Sophie Cunningham used her time off from the WNBA to attend the second race of NASCAR's postseason Chase, taking in the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Illinois, just outside St Louis.
Cunningham has been back home in Missouri during the break, while her Indiana Fever teammate Caitlin Clark and Team USA won the FIBA World Cup in Germany. With no WNBA games during the international break, Cunningham has had some down time after finding herself at the center of plenty of headlines in recent weeks.
She was pictured posing with a number of delighted fans on social media and was also seen chatting to drivers before the race got underway.
At one stage, she said hello to Michael Jordan on pitlane. Jordan is a co-owner of 23XI Racing, one of the teams competing in NASCAR's Cup Series. She also met legendary former driver Jeff Gordon while at the track.
Cunningham's message to NASCAR fans
The race was shown on USA Network, which also broadcasts WNBA games, and Cunningham appeared on the channel's pre-race show, where she praised the NASCAR community.
"You guys, you are salt of the earth people. Truly. You guys are an amazing group of men," Cunningham said.
"I got to hang out with Ryan (Blaney), I got to hang out with Chase (Elliott), Carson (Hocevar), Austin (Dillon) was absolutely amazing," she said. "It's been really cool to talk to them about racing cars and what-not, but also just getting to know them outside of the track. You guys truly are amazing. I've had a heck of a day and it's been a lot of fun."
A return to the track
Cunningham also attended the Cup Series Championship race in Phoenix, Arizona, last year, where actress Sydney Sweeney was also in attendance.
"I think those are my people," she said at the time. "That's where I belong. I had one of the better weekends that I've had in a really long time."
History with Carson Hocevar
Cunningham has interacted with rising NASCAR star Carson Hocevar before. The pair both served as honorary caddies for Caitlin Clark at the Annika Pro-Am golf event last year, alongside Fever teammate Lexie Hull.
Hocevar, Cunningham and Hull were all given the chance to hit tee shots at the event before carrying Clark's bag during her round.
"They told me, like, two or three holes prior that I was gonna hit, and I instantly turned to Sophie and Lexie and wanted them to hit with me," Hocevar told The Express. "Because I was hoping that we would just all be embarrassed of our struggles."
"I got super lucky, being able to get a hold of that one, to hit it straight and have it on TV and have witnesses that I did it is ultimately the biggest thing," he said. "I've only played, like, twice before, so I was not expecting a lot and I was warning everybody in advance to pack up and give me some space. All-time, moment for me that was a really cool memory."
"It was a cool dynamic and a lot of fun to be around," Hocevar added. "It was just fun to interact with them and couldn't ask for better other caddies. It was 18 holes and it felt like it breezed by because I think we were all having a lot of fun."
