Bryan Harsin discusses drag racing background, how he follows motorsports

Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin comes from a long line of motorsports fans who double as football coaches, following in his fathers footsteps. However after reaching a certain stature in the coaching world, his ability to follow other sports closely went away as the responsibilities of the job increased.

During an appearance with McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning Bryan Harsin took time to speak about his history in motorsports and love of racing.

“So we had an alcohol funny car, it’s what I drove,” said Harsin. “So I got my license and that when I was 18, and that was kind of my graduation present. And then I was driving. I’d been racing a little bit, I’ve raced motocross, BMX, go-karts, you name it. I kind of raced everything.”

While he might not have time to get out on the track often anymore, Harsin did make a guest appearance at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama earlier this year, serving as the honorary pace car driver for the NASCAR Cup Series race.

Bryan Harsin on motorsports

Now that he has embarked on a coaching career, there is much less time for racing, but that does not mean Bryan Harsin has completely stopped following motorsports, or will not pick it back up later.

“I do follow some of the national events, I don’t follow all the points,” said Harsin. “But like John Force, John Force is the guys if you look at what he’s done in his career. … I’ve been to a few events. The last one I went to was when I was in Texas at Bay Town with Brandon Bernstein, Kenny Bernstein’s son. And you’re just down there and you’re on the starting line – it’s so much power, so much fun, the people are great and the drivers are awesome. They do a great job of just bring with the fans and interacting, so that’s in my blood.

“When I see drag racing or when I went and did the deal at Talladega, just being around that exhaust and burnt rubber, it’s like this stuff is something I grew up doing and I love it. And I love being around it, I love that environment. So I still follow it, might be something down the road – I’ll always be passionate about racing and I’ll have more time at some point in my career to go get to those events – but I really do enjoy it.”