CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Pitt Panthers got the adrenaline rush of all adrenaline rushes this morning when they visited Lowe's Motor Speedway and rode along in NASCAR cars driven by professional drivers.

The trip to the race track is part of the annual festivities leading up to the Meineke Car Care Bowl -- the Panthers (9-3) will play North Carolina (8-4) Saturday at Bank of America Stadium -- and it is hailed by players and coaches as one of the best bowl-related experiences in the country.

"This is one of the things that helps our bowl stand out," said Meineke Car Care Bowl executive director Will Webb. "We have several things -- the logistics of the downtown area where fans can walk everywhere from their hotels and even walk to the stadium, but this is unique. We don't have a beach to offer, we don't necessarily have warm weather, but this event every year is just phenomenal.

"I think the players and coaches, they really never know what to expect from this because of the size of the track and the sounds of the cars. It is exhilariting"

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt had perhaps the biggest smile of all the players and coaches when he finished his three-lap trip around the track. He said he hasn't had that kind of a rush of adrenaline in a long time -- and that includes at the end of tight football games with championships on the line.

"I used to think pressure was making a decision to go for it or not on fourth-and-1," Wannstedt said. "Heck, we have 40 seconds to figure that out -- that is nothing compared to these guys, considering they are going 180 miles an hour and then to have someone cut you off or swerve in front of you -- now that is pressure, to make a split-second decision.

"This is a big part of things for our kids because it is an experience that many of them would never have a chance to do or even think about doing. So this was a great trip for us and for our guys and I know they've all really enjoyed some things."

The event is annually put on for participants in the Meineke Car Care Bowl by the Richard Petty Driving Experience, which is the world's largest provider of the complete high-speed racing experience for fans and others.

The Richard Petty Driving experience is based at three tracks around the country -- Orlando, Las Vegas and in Charlotte -- but also travels throughout the country to different racetracks.

Fans can choose between one of two programs -- the driving experience, which requires some training and safety instruction, and the ride along, which is what Pitt and North Carolina's players and coaches did today.

"We have done about 900 track days at 22 locations across the country this year and will have had about 60,000 people go through our experiences, either driving or riding," said Mike Bartelli, the chief marketing officer for Petty Holdings. "Today, these guys were getting to ride in a car going about 160 to 170 miles per hour. On smaller tracks, they might go a little bit slower.

"We have highly trained, professional drivers and most of them have either raced on smaller circuits or currently race, so the experience is something people will remember."

Bartelli said that when fans go through the driving program, they get the opportunity to actually drive the cars on the track with a trainer driving ahead of them. And once they get rolling, the can go as fast a 145 mph, though most people choose to drive a little slower than that.

The cars are actual NASCAR cars but are modified slightly for certain safety regulations and so they can accommodate a passenger. Bartelli said typical cars on the NASCAR circuit have a roughly 750 horsepower engine whereas the cars used in the driving experience have about 600 horsepower.

The Pitt and North Carolina players each got a chance to ride for three laps around Lowe's Motor Speedway's mile-and-a-half track and each got a photo of his experience.

All of them, however, had to squeeze into an actual racing suit and wear a helmet. They were then strapped into the passenger seat.

Pitt quarterback Pat Bostick said he wasn't a NASCAR fan before the experience but he certainly gained a newfound respect for the sport and particularly the drivers.

"This was a great experience of bonding for us as a team," Bostick said. "But this is a great experience period because to get the chance to go to 170 miles per hour in a car, it is something a lot of us will never get to do ever again. It is things like this which make our bowl experiences really something special and something we'll all remember. It was a blast, really, just unbelievable.

"I really have a newfound appreciation for that sport because those guys [the drivers], to be able to go that fast, around those turns and experiencing those forces and then doing it four hours straight with four cars wide and getting bumped into . . . .

"When you are going that fast, the force is so great, it is something everyone needs to experience at least once."

Paul Zeise can be reached at pzeise@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1720.

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