10/06/2006 - FL, Driving NASCAR at Daytona

You might remember that in November 2005, I had taken a NASCAR driving course.  It was a pretty fun course, that certainly gave me more respect for the drivers of NASCAR and more amazement at what those cars can actually do.  The training track was 1 mile long, had three turns, with a maximum bank of 10 degrees.  It did have one tight turn though (relatively) where I could see how well the tires stuck at hard turning at more than 100mph.  It was a wild experience.

After doing that event, they had a follow-up mailer, which invited me to drive at several other tracks.  One of which was the true Daytona track.  I couldn't let that opportunity pass by.  It was going to be costly (again) but how many people get the chance to experience driving a real NASCAR race car at the Daytona track?  Not many; I feel very fortunate (and now poor! ;)

The Daytona track is a 2.5 mile oval track, and has banks of up to 31 degrees!  I imagined how that was going to feel, with the G-forces pushing you down in the seat at the height of the banks.  I was looking forward to it!

I flew out to Orlando on Friday, October 6th.  The weather was looking good for the entire weekend, so I also opted to upgrade my rental car to a convertible.  Got the Mazda Miata MX-5.  Sporty little car, and it even had the formula-one-like paddle shifters on the steering wheel.  The car was very fun; it handled great.  Could have used two extra cylinders and a turbo charger, but I'm probably just spoiled by the speed and agility of my motorcycle.  ;)

I headed over to visit Richard and Kitty.  They are a friend's parents, but we have known each other for a long time and might as well be my surrogate parents.  Great people.  I used to see them all the time going up north to visit my friend Todd, or when I went up North to ski back when I lived in Michigan.  They have since retired and moved down to Florida.  It was great to see them again, and to catch up on all the news of how their family is doing.

On Saturday 10/7, I drove over to the Daytona track and did 16 laps at speeds around 160mph (they limited us.)  It was quite the experience.  They first gave us a drivers briefing, going over a bunch of car info.  They also warned us not to try to go on the flats when you were in the high banks.  It would almost certainly crash the car because of the drastic change in pavement angle.  Instead, finish the bank and then pull off the side.  They gave us a refresher on the car and it's controls, and then took us around the track in a van showing the driving line we were supposed to follow. 

The high banks were awesome.  They said that if they didn't go at least 60mph in the van, it could tip over; and it felt like it.

Once again, I was reminded and amazed at the power and grip those cars have; even at 160mph.  It was wild, I was traveling over a mile in less than twenty seconds.  Very fun.  I wish they would have let us go faster; the car could certainly have handled it; as could I.  The professional drivers go over 200mph on the Daytona course, and I think the cars could handle that easily.  The things I found most interesting is the width, and bumpiness of the track.  I would have expected it to be pretty smooth, but it was actually pretty rough and bumpy (of course, that was exaggerated by the speeds.)  As for width, you could probably only fit three cars wide on the track, with not a lot of extra room on either side.  To think that there are packs of cars, going 200mph, just inches from one another; really gives you an appreciation for the skill of those drivers.  I was happy to have the track mostly to myself – though it would also be pretty neat to experience racing with other cars.  The laps were over before I knew it.  On the way out, I noticed that there were tons of SRT vehicles around; including a really awesome Viper SRT.  I inquired as to why they were out there, and I guess that one day a month; if you had a SRT vehicle, you could drive on the Daytona track.  Didn’t inquire about the price, but I’m sure it would be worth it.  What a cool thing!  Too bad my Miata wasn’t a SRT.  ;)

After the driving, I headed off to visit more family.  I headed over to my Uncle Ron and Aunt Rosemary's house.  It was nice to catch up with them.  We visited that evening; and then headed out to the beach the next day with Lauren; my cousin.  Spent a little time bodysurfing, and then headed back to the house.  Ron took the Miata out for a spin, and then we jumped in their pool for some water fights and fun.

That evening, I went over to another Uncle's house, Doug, to visit with him and his family.  I was able to have dinner with him, Eva, Chris and Natalie and catch up with them.  We visited into the evening, and played some pool.  It was a great time. 

Monday, I went out to an early lunch with Doug and Eva, saw some of the sights in Orlando, and then headed back home.  Overall, it was a short, but quite fun, weekend.  Very cool experience, and it's always nice to visit with family.

 

Hope you enjoy the photos!

A.J.