MountaineerTom
LJ Enthusiast, Retired USAF Weapons Loader
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My youngest son got me this for my birthday, at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I won’t be doing it until July though. : )
Best birthday present ever
- Thread starter MountaineerTom
- Start date
Kiwi TJ
I don't suffer from insanity I enjoy every minute
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MountaineerTom
LJ Enthusiast, Retired USAF Weapons Loader
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Yeah, I can’t wait. I took him to the All-Star race there in 2000 when he was 7 years old, when Dale Jr. won it. It was a great time. I used to meet my dad there for years for the All-Star race. Me and my brother were going to chip in and get dad one of these packages but he got Leukemia and never got well enough to do it before passing away. I just hope my son will be able to make it down from Norfolk, VA to be there with me. : )
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I did the one out at California speedway in Fontana. It's cool for sure. I really enjoyed it. The King package is the good one. Enjoy!!!
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MountaineerTom
LJ Enthusiast, Retired USAF Weapons Loader
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Well, yesterday was the day. Damn, that was a blast! It was hot as hell here in the Carolinas, my helmet was loose and the top of the steering wheel blocked the view of the tach a little so I hit the rev limited a few times. Without a doubt, best birthday present ever! I'll post the 2nd round because the first round they had you going a little lower to get used to everything. They told us that 150 mph would be our max, but somehow I got 153 mph, so I was excited. LOL
Hahahahaha dude that is just fantastic!! What a track to have that experience, I hope my own kids are that thoughtful when they're older!
I can see what you're talking about with the loose helmet, must have added a little extra stress.
I did SCCA when I was younger and have done a handful of track experiences like these... What's amazing is that there you are, thinking you're hanging it out and hauling ass at 150 (which you are, I'm not shortselling it) when in reality you're probably at 5/10ths of what those maniacs actually pull during raceday.
What kind of classroom time did you have before they let you loose?
I can see what you're talking about with the loose helmet, must have added a little extra stress.
I did SCCA when I was younger and have done a handful of track experiences like these... What's amazing is that there you are, thinking you're hanging it out and hauling ass at 150 (which you are, I'm not shortselling it) when in reality you're probably at 5/10ths of what those maniacs actually pull during raceday.
What kind of classroom time did you have before they let you loose?
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MountaineerTom
LJ Enthusiast, Retired USAF Weapons Loader
Supporting Member
Ride of the Month Winner
LOL, yeah he said he figured he’d need to do a little better than a Lowes gift card for my 50th.
The first helmet they tried to put on was way to tight, so the girl grabbed this one. It was just a little aggrevating because that visor kept dropping down to right at the top of my vision. It felt good up until I took off down pit road.
Oh yeah, the first thing I told my wife was I don’t see how they do that for hours at the speeds they run. Especially if they have a red flag and have to sit in those cars for a bit. Between the 2 sessions they had me come down pit road and they scut the car off and ask if you’re ok, give you some water, etc. it was about 7-8 minutes just sitting in there and that’s when it got the hottest. I found out afterwards that they use that time to have another driver in the track and spotter that was talking to me, was then talking to the other driver. For about $320 more dollars I could have upgraded to a third session and they set the rev limiter to higher and said around 170 top speed. I was close to doing it. Honestly, I was on the verge of overheating as it was when I stopped the 2nd time so I dont know what 8 more minutes would have done to me. LOL
As far as training, there wasn’t as much as I thought there would be. Watched a 40 minute or so video then some verbal training from an instructor, then we got to ask any questions we had. Then the guy buckling you in went over a few things too.
It was a blast.
The first helmet they tried to put on was way to tight, so the girl grabbed this one. It was just a little aggrevating because that visor kept dropping down to right at the top of my vision. It felt good up until I took off down pit road.
Oh yeah, the first thing I told my wife was I don’t see how they do that for hours at the speeds they run. Especially if they have a red flag and have to sit in those cars for a bit. Between the 2 sessions they had me come down pit road and they scut the car off and ask if you’re ok, give you some water, etc. it was about 7-8 minutes just sitting in there and that’s when it got the hottest. I found out afterwards that they use that time to have another driver in the track and spotter that was talking to me, was then talking to the other driver. For about $320 more dollars I could have upgraded to a third session and they set the rev limiter to higher and said around 170 top speed. I was close to doing it. Honestly, I was on the verge of overheating as it was when I stopped the 2nd time so I dont know what 8 more minutes would have done to me. LOL
As far as training, there wasn’t as much as I thought there would be. Watched a 40 minute or so video then some verbal training from an instructor, then we got to ask any questions we had. Then the guy buckling you in went over a few things too.
It was a blast.
Fantastic. I'm personally not a fan of oval racing because I just don't think it's exciting on TV, but having done a handful of those experiences I can't imagine having to do that for 3+ hours in bumper to bumper traffic. The amount of focus that is required just to finish the race is other-worldly.
Man Happy Birthday to you. I lived in Concord for 10 yrs and in the area for 30 I know you had a blast. And you'er right that bowl gets hot.