 |
 |
 |
|
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Mike Metcalf just missed out on the start of Appalachian State's run of three straight national championships in football.
| Advertisement |
|||
| |||
He was just the kind of hungry athlete Red Bull Racing wanted.
Metcalf, a former fullback for the Mountaineers, was the catch-can man for driver Brian Vickers' athletic team that won Thursday's Sprint Pit Crew Challenge by edging Denny Hamlin's team in an all-Toyota final round.
Metcalf, and former college hockey players Brian Haaland (front tire changer) and Shaun Peet (jackman) were part of the seven-man team that changed four tires, filled the car with fuel and pushed it 40 yards in 22.902 seconds to collect the $70,000 first prize.
"I finished up one year short," Metcalf said of Appalachian State's dominant run in the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision, "so it feels good to win a championship."
Vickers' team just edged Hamlin's team, which crossed the line in 23.011 seconds, giving Vickers his choice of pit boxes for Saturday's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
But with Vickers without an automatic spot in the race, that will only happen if he first qualifies to get in.
"We're pretty confident our driver will get us into that deal," Peet said while smiling at Vickers, who was sitting in the crowd of reporters. "All the pressure is on him."
In keeping with the trend to recruit athletes for its pit teams, Vickers' crew includes its share of college athletes. But Peet and pit crew coach Greg Miller are picky.
"We told all these kids we don't want the guy who had the most receptions or stole the most bases," Miller said. "We want the kid we got, that was the kid who walked on, who stayed four years, who put on the hard hat. When push comes to shove, their character speaks for itself."
Metcalf, who suffered two knee injuries at Appalachian, fits that role. He passed on applying for a medical redshirt that would have allowed him to play in 2005, when the Mountaineers won their first title.
"I'm still kicking myself for not doing that," Metcalf said. "But the transition was smooth."
The rest of the team includes gas man Doug Newell, front tire carrier Aaron Schields, rear tire changer Danny Kincaid and rear tire carrier Jake Brzozowski. They train constantly, and rarely come to the race shop, part of the new wave of pit crew teams.
