Ok so one of our software vendors just got me signed up for June 10 for free. Has anyone done this before? Any tips or tricks that I need to know? I am very excited. I am not a huge NASCAR fan, but I like going fast and for free.
Turn left....a lot. Those cars are reduced HP output, so dont expect to go as fast as they do on TV. otherwise, its fun.
I've done it twice. The first time was about 9 years back. It is blast. When I went, we did 1 on 1 lead follow laps with an instructor. You got about 8 - 10 laps and as long as you maintained a good following distance, the instructor continued to go faster and faster each lap. I ended up topping out at 127 mph for a the last few laps. The cars have amazing grip and power coming off the turns. I am not a NASCAR fan either, but regardless, being strapped into a Winston cup car with nothing but 1 seat, a 4spd (at the time), roll cage, a bunch of toggle switches and a big, throaty V8 is an amazing experience. They usually are offering ride alongs in a few of the cars that are set up to handle it (aka have a passenger seat). If you get a chance, jump in. My Dad went for a few laps at 175mph and mere 2 inches from the wall. Enjoy.
I will definitely do a ride along. My boss said last year the ride along was almost scarry fast. I am so pumped.
OK so yesterday I spent the whole morning sweating my ass off wearing a Nomex jump suit. Impressions: The ride along was awesome. There is nothing like running about 175-180 inches from the wall chasing a car in front of you. I was in the middle of 3 ride along cars. Once out of the pits they just got on it. The drivers were guys from the Craftsman Truck series. Never realized how small drivers really were. The basic rules for driving were to stay in the tracks of the instructor in front of you with in 3-5 car lengths. That is much harder then it sounds. I got blue flagged twice for being too high on turn 1 and 3 and keeping it strait on the straits. you should never see the sides of their car. The car just wants to turn left and it is quite difficult to stay behind the instructor. It would have been better if they would have in car radios to tell you what to correct... My max speed was 136. I will to better next time. :sx:
Yes a couple of years ago, did the ride along first which we topped out around 170 175. You are limited to 150 when you drive tops but it is fun. My best was little disappointed at 143 average. To get best out of it tailgate lead driver like you were on 285 stay close he will wave you back if needed. Little tricky because of banking you look closer than you really are. When you come off the bank onto straight expect the car to pull left so be prepared. It is a blast and thinking about running 190 with 43 other cars gives you a new perspective.
I did the ride along a few years ago as well. I think somewhere @ 175 was what we were doing at top speed. It was quite a rush and like everyone said, even though i'm not a NASCAR fan being in the car is completely different. I also got a ride in a rally car with Ken Block and got to do donuts/drifting... Not something you can just go do like the petty experience but it was a more intense ride along then the left turns... http://youtube.com/watch?v=g2ZDiUQ-7DA