T.I. Gets Behind The NASCAR Wheel In Atlanta
Ahead of the Daytona 500, T.I. hit 150 mph in a NASCAR ride with the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The rapper followed an instructor around the track building up speed before breaking 150 mph, confessing to a bit of nerves seeing the outside wall going around the turns.
“I always wanted to drive a NASCAR racecar on the track, and I’m about to go Ricky Bobby fast,” T.I. said. “Listen, I’ve been trained by professionals. I watched a 7 1/2 minute instructional video. It’s extremely instructional, so I’ve been doing this as long as it needs to be done for me to do this. You don’t try this at home, okay?”
Talking about his approach, the rapper said, “When I was driving I was really just trying to get a feel for the car. It doesn’t drive like a normal street car, so I was really trying to estimate how much of the wheel I had to turn to maintain a safe distance around that curve. I could tell with the second round of laps, I was a lot more comfortable, and as I got more comfortable with it, I could accelerate and pick up speed.”
Would he consider doing it professionally? “Naw, I would consider doing it more so I could get better at it. There’s cats who have been out here doing it since they were like 3 and 4 years old. They’re probably as good at this as I am at what I do.”
Before heading out, T.I. told the professionals, “It takes real nerves of steel. I respect what you guys do.”
Watch the webisode via YouTube below.
