Collector Feature: Joe Graf Jr.
Joe Graf Jr., only 22 years old, is a rookie in the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series. He is exceptional on the track and balances an academic career at New York University while being committed full time to Racing.
WAX was recently given an opportunity to be one of Graf Jr.’s sponsors in the Xfinity Drive for the Cure 250 in Charlotte, N.C., which was held on October 10th. This was an opportunity we did not hesitate to take advantage of. Not only is Graf Jr. an extraordinary and inspiring individual with a story worth telling, the cherry on top for us is the fact that he is also an avid sneaker collector.
WAX’s involvement with the young NASCAR driver is near and dear because he closely represents the community of collectors that WAX is on a mission to cultivate.
“Joe is a rock star with an incredible lifestyle and embodies the drive that all collectors have deep down pushing them to pursue their passions,” said Calvin Bradley, CEO of WAX Insurance.
WAX was introduced to Mr. Graf Jr. by the team at Watchonista, the online watch magazine, who had already partnered up with Graf Jr.’s racing team SS Green Light Racing to sponsor him in the race.
The race ended up being a soaked one and despite a brief break for weather, Graf Jr. managed to climb from a 31st place starting position to claim a lead-lap 15th place finish.
Life in the Driver’s Seat:
For Graf Jr., racing has been a family affair. He grew up watching his father race on short tracks around the northeast.
“I remember him and my grandfather building one of their race cars in our garage growing up,” said Graf Jr. By the age of 10, he had already begun following in his father’s footsteps and was racing in bandolero cars, “after a few years I moved up to a legend car which was what my dad raced as well,” he added.
Ultimately Graf Jr. decided to take a shot at making a career out of racing which was solidified when he hopped in an ARCA car in late 2018.
“My first ARCA race was in Nashville and I had broken my left foot six days prior. They wanted to put a cast on my foot, which was my braking foot, but I decided that I wasn’t going to put the cast on and I went and raced anyway.”
“It ended up being a great race until we had a mechanical failure with 15 laps to go so we didn’t get to complete the race.”
A few weeks later Graf Jr. was notified that a slot had opened up for him at the race at Talladega Superspeedway after another driver had to drop out. Despite only being given three days notice and still having a broken foot, Graf Jr. showed the world his drive and skill when he came in second place by the width of a feather.
Graf Jr. didn’t fail to mention that it ended up being the closest finish in Talladega history and in ARCA history, “I still tell people all the time that I haven’t seen a picture that shows me losing that race,” he adds.
After proving his ability, Graf graduated onto racing part time in the Xfinity Series with Richard Childress Racing which would give him the necessary experience to race full time in the Xfinity Series with SS Green Light, the team that Graf Jr. competes for today.
Collecting Kicks:
Graf Jr. has been a sneakerhead since his early high school years. However, sneakers became a bigger part of his life when he met the team at the racing lifestyle brand Eat Sleep Race who sponsored him for part of his career in the ARCA series, “those guys are huge sneakerheads and brought it to the next level for me.”
“Before that I had a closet full of sneakers and now it’s turned into a room full of sneakers,” said Graf Jr.
Being a student at New York University has only added fuel to Graf Jr.’s fiery passion for sneaker collecting. On his daily walk down Broadway to and from class his freshman and sophomore year, Graf Jr. would have to fight the urge to step into Flight Club, the mecca for sneaker collectors in New York City and beyond.
On one of the days when the sneaker store’s allure won him over, he spotted a pair of Nike Air Yeezy 2s which was his dream pair of sneakers in high school.
“That was one of those big moments for me as a collector,” said Graf, “it was a pair of sneakers I had wanted since I was a kid.” That day, unsurprisingly, Graf Jr. became an owner of a pair of Yeezy 2 sneakers.
“That was by far the biggest purchase I ever made and I have never regretted it,” said Graf Jr.
The young NASCAR driver is also an industrial sneakerhead and has gotten pretty good at flipping sneakers for profit. “I buy and sell a ton of sneakers, it’s the only way to not lose a bunch of money,” added Graf Jr.
For Graf, flipping is a means to sustaining his habit: “I got into sneaker collecting because I absolutely love it, not to make money. Flipping is really just to support the hobby and to be able to buy the pairs that I want.”
He will invest in any pair that he recognizes as being a good flip, but refuses to even consider selling some of his most valuable, profitable, assets because of their importance to him, “I would sell my left foot before I sold my yeezy 2s,” said Graf Jr..
A pair that Graf Jr. recently acquired that he cherishes dearly are the Nike Chunky Dunky “SB Dunk Low x Ben & Jerry’s.” “I grew up going to Vermont every year and the place we would visit was near the Ben & Jerry’s factory. I have great childhood memories of going on tours there,” said Graf Jr., “when those came out I knew I needed to get them.”
“Sneakers are the main thing that I collect right now and probably always will be, but I’ve also started to develop an interest for watches,” replied Graf Jr. when we asked what was in store for the future of his journey as a collector. “However, I still have a few pairs of sneakers that I want to finish off and get before I feel like I can really start allocating some of that attention elsewhere,” he added.
Joe Graf Jr. exemplifies the notion that collecting is more than the procuration of meaningless material objects. Graf Jr. collects pieces of himself and pieces of culture.
He is a determined athlete and his entrepreneurial approach to sneaker collecting reflects his drive for success.
