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Has Any NASCAR Personality Ever Appeared at the Met Gala?
For the uninitiated, the Met Gala is an annual fundraiser held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This gala caters to the museum’s Costume Institute in New York City. As one of the biggest fashion events, various celebrities and the who’s who from different fields, generally attend. These celebs range from actors to musicians to social media starlets, and even sports stars. Surprisingly though, in past years, NASCAR drivers haven’t made their presence felt in large numbers.
Apr 24, 2022; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron (24) leads the field through the tai-oval during the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
The gala has been held since 1948, but it is surprising that NASCAR drivers hardly ever made any popular noteworthy appearance. Apparently, the closest that we ever got was Jeff Gordon in 2010 and in 2018.
Met Gala 2018 afterparty’s date night ! #MetaGala2018. Havenly Bodies: fashion and the catholic imagination pic.twitter.com/Kzs4vBe2LS
— Ingrid Vandebosch (@ivandebosch) May 9, 2018
This was because his wife, Ingrid Vandebosch was an attendee, with the former champion probably as her plus one.
Why have there not been many NASCAR drivers in attendance?
The stock car series isn’t lacking in star power. They can boast of people like Richard Petty, Jr, Jimmie Johnson, and Gordon himself. All of them are practically legends, and there are many more racers and personnel who were legendary. Despite that, they either never really got an invite or were far too preoccupied to attend. Of course, this year’s edition happened right after the Cup race at Dover, and the event is in New York.
In Met Gala 2022, naturally, it would have been a stretch to have some of the drivers hop on a plane to New York at a short notice. It also did not help that the race was stopped midway due to rain and resumed the next day. Had it only taken place and ended on Sunday itself, some of the interested drivers could have had time to decide if they wanted to go (our best guess).
The good news is that there is a chance that future editions of the Met Gala could potentially see a NASCAR driver attending. It will be fun to see how they dress up if this does come to pass.
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