Did you know Owensboro is famous for being home to a ton of famous athletes? It’s really astounding how many professional motorsports athletes hail from right here in Owensboro!
Whether it’s NASCAR or MotoGP, we’re a city who takes our racing seriously, and we just wanted to highlight some of Owensboro’s many accomplished competitors in the world of motorsports.
Nicky Hayden
Known to the world as “The Kentucky Kid,” Hayden was a professional motorcycle racer and the 2006 MotoGP World Champion. He was declared AMA’s Athlete of the year in 1999. Sadly, the racer who sported the No. 69 jersey died in 2017, but there are tons of local events and even a monument dedicated to Hayden’s legacy.
David Green
The oldest of the Green Brothers (as they’re known in the racing world), David Green won the 1994 NASCAR Busch Series Gran National Division title. Green qualified in the Top 10 four times in 16 starts during the 1998 season.
Mark Green
The middle Green Brother finished second in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Division point standings in 1999. And from 1999-2001, Green dominated the Busch Series with 72 Top 10s, 56 Top 5s and 13 wins.
Jeff Green
The youngest Green Brother competed in the Busch Series and Cup Series and, in 2000, Jeff was awarded the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division title. He finished second in both 1999 and 2001.
Jeremy Mayfield
Mayfield’s career started early, as he was named Kentucky Motor Speedway Rookie of the Year in 1987 while he was still a teenager. He was named Auto Racing Cup circuit and Auto Racing Club Rookie of the Year in 1993, and Mayfield won NASCAR’s Pocono 50 in 1998. In 2005, he won the GFS Marketplace 400.
Darrell Waltrip
The older of the two Waltrip brothers, Darrell is a three-time winner of the American Driver of the Year award and the only five-time winner of the Coca-Cola 500. He was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998, and he’s in both the 2003 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the 2005 International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Darrell was named to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011. How cool is that?!
Michael Waltrip
The younger Waltrip sibling won the Daytona 500 in 2001 and 2003 and has SEVEN NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division victories.