Detroit — Lions tackle Penei Sewell spent a day on Belle Isle on Sunday, learning the sport of IndyCar racing while also handling the duties of grand marshal for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, having a hand in the final race held on the island.
Sewell, 6-foot-5 and 330 pounds, was attending his first IndyCar race and was impressed with the cars, the drivers and teams, especially with how drivers could even squeeze their way into the racing machines.
“It’s been a blast so far, just kind of learning the race a little bit, learning about the cars more and how unique they are, also the process that goes into it,” Sewell said. “There’s a lot of people involved and it’s really similar to what I do, the environment that I’m in and it’s crazy to see that.
“Everybody plays a different role into the car, whether you’re the driver or the person that replaces the tires. Everybody is important though for that car to go fast and to have the fastest time, everybody has to be on their A game to do that.
“It’s the same thing as football. No matter what position you are, if all 11 are not on the same page we’re not going to win, so that’s kind of the comparison that I saw, and it’s really cool to see.”
Sewell’s boss, Lions head coach Dan Campbell was the grand marshal of the race last year.
So, did Campbell give Sewell some advice?
“I don’t think he knows I’m here right now,” said Sewell, who was a unanimous All-American for the Oregon Ducks his sophomore season in 2019, winning the Outland Trophy, then sitting out his junior year in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being picked No. 7 overall by the Lions in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Despite a 3-13-1 record in Campbell and Sewell’s first year with the Lions, some fans of the team are optimistic for a winning season since the team went on a 3-3 run to end the season, including wins over the Cardinals and Packers, after a 0-10-1 start.
So, what did Sewell learn in his rookie year?
“All the lessons I’ve learned in Year 1 were definitely important for me going into Year 2, the game was a lot quicker, I also took that year (2020) off so I kind of forgot the speed of the game a little bit, so I’m a lot more comfortable out there,” Sewell said. “I know the playbook more so I can play faster. I know the cadence so I can play faster. Everything is just experience, so now this year it’s just go out there and have fun.”
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The Lions have just one playoff win since winning the NFL championship in 1957, and that’s when the Lions defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the 1991 season with NFL Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders running behind a talented offensive line led by Lomas Brown, Kevin Glover, Mike Utley and Eric Andolsek.
Utley was paralyzed during that 1991 season from an injury suffered against the Rams, and Andolsek was killed that offseason while hit by a semi-trailer while working in his yard.
So, how good will this year’s offensive line be, especially since quarterback Jared Goff now has weapons to work with, including running back D’Andre Swift, tight end T.J. Hockenson, free-agent receiver DJ Chark and first-round draft pick, receiver Jameson Williams?
“We have a special group this year just because I was the rookie in the room last year and the whole year, we got to build relationships and that’s what really matters in the room, knowing the man really you’re going to war with every day, so this year we’re just like peanut butter and jelly all across the board, that’s how close we are,” said Sewell, who joins an offensive line group which includes tackle Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow who is considered one of the top centers in the league.
david.goricki@detroitnews.com