William Byron, LEGO Potentially Building Relationship Brick-by-Brick

One of the greatest toy companies of all time just might end up partnering with one of NASCAR’s most iconic numbers of all time.

Thanks to a couple recent developments, there exists the potential for the LEGO company to grace the hood, doors and bumpers of a stock car.

Man, I *still* have LEGO minifigures and old sets lying around. The “Medieval Market Village” I used for a diorama displaying the horrors of the bubonic plague in my ninth grade history class (shoutout Mrs. Pinkard)? 7283 “Ultimate Space Battle” with Obi-Wan Kenobi’s and Anakin Skywalker’s starfighters from Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith? The “Ferrari F1 Pit Set” I got for Christmas one year, complete with a pit road base, computer bank and “BRAKE” sign? Classics.

That brings us to last year, when the LEGO and NASCAR worlds came crashing together in the first set licensed by the sport.

NASCAR: Full Speed on Netflix features William Byron building that NASCAR-themed set during an episode, and we discover his overall affinity for LEGO products. Now, even Dale Earnhardt Jr. has gotten in on the action and ordered himself the enormous Titanic set we see behind Byron on the back of his couch in the show.

Admittedly, I still have yet to buy the NASCAR-themed set. Never got around to it, but I saw it in Target the other day and might run back to get it. Since the Netflix docuseries, it’s been a running topic of conversation. This is mostly centered around the “Hey, William Byron likes Froot Loops and building LEGOs” takeaway. It’s sometimes a meme and sometimes not, but it’s a huge positive.

Byron was also on a Lego Masters episode, for what it’s worth. His team and LEGO have reportedly been having some talks.

“Yeah, I mean we’re working on it, for sure,” Byron said. “I’d love to have a LEGO car out there. I think they do so many unique things with that design.

“Certainly, still going to build. … Need to work on my next project here soon. I have some ideas. They are going to send me quite a few sets, so that’ll be nice. No more eBay. … I usually go on eBay and get the LEGO sets because they’re backordered.”

Just imagine seeing a No. 24 LEGO Chevrolet driving around the racetrack in real life.

For a company that has done collaborations with pro sports before — notably sets with real NBA players and even a full-on arena in the early 2000s (see below); a generic NHL rink set from around the same time and a rumored push to possibly do MLB figures (but apparently only one prototype exists from that) — it feels like a gold mine waiting to be blown wide open.

Take OYO Sports, for example. Remember these?

This was the closest we ever got to MLB in LEGO form. For racing, in essence, this could be everything people want. LEGO already has licenses for some Formula 1 teams (they have a modern McLaren set hitting shelves soon, plus past collaborations with Ferrari, as mentioned above, as well as more recent sets with Mercedes) and sports-car fare.

I got this for Christmas or something of the like ages ago. Mega Bloks did it. K’NEX did it. Both LEGO-esque companies have had NASCAR products, so why can’t LEGO itself?

Pit stop dioramas. Cars with driver minifigures, complete with a couple different heads and expressions, a helmet modeled after the driver’s own (imagine how sick a Daniel Suarez sugar skull helmet would be) and added flair specific to a driver. A more expensive set that replicates a team shop or a portion of a track — or even a full-scale, but mini, set where fans can build entire tracks with tiny cars to boot.

All of this is to say that LEGO x NASCAR would be an insanely huge hit with fans. Kids love LEGO. Adults love LEGO. It presents a legitimately timeless challenge to anyone willing to take on a set (or two, or three). Sure, the instructions for building them are right there, but once it starts coming together and taking shape, it’s worth every single second.

Hell, given multiple sets, things could be mixed and matched. Just like I did with my own sets when I was little, nothing ever stayed in its own world. I loved those little three-in-one (or whatever number) sets that had instructions for building three different things and beyond.

There’s a ton of options and directions for LEGO to go with this. It doesn’t have to just be a 1:24-scale (ish), generic, 75th-anniversary-themed car. If they can pick up some licensing and talk to some drivers, there’s a mountain of possibilities here.

The possibilities are quite literally right there and damn near endless. LEGO, what are you waiting for?

About the author

Adam Cheek

Adam Cheek joined Frontstretch as a contributing writer in January 2019. A 2020 graduate of VCU, he covered sports there and later spent a year and a half as a sports host on 910 the Fan in Richmond, VA. He's freelanced for Richmond Magazine and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and also hosts the "Adam Cheek's Sports Week" podcast. Adam has followed racing since the age of three, inheriting the passion from his grandfather, who raced in amateur events up and down the East Coast in the 1950s.

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