Every NASCAR Driver With the Same Name as a US President

Photo Credit: Bench Racing from the Volunteer State

By Zane Miller

With only 45 different men (two of which with the same first and last name) holding the title of President of the United States in the country’s 250-year long history, the odds of a NASCAR driver later or retroactively sharing the same given name and surname with one of these individuals is rather low, though not impossible by any means. With it being Presidents' Day, it’s time to take a look at these racers who beat the odds and made it amongst NASCAR’s highest ranks, despite not capturing the same level of notoriety as their presidential counterparts.

The first such driver is Woodrow “Woodie” Wilson, who made his Cup Series debut during its inaugural season in 1949. Sharing his name with the United States’ 28^th president, Wilson was born in 1925, less than five years after the president left office and about a year and a half after his death. After finishing 17^th in his debut on the Daytona Beach & Road Course, Wilson would not attempt another NASCAR event until 1955 in another one-off appearance. However, in 1961, he did what he became most well-known for by claiming Rookie of the Year honors. This came despite making just five starts in the 52-race schedule, though he was able to collect a ninth-place finish at Atlanta International Raceway (now EchoPark Speedway) for his first career top-10. Wilson ended up 41^st in points, well behind fellow rookies Wendell Scott, who took five top-10s in 23 races and came in 32nd in points, and Lee Reitzel who scored three top-10s in 17 races and finished 37th in the final standings.

Wilson made just three more starts at the Cup Series level, but posted his career-best finish of seventh in 1962 during the second Daytona 500 Qualifier, which was an official points race at the time. Unfortunately, the last two races saw him drop out in the early laps with mechanical failures, and his time in Cup is remembered as the most puzzling Rookie of the Year selection in series history.

Not long after Wilson’s entry into NASCAR, driver George Bush found his way into the Cup Series in the 1952 season. The 41-year-old native of Hamburg, New York made his first start at the infamous Langhorne Speedway, where he finished 123 laps down in 34^th. His next start went a lot better by comparison, claiming a tenth-place run at Occoneechee Speedway, albeit 12 laps off the pace. Bush finished his set of races with a career-best seventh at Lakewood Speedway and another top-10 at Palm Beach Speedway (though the latter saw him crash out of the event in the waning laps). He would not attempt another NASCAR race after the 1952 season, and would sadly pass away in 1967. 21 years after his passing, George H.W. Bush was elected as the 41^st president, with his son George W. Bush following as the 43^rd president in 2001.

San Fernando, California’s Bill Clinton had a similarly brief stint in NASCAR, starting with a trio of races in 1961. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to complete the first lap in his opening Cup Series race at Riverside International Raceway thanks to a busted radiator, relegating him to last in the 27-car field. One week later, however, Clinton rebounded at Ascot Park for what would be his career-best result of 11^th, running 34 laps down at the finish. He would race in the series three more times, all of which at Riverside, making his final appearance in 1964. With this being the early 1960s, not much is documented about Clinton, including his birthdate or a possible date of death. What is known is that, almost three decades after the driver’s final Cup start, another Bill Clinton would be named as the 42^nd president.

Born on Christmas Day in 1939, driver John Kennedy was 21 years old when John F. Kennedy became the nation’s 35^th president and was a month away from turning 24 when President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. After growing up in the Chicago area, Kennedy took up local racing and eventually found himself in the Cup Series in 1969. It was during this season that he had his most starts in a season with eight, along with a career-best finish of 14^th at Atlanta in his self-owned Chevrolet.

Kennedy stepped away from NASCAR for the first half of the 1970s, instead competing in the USAC Stock Car Series. However, he made his return to Cup in 1977, racing a partial schedule throughout the late ‘70s after finding sponsorship from Avanti Research & Development. Unfortunately, this comeback would not go according to plan, as Kennedy failed to finish in eight of his 11 races with his #0 entry, nearly all due to mechanical woes. He was able to complete his final Cup race at North Wilkesboro in 1979 with a 23^rd-place result, finishing off his career with no top-10s in his 18 starts. Nonetheless, he still has the most starts of any driver on this list. Kennedy also made a handful of starts in the ARCA SuperCar Series (now ARCA Menards Series) in 1984, before relocating to Florida and competing on local short tracks for the next several years.

