Life in the fast lane: Belk Bowl participants visit Charlotte Motor Speedway

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:37 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

On Tuesday Georgia and Louisville will square off in the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte, N.C.

There are sure to be plenty of high-speed hits in the game -- but the object for players and coaches from both teams last Saturday was to make sure there were no hits and only high speeds achieved during a visit to Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Everyone involved appeared to come away with a greater appreciation for the speeds reached by drivers of cars in NASCAR's top national touring series, even though the cars they were given rides in by the Richard Petty Driving Experience did not even approach the highest speeds stock cars normally run at the 1.5-mile CMS layout.

"That was a great time," Georgia tight end Jay Rome told Perform Media in an article on SportingNews.com that can be read in its entirety here. "I'm glad the Belk Bowl let us have the opportunity to do something like this."

At 6-foot-6 and "only" 248 pounds, Rome was able to climb in and out of the car without too much difficulty. But he enjoyed watching many of his bigger teammates attempt the same.

"When I got in and out of the vehicle, it was a little difficult, so watching some of the 300-plus guys do it was definitely a laugh," he told Perform Media.

Georgia coach Mark Richt

The cars went around the track at speeds of about 160 miles per hour. Top speeds at the track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series approach 200 mph or more on the straightaways.

Still ... 160 mph is pretty fast when you're more used to being wowed by a 4.4-second speed in the 40-yard dash. And running that fast on a banked track, close to the wall, also appeared to be a new experience for the Georgia and Louisville players and coaches.

So even though Georgia coach Mark Richt admitted that he once drove a Mercedes 120 mph on an open highway and others, such as Louisville wide recevier Matt Milton, said they had reached speeds of over 100 mph previously in other vehicles, this was, as Milton said, "a different kind of fast."

share