How freakin' cool was turning 30 going to be for me? Way cool, that's how cool it was.
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| Used to be a huge Mayfield fan! Everham Racing. |
Before I get to my experience though, here is a little rundown of the Pocono track. Pocono Raceway is 2.5 mile superspeedway with the unique characteristic of having 3 turns rather than the typical 4 turns at most speedways. It has also been called a road course disguised as a racetrack by many racers who have graced the asphalt at Pocono. This is contributed to the difficult degrees of banking on each of the different turns as well as the amount of shifting needed to drive the speedway. In other words, It's not the easiest raceway to drive.
Pocono Raceway has a reputation in the racing world as either being loved or hated among racers. Most believe the love/hate relationship with racers is attributed to each individual racer's style, course experiences and preferences. None of that mattered to me though since I would not be driving the track. ( I have driven on part of the track before but, it was with my Pontiac 6000 and I was finishing the overnight shift of guarding Gasoline Alley during race weekend. That's for another blog though.)
Back to this experience, I was not going to be driving so you can all breath a sigh of relief. And, after having this experience, I know there is no way in hell I could ever drive a race car. I am well aware of my limitations but, I'll get to that later. For this experience, a professional race car driver was going to take me for 3 laps around the raceway at speeds of up to 175mph. Holy fast car batman. Maybe I should wear a diaper for this experience. ( I did not. I was able to control myself. It was all good.)
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| I was a little nervous about my ride but super excited as well. This was what living life was all about! |
I always hated giving my weight and was not above lying about it my entire life but, in this instance, I couldn't lie about it since it was for safety purposes. Didn't want to risk a possible injury over my reluctance to reveal my true weight to complete strangers. I sucked it up and wrote my weight down. It was a very painful experience.
When that Saturday rolled around, the weather was typical for an autumn day in the Poconos. The air was chilly and breezy. The sky was gray but thankfully, it was not raining. We arrived at Pocono for my 10:30 am car ride a little early. We were lead to pit row where I was assigned to race car #6. Mark Martin immediately popped in my head. I liked him. He was a great driver and a cool guy. I was totally down to ride in #6.
The staff fitted me for a helmet, explained the rules and had me sign a waiver. They pointed out that my driver was taking another person for a ride, then he would be over to pick me up. I clutched onto my helmet nervously as I watched the race cars pull in and out of pit road.
There were quite a few people here. I wasn't expecting that. It wasn't a bad thing, just unexpected. Several race cars were racing around the track while some driving school students were getting lessons on Pit Road. The sounds of the revved up engines circling the track was music to my ears. I always loved that sound. Fast and loud! Rev it up!
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| The Dork is strong in this one. Me not knowing what the hell I was doing. |
The #6 car pulled into Pit Row. My guide came over and walked me to the car. He informed me that he would help me get into the car. I looked at him dumbfounded for a moment. Of course a bell rang in my head when it dawned on me that there would be a strong chance I would need assistance getting into the car. Stock cars don't have doors genius, I reminded myself. You have to climb into them via the window. These short legs were going to struggle doing that. Of course, I wanted to try and do it without assistance first.
The net on the passenger side of the car was unhooked for me. My first error was trying to climb into the car while wearing my helmet. The guide strongly urged me to not wear the helmet until I got into the car. My second error was throwing the helmet onto the seat before entering the car. Yea, it was tight in there. That was not going to work either. Thankfully my driver not only had experience in racing cars but also had experience in dealing with complete morons. He grabbed my helmet off the seat so I could climb in.
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| 3 hours later.......I am in the car. God Bless America! |
The guide was walking back over to assist me, probably because he wanted to save me the one ounce of dignity I had left, but somehow I managed to get in without pulling all the muscles in my body. I only pulled about half of them. Fortunately the excitement and adrenaline pulsing through my veins masked the pain but trust me, I would feel it later. ( I swear I should have bought stock in Motrin with the way I injure myself.)
Once I was in my seat, I noticed immediately that it was super tight in there. The seat was molded almost completely to my body. After I put my helmet on and rested my head against the seat, which was cradled by a neck support, my guide buckled me in. My mobility was pretty much non existent as of that moment.
Naturally my thoughts went to the race car drivers. How the heck do they drive these cars at high rates of speed while being glued into their chair? How do they maneuver? How the heck does Jimmy Spencer or someone super tall like Bill Elliot even fit into these cars? They obviously had crazy mad skills.
My driver asked me if I was ready to go. I gave him the thumbs up. He asked me how fast I wanted to go. I told him as fast as he was allowed to drive. Slowly, he began taking off down the straightaway towards turn one. Then he revved the engine, shifted gears and stepped on the gas. The sound of the engine from inside the car gave me chills.
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| And we are off....... |
The rest of the ride was just insane. The car was shaking, the view out the windshield was blurry and the grin on my face was so big it hurt. The driver yelled out the speeds as we hit turns and straightaways. Shakily, I would occasionally glance at the speedometer. I saw it hit 175. Madone! This was crazy.
I started laughing insanely with complete joy and amusement. In the back of my mind I was also wondering how the hell the race car drivers were able to drive at these speeds and make the maneuvers and passes that they did. Being a spotter in NASCAR must have so much pressure attached to it. They are literally the eyes of the race car drivers, telling them when to pass, where to move on the track and what cars to avoid. A huge wave of respect and admiration for these drivers and their crews washed over me. This was a dangerous sport indeed.
But, I can also see how it could be so addicting for a driver. The rush was wicked. I also realized that there was no way I could ever safely drive a car at this speed. Even with training, I would never trust myself. And with anything, there are different types of fears. Some of those fears are rooted more in anxiety while some of those fears are rooted more in capability and the trust you have in yourself. If you are honestly afraid you are not capable of safely accomplishing something, don't do it.
I'm all for living on the edge, trying new things and having outrageous adventures, but I also want to survive them. Some people have a natural affinity or natural skills for certain things, some people acquire them from years of practice and some people are just not meant for certain things. I am not saying this in a negative way, I am just saying there are so many things out there to experience and try. Know your capabilities but also know your limitations.
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| That's me in the car going 50 million miles per hour. |
But enough lecturing. I may not trust myself to drive an actual race car at a high rate of speed but I still got to experience a race car at a high rate of speed. See? It's all about perspective. And to this day, the stock car experience is still one of the coolest, most exciting things I have ever had the opportunity to experience. It was a total blast and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a safe but adventurous adrenaline rush.
One other thing, I think the price was well worth the experience.
Gentlemen, start your engines!!!! Let's go!!
Chrissy
