The Christmas Gift!
Berniece gave me 8 laps in a stock car through the Rusty Wallace School of Racing. (For Christmas it usually is just a piece of coal under the tree for me!). I may not be a loyal Nascar fan but I am a guy who loves speed so she certainly hit a home run on this one! Since we were going to be in Phoenix for a while she booked it at the Phoenix International Raceway, an official Nascar circuit course.
First a little interesting history, Rusty Wallace is a very famous and successful stock car racer with the Nascar circuit, I am sure that you may have heard of him but just in case you hadn’t. He is, in a very roundabout way, a distant relative of Berniece’s and no we never get Christmas cards and if you asked him he would probably say..whaaat, never heard of her! Anyway it is true, she has met his mother at a family reunion in Alberta, ( she was her mom’s cousin), although that is not the story today it does add a little flavor don’t you think? Well…. partly because of this very distance and probably obscure connection Berniece took special interest in the school when her brother Allan called about it so she booked it knowing that I love SPEED.
Ok.. normally when you sign up for these events there is a pilot car keeping everyone safe and the speed down a bit. However not at the Rusty Wallace School, you drive on the track without coaching at the highest speed the car will go PLUS there are others on the track that you can pass if you are fast enough and have a lot of guts. (I did and it was exhilarating!)
But first there is an one hour racing school, going over the rules of the track and the safety procedures in the car; seat belts, neck and helmet support, etc, and of course how to get in and out of the car through the window, (which is no small feat if you are 6-1 and 215 lbs!). There are spotters located around the course and a communication system in the car so you can stay in touch to receive any instructions during your race, just as they do in the actual races. For example; we were only allowed to pass when the spotter informed the car in front of you to pull to the left and you to pass on the right. After the lesson you “suit-up” and get a helmut that fits. My first suit looked great but unfortunately it was two tight, I assume it was made for a smaller guy, not because I was too big, which is why in the pictures I have two “looks” if you know what I mean.
During the school the instructor encouraged all of us to take a few laps with a pro who was on site, (some people just pay for a ride around only and don’t engage in an actual driving experience), to get a feel of the track. I had already signed up for it and the instructor was right because you do get better feel of the track and how fast you can do the corners.
At this point in the program you wait until they match you with a car; some cars were built for smaller drivers so the cage would be too tight for a guy like me. Actually as it turned out it was very tight anyway. The car looks like a car from the outside but it in fact is much different in the inside. Simply put, you sit in a cage somewhat like a dragster with a car body of sorts welded on. They strap you in with a 5 point seat belt system and a neck brace that your helmut is attached to which in turn is held tight to your shoulder with a by the seat belts. The steering wheel is removable because you can not get in or out with it attached. After you are settled in they hit the switch, you fire up, wait until the spotter says ok and off you go.
8 laps which are 1 mile long and your speed is 130-140 MPH on the straightaways and maybe 90-100 in the corners. Do the math….at that speed you just feel like you are getting the hang of it and you are given the checkered flag ’cause your done! Brief but sweet!
It was a blast, especially overtaking another car and passing! Hopefully one day I can do it again, but the next time Berniece is going to do it too!
