McDaniels to Pace Overton’s 301
Josh McDaniels made his annual visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday with a new role. The New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator is the honorary pace car driver for the Overton’s 301 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race this afternoon.
McDaniels is the latest team member to drive, joining Julian Edelman and Rob Ninkovich. They warned him about getting bumped by a driver in the front row, but McDaniels is looking forward to pacing today’s field.
“This race actually falls in a real nice time for us ’cause we’re off in the middle of June till about the 24th or 25th of July so this is the one we can come to.”
McDaniels has frequented the Magic Mile before enjoying camping and tailgating. He enjoys meeting people from all over at the racetrack.
“It’s an unbelievable thing. We’ve seen we’ve met people from a number of different states. … The people here are wonderful. I know that ’cause I’ve lived here for a long time but to come to a race and experience a different sport it’s really something neat.”
McDaniels said he admired the team sport aspect. He compared the coaches and support staff on a football team to the crews on a team. Making the right call under pressure is similar to a play call with the clock is running out. He also follows younger drivers like Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Joey Logano.
“These guys are really kind of stepping their game up their teams are doing well and looking forward to seeing who comes out with the win today.”
McDaniels would select Tom Brady to drive a racecar.
“(Tom) Brady would be as competitive as anybody. If you play cards with him he wants to kick your butt. It doesn’t matter what the competition is ping-pong, pool, but if you put him behind a racecar I’m sure he would try to master that skill just like he’s tried to master the skills that are really important in his sport too.”
He would avoid Rob Gronkowski, which drew some laughs.
The Patriots were behind 28-3 to Atlanta last February. A dramatic finish concluded with an overtime touchdown to claim their fifth championship.
“That team was a special team and falling behind the way we did it was difficult. But the team never gave up and our game is about perseverance and working hard and continuing to fight and try to do what we can to come back in those type of situations. So, it’s definitely memorable.
“I’ve been a part of a few teams that have won Super Bowls and that team was certainly strong enough in that type of a situation to do that and to overcome that type of deficit was pretty impressive and amazing.”
“You need a lot of things to go right. It’s kind of like getting the lucky dog 3 or 4 times in the same race. You have to be able to do those things and we put ourselves in that hole so we needed about 9 or 10 things to happen exactly the way that they happened and our guys made the plays that they needed to make. So and the ultimately to win the game the way that we did in overtime and not needing to give them the ball back is pretty special.”
McDaniels’ four children joined him in celebrating the Super Bowl in Houston.
Sunoco Victory Lane will have a new item thanks to a bet between New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s executive vice president and general manager David McGrath and Atlanta Motor Speedway’s president and general manager Ed Clark. Clark will present the winner with Georgia peaches. McDaniels will join in the fun. He will return to preparing for the 2017 season next week.
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Atlanta Motor Speedway