Day: April 14, 2026

Dystany Spurlock lives to go fast. Spurlock is a 34-year-old driver who has competed in motorcycle drag racing and most recently attempted stock-car racing on the NASCAR regional level. She made her debut in March 2026 in the ARCA East Series and finished seventh at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Spurlock, the first Black woman to compete at the NASCAR regional level, followed that up with a 12th-place finish at Rockingham. Prior to the Rockingham race, Spurlock talked to me about her path and ambitions and about her name, which is pronounced “Destiny.” FOX Sports: Who is Dystany? Spurlock: I am a motorsports racer. And I say motorsports because I not only race motorcycles in NHRA pro stock, but I also debuted in NASCAR ARCA Menard’s Series this year. How would your friends and family describe you? They would describe Dystany as a big ball of energy, super adventurous. Someone who loves to do anything fun, with a little danger at the end. Even in your 30s, do you have the same energy as you did in your 20s? Absolutely. Same person. If you go back and look at my videos, I haven’t changed a bit. I heard you played high school football? Yes, I played football in middle school and high school. I played corner and safety. And, no, I was not the kicker. And why were you playing corner and safety? Because I was super fast. And I love a challenge. So I didn’t want to just catch the ball. I wanted to play both sides. Were you accepted? Were people like, “I’m going to be able to run right by her and she’s not going to be able to catch me?” What was it like? It was difficult because you had the coaches that didn’t want me to play, but they couldn’t deny me because I was fast. And then you had the guys on the team that didn’t want to get hit by a girl. But at the end of the day, they accepted me. If you can hit the opposing team or knock down a pass better than the others, they were going to want you to play, right? Absolutely. And it was funny, because they [the opponents] didn’t know who I was because because I had short hair. So they will be looking through the helmets trying to find me until I said something, then they knew who I was. Did you talk smack? I never talked smack. But if I did hit them and knock them down, I’d look at them say, “You got hit by a girl.” And how did you get to drag racing? I got into drag racing because of my godfather. At 12 years old, I went to the track, and that’s when I found out about drag racing. I told my mom, “I want to race.” So at 16, she got me my first bike, and I started racing. Which track? My first track was Virginia Motorsports Park. And what is it about drag racing that you like? The speed. I love that adrenaline rush. But I’ve been doing it so long now, everything feels so slow. But I still love it. And did you ever want to get into like a pro stock or Top Fuel or funny car? Sign me up for Top Fuel. I would definitely do it. Why stock cars? And why now? Stock cars because I grew up two miles from the Richmond International Raceway. My poppy is the one who got me into it at about a young age, around [age] five. So I always knew I wanted to get into it. It was a part of me from birth. And I just didn’t know how to. But now we’re here. I’m forever grateful, and we’re going to continue to rock it out and do so well. What was the most eye-opening experience about Hickory? Hickory was challenging. You really had to drive that track. There was no time where you could slack, because if you did, your day was over. So I would just say how tricky the track was, learning each turn, each corner. But I did amazing. So you get lapped once, you get the free pass. You get lapped again, and then they make some adjustments to the car and you were good. What was that like? Me being a lap down, that was never a thing to me because my goal was to learn as much as possible. But once I got the lucky dog and was able to get back on the lead lap, I tried to make sure I stayed there as much as possible. And in the first half of the race, my car was so loose. So once we came in, I let them know that they should tighten it up. And it was perfect. We were right on the money. But overall, I had a rocket. And I think if I had more experience, I probably would have finished top three. But I’ll take seventh for my first go out. So you played high school football, you do drag racing, you’re doing stock cars. What other things have you done that people would be like, “I didn’t know that she did that?” I was a flight attendant for Delta Airlines for about three years. I also drive tractor trailers, so I have my CDL. And, no, I don’t drive automatic trucks; they were definitely 15-speeds, 18-speeds. I snowboard, I ride horses, I raced Formula 4 for a little bit for Skip Barber. I do so much, but that’s the gist of it. Have you ever gone faster in a tractor trailer than you have in a stock car? Can you say? I’m going to say, “No.” Of all those, where do you feel people accept you the most? Was there anything that you were like, “Oh, I don’t know about this?” Being a flight attendant. That’s easy. But everything else, it’s pretty much male-dominated. So they look at me, they’re like, “You’re this small