountain, N.C.

"And not the legal kind, either. I'm talking about some serious street racing," said Daugherty, chuckling at the memory of it.

Audience with The King

Then there was a chance meeting with the legendary Richard Petty prior to the Daytona 500 in 1977, the first Cup race Daugherty attended live along with one of his uncles. That impacted Daugherty's life in a way only he can adequately describe.

"I had the chance meeting there with Richard Petty as he walked across pit road. I was just a youngster, maybe 12 or 13 at the time," Daugherty said. "I threw up my hand and spoke to him -- and he came over and started talking to me.... I just remember talking to him and him asking where I was from, and talking about Black Mountain and western North Carolina and his neck of the woods.

"Really, what probably was like a 30- or 35-second conversation seemed like a 30-minute conversation to me. It left an indelible impression upon my mind -- because I watched as he walked away and all these people clamored to get next to him. There were all these people trying to get a nanosecond of Richard Petty's time as he walks back to the garage area -- and he stops to talk to me, this little African American kid."

It made Daugherty think that if he ever received the opportunity to be the object of such attention from an adoring public, that was the example of how to carry himself that he would endeavor to follow. He has tried hard to never forget the lesson.

"I remember walking out of there thinking to myself, 'If I ever become rich and famous, that's how I should act.' I always remembered how much that meant to me," Daugherty said. "As I got older, I would go back to that and reference that. Because any time I got a little too big or a little too full of myself, I would go back to that and realize what an impact that had on me, and what an impact that people as adults -- not necessarily famous ones, either -- can have on young people depending what you say toward them.

"Because he took the time to do that, it made me feel important. It instilled something in me, to remember that and to make sure that you carry yourself, especially around young people, in a certain manner -- and always take the time to share your time, because it can have a huge impact." (Continued)