The 2017-18 college football season ends tonight with the National Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The game (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) pits the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs, two Southeastern Conference teams.
We decided to take a look at the two schools and their connections to the NASCAR world.
If we missed any NASCAR connections, let us know.
The paths of Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski crossed last year.
In September, the driver of the No. 2 Ford visited the school’s Tuscaloosa campus, which is located just under 110 miles west of Talladega Superspeedway.
Saban actually served as the grand marshal of the 2009 spring Cup race at the 2.66-mile speedway, when Keselowski won his first Cup race.
During the visit, the two swapped jerseys, with Keselowski receiving a No. 2 jersey with his name on it.
“I can tell you this, I hope the tide rolls us right into victory lane when we get back to Talladega,” Keselowski said. “Like Coach Saban and his teams at Alabama, there is a winning tradition at Team Penske. We hope to add to that legacy with another Talladega Superspeedway triumph, and ultimately another championship.”
Two weeks later, Keselowski claimed his fifth Talladega win.
Saban will be looking for his sixth national championship tonight.
Hendrick Motorsports has a few team members who have ties to the game.
Rowdy Harrell, a former walk-on linebacker at Alabama, is a rear tire carrier on the No. 88 team. He won three championships with the Crimson Tide, the last coming in 2013. He joined Hendrick in September of that year.
Harrell was brought to the team by Chris Burkey, a pit crew coach for Hendrick. Burkey is a former scouting assistant for the Miami Dolphins from Saban’s time as head coach of the team.
The colors of the Crimson Tide have made their way to the high banks of Talladega multiple times over the last 17 years.
The first Alabama-themed scheme belonged to Scott Pruett and his No. 32 Tide car in 2000.
Michael Waltrip Racing was the vessel for three more schemes in 2010, 2012 and 2013, the seasons following Alabama National Championships.
2010 – David Reutimann
2012 – Clint Bowyer
2013 – Michael Waltrip
There are far fewer connections between NASCAR and the University of Georgia, but they’re there.
Chase Elliott, the Hendrick Motorsports driver and native of Dawsonville, Georgia, is a noted fan of the Bulldogs.
Hendrick’s strength and condition coach, Darius Dewberry, was a Georgia linebacker from 2006-09 and joined Hendrick in June 2013.
NASCAR on NBC’s own Rutledge Wood is a native of Alabama, but he moved to Georgia in 1995 and graduated from the school with a degree in marketing.
Bulldog sports teams have interacted with the NASCAR world a few times.
In 2014, the football team was part of the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina, playing against the University of Louisville. As part of their bowl week festivities, the teams visited Charlotte Motor Speedway to participate in the Richard Petty Driving Experience.
Two years later, the Georgia baseball team visited Charlotte to play the University of North Carolina – Charlotte 49ers.
As part of their visit, they visited Hendrick Motorsports to get a taste of the life of a NASCAR pit crew.
