Even when he isn’t with the New England Patriots, Julian Edelman apparently only hangs out with athletes who’ve won some of the most iconic events in all of sports.
Edelman was in California on Sunday hanging out with Indianapolis 500 winners Alexander Rossi and Mario Andretti prior to the Verizon IndyCar Series Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. He not only learned about the single-seater series by talking to the two American racers, but also got to experience firsthand what the cars can do.
The Patriots wide receiver spent some time at the beginning of the day in the Andretti Autosport garage, where Rossi showed him around his No. 98 race car.
Afterward, leaving the Andretti camp, Edelman sat down with the man who made that name famous. They supposedly talked about Edelman’s two Super Bowl victories, but we’d be surprised if Edelman didn’t also ask Andretti some questions to prepare for what he was about to do next.
Whatever information Edelman got from Andretti clearly didn’t scare him out of going for a ride-along in a two-seater show car on the formation lap before the start of the race.
Like many non-race fans, Edelman probably didn’t think racing drivers have that difficult of a job prior to Sunday. But after getting an up-close look at the sport with one of the biggest names in American motorsport, his perspective definitely has changed.
Edelman now needs to convince Tom Brady to go for a spin with Andretti. Brady got his first exposure to open-wheel racing during the 2016 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, but said the cars were too fast for him to get behind the wheel of. He didn’t say he was opposed to riding in one while a professional mans the controls, though.
