Smith likened the new venture this season as being a rookie in the NFL.
“Respect is something that’s earned not given,” he told rolling out. “You have to earn it. So our job is to make sure our car’s on the track from start to finish. We’re competing with respect, we’re earning our way up the leaderboard and putting Jesse in the right position to be successful. Once we do that, everything else outside of that just starts to open up from that point on. That’s what we’re looking forward to doing.”
Greatness is something highlighted throughout Black History Month, and it’s something Smith achieved in his football career. With the Dallas Cowboys from 1991-2001 in 11-straight seasons, Smith rushed for over 1,000 yards. Smith credited that success to having a solid team around him, and he hopes to build the same team around Iwuji in his new NASCAR venture.
In August 2021, Iwuji was slated to be only one of three Black drivers out of all four NASCAR divisions alongside Bubba Wallace and Rajah Caruth.
“Change is a frightening thing for a lot of people,” Smith said. “Change scares people because they’re afraid they’re gonna lose something, but what they lose is the opportunity to learn more about who they are and who they can truly become. So they stay in one cycle, and people in one cycle only know one thing, the limitations of that cycle … Progress is what NASCAR is after. Moving forward.”