little girl. It’s no way you can do this.” And then when I do it, they’re like, “Oh, okay, well, you proved me wrong.” I’m on airplanes every week, so I have to ask about who’s the rudest — airplane passengers, boys you played football against or stock-car racers? Football players were the meanest ones for me. I guess because they’re so big and masculine, and they’re like, “You’re a girl, you cannot play football, we’re going to run you over.” So they gave me the hardest time. Anybody tell you that you can’t do drag racing or you can’t race stock cars? Of course. I’ve gotten that all the time, especially nowadays. I’ve heard people say she needs to just stick to drag racing. But the thing is, I’m sticking to what I love, and that’s motorsports. So I can do both, and I will continue to do both and learn as much as I can in both. You’re too old to be an ARCA East driver (where most of the drivers are younger)? I’ve heard that before, too. And that’s totally fine, because guess what? I’m out here. I’m running just as well as the ones that have been racing since they were 5 years old. So I’m the prime example of never giving up on your dreams, and you can do whatever you put your mind to. Is your family encouraging? Or are they like, “can we just do something a little more safe?” No, my family has always been very supportive, very encouraging of whatever it is that I wanted to do. My mom told me at 4, never be that kid that sat in the back of the classroom that said, “I wish I would have volunteered.” So since she told me that, I’ve gone out and tried everything that I thought I wanted to do, and having my family support and being right there with me was huge for me. And I think that’s why I’ve gotten so far to where I am today because of them. Do you feel like you were more of a trailblazer playing football or doing this? That’s hard [to answer]. I don’t know. Because at that time, there had not been many girls at all …16 years ago. And so I was unheard of there [in football]. And then here, you haven’t seen another woman of color in this space yet. So I would say for the times and where they happen, they’re about equal. How do you handle wanting to be looked at as a race-car driver, as opposed to a Black woman race-car driver? At the end of the day, you can look at me and tell that I am Black. But at the same time, there’s so many people that don’t think that women or people of color can do this. So for me to be that example and do it well, I’m very grateful. I’m so honored to be here to do this. And it also opens up other opportunities when they see me. So maybe they might not want to be a racer. Maybe they want to be on a pit crew, maybe they want to do something in tech within the space. So it just opens up their minds to things that they can do. Why were you a flight attendant? Why were you driving tractor trailers? Is that just to make a living, or was there something about those things that like, “OK, this is fun and I can make a living?” It was definitely fun because I cannot do something that does not make me happy. So I love what they were. And then the amount of money that I made from them allowed me to be able to support myself in my racing career as well. So there was always a plan. And what would be the goal two years from now, three years from now, four years from now? Or do you not look that far ahead? I absolutely look that far. And my goal would be to be in Cup. Hopefully in Year 3, but again, there’s no rush on it because I want to continue to learn as much as possible. But I think we can make it happen. Did you have any role models? Who do you look up to when you talk about never giving up on your dreams? My role model is my mom. She’s truly my best friend. I’ve been stuck to her hip since birth. So my mom is my biggest cheerleader. And she has always believed in me. So with that being said, I continue to go after what it is that I want, and I want to give her the world at the end. Did you ever ask her if you’re going to call me ‘Destiny’ to at least spell it the way most people do, or do you like the fact that it’s spelled a little different? I love that my name is different. The two Ys is everything for me. Because it’s really my personality. I’m different, just like my name.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

If you’ve perused any NFL mock drafts this offseason, you’ll see a familiar theme in the first half of many of them: There are a handful of Ohio State Buckeyes — and that is no mistake, according to NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. In the latest episode of “The Joel Klatt Show,” Jeremiah put Ohio State’s recent run of producing top NFL prospects in historical perspective, saying only one other program might have had a comparable stretch. “The only one I can compare it to is the Miami run in the early 2000s. That was a period where, almost every year, we were seeing four first-round guys and then running that depth all the way through,” Jeremiah said. “But it’s not only that [Ohio State] has dudes … but these guys are having success at the NFL level, too. It’s not like it’s some overhyped group or a program that’s living off their reputation. These guys are getting drafted high, and rightfully so. They’re playing really well at the next level.” To Jeremiah’s point, nearly all 10 Buckeyes selected in the first round over the last four drafts have found success at the NFL level. