NASCAR Cup Series

2022 Daytona 500: Kaz Grala, Money Team Racing ready to compete

Updated Feb. 19, 2022 4:40 p.m. ET

By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It was an exhilarating yet nervous time for driver Kaz Grala prior to the Daytona 500 qualifying races.

Moments before getting into his race car Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway, Grala took a FaceTime call from Floyd Mayweather, the famous, undefeated boxer and partner in the organization that carries the apt moniker The Money Team Racing.

"He was so pumped up about it," Grala said about the quick chat with Mayweather. "He was ready, jacked up and really confident in us. That was a cool pep talk to get — not one that I've ever gotten before.

"It was definitely a cool moment for us and having that validation that he's excited about this program."

Floyd Mayweather gave Kaz Grala pep talk before Duel race

Floyd Mayweather gave his driver, Kaz Grala, a pep talk on the grid before he raced himself into the Daytona 500.

Many celebrities who come into the sport see NASCAR as a path — in addition to being involved in something cool and a competition — to align their brand with potential sponsors. But to land sponsors, a team needs to make races.

And of all the races, the Daytona 500 is the biggest when it comes to NASCAR. Mayweather, who was originally scheduled for a now-postponed exhibition fight Sunday in Dubai, possibly will attend the race Sunday to watch his team compete against the best stock-car racers in the world.

"I love fast cars, and I love to compete," Mayweather said Feb. 1 in a news release about starting the team. "I know NASCAR will not be easy, but anything easy isn't worth doing to me.

"With that being said, this move into auto racing seems to be a perfect fit for the Mayweather brand."

The car was assembled by Fury Race Cars, whose co-owners include Grala’s father, Darius, and former Dale Earnhardt Jr. crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who is serving as crew chief for the team this weekend.

For two years, Grala has had talks with team co-owner Willy Auchmoody about doing something with the Mayweather brand. Pit Viper came on board to sponsor a handful of races, including the Daytona 500.

Mayweather texted Auchmoody, who manages the day-to-day operations of the program, earlier Thursday to tell him that the team has got this, that it will make the Daytona 500 field.

Turns out, that text was prophetic.

Keselowski Wins Duel One; Grala Makes 500

Brad Keselowski wins the first Duel race, and The Money Team with Kaz Grala make the Daytona 500.

"It’s surreal to have Floyd involved in the happenings of this race team," Grala said. "And it's been a long time in coming. We started talking first about a year-and-a-half ago, honestly.

"And, you know, I was as skeptical as anybody and thought it sounded too good to be true."

Getting into the Daytona 500 appeared to be nearly too good to be true, thanks to unexpected twists of circumstance throughout the race. It initially appeared that the team would watch the race Sunday from the couch, as Grala, who had issues with his dashboard and the lights that show his RPM, sped on pit road during the qualifying race.

That put him several seconds behind the driver he needed to beat (JJ Yeley) to get into the race. Both of them were a lap down.

But as the main pack started to lap cars, one of the lapped cars — Daniel Hemric — did not want to be involved in any way with that group, in case others crashed while jockeying for position. So he slowed, breaking up the momentum and allowing Grala to pass Yeley on the final lap of the qualifying race.

With that, Grala went from thinking he had disappointed Mayweather to elation.

"He has been kept up-to-date on what's going on with the race team," Grala said. "He has been training for an exhibition fight in Dubai. So his schedule has been busy in terms of being able to come out here or us go out there and be with him prior to the race.

"But we've been working really closely with his team. He knows exactly what's going on with the race team."

Grala has limited experience in NASCAR but has won a truck race at Daytona and was sixth in the Cup race at Talladega — a sister track to Daytona, where the racing is similar — in April.

"Driving for Floyd is pressure, sure, but I think there's a lot of existing pressure. I'm not sure that it's any different in that sense," Grala said.

"But I think my previous success that I've had so far and being able to grab a sixth-place finish two races ago, for me, in the Cup Series at Talladega, shows me that when push comes to shove, at the end of these races, that I will have the ability to get up front."

He certainly will have people watching him Sunday, and Grala is relishing that spotlight.

"I'm sure there's people that have heard my name that had not otherwise heard my name," Grala said. "What’s been extra cool about working with Floyd and his team is they've got such a broad reach outside of the NASCAR audience. ... [I’m] talking with TMZ, all sorts of weird things that as a 23-year-old NASCAR driver, I wouldn't be exposed to these audiences necessarily previously.

"So it's been cool to get to broaden my reach. If we do well and this becomes a successful program, we’re going to be able to capitalize on that even more."

And what if Floyd wins another fight? Would the team try to buy the 51 number from Rick Ware Racing if Mayweather’s record goes from 50-0 to 51-0?

"I love the number 50," Grala said. "I'm going to guess Floyd loves the number 50. It is probably going to stay at that, if I had to guess.

"He can do those exhibition fights for fun without affecting his record. He’s built his brand on this 50-0. So we're probably safe with the 50 for now."

Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!