‘Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane’: Paul and Mariel Swan on Showcasing Interracial Love and Friendship in NASCAR (Exclusive)
USA Network’s struck gold with Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane. It’s a reality show featuring two couples who are the stars of NASCAR. It’s an unsuspected hit, as NASCAR stars and key players have never been highlighted in such a way on reality television. But thanks to the over-the-top lifestyle of Daytona 500 Champion Austin Dillon and his wife Whitney – and best friends Paul and Mariel Swan, viewers are left wanting more after the first season. While the Dillons coin themselves as the First Family of NASCAR, the Swans are stealing viewers’ hearts.
Season 1 documented Paul and Mariel preparing to birth their first baby, a daughter they named Bella. Their relationship has started an unprecedented conversation: Black people in the world of NASCAR. And being in an interracial marriage in a majority white sport is something many viewers and fans haven’t seen before. The couple spoke recently dished on how their relationship has been the catalyst for conversations centering on diversity in their world, and how their close friendship with the Dillons is an extension of that.
Paul says he’s gotten tons of positive feedback at work from showcasing their interracial marriage
Mariel and Paul wed in 2019 at the Childress Vineyards in Lexington, NC. She is an NFL cheerleader-turned-model, while he is a jackman for Austin. The two met mutual friends in 2015 and have been inseparable since.
Reality TV isn’t foreign to either of them. Mariel appeared on CMT’s Racing Wives. But it’s the first time they have joined forces for a show together. The biggest takeaway they’ve received from viewers is kudos for their modern and interracial love. For Paul specifically, he says they’ve been viewed as trendsetters of sorts.
“It’s pretty cool at the track because I get a lot of white males who come up to me are like, ‘Man, it’s really, really cool what you’re showing on this television show. I have a Black wife as well. And, you know, I think it’s really cool and special to see an interracial couple at the forefront of this television show and in the public eye to just see the love and the compassion and the care you all have for each other,’” Paul told us in an interview discussing the show’s first season impact. “And it’s really cool to hear people that it touches them and shows how great interracial relationships are.”
Mariel says the representation of their way of life is important for viewers to see
Being a Black woman thrust into the world of NASCAR, and being one of just a few, is not something that Mariel is unaware of. One of the reasons she feels the show is necessary is to show the diversity of not just the sport, but of life.
“I think it’s really important for purpose, for representation. I think that it’s really awesome when you see that there are people in a sport that look like them, and there are relationships and friendships that look like us,” she said. “I’ve actually had somebody come to me a couple of days ago saying they were in a relationship and how they loved NASCAR. It was really cool for them to see us being an interracial relationship and interracial friendship on television and being associated with the sport because you really don’t get a chance to see that very often.”
Both agree the authenticity of their friendship with Austin and Whitney is also what makes the show more interesting
Not only does the show highlight interracial romantic love, but also interracial friendship. The Dillons and the Swans have been best friends for eight years, and it’s something they are proud of. Watch any episode from Season 1, and the sisterhood shared between Whitney and Mariel is evident.
They call themselves the modern-day version of Lucy and Ethel. Sharing this experience with them has made reality TV all the better for the Swans.
“It makes it really easy because there are four of us, and we can bounce stuff off each other. We can share ideas. We can really just kind of vibe with each other when the cameras are rolling and just really play off each other’s little quirks and everything,” Paul explained. “And we know how to get it under each other’s skin. So it’s fun to kind of poke at each other sometimes, but it’s awesome. We were four best friends who just love to have fun and just love to show our love.”
