Fresh off a win, Weekley in fine form for Wachovia Championship

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- That camouflage cap, homespun wit and aw-shucks demeanor make Boo Weekley seem like a fish out of water in the world of polyester pants and polo shirts where he makes his living.

Boo Weekley admits he's driven too fast on the interstate back home, but he did it all in good, safe fun at the Lowe's Motor Speedway Tuesday. (Courtesy of the Richard Petty Driving Experience)

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On Tuesday, though, golf's All-American boy was completely in his element when he went to the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Lowe's Motor Speedway with Stuart Appleby, Rory Sabbatini and Woody Austin.

Weekley's a NASCAR fan, particularly of Dale Earnhardt Jr., and he got to drive a fully equipped replica of the No. 8 car his favorite driver made famous. The trick was to stay within three to five car lengths of the professional driver up ahead.

"It was awesome," Weekley said. "If you ain't ever done it, you need to try."

Weekley estimated he went 138 mph in his first trip around the oval, then got up to 150 in his second. He admitted he'd gone nearly as fast along Interstate 10 near his home in the Florida panhandle, but this was much more tense.

"It's the whole thing," Weekley explained. "You get a vehicle that's probably more expensive than what I own at the house ... (and) if you pile that thing up in the wall, you can't just say, hey, I'm sorry.

"It was kind of nerve wracking, you know?"

The PGA TOUR pros were taking a break from their preparation for the Wachovia Championship, which begins on Thursday at Quail Hollow Club. Appleby has actually competed in some road races before, and he didn't disappoint at the speedway.

"Him and Woody both can go," Weekley said with a big grin. "I told him if his golf don't pan out for him, they might have a career in that."

Weekley is making the game a pretty good career, as well. Two weeks ago, he won the Verizon Heritage for the second straight year. He said playing two rounds at Augusta National with the eventual Masters champion, Trevor Immelman, helped him be patient and resilient at Harbour Town the following week.

"The first two days I played with him, he looked so just focused, confident, the whole nine yards, and it's amazing that you very rarely see that as a player," Weekley said. "But when you look at it and you see another player doing that, you're like, man, I wish I could get where he's at, in that comfort zone.

"I think a lot of it had to do with what happened for me the following week at Hilton Head is because I actually was focusing on a lot of the stuff I saw him doing. I kind of tried to get myself in that position, and it was neat."

Thanks to that victory, Weekley now stands seventh in the FedExCup race and eighth on the money list. He has climbed to 23rd in the world and stands fifth on the list to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team that will go to Valhalla in September looking to break a victory drought that stretches to 1999.

Weekley says he'd love to play for captain Paul Azinger but is quick to add "it ain't going to make or break who I am as a person or as a golfer if I made it or not." Weekley said he'd be a good team member because of the values he holds dear.

"You believe in everything that's in front of you and our forefathers and everything that gave it to me," he said. "It would be great to honor my state and my country and my hometown."

Johnson Wagner says of Boo Weekley: "He's probably one of my top-five ever to play with." (How/Getty Images)

Johnson Wagner, the recent Shell Houston Open champion, is also trying to play his way onto the Ryder Cup team. He and Weekley played together on the Nationwide Tour, where Wagner saw firsthand the potential his friend has.

"Boo's one of the best ball strikers around," Wagner said. "Everybody knows that, but he's just a great guy. He's probably one of my top-five ever to play with. He's fun to be around; his caddy's a great guy, too.

"He's just Boo. He is what he is. He is for real."

Weekley grew up in Milton, Fla., which has a population of about 8,000 people. He's downsized now that he's building a home in nearby Jay, which is about a tenth as big. The population will increase by one, though, in late June or early July when Weekley's second child is born.

"I have to say, the good Lord starts everything, and then my family," he said. "That to me is my whole world. If I ain't got them with me or in my heart or around me where I can't talk to them, I might as well quit doing what I'm doing.

"I'd much rather be home with them, whether I am taking care of them or just seeing them, sitting down and having a pecan pie with them or something, you know?"

The older members of the Weekley clan might have to settle for mint juleps in Louisville during the Ryder Cup, though. He wouldn't expect to be one of the team leaders, but at the same time, he's up to the challenge if the U.S. needs him.

"This dog can hunt," Weekley said. "He ain't afraid."