As of this writing, there has not been another NASCAR driver with a ‘presidential’ name, but this could certainly change in the years to come, whether it be a future driver sharing a name with a past president, or a future president sharing a name with an already-retired driver. There may even be an active driver and president whose careers converge simultaneously. To my knowledge, these are all of them, but if I missed any or if there are any drivers who have shared names with leaders of other countries, feel free to let me know!

Happy Presidents' Day!

The Career of Joey Browner

Photo Credit: The Daily Norseman

By Zane Miller

After an exceptional high school football career split between both his hometown of Warren, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia, it was clear that Joey Browner had the potential to make it at the NFL level and was a lock to join a major college football program for the 1979 season. This wasn’t without precedent for the Browner family, as his older brother Ross had already been drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1978 and had a phenomenal introduction to the league by finishing runner-up in the Defensive Rookie of the Year race. Not only that, his other older brother Jim had just wrapped up a solid college football career of his own at Notre Dame and looked to join Ross on the Bengals roster after being taken by the team late in the 1979 draft.

After consideration, Browner ultimately chose to attend USC, who had just won the national championship the year prior. Now, something to emphasize here is that, throughout high school, Browner played at defensive lineman and obviously did so quite well. Conveniently enough, the Trojans had a spot to fill on the defensive line after the graduation of team captain Rich Dimler. However, instead of doing the logical thing and move Browner in to fill the vacancy, USC went in an entirely different direction.

In a surprising turn of events, the Trojans opted to convert Browner to safety prior to his freshman season. This was done even with USC still having future Pro Football and College Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott at the safety position, as well as a couple other future NFL players holding down the defensive backfield. While I was unable to find which coach was responsible for suggesting the position change, whoever it was certainly deserved a raise as the gamble paid off beautifully. Browner played in every game of his freshman and sophomore years, including a 17-16 Rose Bowl victory against the Ohio State Buckeyes to close out an undefeated 1979 season (though I should point out this came along with one tie).

After Lott’s graduation, Browner assumed the role of the team’s marquee safety for 1981. After failing to qualify for any bowl games the previous year despite ending up as the #11-ranked team in the nation, Browner did hit part to ensure that wouldn’t happen again as he racked up three interceptions and 16 pass deflections in 11 games. Thanks to their 9-2 overall record, the Trojans would face the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Fiesta Bowl, but would come up short 26-10.

Approaching Browner’s senior year, USC’s coaching staff made another shocking change, moving him over once again from safety to cornerback. While not as drastic of an adjustment as going from a defensive lineman to a defensive back, cornerback and safety are still very different positions requiring different skillsets. As if that wasn’t enough, Browner was also named the team’s primary punt returner, though he at least had some previous experience there as he had filled in as a returner on occasion in 1981. Even with having to learn the cornerback position quickly, Browner still put up arguably the best season of his college career. Playing in all 11 games once again, he registered four interceptions, two of which he was able to run back for touchdowns, and added a punt return touchdown for good measure. This enabled Browner to claim first-team All-Pac-10 honors as well as being named team MVP at season’s end. Unfortunately, the Trojans were unable to send Browner off with another bowl game, just missing the cut with an 8-3 finish. Regardless, it was as if everything Browner touched was turning to gold, and his versatility made him a sure-fire first round pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

With the 19^th overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft, Browner was taken by the Minnesota Vikings, who were looking to shore up a disappointing 20^th-ranked defense from the year before. While Browner wasn’t able to break the starting lineup right out of the gate, he made the most of his opportunities while backing up starting cornerbacks Willie Teal and John Swain, getting his first career interception against Detroit Lions quarterback Eric Hipple on September 25^th and adding another interception later in the year.

The 1984 season was a complete disaster for the Minnesota Vikings, as legendary head coach Bud Grant retired and the team plummeted from an 8-8 record in 1983 to 3-13, just barely being saved from the worst record in the league by the two-win Buffalo Bills. Amongst the chaos, however, Browner was able to make his first-ever starts at the NFL level, replacing Swain as the second starting cornerback for the second half of the year. In the final seven games, though, Browner only had one interception as the Vikings defense finished dead last in points allowed at over 30 points per game. Seeing the dire situation the team was facing, Grant came out of retirement and reclaimed his title as head coach for 1985. One order of business was pulling the plug on Browner at cornerback. Browner would very much still be a part of the defense, however, as he quickly found himself in a situation he knew all too well.

