Bryce Young joins Hendrick Motorsports for reps as NASCAR pit crew member

The offseason provides NFL players with the opportunity to do some unique things from community outreach to just plain old fun. Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young engaged in a little of the latter on Thursday morning.

The former No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick spent his morning at the Hendrick Motorsports facility in northeast Charlotte, trying his hand at tire-changing.

It’s not altogether uncommon for football players to make the transition to NASCAR pit crews in their post-playing days, though Young, of course, is nowhere near the end of his football career. There’s a certain crossover of athleticism that applies when it comes to lugging around huge tires and exchanging them in a coordinated fashion.

So Young took his turn with it. Check it out below.

Did you know Bryce Young can carry tires too? #panthers pic.twitter.com/GSVKen1kxj

— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) June 6, 2024

Bryce Young and a couple of his Panthers teammates did a pretty nice job. Young worked as a rear tire changer and though he struggled a little bit getting the wheel in place initially, the overall team effort was a success.

As Young and his companion raced back to the wall, they were greeted with their final time: 15 seconds and change, a perfectly respectable mark for complete newcomers.

Of course, Young will be looking to revamp his NFL career after a tough rookie season, with the Panthers making some major changes, including at head coach, in the offseason.

But toward the end of the shot on the video, you can also see the name of the training facility Bryce Young was working at: The Rowdy Harrell Pit Training Facility.

Rowdy Harrell was a former Alabama football player under Nick Saban, winning three national titles (2009, 2011 and 2012). After his playing days, he turned to NASCAR and became a quality pit crew member.

Tragically, Harrell was killed in a car crash in the Florida Keys while with his wife on his honeymoon in late 2020.

A two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion pit crew member with JR Motorsports, Harrell had most recently worked for Hendrick Motorsports the No. 88 NASCAR Cup Series team of driver Alex Bowman before his death.

Hendrick Motorsports honored Harrell by naming its pit training facility after him.