A report of the NASCAR NEXTEL All Star…
From Auto Racing Daily:
Before their electrifying performance during Saturday nights NEXTEL All Star event, the famed Red Hot Chili Peppers made a trip to the Roush Racing NEXTEL Cup shops in Concord, N.C. The four band members, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, and Chad Smith, took a quick tour through the Roush shops with hosts Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards then it was outside to perform their first ever pit stop with the assistance of the No. 16 Ameriquest Busch team.
“Those guys were pretty cool,” said Biffle, driver of the No. 16 National Guard Ford Fusion. “They seemed really interested in learning about the cars; we talked for a while. I’ve always been a fan of their music, so meeting them was a pretty unique experience. Not a lot of people get to hang out with bands they’ve listened to for years.”
Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion, echoed Biffle’s excitement.
“It was really neat to meet the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” Edwards continued, “I’m a big fan of their music and to be telling them about my world was pretty cool. They were really interesting to talk to and it was neat to see the parallels between my racing and their music. They are so passionate about what they do just as I am about racing. It was cool to see that they get just as much joy out of music as I do out of racing. It was an awesome experience.”
The Red Hot Chili Peppers also spent some time with Roush Racing’s up and coming stars, Erik Darnell and David Ragan.
“It was cool to be able to meet those guys,” said Darnell, driver of the No. 99 Woolrich F-150. “I’ve been a fan for a long time. They didn’t seem to know that much about racing, but they asked a lot of questions so I think we taught them a little about what we do. I think we might have made fans out of them, they might be more inclined to check out a race sometime now.”
After touring the shop with the drivers and a little bit of coaching, the band members became the newest members of the No. 16 Ameriquest team. The newest team members took their positions on the wall in their custom made red, white and yellow Simpson firesuits and awaited the arrival of the Roush Racing Ford Fusion into the pit stall. Kiedis led the charge as front tire changer, Flea took over as rear tire changer, drummer Smith assumed jack man duties and Frusciante stepped in as catch can man. The stop began well but was a bit rough through the middle. The team quickly got back into the groove to finish strong, clocking in under the one minute mark which according to the pit coach, was not bad for their first career pit stop.
And, one more, with a photo. More photos and videos from this event coming soon.
