"Joe6pack" (joe6pack)
11/19/2016 at 22:55 • Filed to: None
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"Joe6pack" (joe6pack)
11/19/2016 at 22:55 • Filed to: None | 5
| 4 |
About a year ago, my sister-in-law, who is awesome by the way, decided to give my brother one of those NASCAR Racing Experiences. And, so that he wouldn’t have to do it alone, she bought one for me, too. Even though I love cars and racing, I am not exactly what you would call a speed demon. My daily driver is (still) a Nissan Leaf and I have never done a track day. Anyhow, here’s how it went down.
My brother lives in the panhandle of Florida and I live north of Atlanta. We had several options on what experience we could choose and what track. Secretly, I was hoping he would opt for the Mario Andretti Racing Experience as I am more drawn to the Indy cars, but he’s a NASCAR guy, so we decided on the NASCAR Experience at Atlanta Motor Speedway on October 22nd.
When we met up at the track, my brother was really excited and raring to go. I, on the other hand, was pretty nervous and hoping not to wind up as a YouTube highlight. They gave us driving suits, took our driver’s licenses and had us sign our lives away. They then took us into a classroom, had us watch a video (that was actually shot at Charlotte) and then gave us a short presentation.
From here, we were led out to the track where we were given headphones and helmets. The headphones were so that we could communicate with our spotter. That’s right kids, you are all alone in the car. The cars themselves are advertised as being retired NASCAR race cars. They certainly look and feel the part. And, like a real race car, they do not have a speedometer, so you really have no idea how fast you are actually going. Your rpms and therefore your speed are limited by your spotter. As he gets more comfortable with how you are doing, he can increase your rpms to a max (if I recall correctly) of 5400 rpms. He can also kill your engine if necessary.
We actually had two 8 minute sessions. My first session started off rather poorly as I shifted directly from first to fourth while taking off from pit road. They put the car in first gear for you, so the first time you actuate the clutch and shift the car, you are driving the car. You aren’t given any opportunity to become familiar with the equipment. Fortunately, the car had enough torque that it didn’t stall. But, I am sure my adoring fans could tell I screwed up. In order to communicate with the spotter, you have to press a button on the steering wheel. A button that I pretty much lost track of immediately and didn’t dare look down long enough to find. Making small talk was the last thing on my mind anyway. As for the wheel itself, I think it would have been more at home on a Greyhound bus - it was huge. Meanwhile, my spotter was telling me to increase my rpms to set points - 4400, 4600, etc. This too meant nothing as I refused to take my eyes off the road long enough to look at the tach. I just gave it a little more gas each time he said something.
During the presentation, we were told to stay out of the top 12 feet of the track. That is where two professional drivers were giving ride-alongs at 170+ mph. The spotter would let you know that you were about to be passed and would then count down until the car passed you. While I had a rear-view mirror, I wasn’t in the mood to use it. After this first session was over, I pulled back into the pits to wait. They basically made you sit in the car with the engine off before sending you back out. I was ok with this as it gave me a chance to play with the gear box. It really sucked. Now I know why NASCAR hates road courses so much. Fortunately, once you are in fourth, that’s all the shifting you need to do.
My second session started off much better and my spotter took the training wheels off. Still, I had no idea how fast I was going and assumed I must be quite slow. The scariest part of this session was that I actually managed to overtake someone. We were told to only pass on the outside on the back straight. I didn’t think I had time to make the pass before the turn, but my spotter felt differently. And since I couldn’t find that button, who was I to argue. This must have been where I set my top speed.
After returning our gear we picked up our certificates. My brother set a top speed of 152 mph. I was impressed. I did my best to prepare everyone within earshot for my forthcoming poor score. I really did think I had done poorly. The kid behind the counter, who had heard my poor mouthing, came over and slapped my certificate down on the counter and said, “you ready for it?”. Then he lifted his hand and I saw it - 159.6 mph!
I am not sure how to describe the feeling I felt after this. I was basically high for a week. Holy crap. Meanwhile, they told us that they would post the scores to Facebook so that we could see how we ranked against our fellow racers. Well, as you can see, I came in first in my group.
I would really like to do it again someday. I honestly can’t believe that they let people walk in off the street and do this with basically no training, but they do. Regardless, this experience has prompted me to schedule my first track day. I am going to Road Atlanta on December 2nd with the 944.
Let me know if you have any questions about doing this. It is something I will remember forever.
E92M3
> Joe6pack
11/20/2016 at 00:00 |
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Road Atlanta is a legendary track, you will love it! My first track day was at TGP.
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Joe6pack
> E92M3
11/20/2016 at 00:07 |
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I have actually done parade laps there as part of PCA at Petit LeMans, but this will be my first actual track day. I am doing it with Just Trackit and will have an instructor which I am sure I need. I actually live about a mile from the track - closer as the crow flies.
haveacarortwoorthree2
> Joe6pack
11/20/2016 at 09:14 |
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That’s awesome. I’ve done this at Texas Motor Speedway, but they actually have a guy in the car with you. The only communication you have directly with him is either hand signals or him yanking up on the leg of your firesuit because you weren’t slowing down fast enough (although he can communicate with the “spotters” riding along in the other cars). The second time I did it, he actually let me pass 4 cars — was so much fun.
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Joe6pack
> haveacarortwoorthree2
11/20/2016 at 10:24 |
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I actually watched some videos online, so I thought surely there would be someone the car with me. I still can’t believe they let people walk in off the street and do this. I saw folks all stripes doing it including a little old lady who looked like was only a couple of years from not being able drive a street car.