Dec. 23, 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Tuesday was a busy day for the Tar Heels in Charlotte as they crisscrossed the Queen City from Lowe's Motor Speedway to Charlotte Latin School in preparation for Saturday's Meineke Car Care Bowl against West Virginia.

After spending the morning in the meeting room, the Tar Heels bused to Concord for the "Lowe's Motor Speedway Experience." The event featured a barbeque lunch for both Carolina and West Virginia, a tire changing competition between the two head coaches and "hot laps" ride-alongs - at speeds upwards of 160 mph - for each of the players.

Head coach Butch Davis got the Tar Heels off to a fast start when he edged WVU head coach Bill Stewart in the tire changing competition. Davis finished the job in 17.12 seconds, compared to 17.24 for Stewart.

This could be a sign of good things to come for UNC, as the winning head coach in the tire-changing event has gone 4-2 in the previous six editions of Charlotte's bowl game.

NASCAR legend and Tar Heel fan Dale Jarrett also made an appearance at the track and wished both teams luck but left no doubt about who he was pulling for Saturday.

From there it was a quick trip around I-485 to Charlotte Latin School, where the Tar Heels hit the practice field in Charlotte for the first time. It was a homecoming for senior linebacker Mark Paschal and freshman quarterback Braden Hanson, who both starred for the Hawks before joining the UNC program.

Tonight, the teams will attend the Charlotte Bobcats-Washington Wizards game at TimeWarner Cable Arena. There will definitely be a Carolina Blue tint to the building with former Tar Heels Raymond Felton, Sean May and Antawn Jamison on the court and Larry Brown and several other Carolina alumni on the sidelines and in the stands.

Rumor has it that T.J. Yates, Hakeem Nicks and Deunta Williams will have a chance to show off their skills on the hardwood tonight. Hopefully the can follow Davis' lead and pull off another victory for the Tar Heels.