Why I now love NASCAR and other adventures....
Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 6:23 pm
Here I am in Birmingham Alabama for work, on a weekend, with nothing to do. Naturally, like many would do I take to scouring the internet looking for fun things to do but nothing sounded interesting to me. I really liked the Barber Motorsports Museum but the problem was that it left me wanting more, wanting to see more of what Alabama had to offer for motorsports, something real. It was about then that I realized how close to the famed Talladega Super Speedway was and that this was a great opportunity to go see it however admittedly I know nothing of NASCAR other than it was a race started by bootleggers and that Danika Patrick is hot so armed with this knowledge I set out to the web to look at things to do at Talladega. One link titled Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure stole my eye and I went with it not realizing how much of an adventure this was about to become. When I realized what I was looking at, a chance to pilot an actual NASCAR I thought to myself this is so cool but it will be way out of my price range so I left the site. Later thinking to myself that I never really do anything totally amazing I found myself back on the site hovering over the shopping cart confirmation button going back and forth until finally the forth won the battle at pocketbook field and before I knew it I was scheduled to have an adventure of my own on May 12th…. OMG what did I just do?
After no sleep and lots and lots of Ricky Bobby quotes I got to the track and oh what a track this was…. I have never experienced anything like this and getting to drive all the way to trackside seemed like I was doing something very wrong that I should not be doing and my body wholeheartedly agreed however my deranged mind had other plans for us.
Once there the incredible staff got me set up and soon I was experiencing the roar of these amazing machines standing just feet away…. It was intense to say the least and the pit in my stomach was getting much bigger.
They move you along so well you start to focus on the learning and safety and forget that you will soon be driving out there at speeds in excess of 150 MPH. After class where you learn the ever important thumbs up for “faster” and thumbs down for “slower” you are taken to suit up and get fitted to a car which in my case the #10 Honda was the best match to my size as the seats are not movable. I still think they gave me the Honda because I mentioned that I was a F1 fan…. The laughs were seemingly a bit muhahahaha-ish now that I think back.
Once they called to “go green” the signal for getting in the cars and getting ready much was a blur. I remember how hard it was to actually get into this thing and then I remember the roar of the engine. I remember nothing of the talk about Bass Pro Shops with the guy putting my helmet on but it seems all too funny now because what happened next permanently changed me a little bit.
Sitting in the car looking out onto Talladega Super Speedway seemed dream like. I am supposed to be up there looking down at this, not the other way around. Before I could even adjust to what I was seeing I was told to go…. So go I did. In a NASCAR you have four gears and a reverse of which the one you want to get to and never leave is fourth gear. There was so much going on to where I didn’t think to shift so up went the “2” and “3” hand signals, by fourth I was ready for his signal. The track itself is confusing to say the least. You would think the simplicity of an oval is nothing to fear but not having any sense of direction on something you are about to travel faster than you ever have by your own mechanics is scary for sure.
The first lap you are pretty much in the flats so you don’t feel the banks but looking to the corner of my right eye and seeing a wall as high as my vision could see up was intimidating…. No sky, just wall. By the time I was exiting the turn I was getting a continual thumbs up and I this is where the fun began. The instructor signaled me to move up the bank and helped me realize that I can be a bit more aggressive than I had thought with the wheel. Once up the bank everything changed…. This was no longer just a fast racecar going around a turn it was transformed instantly to an F22 Raptor pulling some serious G forces. Suddenly things were coming back to me as my mind raced to catch up and analyze the moment as fast as it could. I remember them saying to keep your foot away from the clutch pedal because the centrifugal force will make your leg press down on it and I could understand exactly why now as there is something to be said about having to focus on not killing yourself and bracing yourself at the same time…. Almost like the odds are against you. By the time I could see the next turn my mind was telling me to slow down because a turn was ahead however in a NASCAR this is not the case so fighting my mind with my body I accelerated into the turn when suddenly I found myself in another world, one where my guts were being removed through my bottom and strangely there was no longer any sky, only a wall of asphalt as high as I could see again except this time it was in front of me and moving fast. I would describe the situation as like riding the teacups, head on into a gigantic tidal wave while banking in a fighter jet traveling warp speed…. It is just like that I am not even kidding. How the drivers of this series can do this over and over is crazy and in that singe moment every one of them won my respect a million times over. Just the fight you have trying to turn a car left when gravity is telling it to go right is insane. Continually gaining speed I was starting to get used to what to expect and my lap times consistently improved and got faster and faster until I was being signaled to head in. I got back to pit row, got a high five from my incredible instructor and a hug from just about everyone there because I was so excited from the experience I just had I could not contain myself…. It was truly ridiculous. Talking after to my instructor he told me that I did better than average and that he was surprised I was able to go that fast my first time out and that made me smile.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy5fs9rFK4g[/youtube]
After saying goodbye I went to grab my time sheet where I was expecting to see a confirmed 150 MPH for sure however when I got it I was surprised because today I drove a confirmed 166.7 MPH…. Faster than I have ever driven.... in a real NASCAR…. at the fastest and most dangerous track in the series…. Talladega you have won me over and I am from this day forth never going to criticize anything NASCAR ever again. SHAAAAAAKE ANNNNNNNND BAAAAAKE!!!! (well maybe just a little)
After no sleep and lots and lots of Ricky Bobby quotes I got to the track and oh what a track this was…. I have never experienced anything like this and getting to drive all the way to trackside seemed like I was doing something very wrong that I should not be doing and my body wholeheartedly agreed however my deranged mind had other plans for us.
Once there the incredible staff got me set up and soon I was experiencing the roar of these amazing machines standing just feet away…. It was intense to say the least and the pit in my stomach was getting much bigger.
They move you along so well you start to focus on the learning and safety and forget that you will soon be driving out there at speeds in excess of 150 MPH. After class where you learn the ever important thumbs up for “faster” and thumbs down for “slower” you are taken to suit up and get fitted to a car which in my case the #10 Honda was the best match to my size as the seats are not movable. I still think they gave me the Honda because I mentioned that I was a F1 fan…. The laughs were seemingly a bit muhahahaha-ish now that I think back.
Once they called to “go green” the signal for getting in the cars and getting ready much was a blur. I remember how hard it was to actually get into this thing and then I remember the roar of the engine. I remember nothing of the talk about Bass Pro Shops with the guy putting my helmet on but it seems all too funny now because what happened next permanently changed me a little bit.
Sitting in the car looking out onto Talladega Super Speedway seemed dream like. I am supposed to be up there looking down at this, not the other way around. Before I could even adjust to what I was seeing I was told to go…. So go I did. In a NASCAR you have four gears and a reverse of which the one you want to get to and never leave is fourth gear. There was so much going on to where I didn’t think to shift so up went the “2” and “3” hand signals, by fourth I was ready for his signal. The track itself is confusing to say the least. You would think the simplicity of an oval is nothing to fear but not having any sense of direction on something you are about to travel faster than you ever have by your own mechanics is scary for sure.
The first lap you are pretty much in the flats so you don’t feel the banks but looking to the corner of my right eye and seeing a wall as high as my vision could see up was intimidating…. No sky, just wall. By the time I was exiting the turn I was getting a continual thumbs up and I this is where the fun began. The instructor signaled me to move up the bank and helped me realize that I can be a bit more aggressive than I had thought with the wheel. Once up the bank everything changed…. This was no longer just a fast racecar going around a turn it was transformed instantly to an F22 Raptor pulling some serious G forces. Suddenly things were coming back to me as my mind raced to catch up and analyze the moment as fast as it could. I remember them saying to keep your foot away from the clutch pedal because the centrifugal force will make your leg press down on it and I could understand exactly why now as there is something to be said about having to focus on not killing yourself and bracing yourself at the same time…. Almost like the odds are against you. By the time I could see the next turn my mind was telling me to slow down because a turn was ahead however in a NASCAR this is not the case so fighting my mind with my body I accelerated into the turn when suddenly I found myself in another world, one where my guts were being removed through my bottom and strangely there was no longer any sky, only a wall of asphalt as high as I could see again except this time it was in front of me and moving fast. I would describe the situation as like riding the teacups, head on into a gigantic tidal wave while banking in a fighter jet traveling warp speed…. It is just like that I am not even kidding. How the drivers of this series can do this over and over is crazy and in that singe moment every one of them won my respect a million times over. Just the fight you have trying to turn a car left when gravity is telling it to go right is insane. Continually gaining speed I was starting to get used to what to expect and my lap times consistently improved and got faster and faster until I was being signaled to head in. I got back to pit row, got a high five from my incredible instructor and a hug from just about everyone there because I was so excited from the experience I just had I could not contain myself…. It was truly ridiculous. Talking after to my instructor he told me that I did better than average and that he was surprised I was able to go that fast my first time out and that made me smile.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy5fs9rFK4g[/youtube]
After saying goodbye I went to grab my time sheet where I was expecting to see a confirmed 150 MPH for sure however when I got it I was surprised because today I drove a confirmed 166.7 MPH…. Faster than I have ever driven.... in a real NASCAR…. at the fastest and most dangerous track in the series…. Talladega you have won me over and I am from this day forth never going to criticize anything NASCAR ever again. SHAAAAAAKE ANNNNNNNND BAAAAAKE!!!! (well maybe just a little)