6-13-2005
Those FLIPPING DRIVERS!!
How do they do it?
TRAVIS GREGG, 27, FROM CAMDEN, OHIO, AND NASCAR CUP DRIVER CARL EDWARDS BOTH CUT BACKFLIPS AFTER WINNING RACES. IRONICALLY, BOTH WON THIS PAST WEEKEND AND BOTH DID THE BACKFLIPS – GREGG AFTER CAPTURING VICTORY AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY’S MENARDS INFINITI PRO SERIES RACE; EDWARDS AFTER HIS CUP WIN AT POCONO (PA.) INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY.
EDWARDS, WHO BEGAN NOTICEABLY FLIPPING FOLLOWING TRUCK SERIES WINS, LEAPS FROM THE WINDOW OF HIS CAR. GREGG TAKES THE MORE DIFFICULT ROUTE OF A BACKFLIP FROM STANDING POSITION IN VICTORY LANE.
HERE IS WHAT TRAVIS GREGG, DRIVER OF THE #7 LUCAS OIL SPECIAL, SAM SCHMIDT MOTORSPORTS ENTRY, HAD TO SAY:
“I started when I was a wrestler in seventh grade. The cheerleaders would borrow our mats to practice flips all the time and I told them I wanted to know how to do it. They were excited to teach me. When they were teaching me, they had spotters on my back and the back of my leg. Basically, they told me to jump backwards and they pushed me over. It was great! That night, at my house, I got it right. I was doing them in my living room. I’m not sure it excited my Mom too much – having her son cutting backflips in the middle of the living room - but I was able to do them.
“What I do is actually a back tuck. I kind of explain it as you just throw yourself backward as hard as you can and tuck on the way over. Both parts are pretty crucial to avoiding that all-embarrassing ‘splat’ landing in front of everyone.
“You start from your feet, do a flip and land on your feet ? it feels like you’re defying gravity! It’s cool because a lot of people can’t do them, so they kind of think it’s neat.
I started doing them when I won my first two sprint car races in 2002 and 2003. They’re just fun. I do them sometimes if I’ve just got a lot of energy. Funny way to entertain yourself, I guess.
“People will tell me it looks hard, and they are surprised I can do it after driving a race. I don’t think it’s really hard to do anything like that when you get out of the car [after winning] because you are so pumped up ? you have so much adrenaline in your system that you just want to jump for the sky.
“I know Carl Edwards flips off his car but I’ve just always done them from the ground. Well, I haven’t practiced flipping off of anything but it probably would be easier because you don’t have to rotate your body as much. I would definitely have to practice that before I did it. Just guessing, I’d think it would be harder to do it on the ground.” |
