Step aside Michael Jordan — Shaquille O’Neal is taking over NASCAR. In one of the biggest (get it?) and funniest plot twists in sports, Shaq is leaving his mark on the 2025 Daytona 500, and it all started with a free throw contest no one saw coming.
Shaq Defeats Jimmie Johnson in a Free-Throw Contest — Yes, Really
If there’s one thing NBA fans know, it’s that Shaq can’t shoot free throws – to the point of being a decades-running joke. Or at least that’s what everyone thought , until he surprised the world by beating seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in a high-stakes shooting contest.
What started as trash talk on X escalated into a real-life showdown. The stakes? If Shaq won he’d get to design Johnson’s car for Daytona.
Now, knowing Shaq’s legendary rivalry with the free throw line, no one took it seriously — until Big Diesel actually won, 5–4. (Yes, he barely beat a guy who never even played basketball.)
Johnson and sponsor Carvana delivered as promised and here it is, a 90’s basketball enthusiast’s dream.
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The Orlando Magic-Themed Race Car: A Tribute to Shaq’s Dominance
Pinstripes? Check. Orlando Magic blue and black? Yes. Shaq’s “Dunkman” logo? Right in the middle and accounted for.
Johnson’s Chevrolet is now an Orlando Magic car and it’s a direct tribute to Shaq’s early years in the NBA. The pinstripes and blue and black are a throwback to the 90s — when Shaq was breaking backboards and redefining basketball. It is awesome!
The Orlando Magic aesthetic is one of the most iconic in sports history, representing an era when Big Aristotle was unstoppable. The Magic drafted O’Neal first overall in 1992 as they were looking for an identity. What followed was a quick rise to prominence with Shaq’s talent and charm being a big part of it.
Jimmie Johnson’s Daytona 500 Quest
As for Jimmie Johnson, the NASCAR superstar is getting prepared to run the 2025 Daytona 500. Racing part-time with Legacy Motor Club, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is looking to bounce back from a 28th-place finish last year.
Johnson’s got a little extra Shaq-sized swagger with him now for the Great American Race, so who knows? Maybe the Shaq car will bring some championship magic to Daytona.
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