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba won Offensive Player of the Year this past season. Quarterback C.J. Stroud had one of the best rookie seasons ever for a quarterback in 2023 and has led the Houston Texans in all three seasons he’s been with the team. In the 2026 draft, Ohio State will almost certainly add four more players to its ever-growing list of the most first-round picks produced by a program. Edge rusher Arvell Reese, wide receiver Carnell Tate, linebacker Sonny Styles and safety Caleb Downs are not only apparent locks to go in the first round, but all four might also be top-10 picks. FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt pointed to Tate as the reason why Ohio State’s 2026 draft class has the potential to be historic. “Carnell Tate wasn’t even the best receiver on his own team in college and is likely going to be the No. 1 wide receiver taken in this draft,” Klatt said. “All of us, me included, and I’m sure you as well, believe that because he’s from that lineage and he showed what he did at the college level, he’s likely to have a lot of success and be in the top 10 in this draft.” While Tate might have been outshined by Jeremiah Smith at wide receiver during his Ohio State tenure, he still had a productive career in Columbus. He logged over 1,500 receiving yards and had 13 receiving touchdowns in his last two seasons, putting up some of those numbers while also playing alongside Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout Emeka Egbuka. Tate, who Klatt has going to the New York Giants at No. 5 in his most recent mock draft, has a chance to become the sixth Ohio State wide receiver to be selected in the first round in five drafts. But can Ohio State’s draft class make history? Michigan State was the last program to have four top-10 picks in the same year, doing so in 1967. Reese has been a top-five pick in just about every mock draft, while Tate has been a top-10 pick in the majority of mock drafts, too. Styles and Downs, on the other hand, play positions that typically don’t receive top-10 value and seem like toss-ups to be selected in the top 10. Jeremiah made a strong case for both players to be top-10 picks, pointing to two teams picking in the top five (Tennessee Titans and Giants) who should be willing to draft Styles. “If you are [Titans head coach Robert] Saleh and you’ve seen and coached [San Francisco 49ers linebacker] Fred Warner and know what Fred Warner can do in that scheme and how impactful he can be with what he does, you should have no problem taking him with the fourth overall pick,” Jeremiah said. “If you’re the New York Giants and you’re looking at Sonny Styles, the future of [the NFC East] … is Jayden Daniels. How do you defeat Jayden Daniels? I like to have guys at the second level that can get to him on the perimeter when he decides to go, and then also have the length and range when they try to go RPO and go in the middle of the field. We can clog all of that with all of our size, length and athleticism. He’s the perfect player to try and defend someone like that. “Having a player at that level who can do all that stuff and handle all the communication on top of it — I can make a very strong argument for [Styles] in those places.” As for Downs, Jeremiah didn’t seem as sure that the All-American safety will be a top-10 pick, but he thinks the Cincinnati Bengals could be a good fit for him at No. 10. “When you get to Downs, I tell everybody it’s not a lock that he’s going to go top 10,” Jeremiah said. “We live in a world where Derwin James somehow didn’t go in the top 10 or Kyle Hamilton didn’t go in the top 10 and we just saw [Nick] Emmanwori go in the second round. In terms of how high he goes, it’s a little more difficult to project. “But, when I’m looking at specific teams, and I’m looking at Cincinnati and where they are as a team and I’m thinking, ‘OK, this is the worst rush defense in the NFL.’ Then, you say, ‘Why the heck are they taking a safety.’ I think he can impact the run defense as much as he does the passing game. I think he’s that impactful.” What could also hurt Downs’ case to be a top-10 pick is the relative depth at safety in this draft class. Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman and Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren are also potential first-round picks. But Klatt believes that Downs is at least an echelon above those two players. “His margin [in the pass game] against those guys is kind of like, ‘OK, I like his instincts a bit more,’” Klatt said of Downs. “But then you put their cut-ups against one another and even other safeties against the league, in terms of instincts against the run, playing low and playing in that joker position they had him playing in a lot … he plays like another linebacker, even at his size. The margin he has above those players when it comes to run fits and instinct in the run game grows, at least in my estimation.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports