Gabriel ‘Fluffy’ Iglesias does everything big — including Sonoma pace car duties

SONOMA, Calif. – From headlining a sold-out Madison Square Garden and the Staples Center to the Sydney Opera House in Australia, stand-up comedian and actor Gabriel Iglesias does everything "big." So, of course, he’s up to the task – “OH, yeah,” he said – of the pressure and responsibility that comes along with driving the pace car for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. PHOTOS: Scenes from Sonoma | Full schedule for Sonoma In fact, he was a little bummed there are rules in place that keep him from putting the pedal to the metal and really letting loose before drivers take the green flag on the 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course. "They told me that I was only going to be able to go 40 mph and I was like, ‘Really? That’s it? I can do that in my bus,' " Iglesias told NASCAR.com Sunday morning. "But when you're out there and you're driving and you're hitting those turns, that's when you feel it. It's different when you've got a freakin' bunch of cars behind you, too.” Iglesias -- known by his fans as "Fluffy" --  is the star and executive producer of the recently worldwide-premiered, multi-cam comedy series for Netflix, Mr. Iglesias, where he plays a good-natured public high school teacher who works at his alma mater. The series’ 10 half-hour episodes premiered this weekend to an "incredible response," he said. It’s not the native Californian’s first taste of NASCAR – he’s been to Auto Club Speedway and was on hand for the closest Daytona 500 finish in NASCAR history in 2016 ­– and it’s clear it won’t be his last. RELATED: Closest Daytona 500 finishes in history | Buy 2020 Daytona 500 tickets “Daytona was my first real NASCAR experience, and that’s a hell of a way to lose your NASCARd,” he said. “I remember that that race was stupid close, within inches. I remember how excited people got and I thought it was always that close. We were in the infield and I noticed it’s its own little community with where all the RVs and buses are at then a little bit down the way there’s some of the smaller RVs and cars and you keep going down and it’s tent city. … That was the first time I ever played cornhole and the first time I ate alligator. “I’m a big fan of wrestling and I’m just a fan in general of events and this is right there in the vein of wrestling for me but it’s a little bit more … like, you can’t just walk into a wrestling locker room and talk to wrestlers while they’re lacing up their boots or oiling themselves up or doing some pushups, whereas here, fans are literally walking up to the cars while they’re revving them and putting gas in them and I’m like … this is very, very hands-on and I think people really appreciate that. … The fans appreciate that so much, because there’s so many events that happen that they can go to, but they’ll never get as close as they can get here.” Not only is the NASCAR at-track experience a one-of-a-kind animal of its own volition, but there are also some parallels with the long road on the rise to stand-up comedy stardom, especially at his level. Teams and drivers have to scratch and claw for every inch and every opportunity on the way up for years upon years – a hunger that can never cease even once a talent hits the upper echelon. “(Comedy) is a hard grind, and some never get there,” Iglesias said. “I think it’s just one of those things where you have to constantly evolve and stay consistent. Any time you let off the gas, no pun intended, that’s when you’re going to run into problems. That’s why I tell people when they ask me, ‘When are you going to take a vacation?’ and I say ‘I don’t, because there’s somebody coming up right behind me and I’m always fighting for my spot.’ " That's why Iglesias never plans to take his foot off the gas -- not only behind the wheel of the pace car but with his comedy career, too.