There are many possible reactions to seeing an IndyCar speeding along the track, but they all boil down to basically two thoughts: “I want absolutely nothing to do with that,” or, “I need to experience that now.” Both are understandable responses to seeing a car designed to speed over 200 mph do that very thing, and they were also the reactions of the hosts of FS1’s “The Facility,” the four of whom got the opportunity for a ride along before IndyCar’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Chase Daniel described it as, “One of the, if not the coolest things I’ve ever done in my entire life. To ride in a race car like that, and to see the IndyCar and the speed and the Gs you feel, and to hear all of these experts talk to you about it before? And then to go out there and actually do it? I mean, we hit 170 mph.” Which sits on the opposite side of James Jones, who said, “I respect what those dudes go through to get ready for races and all that, and how tough it is now, but as for J.J.? Never again.”
Part of Jones’ issue is his size compared to the average driver — he was told IndyCar racers are typically around 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds, whereas Jones was listed at 6-foot-1 and over 200 pounds in his days as an NFL wide receiver. LeSean McCoy had a similar issue: What Emmanuel Acho claimed was fear in McCoy’s eyes about the race was, per McCoy, concern about how his helmet was fitting and keeping him from properly breathing.
[Related: 2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach schedule]
There’s no shame in being concerned or nervous or outright fearful, though. As Daniel said, he got up to 170 mph on his ride-along, and those cars go much faster than that when they’re actually racing. Jones’ concern about not having any sort of control while the IndyCar zips around at speeds that would make you nervous in a video game at home is surely a common one, but that’s part of what makes these drivers so special. You need to have a certain mindset and control of your fear to even get behind the wheel of something that fast, never mind competitively. The kind that can just casually explain to the hosts of “The Facility” that they’ll experience something like 2 Gs of force in the car.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race is on Sunday, April 13 on FOX, but the practices and qualifying round kick off on Friday and go through the morning of the actual race. And now you might have a new appreciation for what those drivers on your television are going through after seeing a group of former athletes join them for a spin.
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