I was in Richmond, VA on a business trip last weekend and was able to partake in a little fun afterwards. The Richard Petty Driving Experience travels to tracks all over the US and let's people (for a price) drive real NASCAR racecars around the track. It was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. I am not a big race fan. I don't really watch NASCAR, but after seeing it up close and experiencing, albeit for a little while, my interest has definitely been piqued... First thing you do when you get there is sign your life away. As you could imagine Mr. Petty's legal team probably spent a few years writing the document that allows people with questionable driving histories race quarter million dollar machines at high speeds around a small track. It was a few pages of extremely small type that I had to intial numerous times... for all I know, Richard Petty could own my first born child. Who cares, let’s race! After that, they give you a small briefing on what you will be doing, you don a fire resistant suit, and get introduced to your driving instructor.
This was my driving instructor Eric. Eric is from NC and was very knowledgeable and friendly. Eric is a racer in smaller circuits and actually got started at RPDE washing cars. Eric took us out to the track and showed us the cars we would be riding up close. He explained to us how to get in and out of the cars (Dukes of Hazard Style) and some of their features. There weren't many. Steering wheel, shifter, gas, brake, clutch, tachometer, and an eerie red light. Basically if the red light turns on, bad things are going to happen. Eric explained what to do in case of a fire, crash, or any other event I was hoping not to be a part of. If my adrenaline wasn't pumping before, it was now. Eric then took our group, piled us into a van, and brought us around the track. He showed us how we would merge onto the track since other students and instructors would be flying around. He showed us the acceleration and deceleration zones. He showed us the various hand signals he would be using to tell us what to do since there was no radio communication. But most importantly he showed us the track of the course to follow to optimize speed and handling. Now Richmond Raceway is one of the smaller tracks on the NASCAR circuit. It is only 3/4 of a mile and does not have a very steep bank. As Eric took us around, he got the VAN up to about 55 mph and when he went around the corner, it felt like the van was going to go spinning out of control into the wall. Now my heart was really pumping. After our van tour, they put us in the pits and go over some last minute instructions. I think I left an important detail out. There is no instructor in the car with you. You are driving by yourself. This isn't drivers ed with an instructor and a brake pedal. You follow an instructor around the course trying to always keep 3 car lengths between you and in his track at all times. If you were not obeying these rules, a man standing at the finish line would wave flags at you. Different flags and different motions meant different things. Okay, my head is spinning. I have to remember hand signals, flags, red lights, what to do in case of a catastrophic event, and drive a car at dangerously fast speeds. They could have told me that I had to drive blindfolded at that point and I think I would have agreed! 
There were about 30 other racers that day. They posted a list of the driving positions and I was number 8. For the first session, you go out for 8 laps. They then critique your driving and you finish with 10 laps. The instructors, there were 4 of them, hop in the cars in the beginning and race around the track a few times with "Highway to the Danger Zone" from Top Gun playing in the background... Great... You cannot believe the sound. 10 cars with about 600 horsepower engines roaring. When they call your name you then enter the final prep zone. This is where they put on your helmet and Hans Device. A Hans Device is basically a piece of carbon fiber that sits on your shoulders and straps to your helmet. It keeps your head from flying forward if you hit something. That motion is what unfortunately killed Dale Earnhardt Senior. The first few racers hop in, start up their engines, and get the go ahead signal. At this point my mind is racing as fast as the cars. What does the green flag in circular motion mean? Was it at 2,500 or 3,000 rpm's I need to shift? Hands at 10-4? Next thing I know, my name is called. After finding a helmet to fit my enormously bulbous head, I stand waiting for my car to be ready. Good old number 25. The instructor checks my equipment, gives me some last minute instruction (like I had the mental capacity for anymore) and tells me to get in.
Okay, I am a bigger guy. Maybe a little heavier then I need to be. Let me just say I struggled to fit into this tiny car window, past a steering column and shifter all looking to impale me. My head now with a huge helmet strapped to it bent my neck into positions I didn't think were possible. Okay, I am in. My head is pressed against the ceiling, my knees are at my chest, but I am in. All I could think of was if it took a shoe horn and pound of grease to get me in the car, how would I ever get out in case of an emergency? This is what is giving me butterflies as an instructor straps a 6 point harness to me. I am not claustrophobic, but there are several factors that made me feel a little uneasy. With your Hans device strapped to your helmet, you cannot look left or right. There are no mirrors other than a rear view mirror. Your side windows are straps. Everywhere is a blind spot except for straight ahead. Hands are definitely shaking now.
I get the signal to go and remembering the days of my first standard transmission, the 1986 Hyundai Excel, I released the clutch and tookoff. The instructor takes off and I fall way behind. Okay they told you not to do a burn out on pit road, but I didn't think we would be driving this fast so soon. Mind you there is no speedometer in the car so I could have been doing 30 mph and with the environment around me might have made it felt like 80 mph. I am trying to play it safe and get to a good cruising speed. Next thing I know, I am 10 car lengths behind the instructor. I step on the gas to catch up and the car takes off. The torque throws me further into the small seat. Realizing that I am quickly catching up, I let off the gas and the car slows. This herky-jerky motion continues... We reach the first corner and every natural driving instinct is telling me to slow down and put on the brakes. Nope. We were strictly told no brakes or down shifting, just let off the gas and coast through the corner. As I fight the urge to brake, I turn the wheel and the car cruises around the corner like it was on rails. Okay time to accelerate. The instructor is still way ahead of me as we come back around to the starting line. I get the green flag in a circular motion. That means I am not close enough to the instructor and speed up. I try to catch him and by the time I do, it is another corner and I lose his track and fall behind again... Another green flag in a circular motion. Fine, I floor it. The car screams as I exit the corner and fly up behind him. The instructor following the natural path around the track goes high on the straight sections and dives low around the corners. I try to keep his path, but it is creepy driving that fast so close to a wall and then flying around hairpin turns at 90 mph. But I am able to stay close and I get no more flags as I slowly start to get more comfortable. My 8 laps is up and it is time to head back. The instructor gives me the signal and we pull in the entrance to pit road on the back side of the track. Here there are signs were you have to test your brakes. I step on the brakes and soon realize that I small tap does nothing. You have to jam the brakes as hard as you can to get any sort of response. Then as you enter you shift the car into neutral and coast down pit road to a stop so the next driver can go. As I squeeze my way out of the car, the instructor standing there with a clip board and my lap times gives me some advice for the next session. "Work on throttle control and follow the path of the instructor". To coin a phrase from Andy Bernard from The Office, "William Doolittle at your service, AKA Will Do". I sit and wait for the next go round nervously drinking water and looking for the nearest restroom. After all the other drivers are finished, they huddle us around again and with the instructors out of our cars and they give us some advice. Stay close, follow our paths, keep up the throttle speed. Got it. Now again I would be racing out of the number 8 spot again for the final 10 laps and to tell you the truth I actually was hesitant about going out a second time. Maybe it was because I cheated death the first time out. Maybe it was because I knew that since I was feeling more comfortable I would try to go faster, further taunting death. Maybe it was because I was surrounded by 30 other guys and competition was just begging me to get the fastest lap times when they posted them at the end. What can I say? I am competitive. I get called up again and strap on the helmet and get my car. Good old number 25 again. This time I knew that the car could handle some acceleration in the corners. They wanted you to accelerate as you left the corner. After getting the lay of the land and the feel for the corners, I surmised you could actually accelerate at the apex of the curve. Therefore you could be going quite a bit faster as you entered the straightaway. Am I a professional racer? Nope. Why was I instructing myself on questionable and unproven ways to go faster you might ask? Not sure. But I did just that and as I started getting more comfortable with the speed and handling, the instructor in front of me went faster and faster. Okay, I didn't break any course lap records or speeds. The fastest recorded lap time in the history of Richmond Raceway was 20.77 seconds and the top speed was 129.98 mph. That was a professional. My fastest lap was 29.14 seconds and my top speed was 112.67 mph. That was good enough to put me behind 2 other drivers for third place. The guy that was the highest did a hair under 115 mph. He was from Texas so he already had a genetic advantage.
