College Football Big Part Of South Point Racing

On Saturday afternoon, Gaughan and his South Point Racing team will turn their focus to the one-mile flat track at New Hampshire International Speedway. Fast laps on the race track and quick pit stops will be key for the team to score a solid finish.

Two members of the South Point team know especially how important the team effort is if they want to sack their opponents on the race track. Both driver Gaughan and jack man Chris Justice were college football players – Gaughan, a kicker at Georgetown University and Justice, a starting defensive back at Wake Forest University .

“Just like football, racing and pit road is a big team environment,” Justice said. “You have the different positions just like a football team. In racing, you have seven people as opposed to 11. Your jack man is your quarterback. Your tire changers and carriers are your wide receivers. Your gas man and catch can man are kind of like your tight ends. They kind of hold everything secure in the rear. Everybody depends on everybody in each environment, so that camaraderie that you gain as a group translates over in both industries.”

This weekend, Justice will have to trade in his Wake Forest gear for some Nebraska attire, thanks to a friendly wager made with SPEED announcer, Rick Allen, who was once the home field announcer for the Nebraska football team.

On Saturday, Nebraska defeated Wake Forest 20 to 17, which means Justice will don the red and white of the Cornhuskers team at New Hampshire .

“I’m not very excited about wearing a Nebraska hat,” Justice said. “But I’m game for it. It was all in fun – I just wish that my Deacons could have pulled it out. Of course, if the Nebraska gear brings us some luck, I’ll wear the hat all year.”