Jesse Iwuji

Iwuji attended Hebron High School, where he was a letterman twice in football and three times in track. On the football team, he was a two-star recruit. In addition to continuing his football career at Hebron (where he was named first-team all-district in his senior year), Although he played linebacker in high school, Iwuji was a free safety on the Navy football team. where he ran the 60-meter, 100-meter, and 200-meter dashes in addition to the 4 × 100-meter relay. Iwuji graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science degree and became a surface warfare officer. In May 2017, he moved to the Navy Reserve. Iwuji was promoted from lieutenant commander to commander in June 2025. Iwuji is stationed in Ventura, California. ==Racing career==

Early career While attending the Naval Academy, Iwuji first expressed interest in motorsports when the Midshipmen visited the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina before the 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl, during which the players rode around the track. During his senior year, he started drag racing at Capitol Speedway in Crofton, Maryland, driving a Chrysler 300. After his graduation, he raced a Dodge Challenger. Afterwards, he joined the Naval Postgraduate School staff in southern California, NASCAR and ARCA in 2017 (No. 33) and Derek Kraus (No. 19) at Sonoma in 2017 In 2014, Iwuji tested a stock car for Performance P-1 Motorsports at Irwindale Speedway. In the winter, he ran 34 dirt track races, one of which included a fifth-place finish in a Winged 500cc Outlaw Kart A-main. Iwuji started competing full-time in the K&N Pro Series West in 2016, driving the No. 36 for Patriot Motorsports Group. That year, he was named to the "Mighty 25: Veterans poised for impact in 2016" list by military website We Are The Mighty. He recorded a best finish of tenth at Orange Show Speedway. At the Utah Motorsports Campus race, he earned the Move of the Race Award, which is given to the driver who gains the most positions in a race. During the year, he also competed in the NAPA Big 5 Late Model Series at Meridian Speedway. He finished the season tenth in the final point standings and sixth the rookie standings. Prior to the 2017 season, Iwuji became Patriot Motorsports Group's primary owner, while former National Football League linebacker Shawne Merriman partnered with the team to serve as owner of the No. 36 car. The two met during a fashion show in Los Angeles promoting Merriman's new clothing line; Merriman, a longtime motorsports fan, agreed to join PMG. Over the course of the season, Iwuji continued to race Outlaw Karts to develop his racing ability on both dirt and asphalt. In February, he ran his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race in the season opener at New Smyrna Speedway, in which he finished 21st. In February 2018, Iwuji tested an ARCA Racing Series car for PMG at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for his series debut in the Lucas Oil 200. For the 2018 season, he intends to focus on competing in ARCA, particularly the larger tracks, in addition to running sporadic K&N East and West races. In August, Reaume Brothers Racing announced Iwuji would make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in the team's No. 34 Chevrolet Silverado. After starting 31st, he finished 25th. He returned to the Reaume team and the Truck Series for the third year in a row in 2020. He made starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway, finishing 39th and 28th, respectively, both of which came in the team's No. 33. In August 2020, Iwuji made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the MBM Motorsports No. 13 Toyota at Road America. Iwuji returned to RBR in 2021 for his fourth part-time season with the team. Driving the No. 34, he attempted to qualify for the season-opener at Daytona for the first time but failed to make the race. He then drove the No. 33 at Las Vegas. Iwuji would manage to get a one-off Xfinity start driving the No. 74 car from Mike Harmon Racing, after the driver for the No. 74, Bayley Currey, had to be replaced unexpectedly. Mike Harmon Racing would put out a statement on social media, saying "This decision was made as a TEAM in which Bayley FULLY supports. He is still the primary driver for the 74, we have no intentions of changing that, he is a huge part of this team." With sponsorship from racing app Gap 'Em, Iwuji would be able to wheel the car into a 31st-place finish. In August 2021, Iwuji announced that he was partnering with Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith to start an Xfinity Series team for the 2022 season, Jesse Iwuji Motorsports. ==Personal life==

Iwuji is of Igbo descent, an ethnic group of people in Nigeria. His parents, Sebastian and Enderline, immigrated to the United States in the 1980s. Enderline was a track runner in Nigeria, while daughter Emenderlyn ran track for Arkansas State. Like Iwuji, younger brothers Justin and Bryan played football, though at Texas State as a safety and linebacker, respectively; Justin had also been recruited to play quarterback for the Naval Academy Preparatory School before electing to attend Texas State. While Iwuji and his siblings are born in the United States, they hold Nigerian citizenship. As of 2017, Iwuji is one of three African-American drivers actively competing in a NASCAR series along with Wallace and Pro Series East driver Jay Beasley. Iwuji is involved in various philanthropic and military-related activities. Iwuji is the racing ambassador for the Phoenix Patriot Foundation, a group formed after the September 11 attacks to support wounded soldiers. "We dedicate each race weekend to a wounded veteran and his family," Iwuji stated. "The effort has been widely supported by race officials and others. It's an opportunity for everyone to give back to the people who've made a sacrifice on their behalf." In May, he served as a host for a veteran's family prior to the Coca-Cola 600; as part of the NASCAR Salutes program, which honors United States military personnel, he was a guest co-host of NASCAR.com's GarageCam series. ==Motorsports career results==

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) Xfinity Series Camping World Truck Series Season still in progress Ineligible for series points ARCA Racing Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) K&N Pro Series East K&N Pro Series West ==References==