HOMESTEAD, Fla. — American basketball superstar Breanna Stewart excitedly approached the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sitting on Homestead-Miami Speedway pit road. As she looked over the car’s brightly colored, specially detailed pink and teal paint scheme, the 6-foot-4, three-time Olympic gold medalist wondered aloud how drivers climbed in through the small window opening.
The excitement was palpable as she and some of her fellow Unrivaled League players — Dijonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey — looked over the car Alex Bowman will steer in the March 23 NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was the high-wattage result of sponsor Ally’s involvement in bringing together two popular sports worlds — stock car racing and women’s basketball.
The NASCAR race at Homestead will come a week after the Unrivaled League finishes its inaugural season of three-on-three women’s professional basketball that Stewart co-founded and of which Ally — which sponsors Bowman’s car — is a founding partner.
“My initial thoughts about coming here and being on the speedway and seeing the decked-out Ally car and getting into the pace car for a ride, I’m so excited,” the WNBA All-Star and two-time league MVP Stewart said.
Carrington, who plays for the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, has never been to a NASCAR race but was also visibly impressed with the car — the three players sizing up the vehicle and taking note of the one-of-a-kind paint scheme, an ode to the Ally sports partnerships.
“It’s a lot more different than I thought,” Carrington said, smiling. “I never realized they didn’t open the door and instead go straight through the window. It’s completely different than what I thought. Those drivers are pretty nimble getting in and out of there.
“We took some hot laps, and I think I was just visually imagining 39 more cars out there at the same time and I was like, ‘no way.’ I couldn’t imagine even five more cars. And they’re going so fast. I have so much respect for them.
“We definitely want to come back (for the race).”
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That evening, Bowman and several of his No. 48 Hendrick team members took in a pair of Unrivaled League games in nearby Miami and were similarly impressed with the basketball vibe.
Unrivaled is an important development for women’s basketball as it allows its top-shelf pro players to earn a living without having to go overseas to play in the WNBA offseason — as was the case for years.
All the games — which are televised on TNT and TruTV — are played three nights a week inside a specifically designed arena called Mediapro. From the moment you walk up to the venue, there are interactive games for fans, colorful displays, merchandise sales and an unmistakable “all in” feeling with loud music and friendly people who enjoy high-level sports in an energetic atmosphere.
“Getting to go to the game and seeing their world a little bit … anyone that operates at a high level in their profession is really cool for me, to see the different perspectives and different lives,” Bowman said. “But typically, people that operate at that level — at least in sports — I feel like we have a lot of similarities. I’ve gotten to meet a lot of cool people over the years.
“Any time you get to give people rides or introduce people to the sport that have never been around it, it’s really fun.”
That kind of synergy is what Ally had hoped. And it complements the company’s pledge to achieve a 50-50 balance of media spending in men’s and women’s sports — a bright example of a commitment to equality. In only three years pursuing that goal, Ally is almost completely equally invested.
“Years ago, we noticed that 90 percent of our budget was in men’s sports and 10 percent into women’s sports and felt intuitively, we needed to challenge ourselves to get better and that was really the idea behind the decision making,” said Ally’s Chief Marketing Officer Andrea Brimmer.
“This has never been a men versus women thing, and we thought they were both so important to us. … It’s the journey we’ve been on as part of this 50-50 pledge as women’s sports has seen just an incredible rise in popularity.
“I think sometimes people make this assumption that NASCAR is primarily dominated by men, but if you look in the stands, there are a wide variety of demographics — male and female,” Brimmer continued. “I think bringing Unrivaled basketball into NASCAR is going to be really cool for the fans and the sports as well. It’s a really strong way to bring two things together that maybe others would have never thought would coexist together.
“You could get a lot of NASCAR fans interested in women’s basketball because of this and a bunch of fans who go to women’s basketball games interested in NASCAR and that’s a great outcome.”
It’s not only a great outcome but pioneering.
“I think with Ally, they walk the walk and talk the talk,” said Stewart, who plays for the multi-time WNBA champion New York Liberty. “The fact they are equally investing 50 percent in men’s and women’s sports is something that is incredibly special because it doesn’t always happen that way and it’s just amazing to be partnering with them.
“Ally’s reach in so many things — obviously, I’m in the basketball and women’s sports space — but the fact it continues on and now we’re going to have an Unrivaled themed race car is something that is really incredible and brings all the worlds together.”
Judging by the genuine excitement the basketball-NASCAR blend produced just with that dual day of on-track and in-gym mash, Ally’s efforts are working.
Bowman’s car design was purposeful. It features the Miami skyline with a woman basketball player dribbling a ball and phrases such as “Women’s Sports” and “Leaders” on the art deco-like pink and blue hood. The Unrivaled logo is on the door next to Bowman’s famous number 48. And a call to “Watch to Change” sits on the roof.
“A big part of my work, is storytelling, visually telling a story for all the different brands involved, so we have the Alex Bowman story, the NASCAR story, Unrivaled, women’s basketball, Ally and everything Ally is doing in sports and women’s sports specifically, so it’s about figuring out the perfect cocktail mix of being able to bridge all those worlds together,” said renowned California artist Sophia Chang, who designed the No. 48’s paint scheme.
It certainly got immediate rave reviews.
“She did a great job with the car,” Brimmer said, adding, “I just think it’s going to be a really fun one and I think it’s going to be one of the paint schemes where you look at it and say, ‘I’m going to get a diecast.’ “
The vibe at track and at court was unmistakably positive — elite athletes in each sport learning about the other and providing support — all following the leadership and efforts of Ally. It seems like a simple concept — exposing one sport to the other — but the potential is groundbreaking. And only beginning.
“A big goal of ours at Unrivaled, in addition to elevating and amplifying basketball and women’s sports in general, is really trying to innovate and bring a different lens to the sport,” said Unrivaled’s Vice President of Partnerships, Jane Zorowitz, who was enjoying her day at the race track and first exposure to NASCAR.
“I think a big part of that is how we approach partnerships and collaborations like the one with Ally and NASCAR.
“Getting people, who maybe haven’t been historically part of the ecosystem in and seeing it and seeing the players that not only are some of the best athletes in the world but seeing their personality and their storytelling ability is really key for us as we think about how we can continue to grow the sport and grow women’s sports in general. So, getting them in a new environment [like NASCAR] is really key to bringing additional eyeballs to the sport.”
Our next Unexpected Allies collab is Unrivaled. 🤩
We are excited to be highlighting @Unrivaledwbb, the new Miami-based three-on-three professional women’s basketball league, of which Ally is a founding partner. Designed by artist Sophia Chang, the #Ally48 will sport a special… pic.twitter.com/oxebcpWCEG
– Ally Racing (@allyracing) February 25, 2025