SPEED & THRILLS

Get on Track with NASCAR

By REDMOND CAROLIPIO

YOU’VE SEEN ALLTHE MOVIES, been to a few races and maybe even studied the tracks while playing the newest NASCAR title on your game system.

And now, you wonder what it would be like to climb into one of those heavily sponsored horses and fly around the track. You’re in luck, because you can do that here in the Inland Empire. Being home to a place like California Speedway does have its perks.

There are two NASCAR-style driving schools that operate out of the Fontana track — Richard Petty Driving Experience, which expanded to the Speedway in 1999, and Drivetech Racing School and Driving Experience, which has been around since 1992.

Drivetech offers driving education on three different kinds of tracks: short tracks, super-speedways and road courses. It also provides in-car video as well as a one-way in-car radio that’s used to deliver coaching instructions to students. Various packages are available, ranging from ride-alongs to full-on 60 minutes of drive time, complete with pit stops. Here’s a tip from personal experience - if you only want a feel for the speed, a ride-along is just fine. "Oh, you’ll get a feel for it all right," said David Dutcher, one of the school’s instructors. "You got your diapers on?" Before deciding to take a spin, there are a couple of things you need to know.

First, knowing how to drive a stick shift helps. The cars used at these schools are designed to be as close to the real thing as possible. They don’t use automatics in NASCAR, so why use them here? However, at Drivetech it’s not a drop-dead requirement anymore; they can actually push the car to get you going into first gear.

Also understand that being in the car (and in its gear) is not an exercise in comfort. You’ll be outfitted in a racing helmet, smock, goggles and a piece of equipment that clasps around your neck (so your head doesn’t go all over the place). Then, you have to climb into the car (no doors) and get strapped tightly into the seat. My driver, Bill Grove, fired up the engine and didn’t waste any time speeding around the track.

It’s hard to see how these guys do it. When you hit a turn, you’ll feel your body get pulled closer and closer to the wall. I actually strained a little trying to see if I could straighten myself out.

Then there’s the wall. You get close to it. Very close. It’s also the only thing you see in front of you as the car is careening on a banked turn.

"It looks so close, it’s almost like you can touch it," said Shelly McConnell, who helps organize the race classes. "You don’t think they’re going that fast from far away, but here, you can really see it." I’m not in awful shape, but I felt a little drained after the ride along.

"Imagine driving the car, feeling that pull (toward the wall) and trying to control the car," Grove said. "And then imagine doing that for three hours."

Richard Petty Driving Experience
(800) 237-3889 - www.1800bepetty.com

Drivetech racing School and Driving Experience
(800) 678-8864 - www.drivetech.com

PHOTO BY THOMAS R. CORDOVA
Redmond Carolipio climbs aboard a Drivetech racer at California Speedway.