The Crew is all about a professional racing team, so it makes sense to include some real-life NASCAR drivers. Starring Kevin James, The Crew relies heavily on workplace humor as the employees at Bobby Spencer Racing try to stay competitive. There's little actual racing in The Crew, but several NASCAR drivers make brief cameos and gently troll the main protagonist.
In The Crew, Kevin Gibson (James) feels threatened when a young Stanford graduate named Catherine Spencer (Jillian Mueller) becomes the new company CEO. Right away, she wants to replace driver Jake Martin (Freddie Stroma) with the more appealing Jessie De La Cruz (Paris Berelc), and quickly changes the office dynamics. As the crew chief, Kevin plays by the rules yet still looks for a job elsewhere, all the while looking after his close friend Beth Paige (Sarah Stiles), the office manager. When The Crew does feature racing-themed sequences, it's usually to point out Jake's lack of intelligence, even though he is indeed a capable driver.
The Crew season 1 includes a voice cameo from Fox Sports' NASCAR announcer Mike Joy, along with a special appearance from TV host Jamie Little. However, the series doesn't quite provide an immersive look at NASCAR culture, which may partially explain the poor reviews thus far. Plus, there are only a few cameos from actual racers that take place during The Crew's early episodes.
Austin Dillon And Ryan Blaney
NASCAR drivers Austin Dillon and Ryan Blaney show up in The Crew episode 2, "My Name's Kevin And I Care About Feelings". During a restaurant scene at the 12-minute mark, Catherine explains to Kevin and sponsor Rob (Kim Coates) that their waitress apologized because Blaney took of a side of wings. In a follow-up shot, a heavily-mustached Blaney appears to make a lewd gesture while eating, and Dillon suggests that Kevin has already had too many wings during his lifetime. After a couple lines of dialogue, Blaney teases Dillon about always reminding people that he won the Daytona 500, stating, "I just wanted to have one meal without you bringing that up, man."
Known as "The Ace", Dillon won the Daytona 500 in 2018. He's been competing in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2011, and most recently finished third at 2021 Daytona 500. He's the brother of NASCAR driver Ty Dillon and the grandson of former NASCAR driver Richard Childress. As for Blaney, he similarly comes from a racing family, as his father Dave Blaney competed in nearly 500 NASCAR Cup Series races over 17 years. Ryan, who is currently 27 years old, has four wins in the Cup Series and seven in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He finished second at the 2020 Daytona 500.
Cole Custer
NASCAR driver Cole Custer appears in The Crew season 1, episode 3, "Hot Mushroom Meat". During another restaurant scene, he's introduced by Blaney at the 12-minute mark and delivers a deadpan one-liner about Kevin's team always being behind him on the track. Blaney once again steals the spotlight, not only with his Red Man belt buckle, Winston hat, and thick mustache, but also because of his comedic timing when reacting to Custer.
Currently 23 years old, Custer won the NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year award in 2020. He's competed in over 40 races since 2018, and won the 2020 Quaker State 400. His father is Joe Custer, the president of Stewart-Haas Racing.