For the third time in six years, Browner would have his position switched, though it was at least more familiar than the last two occasions as he reverted back to the strong safety position he had played throughout college. It turned out that he wasn’t too rusty at the position either, winning the starting job out of preseason. In the second game of the 1985 season against the Buccaneers on September 15^th, with Tampa Bay backed up deep in their own territory, Browner picked off a Steve DeBerg and ran it back 15 yards for his first interception return touchdown. This came about a year after his first NFL touchdown overall, as on September 2^nd, 1984, Browner scored after scooping up a fumble forced by veteran linebacker Scott Studwell in garbage time of a 42-13 loss to the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers.

While Browner only recorded one more interception the rest of the way, he still made his presence felt with a whopping six forced fumbles. This easily makes the 1985 season the biggest anomaly of his career, as he wouldn’t have more than two forced fumbles in a single season afterwards. For this season, though, he was inside the top-five in the forced fumble category, just two away from co-leaders Jacob Green of the Seattle Seahawks and Linden King from the Chargers. The Vikings failed to reach the playoffs with a 7-9 finish, but the defense improved significantly to allow 22.4 PPG, slightly below the league average at the time.

In 1986, Minnesota would bring in another new coach as Grant retired again, this time for good. Hiring from within, they turned the reins over to offensive coordinator of nearly two decades Jerry Burns, who would be Browner’s coach for the remainder of his time in Minneapolis. Now that he finally had some much-needed stability, Browner continued his ascent to becoming one of the greatest safeties in the league.

Starting in all 16 games again, Browner collected four interceptions while also forcing a pair of fumbles. He also grabbed his third career touchdown on November 9^th in Detroit, intercepting Hipple again and taking it 39 yards to the house. Adding in a career year from cornerback Issiac Holt, the secondary played a major part in the Vikings’ fifth-ranked defense. Despite having both a top-five offense and defense, the team could only manage a 9-7 record. This was good enough for Minnesota’s first winning season since 1982, but not enough to make the playoffs.

The 1987 campaign would be a tale of two halves for Browner. Like many players across the league, he would participate in the players’ strike beginning two weeks into the regular season, causing him to miss three games. With the regulars still on strike, the NFL brought in replacement players to fill out the rosters throughout October. Of course, while every team was impacted by the strike, no team was hurt worse than the Vikings as they lost all three games while using the replacements. Even after returning to the field, Browner failed to record a single interception through week eight. Badly needing a win on November 8^th against the Los Angeles (now Las Vegas) Raiders, the Vikings fell behind 3-0 in the first quarter. However, early in the second quarter, Browner grabbed his first interception of the season. Minnesota took flight after the play, going on to win 31-20. This set off a four-game winning streak for the Vikings, as Browner registered another pick in a victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

As the regular season wound down to its final three games, Minnesota was in the thick of the battle for the final playoff spot, but were in a relatively good spot at two wins above .500. Browner came through with his third interception on December 13^th against the Green Bay Packers, but the offense was unable to get the job done as the Vikings lost 16-10. With the Los Angeles Rams and St. Louis (now Arizona) Cardinals hot on their heels, the team needed a win in next week’s game in Detroit. Browner clearly got the memo, as he registered two first quarter interceptions as Minnesota went on to win 17-14. This meant the Vikings controlled their own destiny going into the final week of the regular season, though it was against no easy opponent as they hosted the 10-4 Washington Redskins (now Washington Commanders).

Going into the fourth quarter, the Redskins held a 14-7 advantage, but Minnesota was able to tie it up with a touchdown on the first play of the final frame. Before Washington had a chance to get anything going on their next drive, however, Browner intercepted quarterback Doug Williams and returned it just outside the Redskins’ red zone to lay the groundwork for the eventual touchdown. After another interception, the Vikings added a chip shot field goal for a 10-point lead with less than 10 minutes left. While this should have been enough of a cushion to take the win, the Redskins came storming back with a field goal and touchdown of their own to force overtime. Back when a team could win in OT with a field goal on the first possession, Washington won the toss and quickly made their way downfield to set up the game-winning 26-yard kick. After the heartbreaking loss, all the Vikings could do was watch the next day’s action and await their fate. Fortunately for them, the Cardinals, in their final game under the St. Louis moniker, were unable to get the job done against the Dallas Cowboys, falling 21-16 to give the final playoff spot to Minnesota.

