Marshall McFadden’s latest viral moment didn’t come from a big hit on the football field, it came from the fast lane at NASCAR.
The former NFL linebacker is now making headlines for his second act: serving as a pit crew member in stock car racing. Yep, you read that right. From tackling running backs to fueling race cars at lightning speed, McFadden has swapped shoulder pads for gas cans.
It’s a career pivot no one saw coming, including McFadden himself. Born and raised in Lamar, South Carolina, just miles from the legendary Darlington Raceway, McFadden admits he had zero interest in racing growing up.
Even though he lived just five minutes from the track, he had never seen a race.
That changed in a big way after he retired from the NFL in 2017. A call from longtime friend and NASCAR pit crew member, Curtis Walls, changed the game. Walls invited McFadden to watch a practice with Chip Ganassi Racing, and from that moment, he was hooked.
WATCH: Former NFL Linebacker Marshall McFadden Has Found a New Hunger for Competition as a NASCAR Jackman. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/iVAIdry1KF
— Kristin Sokoloff (@KSOKUNCENSORED) June 4, 2025
“I was just moved by how it all worked. I was impressed by their ability to work together (in practice), their attitudes and their inviting personalities,” McFadden told South Carolina’s Times and Democrat newspaper in 2018.
After a month of volunteering at practices, pit coach Shaun Peet gave McFadden a shot by handing him a massive fuel can. That trial run turned into a real opportunity, and in 2018, McFadden officially joined the crew as a fueler, a role that involves hoisting and emptying 100-pound gas cans into a race car in under 15 seconds.
For a former linebacker, the physical demands were no problem. But what really clicked was the teamwork and split-second coordination, something McFadden thrived on during his time in the NFL with the Steelers, Raiders, and Rams.
Now, he’s not only part of the team, he’s part of NASCAR history.
McFadden has worked pit stops for drivers like Cody Coughlin and Jeffrey Earnhardt, including at the Super Bowl of racing, the Daytona 500. And recently, footage of McFadden in action has gone viral on social media.
This is the kind of story that makes you believe in reinvention and maybe even tune in for the next pit stop.
From undrafted linebacker to viral pit crew hero, Marshall McFadden is proof that the race isn’t always won in the first lap. Sometimes, it’s about where you refuel.
