Graham Gano auditions NASCAR’s Austin Dillon for holder job … sort of

5:47 PM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers place-kicker Graham Gano is getting desperate to find a replacement for long-time holder Brad Nortman.

On Wednesday, he gave Sprint Cup driver Austin Dillon a tryout.

OK, it was just a promotional gimmick that brought these two together at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But Gano trusted the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing car enough that he let him hold in the infield as he kicked field goals up to about 45 yards on a makeshift goal post.

#Panthers @GrahamGano helps ‘kick’ off 10 Days NASCAR Thunder @CLTMotorSpdwy – @austindillon3 with the nice hold pic.twitter.com/QCdk02wIMt

— Kelli Bartik (@KelliBartik) May 4, 2016

Gano also let Dillon borrow the cleats he wore in Super Bowl 50.

You can’t kick field goals without the proper footwear. @GrahamGano gives @austindillon3 a pair of cleats. pic.twitter.com/Ssm5p4S69i

— RCR (@RCRracing) May 4, 2016

Dillon, a huge Panthers fan, wanted to keep them. The price might be too high.

“I might have to see if we can trade a racecar for a pair of cleats,” Gano said. “I don’t think that’s a fair trade.”

Gano did get a helmet out of the event.

Thanks to @OffAxisPaint & @StiloOfficial for getting @GrahamGano’s helmet race ready! #CocaCola600 #SprintAllStar pic.twitter.com/9zxoolr6ZV

— CharlotteMotorSpdwy (@CLTMotorSpdwy) May 4, 2016

Dillon was as surprised as anybody …

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