After the fantastic finish to the regular season, Browner cooled off a bit in the playoffs as he was unable to get his hands on a pick. However, even without the interceptions the Viking defense still played well with a 44-10 first-round trouncing of the New Orleans Saints and a less convincing but still adequate 36-24 win against the San Francisco 49ers in the second round. This set up a rematch with the Redskins for the NFC Championship Game, where both defenses were on it as the game was tied 10-10 in the fourth. Washington captured a crucial touchdown with just over five minutes to go, but Minnesota was threatening to force overtime as they moved deep into the red zone. However, facing a 4^th-and-4 situation, quarterback Wade Wilson’s pass went in and out of the hands of running back Darrin Nelson, ending the postseason for both Browner and the Vikings with a 17-10 loss. This would be the closest they would come to a Super Bowl appearance during Browner’s tenure with the team.

Despite playing in 12 of the 15 games, Browner set a new personal best of six interceptions to go along with another forced fumble. As a result, he was named first-team All-Pro at the strong safety position. Browner would ride this momentum into the 1988 season, and the rest of the Vikings squad seemed to feed off of his energy. He didn’t waste much time in getting his first interception of the year, coming in a 36-6 week two takedown of the New England Patriots. On October 23^rd versus the Buccaneers, he posted another multi-interception performance as quarterback Vinny Testaverde, playing his first full season in the league, threw two of his six picks on the day to Browner as Minnesota handily won 49-20.

Through the month of November, the Vikings embarked on a five-game winning streak where they played immaculate defense. For the last four of those contests, the team did not allow a single touchdown to be scored against them, including a 23-0 shutout win on the road against the Lions on Thanksgiving. If not for the Chicago Bears still playing the elite level of defense they had been synonymous with throughout the 1980s, the Vikings would have had the #1-ranked defense in the NFL that year. Instead, they would settle for a cool 11-5 record on their way to another playoff appearance. In the first round against the Rams, Browner was a thorn in the side of quarterback Jim Everett, as he picked him off twice in the first quarter. Both of these turnovers led to Vikings touchdowns and while Los Angeles would regroup, it wouldn’t be enough as Minnesota moved on with the 28-17 victory. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of the next round against the 49ers. Determined not to have a repeat of the year before, San Francisco jumped out to a 21-3 lead at halftime, eventually taking it 34-9 to end Minnesota’s title hopes. Even so, Browner would give Joe Montana his only interception of the day, doing so in the third quarter.

With five interceptions and a forced fumble during the regular season, Browner won his second consecutive first-team All-Pro nod. Both he and the Vikings made a statement to start the 1989 season, blowing out the Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans) 38-7 in week one. Browner would get his first interception of the year a week later against the Bears, but this time the Vikings were on the losing end of the 38-7 score. The team quickly rebounded, though, rattling off four straight wins to get right back to business. They largely remained an up-and-down team the rest of the way, winding up sitting at 9-6 going into the season finale. However, due to the NFC Central being one of the weaker divisions in the league that year, the Vikings controlled their own destiny and could hold off the Packers for the division title with a win on Christmas Day against the Cincinnati Bengals. The defense held strong in the first half, allowing just seven points as Minnesota went ahead by 15 points at halftime. However, the Bengals had a playoff spot of their own on the line and began cutting into the lead in the second half. Now leading by a single point, the Vikings scored an important insurance touchdown with four minutes to go, making it a two-possession game. With the season on the line, Browner and company forced the Bengals to go three-and-out on their ensuing possession, ultimately sealing the victory and the NFC Central crown for Minnesota.

For the third year in a row, the Vikings would face San Francisco in the playoffs. Just like the previous postseason, they were no match for the 49ers’ offensive firepower as Montana passed for four touchdowns and 241 yards, running away with it for a 41-13 triumph. Interestingly, Minnesota trotted out three different quarterbacks in this game with each getting significant playing time and each throwing at least one interception on the afternoon. Despite the rough postseason exit, Browner claimed second-team All-Pro as a result of his five total interceptions and forced fumble.

