Engelland becomes NASCAR driver for a day, Busch tries hockey

LAS VEGAS -- Deryk Engelland and Kurt Busch each got to see how the other half lives on Monday.

The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman and NASCAR driver swapped jobs in a cross-promotion between the defending Western Conference champions and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Busch laced up his skates and took part in some on-ice drills with Engelland and Golden Knights color TV analyst Shane Hnidy.

Busch was in his hometown to promote the South Point 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at the speedway on Sept. 16.
Busch joined Engelland and Hnidy on the ice to take part in a number of drills at City National Arena.

Not everything went smoothly for the 40-year-old former NASCAR champion. He slipped and hit the ice hard midway through the drills, but quickly laughed it off.

"It was a little slick out there," Busch said. "I need to just leave stick and the puck to the side and work on my foot skill... It was fun, getting a chance to skate with the pros. It was an experience I'll never forget."
Engelland then got a taste of Busch's environment, riding shotgun with the veteran driver. Busch estimated the the pair hit 155 mph around the 1.5-mile track.

Engelland didn't get anywhere near that speed while behind the wheel.

"To come out here and experience it with such an amazing race car driver. It's a dream come true to do that," Engelland said.
With the NASCAR schedule not permitted Busch to attend as many Golden Knights games as he would have liked, the Las Vegas native had a lot of fun following his newest hometown team.
"There's so much sports movement in Las Vegas, and it's great to be a part of it," Busch said. "The way [the Golden Knights] started the season strong... it was like Cinderella and you were hoping it wouldn't end. I can't wait to see what next season brings."