Top Things I've Learned Driving At The Track
Despite the fact that most of my current driving is done in traffic or a kiddie carpool, I’m no stranger to the speeding oval. My dad used to take me to the track pretty often when I was a kid. I’d sit on the sidelines, anxiously watching him and his friends zoom around in circles, just waiting for the day I could do it myself. For better or worse, those days are here. And what has surprised me the most about track driving is that speed is just a footnote in the whole experience—for driving on a track can teach you plenty of things, the least of which is how to drive fast. Here are some of my lessons:It’s No Hamster Wheel
If you’re not a fan of NASCAR or F1, you probably think that a drive at the track will bore you. It looks like an automotive hamster wheel. Circles, circles, circles. Really? How could that possibly be fun? Well, imagine running like an Olympic track star, but faster. And without any training, or having to wear shorts or take steroids. Now you’re getting close, it’s like that. But better.
It’s Safer Than The Freeway
Cars flipping! Bursting into flames! Fireballs of metal rolling across the asphalt. Sure, this may be the kind of track you think you’re going to, Ricky Bobby. But it’s not. It’s probably the safest place in the world for you to drive. First of all, you’re wearing a helmet, duh. Also, the track removes all of the annoying real life obstacles on the road—construction, squirrels and Priuses. That way you really get to experience yourself versus the open road like nowhere else.
Thinking is Bad
What’s great about driving over 80mph in circles is that there isn’t time to think about anything else. No time to worry about who is beating you, if you’re driving too slow, not to mention bills, taxes and other grown up nonsense. In fact, I found that the less I let the voices in my head take over, the better I drove. So eventually, I did what any competitive natural blonde would do, I stopped thinking. And I started winning—so there you have it. Thinking is officially bad.
Driving Is Exercise
When I went to the track in Thermal, CA, it was about 80 degrees. Between the heat, the adrenaline and the excessive amounts of fear running through my veins, I sweat off about six pounds that day. It was pretty much the opposite of a spin class—fun, encouraging and something I’m dying to do as often as possible—with quite possibly the same results. OK, it may be about 100x the price, but you can’t have everything.
Backseat Drivers Are The Bomb
If you’re at a track that’s also an experience center, you get to have a professional driver giving you real time advice as you’re driving via a speaker in the car. Awesome! Where is that guy when I’m trying to get around the Lincoln Town Car on Sunset? Oh well. It’s totally fun and absolutely nothing like your significant other incessantly whining that you’re getting too close to the guy in front of you.
