Today, I had the privilege of fulfilling a dream. Ever since I was 7, one of my dreams was to be a race car driver. I mean, who doesn't like to drive fast?
For father's day in 2014, my daughter got me the gift of a 5 minute drive with NASCAR Racing Experience. Our plan was to go to Charlotte, do the driving experience, and then go to the Hall of Fame. Life kept getting in the way of that dream. I looked at the racing experience schedule a few months ago and noticed Dover was on their calendar for August. Dover has been my "home" track for almost 30 years. I've attended at least one event there every year since 1987. I decided Dover was going to be my track of choice to do my racing experience.
This morning, we drove to Dover. We drove through small patches of drizzle on the way. The forecast had called for possible rain during the day, but most of the forecasts had it waiting until this afternoon. We arrived about 45 minutes prior to the start of my experience, which the website recommended. I climbed the stairs to the turn 2 bridge. The racing experience already had cars on the track. I stopped for a second and watched them go under the bridge. I was already nervous - this wasn't helping. I finally got off the bridge and hopped on the shuttle which took me to the staging area on pit road.
I checked in, and got my firesuit. I put the suit on and stopped to get a picture. I stood and waited for directions. Cars were sitting on pit road. I kept wondering which one I would get to strap into an hour or so later.
Finally, we were called to the media center for our driver's meeting. There were a a decent number of people doing the experience with me. We all entered the media center. As I was searching for a seat, I noticed a seat dedicated to Chris Economacki, who was a very popular motorsports writer. I chatted with a few other drivers - most were local and about as nervous as I was.
Finally, we got down to the driver's meeting. We watched a safety DVD which took about 20-25 minutes. It explained everything we needed to do during the course of the event. It was pretty self-explanatory. Upon completion of the video, we began to file out to the pits to prepare for our drives. Every person was given a pager. I watched as several folks were paged. Mine stayed silent. With each passing moment, I got more and more excited, but also nervous. I couldn't wait for my turn. In the meantime, I decided to upgrade from the 5 minute session to the 8 minute session, which would give me a little more driving time and was recommended by a few guys that had completed their run.
Finally, after about 30 minutes, my pager went off. I went to the line to be fitted for a helmet and to get my earbuds so I could hear the spotter who would be guiding me through my run. I swear that my heart rate climbed when I got my helmet on.
I waited and watched as others went for their drive. I also watched as several riders got their turn as a passenger with an instructor. I'd done that previously and really enjoyed the experience. It seemed like an eternity waiting for my name to be called.
Finally, I heard my name and was escorted to my car. After the racing experience crew checked the car, I climbed in and got settled in. I started putting the seat belts on, and one of the crew hooked up my radio. I could hear chatter between another driver and one of the spotters that would be guiding us around the track. I then put the steering wheel in and we waited for the signal that I was allowed to start my car.
The crew had me step on the clutch and started the car. The window net went up, and I was alone in the car. A million thoughts started going through my head. A voice in my ear brought me back to reality. The spotter was starting to tell me what the plan was for me to start my run.
Finally, the spotter told me to put the car in gear and go. I was worried I would stall the car and look like a jackass. I revved the engine to around 1500 RPM (we were told 1200 but I was a little over anxious) and let off the clutch. I started down pit road. As I got to 2000 RPM, I shifted into 2nd, then 3rd, and then 4th. As I hit 4th gear, I was on the apron and began to drive around the apron of Dover. This was it. I reached the back stretch, and blended in where the spotter advised me. He kept barking out orders: "5 feet from the bottom of the track", "lane up from the bottom on the straightaways!" I was having so much fun I kept forgetting to acknowledge his commands on the radio. He had to remind me more than once to at least say something or they'd pull me off the track.
Sometimes 8 minutes seems like an eternity. It seemed like a matter of minutes when I heard "Checkered flag!" My drive was over. Holy cow. That was quick. It seemed like I had just gotten started!! I continued my lap, then slowed into turn 3 and pulled onto the apron as the spotter instructed. I started down pit road, slowly rolling out of the throttle. I thanked my spotter for his instruction. He definitely made the experience fun! I pulled to the position they wanted me and stopped the car. One of the crew shut the engine off and took down the window net. I slowly got unbuckled and climbed out. Just like that, my drive was over.
I reluctantly removed my driving suit and returned it. I picked up the photo I purchased and decided to make a quick stop on the roof of the media center to watch a few cars go before I departed. I began to chat with a father and daughter who had just done ride alongs. I told them next year they need to drive!
Driving a race car around a track definitely gives you a different perspective on racing. The sight lines in the car are not good. Having a spotter definitely helped me get around the track and avoid running into any other cars. I caught myself focusing on things like the grandstands, billboards around the track, etc instead of where I was going. It's just amazing how fast things go. The top speed according to the race crew was around 110 MPH. It of course felt a lot faster.
I definitely recommend NASCAR Racing Experience if you're interested in driving a race car. Everyone from the folks checking you in, to the pit crew, were friendly, encouraging, and very helpful. They made the experience one to remember. I sit here, tired, but happy. It was definitely a drive of a lifetime!
