Sporting News’ 60 Most Beautiful People: No. 49, Brad Daugherty

By Kammie Shaw

Monday, December 08, 2008

Former NBA star Brad Daugherty wore the No. 43 during his career in honor of his favorite NASCAR driver, Richard Petty.

Rusty Jarrett
Getty Images for NASCAR

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In 60 years of NASCAR racing, the sport has been filled with colorful characters. This year, Sporting News decided to craft a list of the sport's 60 Most Beautiful People.

The selections were made as a result of nominations sent in by readers and NASCAR fans to the Sporting News' publications and Web sites.

The list was finalized and published in a special edition, which is now available on newsstands and at the online store at streetandsmiths.com. SceneDaily is running the list, with one person from the top 60 to be featured each day.

Today's installment features No. 49, Brad Daugherty.

What’s in a number? For former NBA All-Star and Cleveland Cavalier legend Brad Daugherty, his love for NASCAR.

A longtime fan of Richard Petty, Daugherty wore the famous No. 43 of “The King” on his jersey as a tribute to his hero while playing high school hoops in the mountains of North Carolina and, later, in the pros for Cleveland. That jersey now hangs in the rafters of Quicken Loans Arena, as the Cavs retired his number in 1997.

The 43-year-old first came on the scene as a dominant force in the middle for North Carolina and legendary coach Dean Smith in the mid-1980s. (He wore No. 42 there because No. 43 was already taken by teammate Curtis Hunter). While with the Tar Heels, Daugherty was a two-time All-ACC selection and a first-team All-American in 1986.

Growing up in Black Mountain, N.C., Daugherty was a huge race fan, often tinkering with cars as a teenager. He later co-owned Liberty Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, which at the time featured an up-and-coming driver named Kevin Harvick. He joined ESPN as a NASCAR analyst in 2007, and can be seen on both “NASCAR Countdown” and “NASCAR Now.”

In July, Daugherty became a part owner of JTG Racing, which was later renamed JTG Daugherty Racing. The team, which features driver Marcus Ambrose, will field a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car in 2009.