Three-time ARC champion Neal Bates played chauffeur for the Adelaide hero during testing for the Toyota Kluger Rally SA at Mount Crawford.
McLeod, fresh from the Crows' showdown victory over Port Adelaide last weekend, showed visible signs of nervousness as he prepared for a burst of life in the fast lane in the new Corolla rally car.
"Give me 100,000 people and a footy game any day," McLeod said.
After returning from his ride with Bates fully intact, McLeod was much more enthusiastic about the experience.
"That was awesome!" he beamed.
"I would still prefer the footy game but it wasn't as scary as I initially thought it was going to be.
"I'm really glad I got to do that. The first thing I noticed was the force of the braking, and then how fast it pulls out of the corner.
"When we reached the first corner, we were going so fast that I thought we were just going to fly off into the trees - but it gripped and went around."
Neal Bates said McLeod was one of the better football passengers to step inside his rally car.
"I have taken a few footballers in the car and Andrew was one of the calmest," Bates said.
"Plenty of them get in and yell obscenities, but I think he really enjoyed it."
Bates said he was thrilled with the performance of his brand new Super 2000 car after testing.
"We actually finished testing really early because we were so happy with how the car was running," he said.
"Hopefully what we've learned about the new car so far will translate well to the weekend's running."
The Toyota Kluger Rally of South Australia commences at the Angaston Oval Super Special Stage on Friday night, before drivers and cars head to the forests of Mount Crawford for the majority of stages on Saturday and Sunday.
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