6 NFL legends that made the drive over to NASCAR

Running backs and receivers are nowhere to be found, but speed still dominates Sundays despite the NFL's absence thanks to NASCAR.

A week after a local Super Bowl champion was crowned in Los Angeles, NASCAR hosted its own high-profile festivities 36 hours away, opening its 2022 premier Cup Series season with the annual running of the Daytona 500. Commonly referred to as the "Super Bowl of Motorsports," the race ended in a pulse-pounding finale that featured rookie Austin Cindric holding off Bubba Wallace to secure his first career Cup Series victory on the final lap of the 500-mile event.

While the two sides constantly battle each for views during the fall, there's been a fair share of crossing over from the gridiron to the asphalt. Sunday's race, for example, featured accomplished NFL defender Charles Woodson serving as the grand marshal. Other legends of the game, however, have opted to take a more direct role in the proceedings...

Which NFL stars have moved over to NASCAR?

NASCAR champion Terry Labonte (forefront) was the first of Hall of Fame Racing (Photo: Getty)

#1 - Troy Aikman/Roger Staubach

With 179 wins and five Super Bowl triumphs between them — all coming with the Dallas Cowboys-branded star on their helmets — Aikman and Staubach made for a perfect pair to lead a new winning group further.

The two were among the principal owners of Hall of Fame Racing, along with accomplished Trans-Am driver Bill Saunders, which debuted the No. 96 Chevrolet in 2006. Alas, their collaboration did not yield further titles.

The group earned respectable results in its debut year with former Cup Series champion Terry Labonte splitting the ride with Tony Raines, but they failed to build on that momentum. Aikman and Staubach eventually left the team in September 2008, by which point the No. 96 had switched to racing Toyotas and was hosting several different drivers (including future Cup Series champion Joey Logano) behind its wheel. Without the backing of its aerial legends, the team folded in 2009.

#2- Terry Bradshaw

Rest assured, those who are winning "Terry's money" in Fox Sports' new betting contests aren't denying the four-time Super Bowl champion funds toward his NASCAR team.

Bradshaw enlisted championship pedigree when he embarked on a racing endeavor with former Vanderbilt linebacker Armando Fitz, the son-in-law of longtime owner Felix Sabates. Among the drivers in the FitzBradshaw Racing stable in the NASCAR Busch Series (now known as the Xfinity Series, serving as the equivalent of AAA-baseball) were Kerry Earnhardt (the oldest of the late NASCAR legend Dale) and Sterling Marlin (a two-time Daytona 500 champion).

Bradshaw and Fitz's collaboration also yielded a single start in the premier Cup Series, with four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. driving the No. 83 Chevrolet at Phoenix in 2002.

Vehicles owned by Hobbs (L) have won five Cup Series championships, including two for Kyle Busch (R) (Photo: Getty)

#3 - Joe Gibbs

No NFL legend has left a more significant impact on NASCAR than Gibbs, who wasn't satisfied with domination in one sport.

A year before his first NFL retirement (shortly after winning the last of three Super Bowl titles with the Washington Redskins), Gibbs entered the racing realm and has gone on to win 194 races at the premier Cup Series level, the third-best tally in circuit history.

Gibbs has also earned nine championships across NASCAR's four national tours, the most recent Cup title hoisted by Kyle Busch in 2019. His Toyotas continue to dominate the modern circuit, as Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Christopher Bell each reached the Cup Series playoffs and united to win nine of the 36 races run.

Gibbs also enjoyed familial success at the Xfinity level, as his 19-year-old grandson Ty won four of his first 18 starts while also earning the ARCA Menards Series championship. The younger Gibbs made his full-time Xfinity Series debut on Saturday, driving the No. 54 Toyota.

#4 - Jerry Glanville

While many on this list opted for more of an administrative and/or ownership role in NASCAR, Glanville actually got behind the wheel, The colorful NFL head coach, perhaps most famous for coining the phrase "not for long" when describing what the league's abbreviation stood for, made 33 combined starts over the Busch and Truck Series between 1992 and 1999, posting a best finish of 14th on three occasions. Glanville was prepped for his racing endeavors through a de facto apprenticeship under the late seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt.

#5 - Dan Marino

Already known for his victorious Southeastern endeavors on the gridiron, the Miami Dolphins quarterback teamed up with one of NASCAR's most accomplished names in Bill Elliott to form Elliott-Marino Racing during the 1998 Cup Series season.

Marino's arrival coincided with Elliott's effort to add a second full-time car to his garage, with a No. 13 Ford, primarily piloted by Jerry Nadeau, added alongside the 1988 Cup Series champion's traditional No. 94.

Though Marino departed after one season, the 1998 season proved to be historic in the greatest scheme of NASCAR things: when Elliott had to miss the September Dover race to attend his father's funeral, the wheel was turned to future Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth, who drove the No. 94 to a sixth-place finish in his first such start.

#6 - Reggie White

Reggie White was a fearsome entity on the field but an inspiring one off of it. He was well known for his Christian ministry endeavors, to the point where he bore the nickname "Minister of Defense". White later opted to make an off-track impact in NASCAR at the turn of the century, shortly before his passing in 2004.

Teaming up with former opponent Gibbs, White laid down the groundwork for the Drive for Diversity program that offered an opportunity for minority racers to succeed in the sport.

"I would not have the opportunity to be sitting here in front of you today if it wasn't for Reggie White, a black NFL football player who decided to put together a diversity program with Joe Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing," Cuban-American driver Aric Almirola, current operator of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, said of White's NASCAR impact.

"Reggie, the very first time I met him, he said, 'The reason I'm doing this is I love racecars, I love cars, I love watching racing. Coming with Coach to watch a few of these NASCAR races, I fell in love. I want to start a team and give a driver, drivers, crew members an opportunity from the grassroots level to work their way into the system.' That's exactly how I got my opportunity," Almirola added.