Around Lowes Motor Speedway.

My parents got me the Mario Andretti Driving Experience for my birthday last year.
I'm guessing they got a crazy group-on deal or something, because it seems to be crazy expensive.
11 months later and I'm finally getting around to doing it.

I get 8 minutes behind the wheel, and will reach speeds between 150 and 180mph.
I will post pictures and my best lap time and top speed on Sunday or Monday.

That is all.

5/10/2012 8:41:23 PM

GL;HF

5/10/2012 8:50:17 PM

GL;HF

5/10/2012 9:07:19 PM

This showed up on living social today. $199 for 5 minutes

[Edited on May 10, 2012 at 9:14 PM. Reason : GL; HF]

5/10/2012 9:13:58 PM

Cool man, enjoy.

5/10/2012 10:17:12 PM

Don't Easley it!

5/10/2012 11:00:33 PM

Don't lift!

5/10/2012 11:08:24 PM

do not lift.

Flat out. It will hold.

5/11/2012 12:42:30 AM

Be careful with the manifold.

5/11/2012 11:54:51 AM

be sure not to catch it on fire

turbos go outside the car.

5/11/2012 12:00:13 PM

lol

5/11/2012 2:41:57 PM

lmao

5/11/2012 2:56:53 PM

Remember to double clutch like you should...

5/11/2012 3:39:07 PM

dont granny shift

5/13/2012 8:51:21 PM

Well, surprisingly there is only one gear. You have a lever for neutral to in gear.
Push start with an ATV, pop clutch, go.

I only managed 160 mph, and completed 7 full laps + the on/off lap.
The fastest speed I saw from a car there was 172 mph.
In order to not have a pace car, they put a rev limiter on the cars. Ours were limited to 5k rpm.
The two seat ride along cars had a rev limit of 5400 rpm and supposedly topped at 180 mph.

The lateral forces felt going through the turns was a lot more than I expected. Spent most of the time with my right shoulder up against the cockpit wall. It was also very loud. I had trouble hearing the two-way coms over the wind noise. My helmet did have bug splatter on the shield.

The cars. There were 8 single seaters total, and 4 individual drivers on the track at a time.



The wife thought the racing suit was funny. I'm 6' and 200lbs, they gave me an XXL suit, and it fit.


Getting last minute directions and prep.


Going


Video
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y245/JDriver18t/?action=view¤t=MOV06303.mp4

[Edited on May 16, 2012 at 11:17 AM. Reason : .]

5/16/2012 11:16:01 AM

Looks like 97-99 indycars. They should have NA 4.0L V8s, though they may have 3.5 L V8s.

5/16/2012 12:50:53 PM

So all in all, fun? Worth $200? When did you arrive and leave? How much instructions? How much sitting around doing nothing (I've read that as a criticism of some of the stock car deals)?

5/16/2012 1:03:48 PM

I just realized they stagger the colors of the seats in the stands so it looks like they're near capacity no matter how many empty seats there are.

5/16/2012 1:19:31 PM

^Yep, especially from the aerial view.

What I did runs $500 at full price, and $300 w/ discounts. It was a fun gift, but I don't know if I would just pay for it to do myself.

They had 3 different general seat sizes, and you had to wait till the appropriate car was available.
I was middle of the road in terms of size, but in the large seat car.

We (brought the in-laws, they tail gated in the infield) arrived at 3:30, and left at 7:30.
3:30-4:00 sign in
4:00-4:15 drivers gathered
4:15-5:00 classroom instruction: watched a 20 minute video, then talked about safety and following directions
5:00-5:15 more talking with a different guy while trackside
5:15-6:30 wait for my pager to go off signalling my turn
6:30-7:00 get ear buds, helmet, and stand in line waiting for a car that is my size.
7:00-7:15 in the car
7:15-7:30 check out
7:30 leave and drive home

The classroom instruction is rather silly. You sit with everyone that will be driving and watch a 20 minute video that basically tells you 5 minutes of information. Then a guy stands at the front and tells you the same things again.
-follow the directions of the guy talking in your ear
-stay off the apron, you will crash if you touch it at speed
-stay off the wall, faster cars pass there
-aim for the dots on the track, it is the best line
-the 5 point harness is supposed to be tight

5/16/2012 5:52:30 PM