Brad Daugherty, first black major owner to win the Daytona 500: ‘He and Michael Jordan are already trash talking’

(CNN) NASCAR Racing team owner Brad Dougherty made history Sunday when he became the first black major owner to win the Daytona 500 when driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the storied race in double overtime.

“America doesn’t just look like people in the garage of 55 years ago,” said Tad Gechekter—who owns JTG Daugherty Racing with his wife, Jodi Gechekter and Daugherty—at a post-win press conference. “It is diverse and everyone has different perspectives, different talents and treasures.

“Brad definitely brings a different element to what we’re doing, different thinking and a different background, and I think it’s the same from the engineering to the tire changers to the drivers. It’s much needed.”

Geschekter said Daugherty, who had recent eye surgery, was on site Sunday morning to visit the team’s sponsors but left after a light bothered his eyes.

Daugherty’s first work in professional sports came on the hardwood in the NBA. 1 overall in the 1986 NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers went on to play for eight seasons with the Cavaliers before back troubles kept him off the field.

In Dougherty’s NBA days, the Cavaliers were haunted by a certain star from the Chicago Bulls Michael Jordanwho is now also famous as the owner of the same NASCAR team.

“I spoke to him for a few minutes and he said he and Michael Jordan were really trash talking,” GTG Dougherty owner Jodi Gechecter told reporters after the race. “I’m not sure what was said, but there were conversations.”

Dougherty, who grew up in Black Mountain, North Carolina, and played college basketball at the University of North Carolina, had a passion for racing growing up, as well as basketball.

When asked about a black man and woman in Jody Geschector who won the race as owners, Stenhouse said, “We have a lot of diversity on our race team all over the garage, and it’s great to have two on our race team and put them in Victory Lane here at the Daytona 500.

“It’s very special, and NASCAR is leading the way in a big way. It’s great to play a small part in getting them to Victory Lane.”