South Carolina puts ‘All Gas, No Brakes’ slogan to the test at Charlotte speedway

South Carolina’s 2018 motto of “All Gas, No Brakes” took on new meaning Wednesday during the Gamecocks’ first full day of preparations for the Belk Bowl. As part of their bowl week festivities, the team’s players and coaches were treated to laps around the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“It’s amazing how fast they run against those walls, closer than I wanted to be, I can tell you that right now,” said Gamecocks head coach Will Muschamp, who coined the season motto after the team won the Outback Bowl last year. “I felt like I could touch it.”

Muschamp and quarterback Jake Bentley were among the first to hop in the passenger seat of the cars, which averaged between 165 and 170 mph at their top speed around the 1.5-mile track.

“We were in the 19 car. I knew that was a good sign,” said Bentley, who wears the No. 19 jersey. “My nerves kind of went away when I got in the 19 car.”

Not entirely, though.

“Woooh, that was fast,” Bentley said after he emerged from the car. “Right when he hit the gas, what I was thinking about was, ‘This is nothing like the racing games.’ ”

A visit to Second Harvest Food Bank in Charlotte and the team shopping spree at Belk are on tap for Thursday. The Gamecocks (7-5) play Virginia (7-5) on Saturday in the Belk Bowl in Bank of America Stadium.