The disappointment of the playoffs appeared to linger into the new decade, as the 1990 campaign got off to an abysmal start. Through the first seven games, the Vikings were on the precipice of a last-place finish in the standings, sitting at 1-6. The normally sound defense was nowhere to be seen, as the only bright spot was a 32-3 win over the Saints. Browner had just one interception at that point in the year, but his fortunes began to change on November 4^th against the Denver Broncos. There, he picked off future Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak early in the second half, running it back 26 yards for his first touchdown since the 1986 season. This gave Minnesota their first lead of the game, going on to win it 27-22 and end the losing streak.

On November 11^th against (who else?) Detroit, Browner claimed yet another multi-interception game, first intercepting Andre Ware, who was making his first career start, before picking off backup Bob Gagliano late in the fourth quarter to punctuate a 17-7 win. With the rest of the team reinvigorated by Browner’s strong performance, the Vikings put together a five-game winning streak. During this span, Browner had an interception on November 18^th versus the Seattle Seahawks and one on December 2^nd against the Packers. Unfortunately for the Vikings, they ran out of steam after this hot streak and lost their final four games, finishing at 6-10 for their first losing record in five years. Be that as it may, Browner arguably had the best season of his career statistics-wise, nabbing a career-high seven interceptions (including a touchdown return) and a forced fumble to reclaim his spot as first-team All-Pro.

Browner’s incredible consistency continued in 1991, even though the Vikings themselves were still looking to recapture the stability of the late 1980s. As Browner got his obligatory first interception of the season against the Lions, Minnesota had fallen behind at a 2-4 showing. However, after beating the Cardinals 34-7 on October 13^th, the team began to look a bit more competitive as the second half of the year rolled on. In a 28-0 shutout in the return matchup against the Cardinals two weeks after the original, Browner claimed another interception along with a pick the next week in a 28-13 win against Tampa Bay. However, following a loss to Chicago, Browner was sidelined with a minor hamstring injury. Sadly, this ended his run of 69 straight starts (110 straight if removing the games missed due to the strike from the equation), but it also was an ominous sign of what was to come. Staying focused on 1991, though, Browner returned to the lineup shortly after and reassured many on December 20^th against the Rams, having his fifth multi-interception game. Once again, quarterback Jim Everett was the deliverer of Browner’s pair of interceptions, as the Vikings took a 20-14 victory. In the end, though, the team missed out on the playoffs again with an 8-8 record.

Despite having similar stats to his last few seasons with five interceptions and two forced fumbles, Browner was not named as an All-Pro, with the two games missed due to injury likely being a factor. While it would’ve been known that Browner, going into his age-32 season in 1992, had less seasons ahead of him than there were in the rearview mirror, looking at how well he was playing it wouldn’t have been crazy to assume that he would still be in the league for the next few years at least. However, on July 22^nd, 1992, the Vikings made the shocking announcement that Browner had been released after failing a physical. It’s also worth noting that he had been nursing a shoulder injury during the 1991 season along with the previously mentioned hamstring issue.

Shortly after being released by the Vikings, the Atlanta Falcons were believed to be reaching out to Browner as a potential solution at strong safety, after 1991 starter Brian Jordan left the NFL in order to pursue his Major League Baseball career (which turned out to work out quite well for Jordan, who remained in MLB until 2006). However, Browner ultimately signed with the Buccaneers just before the end of preseason. Evidently, Browner was able to pass the physical this time around as he suited up for the Buccaneers on opening day. However, this pairing would not go well for either side. While he was on the active roster for the first seven games, Browner started in just two of those contests with no interceptions recorded. Notably, the schedule worked out for a ‘revenge game’ against the Vikings in Minneapolis on September 20^th, but Tampa Bay came up short 26-20. On October 28^th, Browner was released again, ultimately bringing his NFL career to a close.

In his 145 games played at the NFL level, Browner registered 37 interceptions, 17 forced fumbles and four total touchdowns to go along with three first-team All-Pro selections. After retirement, Browner co-hosted a sports talk radio program in Las Vegas from 1999 to 2018. In 2013, Browner was inducted into the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor, before induction to the Pro Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in 2019.