Skip to main content
Join Now
NASCAR Logo

U.S. Navy officer Jesse Iwuji to return to NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega

JHby:Jonathan Howard•04/21/25•

Jondean25

Jesse Iwuji NASCAR
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

For the first time since 2023, Jesse Iwuji will make a start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He plans to race at Talladega. DGM Racing is putting Iwuji in the No. 91 Chevy with sponsorship from Chevrolet Accessories.

Earlier this season, DGM Racing and Jesse Iwuji Motorsports announced a joint venture. This is Iwuji’s first start since that was announced.

Jesse Iwuji is known for owning and operating his own eponymous race team, which will be involved in a joint effort with DGM to field this car. The 37-year-old is ready to get back into a stock car for the first time in two years.

“The DGM x JIM team has excellent drivers whom I enjoy cheering on and learning from,” Iwuji said in a press release. “I must admit, however, I’ve been looking forward to getting back behind the wheel, and I have stayed ready for when an opportunity would present itself.

“It’s amazing to get back at such a storied track like Talladega Superspeedway, where anything can happen. I’m beyond thankful for our partnership between Chevrolet and DGM x JIM, and all the other folks who have been amazing throughout this journey.”  

A Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, Jesse Iwuji has led an exciting life. When he returns to NASCAR it will be his 18th Xfinity Series start. He last raced at Daytona in 2023. During that season, he failed to qualify for Talladega in the spring.

Jesse Iwuji returns to NASCAR

Perhaps it is fitting that Jesse Iwuji is making his return this week at Talladega. The latest controversy in NASCAR revolves around new or inexperienced part-time drivers, mainly Katherine Legge as of late, and what should be done about them wrecking and causing issues for others.

The only reason I bring it up is because Iwuji has had much of the same criticism when he races. But this has always existed in the sport. New drivers are going to come and go, bad drivers will be making starts until the end of time.

Regardless of how Iwuji performs this weekend, good or bad, he’s going to be woefully underprepared. Not for any shortcomings of his own necessarily, but because of the system that NASCAR has put into place. No testing, no practice outside of the race weekend, and simulator time is almost impossible to come by if you don’t have the funding or manufacturer support.

NASCAR has tried very hard to make the sport more competitive, and by that, I mean, by making the cars closer than ever. But you can only get so much parity in sports before you lose all sense of competition, and it becomes a game of Russian Roulette.

Testing and practicing are common in all motorsports. Not allowing it or restricting it, as NASCAR has done since 2020, only hurts the sport. I hope Jesse Iwuji has a great race this weekend, but I know that he’s going to be at a disadvantage from the start.

During his NASCAR career, Jesse Iwuji has managed one top-15 finish. He was P11 at Daytona in 2022. In 2022, Kyle Weatherman drove the No. 34 car to a P8 finish at New Hampshire, the best finish in the organization’s history.