Ford boys and their toys

What the heck was I thinking?

On Tuesday, I'm strapped into the leather passenger seat of a Ford SVT Mustang Cobra, sitting next to 1999 NASCAR champion Dale Jarrett, who just told me he has never driven the road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

I mean, this is Dale Jarrett, right? Should I worry?

"I really do enjoy the road course events," Jarrett grins. "We just won't go that fast ... at least during this first lap." Gulp.

A few wheel hops and right turns later, the incredible two-lap ride is over in a blink of an eye. As you would expect, the Cobra handles like a gem and the engine "growls" as you head down the short straightaway at 80 mph.

Now, if only I could convince my wife that the dogs could fit in the back seat ...

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When our friends at Ford Racing invited NASCAR.COM, some of its top drivers and a few PGA Tour professionals --including Phil Mickelson and Fred Funk -- down to Homestead to sample their new automobiles during the Ford Championship at Doral PGA event, my corporate card got swiped faster than you can say "Built Ford Tough."

Jarrett, Elliott Sadler, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Rick Crawford and Terry Cook handled ride-along duties in a variety of vehicles, including a 500-horsepower silver Ford GT sports car, SVT Mustang Cobra, FR 100 truck and FR 200 Focus.

Eager for more, I hunt down Kurt Busch. Fortunately for me he is just idling on pit road in the FR 100 truck waiting for a passenger to jump in. He wants to better balance out the weight.

After watching Busch slide his car all around Bristol Motor Speedway the last few years, what better scenario could I ask for then a ride-along in a '50s-style performance truck with a kid that has no fear and WANTS to slide around the corners.

On goes the five-point safety harness.

The "race-talk" that comes out of Busch's mouth while casually navigating the road course at high speeds -- in a vehicle he has never driven before -- is really quite interesting.

"Opps, that was some chatter."

	FR 100

It was?

"This thing needs some rear camber."

Uh, huh. I agree.

"I think this has a Jerico transmission."

Yep, I am sure it does, Kurt. (Boy, I really don't know ANYTHING about automotive engineering.)

Then comes the drag racing. That's right, a good ole fashion '60s-style "race for your pink slip" drag down pit road between Busch and myself in the FR 100 truck and Cook and his guest in the FR 200 Focus.

Needless to say, with Busch and I howling down pit lane, we blew the doors off Cook. Hysterical.

Now comes the finale: the Ford GT ride-along. With Jarrett sporting a Joker-like smile from ear-to-ear after completing his very first lap ever in the car, I sink down into the bucket seat and clip in.

Seriously, I think we might be sitting six inches above the ground. That is how low this car is to the ground. One speed bump and this thing is done for!

	Dale Jarrett and me getting buckled into the SVT Cobra.

As we cruise out to the road course from the exit of pit road, Jarrett turns to me as we swing through some esses and says, "They asked me to be careful."

"Really? Did they define what careful meant?" I asked.

Laughing, he simply replied, "Nope."

The next thing I knew we were racing down the short straightaway at 95 mph before he hit the brakes just enough to coast through the next set of esses in a motion that seemed to be effortless.

Little did I know until we were parking the car did Jarrett admit to me that he almost spun it out. Considering the looks on our faces, I don't think either of us cared, nor could I really tell who was having more fun.

I mean, I just had a NASCAR champion take me around a racetrack in a $140,000 sports car. If I didn't have the video to prove it, no one would ever believe me.

So finally, after all was said and done and the dust settled after Kenseth's spinout in the GT (don't worry, you will see the video clips here on the site soon), Sadler summed up the day's events in the two very simple words on everyone's mouth:

"Where's mine?"

The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.