![]() That was my first time actually being at a race. The cars all started up, and the crowd went crazy and I got so nervous because my hands started to get like clammy and I felt myself about to drop the flag because I was so damn nervous, but it was that adrenaline and it was the energy from the crowd that kind of made me fall in love with the sport. A guy behind me tells me, ‘Don’t drop the flag,’ and I’m looking at him like, ‘What are you talking about? It’s just waving a flag. I didn’t even know.’ I was walking up to the top, I was about to start waving the green flag. So they announced me over the intercom, people went crazy, and from that point on, I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy. I didn’t know that it was going to be that many football fans. I didn’t think that people would really know who I was or know who I am. You know what, it happened in 2008, when I was invited out to be the grand marshal of the race in Fontana, and it really caught me off guard because I was going to a NASCAR event. When did you first get interested in NASCAR? Merriman spoke to The Undefeated about giving back by bringing children to NASCAR. He attended the University of Maryland, was drafted 12th overall in 2005 by the San Diego Chargers and was named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. Merriman grew up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and as a high school player quickly gained the nickname “Lights Out” because players who he hit were rendered unconscious, as the story has been told. Iwuji is one of two black drivers in NASCAR. As owner of NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver Jesse Iwuji’s Chevrolet, Merriman’s goal is to offer accessibility to youths. Merriman’s passion is in line with NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, an initiative launched in 2004, which works to diversify its drivers. Out of those 100 kids, you want a good percentage of kids walking out of there to still follow the sport and want to go to another track.” NASCAR is such a big sport, there’s so many different levels and so many different ways to be part of it, that’s ultimately what you want to do. There’s working at the track, being a part of whatever it is. “All those kids won’t get the opportunity to be a football player in the NFL, NBA, but exposing them to a different demographic and exposing them to a different platform will ultimately, at the end of the day, allow them to be a part of the NASCAR circuit, somehow, some way,” the three-time All-Pro linebacker said. 1, 100 children from the program visited Dover International Speedway. The former NFL player recently expanded his personal brand to launch Lights Out Drive, an initiative that gives children exposure to NASCAR. Shawne Merriman named it after his apparel line - Lights Out.
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