No matter how many times I’ve done a NASCAR ride-along, I always get the feeling right before it’s my turn to climb in the car that skipping breakfast might have been a good thing.
It was no different Tuesday morning. There I was on pit road at the Memphis Motorsports Park in my blue and orange Richard Petty Driving Experience jumpsuit, white helmet with the butterflies in my stomach as big as condors as that black 2-seat FedEx Chevy driven by Denny Hamlin rolled to a stop and I prepared to jump in.

Ok … it wasn’t so much jumping in as it was squeezing in. No special doors here, you go in through the window, cram into the seat and strap in.
I got a chance to talk to Denny right before he re-fired the engine. I was kind of disappointed there was too much stuff blocking the view of Denny’s feet. On the last ride-along, I got an appreciation for the footwork the drivers must use by watching Bobby Hamilton manipulate the gas, breaks and clutch.
I only felt really uncomfortable once and it was right at the start. Denny took off like a shot and sped down pit road. The acceleration pushed me back in my seat. The pit lane extends into Turn 1 so you start turning right away, which is a strange enough feeling without Denny wiggling the car back and forth getting some heat into his tires.
Before I had a chance to panic about the imminent spin, we were nearly down the backstretch and entering into Turn 3, which was pretty smooth. Out of Turn 4 and down the frontstretch. At the speed we were going, there wasn’t much time to appreciate being a few inches from the way or watching the track zip past, because just as I was thinking, ‘This is really coo..’, I was thrown forward against my belts as Denny jumped on the brakes and had the car dive to the bottom of the track to enter Turns 1 and 2.
I realize the drivers are strapped into their seats a little better than I was, but I can’t imagine getting tossed around like that for 250 laps at MMP or for 500 at a place like Bristol. No wonder these guys are exhausted at the end of a race.
My three laps ended all too quickly (I was ready for 30 more), and I managed to unfold myself from the car without major injury to myself or others.
Can’t wait for my next opportunity — hopefully at a bigger track where I can really exprience the speed.