Dennis Enarson's NASCAR Experience

Updated: October 15, 2009, 2:50 PM ET

One day before the last stop of the '09 Dew Tour begins, professional BMXer Dennis Enarson put down his bike, suited up and learned to drive the Matador Snacks NASCAR. This is his story.

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By Cody York
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PaviaAhh, it's a tough life.

All I can think about while doing this write up is the movie Talladega Nights. I mean come on, doesn't Dennis Enarson look a little like Ricky Bobby? Ok, maybe not that much but I'm sure watching him drive around the track in a legit NASCAR was just about as funny as that movie. The reason you see Dennis standing in front of a real NASCAR above, is because his sponsor Matador gave him and the rest of the team an opportunity of a lifetime. Before the final stop of the Dew Tour goes down in Orlando this weekend, the entire team was invited out to a day at the race track and the opportunity to drive a real NASCAR.

Jeremy Pavia from BMX Plus! Magazine was on hand and was able to snap some pics and ask Dennis Enarson some questions about his experience. I think pretty amazing what sponsors are doing for BMX athletes these days, don't you?

(All questions by: Jeremy Pavia)

How did this whole NASCAR thing come about and how did they (Matador) explain it to you?

They hit me up like two months ago telling me that we were going to be driving NASCARS and I was like, "Yeah right." Then they sent me another e-mail a few weeks later asking me if I can drive a manual transmission and I knew they weren't joking around. The next thing I know, my ticket was booked.

They sent me another e-mail a few weeks later asking me if I can drive a manual transmission and I knew they weren't joking around.

--Dennis Enarson

What exactly did you guys do? Give us a little insight to how the day went.

We got there and had a sweet lunch;they had the whole team together which was sick. Then we did a quick Richard Petty Driving School course, giving us an overview of how to drive the cars, and then next, we were suited up. Thirty minutes later, we're in this NASCAR cruising around the track.

PaviaWhat? You didn't think you are allowed behind the wheel of a NASCAR without an official stache did you?

Were you nervous at all getting behind the wheel?

Um, I hadn't driven stick in three years and I didn't want to stall it and be embarrassed. That was the only thing I was worried about. Once I got going, I was psyched and just got it going as fast as I could.

What was it like shredding around a legit track and did those cars handle like you expected?

I didn't know what to expect, it handled way crazier than I ever thought. The wheels were like, glued to the ground. Just feeling the power that those cars actually have was the best part.

PaviaDoesn't look like it, but that's about 120 mph right there.

How fast did you actually go compared to how fast that you would have wanted to go?

My top speed was 122mph, but I basically wanted to go as fast as the car could go. (Typically, NASCARS cruise around 190 mph.) It is a good thing that they didn't let us go as fast as we could because knowing myself and the other people involved, someone would have taken it to the wall.

It is a good thing that they didn't let us go as fast as we could because knowing myself and the other people involved, someone would have taken it to the wall.

--Dennis Enarson

What was your favorite part of the day if you had to pick one?

Just being with good friends, meeting new people and flying around in a legit NASCAR; it really doesn't get any sweeter than that on a nice Florida day.

PaviaFuel TV's Jordan Morris interviews Dennis before hitting the track.

It seems like there is always something cool going on with your sponsors to keep you and other riders/athletes entertained, which is awesome. Wanna give some shout-outs?

I would like to thank everyone at Matador as much as I can. It is not very often that something like this happens. Having media dudes out as well was sweet, so it was more than just having the athletes which is always cool.