For father's day in 2014, my daughter got me the gift of a 5 minute drive with NASCAR Racing Experience. Our plan was to go to Charlotte, do the driving experience, and then go to the Hall of Fame. Life kept getting in the way of that dream. I looked at the racing experience schedule a few months ago and noticed Dover was on their calendar for August. Dover has been my "home" track for almost 30 years. I've attended at least one event there every year since 1987. I decided Dover was going to be my track of choice to do my racing experience.
This morning, we drove to Dover. We drove through small patches of drizzle on the way. The forecast had called for possible rain during the day, but most of the forecasts had it waiting until this afternoon. We arrived about 45 minutes prior to the start of my experience, which the website recommended. I climbed the stairs to the turn 2 bridge. The racing experience already had cars on the track. I stopped for a second and watched them go under the bridge. I was already nervous - this wasn't helping. I finally got off the bridge and hopped on the shuttle which took me to the staging area on pit road.
I checked in, and got my firesuit. I put the suit on and stopped to get a picture. I stood and waited for directions. Cars were sitting on pit road. I kept wondering which one I would get to strap into an hour or so later.
Finally, we were called to the media center for our driver's meeting. There were a a decent number of people doing the experience with me. We all entered the media center. As I was searching for a seat, I noticed a seat dedicated to Chris Economacki, who was a very popular motorsports writer. I chatted with a few other drivers - most were local and about as nervous as I was.
Finally, we got down to the driver's meeting. We watched a safety DVD which took about 20-25 minutes. It explained everything we needed to do during the course of the event. It was pretty self-explanatory. Upon completion of the video, we began to file out to the pits to prepare for our drives. Every person was given a pager. I watched as several folks were paged. Mine stayed silent. With each passing moment, I got more and more excited, but also nervous. I couldn't wait for my turn. In the meantime, I decided to upgrade from the 5 minute session to the 8 minute session, which would give me a little more driving time and was recommended by a few guys that had completed their run.
Finally, after about 30 minutes, my pager went off. I went to the line to be fitted for a helmet and to get my earbuds so I could hear the spotter who would be guiding me through my run. I swear that my heart rate climbed when I got my helmet on.
I waited and watched as others went for their drive. I also watched as several riders got their turn as a passenger with an instructor. I'd done that previously and really enjoyed the experience. It seemed like an eternity waiting for my name to be called.
Finally, I heard my name and was escorted to my car. After the racing experience crew checked the car, I climbed in and got settled in. I started putting the seat belts on, and one of the crew hooked up my radio. I could hear chatter between another driver and one of the spotters that would be guiding us around the track. I then put the steering wheel in and we waited for the signal that I was allowed to start my car.
The crew had me step on the clutch and started the car. The window net went up, and I was alone in the car. A million thoughts started going through my head. A voice in my ear brought me back to reality. The spotter was starting to tell me what the plan was for me to start my run.
Finally, the spotter told me to put the car in gear and go. I was worried I would stall the car and look like a jackass. I revved the engine to around 1500 RPM (we were told 1200 but I was a little over anxious) and let off the clutch. I started down pit road. As I got to 2000 RPM, I shifted into 2nd, then 3rd, and then 4th. As I hit 4th gear, I was on the apron and began to drive around the apron of Dover. This was it. I reached the back stretch, and blended in where the spotter advised me. He kept barking out orders: "5 feet from the bottom of the track", "lane up from the bottom on the straightaways!" I was having so much fun I kept forgetting to acknowledge his commands on the radio. He had to remind me more than once to at least say something or they'd pull me off the track.
Sometimes 8 minutes seems like an eternity. It seemed like a matter of minutes when I heard "Checkered flag!" My drive was over. Holy cow. That was quick. It seemed like I had just gotten started!! I continued my lap, then slowed into turn 3 and pulled onto the apron as the spotter instructed. I started down pit road, slowly rolling out of the throttle. I thanked my spotter for his instruction. He definitely made the experience fun! I pulled to the position they wanted me and stopped the car. One of the crew shut the engine off and took down the window net. I slowly got unbuckled and climbed out. Just like that, my drive was over.
I reluctantly removed my driving suit and returned it. I picked up the photo I purchased and decided to make a quick stop on the roof of the media center to watch a few cars go before I departed. I began to chat with a father and daughter who had just done ride alongs. I told them next year they need to drive!
Driving a race car around a track definitely gives you a different perspective on racing. The sight lines in the car are not good. Having a spotter definitely helped me get around the track and avoid running into any other cars. I caught myself focusing on things like the grandstands, billboards around the track, etc instead of where I was going. It's just amazing how fast things go. The top speed according to the race crew was around 110 MPH. It of course felt a lot faster.
I definitely recommend NASCAR Racing Experience if you're interested in driving a race car. Everyone from the folks checking you in, to the pit crew, were friendly, encouraging, and very helpful. They made the experience one to remember. I sit here, tired, but happy. It was definitely a drive of a lifetime!
donna@mail.postmanllc.net
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