CONCORD, N.C. – “You have to be ready for unexpected times, because the moment when you don’t expect it, the unexpected happens.”
That is how Landon Walker, the No. 5 fueler for Kasey Kahne, describes being on pit road and the football field.
Walker has had his fair-share of unexpected moments fueling a car in under 12 seconds, but he has also had them as an offensive tackle for Clemson University.
He made his mark at Memorial Stadium, also known as Death Valley, with the Clemson Tigers from the 2008 through 2011 seasons.
As a highly recruited athlete, Walker visited many college campuses across the country, but says that the atmosphere at Clemson was the best he had seen.
“It is just incredible,” Walker smiled. “The tailgating there, the fan experience is like any other in the whole country. Being there on game day is like a fan fair of any kind you’ve ever seen for college football.”
And not only do Clemson fans have game day traditions, but so do the players.
“You have the rock and the hill,” Walker said. “We touch (the rock) and run down the hill before we play every home game, which is just an incredible experience by itself.”
The historic rock was placed in the stadium by legendary Clemson coach Frank Howard. The rock came from Death Valley, California and it quickly became a pre-game ritual for the players to rub it for good luck while running out onto the field.
After playing four years of college football, Walker says there are many moments that stand out to him, but there is one memorable game that can never be replaced.
“My senior year we were able to win the ACC Championship in Charlotte – we beat Virginia Tech,” Walker said. “And that was something like I had never experienced before.”
And after his senior year, Walker thought his future was going to be in the NFL. He was picked up as a free agent for the Cincinnati Bengals, but after unfortunate circumstances concerning a knee injury from college, he did not pursue his professional football career.
But one thing led to another and Walker found himself visiting the Hendrick Motorsports campus and eventually established his place on the No. 5 over-the-wall pit crew.
Walker says that although the two sports are different, they are also very similar.
“The team atmosphere is the biggest thing that I can bring from football. You’ve got everyone who has to do their job,” Walker said. “If one guy slips up and has a little, bitty, tiny mistake it can be huge on pit road. And that is the same way football is – all 11 guys have to do their job every single play.”
“Only the best want to work for Hendrick Motorsports just like the best want to play for Clemson University,” Walker said. “So there is a lot of correlation between the two just because if you do good things, if you’re successful, if you win races, if you win football games, you get the best of the best.”
The 2015 NASCAR season is winding down, but the college football season is just beginning. Clemson is coming off of two wins and heading into Game 3 this weekend against the University of Louisville.
“The only thing that makes me nervous is that it is in Louisville on a Thursday night,” Walker said. “It is always tough to play on the road in college and wins don’t come easy, but I think we will nudge them out in the end.”
The battle between the Tigers and the Cardinals will happen tonight, Thursday, Sept. 17, at 8:30 p.m. ET.