There were about 30 other racers that day. They posted a list of the driving positions and I was number 8. For the first session, you go out for 8 laps. They then critique your driving and you finish with 10 laps. The instructors, there were 4 of them, hop in the cars in the beginning and race around the track a few times with "Highway to the Danger Zone" from Top Gun playing in the background... Great... You cannot believe the sound. 10 cars with about 600 horsepower engines roaring. When they call your name you then enter the final prep zone. This is where they put on your helmet and Hans Device. A Hans Device is basically a piece of carbon fiber that sits on your shoulders and straps to your helmet. It keeps your head from flying forward if you hit something. That motion is what unfortunately killed Dale Earnhardt Senior. The first few racers hop in, start up their engines, and get the go ahead signal. At this point my mind is racing as fast as the cars. What does the green flag in circular motion mean? Was it at 2,500 or 3,000 rpm's I need to shift? Hands at 10-4? Next thing I know, my name is called. After finding a helmet to fit my enormously bulbous head, I stand waiting for my car to be ready. Good old number 25. The instructor checks my equipment, gives me some last minute instruction (like I had the mental capacity for anymore) and tells me to get in. Okay, I am a bigger guy. Maybe a little heavier then I need to be. Let me just say I struggled to fit into this tiny car window, past a steering column and shifter all looking to impale me. My head now with a huge helmet strapped to it bent my neck into positions I didn't think were possible. Okay, I am in. My head is pressed against the ceiling, my knees are at my chest, but I am in. All I could think of was if it took a shoe horn and pound of grease to get me in the car, how would I ever get out in case of an emergency? This is what is giving me butterflies as an instructor straps a 6 point harness to me. I am not claustrophobic, but there are several factors that made me feel a little uneasy. With your Hans device strapped to your helmet, you cannot look left or right. There are no mirrors other than a rear view mirror. Your side windows are straps. Everywhere is a blind spot except for straight ahead. Hands are definitely shaking now.I get the signal to go and remembering the days of my first standard transmission, the 1986 Hyundai Excel, I released the clutch and tookoff. The instructor takes off and I fall way behind. Okay they told you not to do a burn out on pit road, but I didn't think we would be driving this fast so soon. Mind you there is no speedometer in the car so I could have been doing 30 mph and with the environment around me might have made it felt like 80 mph. I am trying to play it safe and get to a good cruising speed. Next thing I know, I am 10 car lengths behind the instructor. I step on the gas to catch up and the car takes off. The torque throws me further into the small seat. Realizing that I am quickly catching up, I let off the gas and the car slows. This herky-jerky motion continues... We reach the first corner and every natural driving instinct is telling me to slow down and put on the brakes. Nope. We were strictly told no brakes or down shifting, just let off the gas and coast through the corner. As I fight the urge to brake, I turn the wheel and the car cruises around the corner like it was on rails. Okay time to accelerate. The instructor is still way ahead of me as we come back around to the starting line. I get the green flag in a circular motion. That means I am not close enough to the instructor and speed up. I try to catch him and by the time I do, it is another corner and I lose his track and fall behind again... Another green flag in a circular motion. Fine, I floor it. The car screams as I exit the corner and fly up behind him. The instructor following the natural path around the track goes high on the straight sections and dives low around the corners. I try to keep his path, but it is creepy driving that fast so close to a wall and then flying around hairpin turns at 90 mph. But I am able to stay close and I get no more flags as I slowly start to get more comfortable. My 8 laps is up and it is time to head back. The instructor gives me the signal and we pull in the entrance to pit road on the back side of the track. Here there are signs were you have to test your brakes. I step on the brakes and soon realize that I small tap does nothing. You have to jam the brakes as hard as you can to get any sort of response. Then as you enter you shift the car into neutral and coast down pit road to a stop so the next driver can go. As I squeeze my way out of the car, the instructor standing there with a clip board and my lap times gives me some advice for the next session. "Work on throttle control and follow the path of the instructor". To coin a phrase from Andy Bernard from The Office, "William Doolittle at your service, AKA Will Do". I sit and wait for the next go round nervously drinking water and looking for the nearest restroom. After all the other drivers are finished, they huddle us around again and with the instructors out of our cars and they give us some advice. Stay close, follow our paths, keep up the throttle speed. Got it. Now again I would be racing out of the number 8 spot again for the final 10 laps and to tell you the truth I actually was hesitant about going out a second time. Maybe it was because I cheated death the first time out. Maybe it was because I knew that since I was feeling more comfortable I would try to go faster, further taunting death. Maybe it was because I was surrounded by 30 other guys and competition was just begging me to get the fastest lap times when they posted them at the end. What can I say? I am competitive. I get called up again and strap on the helmet and get my car. Good old number 25 again. This time I knew that the car could handle some acceleration in the corners. They wanted you to accelerate as you left the corner. After getting the lay of the land and the feel for the corners, I surmised you could actually accelerate at the apex of the curve. Therefore you could be going quite a bit faster as you entered the straightaway. Am I a professional racer? Nope. Why was I instructing myself on questionable and unproven ways to go faster you might ask? Not sure. But I did just that and as I started getting more comfortable with the speed and handling, the instructor in front of me went faster and faster. Okay, I didn't break any course lap records or speeds. The fastest recorded lap time in the history of Richmond Raceway was 20.77 seconds and the top speed was 129.98 mph. That was a professional. My fastest lap was 29.14 seconds and my top speed was 112.67 mph. That was good enough to put me behind 2 other drivers for third place. The guy that was the highest did a hair under 115 mph. He was from Texas so he already had a genetic advantage.
It was a great experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Maybe at a different, longer track to see how much faster I could go. RPDE travels all around the country to different tracks, so they might be at a track near you... I am going to go rent "Days of Thunder" and start saving up some $ so I can go out there and race again...
3 comments:
We're waiting...
Very cool! Your nephews will be very impressed.
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