From HBCU Gridiron to Pit Road Powerhouse

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Steven Corder | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 9:19 PM ET

You don’t often hear a story like Marshall McFadden’s.

Once a bruising linebacker at South Carolina State and an NFL journeyman, McFadden has turned the page on his football life, and written an entirely new chapter in one of America’s fastest sports. Now, on any given race day, you’ll find him not in cleats, but jumping over pit walls as the jackman for Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet ZL1 team in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“Being in the NFL, you gotta be the ultimate professional. Not only that, you gotta wake up and get ready to compete every day,” McFadden to Winston-Salem Journal.

McFadden’s roots run deep at South Carolina State, a program known for producing NFL greats like Darius Leonard and Harry Carson. He earned MEAC Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2008, and after notching 88 tackles and five sacks, he proved he belonged on the pro radar.

Though undrafted, McFadden signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2012. Over the next few years, he cycled through NFL stops with the Raiders and Rams, mostly on practice squads, but always close enough to the action to keep chasing the dream.

“After being in the NFL and college football and playing pop warner and things of that nature, it just gave me the perfect ingredients to cross over to NASCAR,” McFadden said.

When the NFL dream faded, McFadden didn’t retreat. Instead, he found an opening in the unlikeliest of places: NASCAR. Thanks to the Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Development Program, he trained to become a pit crew athlete, using his speed, strength, and timing in a new arena.

Now, McFadden plays a critical role in executing the blistering-fast pit stops that can define a driver’s race. As jackman for Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, a contender in the Cup Series, his job is to hoist the 3,400-pound car for tire changes in under 12 seconds.

For fans of HBCU athletics, McFadden’s story is a powerful reminder that greatness doesn’t always follow the expected path. His transition from the MEAC to motorsports is proof that the skill, discipline, and resilience built at an HBCU can fuel success anywhere, even where the track replaces the turf.

His journey also underscores the growing opportunities for athletes of color in NASCAR, a sport actively working to diversify its workforce through programs like Drive for Diversity.

While Chastain races for playoff position, McFadden continues perfecting his craft on pit road. But his impact goes far beyond lap times.

“NASCAR is run the same, not only professionalism, but athleticism. I was able to obviously work my way up and be able to be a top tier jack-man,”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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