Hugh Freeze to drive pace car at Talladega NASCAR race
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze is going to drive the pace car before the Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega on May 3 and he sounds damn excited about it.
"I am so jacked about that," Freeze told the Biloxi-Gulfport Sun-Herald. "You have no idea, man. I love golf, fishing and NASCAR outside of my job and my family. That's the three things I spend time doing."
He also texted Danica Patrick a happy birthday message this week. Seriously.
Patrick is dating fellow NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who is from Olive Branch, Miss. Stenhouse is a big Ole Miss fan, so Patrick has become one too. The two went to Ole Miss' season-opener against Boise State in Atlanta. It was the same weekend as the Sprint Cup race nearby in Hampton, Ga.
Patrick turned 33 on Wednesday.
"Danica's birthday was yesterday so I called her and wished her a happy birthday and I said 'I don't know if you had anything to do with it,'" Freeze said. "Ricky and I texted back and forth. I suspect either one of them or both had something to do with it. Last year, Talladega filmed a deal on our campus. That maybe had something do with it. I'm excited about it."
The duties of the honorary pace car driver include media opportunities the morning before the race, a guest spot at the drivers' meeting and then the most important job, driving the car before the race goes green. 29 years ago, the pace car was stolen at Talladega and taken for a joyride around the track before track security was able to stop the perpitrator and pull him out of the car by his hair.
North Carolina coach Larry Fedora was the honorary pace car driver at last year's Martinsville race (Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer was the driver in 2013).
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn was also Talladega's pace car driver last year. Plus, Michael Waltrip Racing has run commemorative Alabama and Auburn cars after their national championships at the 2.66-mile track. And now with Freeze's involvement we can't help but wonder what would happen if all 14 SEC football coaches raced each other at Talladega.
We need to make that race happen.
For more Ole Miss news, visit RebelGrove.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
