There’s a secret kickball obsession within NASCAR. Oops, it’s not so secret anymore
Cliff Daniels has a secret that he doesn’t want anyone to know. Unfortunately for him, Corey LaJoie is making it public.
“I think word is starting to get out about my and Corey’s past history with kickball,” Daniels told The Observer. “I hope it doesn’t get out too much.”
But the news is out, and not only is LaJoie sharing it, he’s organizing a massive kickball tournament at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis on Oct. 6 featuring NASCAR’s stars. LaJoie has already solicited Daniels’ commitment to join his team and talked up their days dominating a co-ed kickball league in Huntersville.
Daniels is a top crew chief in NASCAR. He worked with seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson last season and for part of the season the year prior. This year, he’s the crew chief for the series’ winningest No. 5 team with Kyle Larson. LaJoie drives the No. 7 car for Spire Motorsports that competes against Daniels and Larson weekly.
There was a time, however, when Daniels and LaJoie were coming up in NASCAR earlier in their careers — before they were fathers to young children — and took their competitive energy to new heights playing together on the kickball diamond rather than dueling each other on the racetrack.
“It was the most obnoxious thing you’ve ever seen,” Daniels said, partially in jest, partially serious. “The competitiveness and just the intensity we had was absolutely bananas.”
The co-ed league called GO Kickball promotes itself as providing a platform for the “relaxed” sport of kickball with social networking to create a fun and active way for adults to meet new people and play kickball in a “comfortable, non-intimidating, social” atmosphere.
When the team of NASCAR industry members showed up, however, most of whom worked on the race crew and business side, “people knew it was down to business,” LaJoie said. He estimated that their team, named the “Balls and Dolls,” won the league championship in each of the spring, summer and fall seasons they participated for three or four years straight through 2018.
Daniels recalled winning six or seven times in the fall, five of which were in a row, and winning twice in a citywide tournament between top teams in the area from Mooresville, Huntersville and Charlotte. Daniels was appropriately the team captain, lead-off kicker and the pitcher.
“Or roller — whatever you want to call it,” he said.
He was also a member of earlier iterations of the team once cleverly named “Jiminy Kickits.” He confirmed that he took the position quite seriously.
“There is no surprise to me seeing the success Cliff Daniels has had on the pit box,” LaJoie said. “Because he is an alpha male and he holds you to standards, whether it’s on the kickball field or on the racetrack, higher than any other.”
Larson said he had heard the same when he discussed the upcoming event with Daniels.
“Cliff is so intense when it comes to crew chiefing a racecar in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Larson said with a laugh. “He’s just as intense as a kickball coach is what I heard.”
Daniels, whose career as an Xfinity then Cup engineer coincided with his time in the league, explained that he approached the games with a certain level of seriousness — coordinating schedules in a GroupMe chat and calling out teammates to run faster to first base — because they were a group of mostly “skinny, non-athlete kids” competing against teams whose roster included players who had just missed the cut for the Carolina Panthers.
“I’m talking about professional-level athletes that some of these other teams would recruit,” Daniels said. “And we were just a band of misfits from the NASCAR world. We didn’t have the most talent. We didn’t have the most skill, but we played with a lot of heart.”
“That’s why I always ran a tight ship,” Daniels said. “Just to keep us on track.”
The high level of intensity has translated to his current work, but the stakes for the upcoming fall tournament will be much lower. LaJoie organized the event in collaboration with the YMCA in Kannapolis and Samaritan’s Feet, a non-profit that provides shoes to children in need around the world. Proceeds from apparel sales and team registration fees will go to the organizations with the goal of generating more exposure for their causes. Ticketing information for fans will be announced in the coming weeks.
There will also be booths for sponsors set up at the ballpark, which is home to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers — Low-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox — as well as activities for children and a post-tournament concert headlined by country music duo Pryor & Lee.
VIP guests from the NASCAR world include top drivers Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Matt DiBenedetto, Daniel Suárez and Michael McDowell. NBA player Marvin Williams is also listed as a guest, and LaJoie said he’s working on adding other names and in communication with NASCAR about potentially streaming the event online.
The bracket-style tournament will feature 14 and 16 teams and will start at noon and run through 6:30 p.m. on the Wednesday before NASCAR’s playoff Cup race at the Charlotte Roval that Sunday. There will be a “VIP game” starting at 5:30 p.m. followed by the concert at 8 p.m.
“The grand goal is to make it almost like a Speed Street in Kannapolis in the coming years,” LaJoie said. “Kind of like Uptown Charlotte does for the 600 Fest, do that in Kannapolis around the October race and use the kickball tournament as the cornerstone for that. But for now, we’re just trying to get this thing off the ground.”
The timing of the event ahead of NASCAR’s cutoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway a few days later bodes the question of whether the intensity will increase on the field among participating drivers, especially among those in the playoffs. Daniels, for example, said that while he expects to attend, he could be working late that day. The postseason takes priority.
Blaney said he doesn’t foresee any unsportsmanlike conduct occurring, “unless someone slides into second and takes a leg out,” he said. LaJoie, however, knows how competitive the games can get.
“I guarantee you that if somebody pegs you with a kickball on Wednesday, they’re gonna remember it come Sunday when we’re racing around the Roval,” he said. “And there might not be as many give and take moments if somebody beams me in the face with a kickball on Wednesday night.”
While the event is ultimately rooted in lighthearted fun, history has proved that NASCAR drivers and team members are a competitive bunch. It could make for some interesting storylines Sunday.
“The reason this all started was I think everybody loves kickball and everybody loves supporting good causes like the YMCA and Samaritan’s Feet,” LaJoie said. “And also, it turns the knob on the competitive dial up a little bit, so that’s always a good time.”
Corey LaJoie’s Kickball Klassic Fueled by Built Bar
▪ When: Wednesday, Oct. 6
▪ Where: Atrium Health Ballpark
▪ Time: 12 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (VIP game at 5:30 p.m.)
▪ Concert: 8 p.m. headlined by Pryor & Lee
This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "There’s a secret kickball obsession within NASCAR. Oops, it’s not so secret anymore."
