Getty Vin Diesel poses during the 'Fast X Road To Rome' event.
When the latest trailer for “Fast X” dropped, many viewers noticed a NASCAR shirt was included. This little Easter Egg was actually one year in the making, and it was the result of hard work and a quick turnaround.
The shirt makes appearances during the latest entry in the “Fast” saga. It is worn by Brian, the son of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), but the shirt isn’t simply a piece of product placement out in the open. Instead, it’s just a subtle nod to the ties between stock car racing and the motorhead-centric film franchise.
“So this conversation started a while back with Universal reaching out,” explained Danielle Owens, Senior Director, Entertainment Marketing and Music for NASCAR. “I want to say it was April or May of 2022. They were looking to put some hot NASCAR products in the new ‘Fast X’ film.
UniversalA NASCAR shirt shows up in ‘Fast X.’
“…There is stock car racing in one of them, so there’s already an affinity in this space. So it seemed very natural and organic when they reached out with some product and licensing stuff, and we tried to push other ideas on them and had a conversation about what are the things they can include.”
“This one was really cool because these always come in as super-secret in the background,” added Megan Malayter, Managing Director, Licensing and Consumer Products for NASCAR. “They’re looking at script pages, and they want to be able to put things together.
“So it’s always a big hurry because they want to have costumes and set dressing for next week. So you’re running around on it, and we kind of send things that we have that would fit their bill, and they look at it and their wardrober will say, ‘Yeah, we really like this or that.'”
The specific shirt design that makes an appearance in “Fast X” comes courtesy of LUE Creative and artist Harris Lue, who has previously come up with standout vintage designs. It is one of the many motorsports-themed projects completed by the former NASCAR and Stewart-Haas Racing artist, and it highlights The World Center of Racing.
Finding an Ideal Merchandise Option Is Only 1 Step
GettyJason Momoa hosted a fan screening of “Fast X” in New Zealand.
There were some stressful moments on NASCAR’s side, especially with the short turnaround time. They had very little time to find the perfect shirt for Little Brian, and they had to get it shipped partway around the world in time for some pivotal scenes.
NASCAR was able to pull off the feat, which paved the way for the shirt making its way into the film. This small detail delighted viewers that appreciate racing, and it continued the trend of NASCAR products showing up in pop culture projects. Though this specific piece of merchandise made its way around the world.
“It was interesting because this one, again, came from an Australian retailer called Culture Kings,” Malayter said. “Culture Kings is a very high-end streetwear company in Australia. They’re in an elevated space, and they just actually opened a store in Las Vegas too — their first US store.
“But it’s just really cool to see it come together. I think we jumped through hoops to get stuff sent from Australia to the ‘Fast’ set to get that integrated all within a couple of days. And you send it and then you hope. For the last year, we’ve been sitting kind of going, ‘Well, I wonder if we made it in.'”
“It was chaotic, because again, when they reached out, it was very much like, ‘We’re shooting tomorrow, we’re shooting tomorrow, we need this.’ Like, ‘What can we do? What can we do?’
“And they were filming all over Europe at the time, so getting them the shirts was like, ‘Can we ship them something? Can we just send them [the logo] and they can print it themselves on the ground?'”
There Are Different Merchandise Items for Different Purposes
GettyLuke Combs performs at the Daytona 500.
Owens and Malayter have different roles at NASCAR, but they are essentially tied at the hip when it comes to putting together deals with Culture Kings, Hurley, and countless celebrities. They join forces and bigger out the best approach for fulfilling needs.
“Usually what happens is Danielle and I collaborate,” Malayter said. “She gets their criteria of what they’re looking for. Obviously, when it comes to a movie integration or something like that, it’s very endemic on what’s the time period, what’s the character like.
“We obviously have a wide array of licensed products, but we’ll try to suggest things based off that criteria. Whatever is kind of going on at that time.”
“Sometimes, the studios and wardrobe team have their own ideas,” Owens said. “They may come to us with ideas already. And then Megan does a really great job of matching that idea with what’s actually available.”
Of course, coming up with the best designs for celebrities, TV shows, and movies is only part of the process. Owens and Malayter both recognize that they can’t simply force NASCAR products into whatever they want.
“It’s not that often that we try to squeeze our way into something that doesn’t feel organic and doesn’t naturally fit,” Owens said. “We respect our fans way too much to know that. If it doesn’t make sense, it’s not going to make sense.
“So we want to make sure that whatever placement is there, it’s organic and we value this time that we have with that entity, whether that’s a film or television show or a music video, but also that they value what we are bringing as well to the table.”