“We’re having a hard time finding the speed…” That’s refrain I heard over and over again from the folks at Richard Childress Racing while wandering around the infield of Michigan International Speedway this past weekend.
Not finding the speed is a bad thing at any track, let alone at MIS — The so-called “fastest track in NASCAR.” Sometimes you find it, sometimes you don’t. With the help of a great team, Ryan Newman, driver of the bright yellow #31 Velveeta Shells and Cheese Liquid Gold Chevy, managed to find it at just the right time — Joey Logano lost a tire and the #31 Liquid Gold team shot their shot, keeping Newman out of the pit. After struggling most of the race, Newman bolted up the leaderboard to finish fourth — His third top-five finish in three races. Talking to NBC’s Jerry Bonkowski after the race, Newman elaborated on the team’s lightning in the bottle: “It seems like whenever we have this Velveeta name on the car, we wind up with a top-five (…like finishing third at Indianapolis), so we’ll keep doing it.”
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As a guest of Velveeta Shells and Cheese, I spent the past weekend behind-the-scenes with the RCR team, tagging along with the #31 Liquid Gold car. Newman and his team were gracious hosts, whipping me around the track at 110MPH in the official Chevy Camaro pace car and giving tour of the team hauler, while also allowing plenty of time to chat about fishing and his 208-acre farm in North Carolina with 50 black angus cows and 15 buffalo.
Here’s that particular conversation, via the BroBible Facebook Live:
Unlike other sports, NASCAR is a sport with millions of vantage points.
As a fan, the two most common are the TV experience from home and the at-the-track experience, either high up in the bleachers with where you can see all four turns or on top of an old, modified school bus while partying in the infield. But the behind-the-scenes experience — with an official Hot Pass and embedded with a team like RCR — is where you get to explore the inner-workings of what makes a NASCAR race like no sports event in America. It’s where you get to talk race strategy between talking beards with the pit crew guys…
The @RCRracing and @RyanJNewman #liquidgold beard squad out here at MIS today. pic.twitter.com/MOgdWtNVS1
— brandon wenerd (@brandonwenerd) August 13, 2017
And nest up behind the team leaders, literally smell the rubber burning as the car squeals out of pit lane in the race:
The best thing about our behind-the-scenes weekend: It’s not just for bloggers with a media credential. This race epic weekend is yours to win! As part of a special sweepstakes, fans can go buy a box of Velveeta Shells and Cheese – one with a sticker of Ryan’s car on it, as pictured below – and enter to win the ultimate “Liquid Gold Championship Experience.” The winner will receive an all-expense paid VIP weekend to the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to experience NASCAR up close and personal and become an honorary member of Ryan’s pit crew.
Trust me, you want one of these Velveeta Shells and Cheese team shirts. They’re the freshest looking team shirts at any NASCAR race:
Here’s a few more photos and our Instagram story recap from our behind-the-scenes weekend with Ryan Newman’s Velveeta Shells and Cheese #31 car.
Don’t forget to enter the Liquid Gold championship experience! Just look for the box: