Cooper Flagg Gets A NASCAR ride
Cooper Flagg takes the wheel!
May 3, 2026; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg prepares to drive the pace car before the 2026 Wurth 400 cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images T his is a fun story: after winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award, Cooper Flagg hung out at a NASCAR race in Texas. Not only did he drive the pace car, he got taken for a spin around the track by #88, Connor Zilisch.
It might actually be more difficult to be a NASCAR rookie than it is to be a rookie in the NBA. Anyway, Flagg took a lap with Zilisch. There’s no specific mention of speed, but let’s assume they were going between 150-200 mph.
That’s pretty damn fast. And what did Flagg think? Flagg also confessed to being a little scared to go that fast.
Keep in mind that Zilisch did that with no one else on the track. Now imagine doing it with 20+ other cars. That’s a totally insane thing to do.