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One of the biggest stories of 2020 was Michael Jordan's entry to NASCAR. But there were other icons through the years who didn't break through all the way in terms of ownership. It's been 20 years since Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson tried to buy a Cup team.
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When The Rock began his wrestling career in the mid-90s, Hermie Sadler hired him to do commercials for his car dealerships and they became friends. Hermie would give him a Cadillac to use in exchange for the commercial appearances.
By 2000, The Rock was a massive superstar. His autobiography was #1 on the NYT bestseller list. In April, he hosted SNL. Access Hollywood named him #6 in the list of Top 10 Celebrities of 2000 and was one People Magazine's list of the Top 25 Most Intriguing People.
In 2000, wrestling was in a lot of places in auto racing. Hermie Sadler drove a WWF car in the August Bristol Busch race. WWF sponsored an NHRA Funny car driven by Jerry Toliver. There was a Rock scheme and other schemes for Kane, Undertaker, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
By 2000, Joe Bessey Motorsports was struggling in the Cup series. They failed to make 11 races that year and had 5 different drivers. The sponsor left and Bessey had to sell the team. Everything was coming together to create an opportunity for Hermie Sadler.
In the fall of that year, Hermie Sadler agreed to buy Bessey Motorsports and had Dwayne Johnson join as co-owner. Details on the team are unclear, but on November 6, 2000, a trademark was filed for the name "Rock Racing"
On December 8th, the media was informed that The Rock would be making "a major NASCAR Winston Cup announcement" at the Concord Mills Mall on December 19th. The new team would be unveiled. They would debut in the 2001 Daytona 500. But unfortunately, legal problems got in the way.
Dwayne Johnson was still only 28 and likely didn't realize the full limitiations he had for using "The Rock" name. It was a character controlled by WWF; his purchase of a NASCAR team got their attention. The WWF asked Sadler give them all of the details for the team.
The WWF legal team was mad. They wouldn't allow the team to use The Rock likeness. Sadler got a letter from the lawyers informing him the deal was off and they told him to never contact Johnson again
Just 5 days before the team press conference was planned, it was cancelled
Just 5 days before the team press conference was planned, it was cancelled
Between buying cars, leasing a building, and paying his employees, Sadler later said the Rock Racing collapse cost him $750,000.
Hermie did an excellent interview with High Spots Wrestling about the team a few years ago
Hermie did an excellent interview with High Spots Wrestling about the team a few years ago
The ill-fated Rock Racing could've been a cool part of NASCAR had it actually happened. We're seeing now that 23XI Racing is easily getting sponsorship, maybe Rock Racing could've grown in a similar way. Performance aside, it would've been great to have The Rock at the track
