He may be 66 years old, but Michigan football head coach Kyle Whittingham has long been known as something of a fun-loving head coach, even during his time at Utah. The motorcycle riding, skiing, golf, and tennis enthusiast shies away from few recreational activities, but something says that what he did on Sunday may have taken the cake.
Sunday marked the Detroit Grand Prix, an IndyCar race that’s come back to the city in recent years, with a circuit around downtown Detroit. Whittingham had the honor of riding in the ‘fastest seat in sports,’ getting a quick tour in a second seat in an actual race car going around the circuit. And from the video released by Fox, he loved every second of it.
Not everything was sunshine and rainbows, however (though it was awfully sunny in southeast Michigan on Sunday). Third-place finisher in the Detroit Grand Prix, Graham Rahal, is apparently an avid Ohio State fan and made sure that the new Wolverines headman knew where he stood.
“I told coach when he was at Utah, I was a massive fan. And obviously, he’s an understudy of Coach Meyer, who I know very well,” Rahal told WWJ 950. “And so that’s an interesting dynamic, for sure. But yeah, I mean, not a ton. I just wanted to tell him that I can’t like him anymore. But I was a fan of his work out of Utah. I thought he did an amazing job with that university. And I have no doubt that he will here, too, which hurts a little bit. But it’s always good to, frankly, good to see the Big Ten doing as well as the last few years as well.”
All in all, Sunday marked a day that Whittingham is unlikely to forget anytime soon, full of high octane thrills as well as rivalry drama. So, in a way, it was a microcosm of what it’s like to be the head coach of the University of Michigan football team.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham takes wild IndyCar ride
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
