Even if you don’t usually watch NASCAR or aren’t a sneakerhead, you’re going to want to tune in Sunday to see what Rutledge Wood and artist Julian Gaines have concocted.
Diehard sneaker aficionados will tell you that shoes can be art in and of themselves, but in the right hands, they can become bona fide canvases for even more artistic expression. On Sunday before the NASCAR Playoffs race at Talladega, NASCAR on NBC commentator Rutledge Wood is going to show off his custom Air Jordan Retro 3s that non only pay tribute to the broadcast team he’s part of but also honor the 12 drivers still chasing the Cup Series championship.
While viewers know that Wood is a man of many talents, he’s not the primary force behind these sneakers. He enlisted the help of artist Julian Gaines to create these one-of-a-kind shoes, though the idea was driven by Wood’s longtime passion.
“I have always dreamt of customizing my own pair of sneakers,” Wood said. “I have been into sneakers since I was a kid, but growing up in Alabama we couldn’t afford any of the cool ones I saw on TV and at the mall. So for me this was the ultimate culmination of my greatest hobbies, cars and shoes. The funny thing is we did it in a shop in Atlanta called ‘Wish,’ which is owned by my friend Tyler Clayton. Tyler also owns one of my favorite car shops in Atlanta called ‘Koru Works.'”
NASCAR on NBC already released a short teaser video of Wood and Gaines going to Wish to check out its sneaker library, which would turn tons of people into the equivalent of a kid in a candy store.
https://twitter.com/NASCARonNBC/status/1050156764799397888
Not only was the setting something to behold, Wood says the entire process of transforming the plain white kicks into what we’ll see on Sunday was something he won’t soon forget.
“Julian and I came up with a fun idea about how we could take a pair of Air Jordan Retro 3s and incorporate the 12 Playoff drivers in contention,” he said. “To watch Julian, that was a real treat. I did not expect it was going to be that cool and that much fun to watch the process. It was really special.”
Want to see the finished product? So do we, but we’ll all have to wait until the pre-race coverage from Talladaga on Sunday, Oct. 14, which gets underway at noon Eastern on NBC.