What it is REALLY like to drive a REAL Nascar
For those people who sit on the edge of their recliner, tense with trying to jockey “their” race car for virtual position at Daytona, Talladega, or Las Vegas, we have a hot and fast tip.
Drive one. We did.
Here’s what happened when a real person, drove a REAL Nascar.
It started with a birthday gift. A very nice one. Being a race and car aficionado, we were given a certificate to drive a Nascar on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. These cars are the real deal, the same ones in Nascar races.
In our car after the meeting with our Crew Chief. Did you know Nascar pit crews can replace all tires in less than 20 seconds? No worries, our tires should hold for this lap.
The day of the “race”, dawned perfect weather with expected highs around 80 degrees. Driving through the tunnels of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was exhilarating, and nerve racking. It’s a bit of the unknown, you really don’t know exactly what to expect. One minute it’s a hell-ya!, the next it’s a slight hesitation. The green flag on the adrenaline rush has officially snapped and is waving. Go! Start!
After an introductory video and verbal training session, we don full racing suits and gear. It’s another little surge on the adrenaline rush meter as you realize, “I have a full fire suit on?” But, no time to ponder that, you’re preoccupied with studying the other cars making their laps. Critiquing speeds and techniques with the thundering engines roaring a few yards away suddenly isn’t as easy as it is from the recliner. The first impression after sliding through the drivers window is that it this a hard core mechanical machine. Unlike modern sports cars, there is not a soft edge or rounded corner in sight. It is gauges, steel, nuts, bolts and a gear shifter. It’s loud and hot with hundreds of horsepower and a manual four speed transmission that shifts hard. Just wedging into the car is a commitment. Staying in it is not, as we saw from someone from our group who bailed out after sitting in the driver’s seat for a moment.
There are several packages and ours was eight laps around the track as a solitary driver. Passing is allowed between the other 4-5 cars on the track. The experience of being on the track watching the stands whiz by is the opposite of being a spectator. There’s also a different level of assurance being on a track when taking the car to high speeds. There are no potholes, no pets bounding out of a yard and no upcoming stops or cops. You’re free to go as fast as your abilities and the car allow. Some would call it fun, but it’s more than that, it’s a adrenaline fueled responsibility. Driving at speeds in the triple digits requires every sense to to be performing at top levels. This is not a thrill ride at the theme park where you sit passively…this is you commanding the ride.
The adrenaline surge lasts for hours and you literally can’t wipe the smile from your face. Your speeds are posted and presented to you. Stepping back into your own car seems downright hilarious and you may have an inherent need to step on the gas and speed back to home or hotel. But, you also don’t want rush out of the racetrack. You want to hold the experience a little while longer, and wonder if perhaps you shouldn’t turn around and go for another few laps. Now, you have a couple more ideas for how you can pick up your top speed and hold it higher around the corners…
Vegas was perfect for the first time on the fast track.
