Day of Thunder - GRM readers do NASCAR!

So, last Saturday, thanks to the generosity of our wives, Tom Spangler and I, make that Ricky Bobby (Tom) and Jean Girade (Moi) got to go to Michigan International Speedway and the Mach1 racing school driving NASCARS on the 2 mile tri oval.
Don't we look like Pro's?

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kTlMpS2Vim8/Ui8RDMp27LI/AAAAAAAAHuo/EIj_0zv9yJ8/s640/IMG_0222.JPG"/> Our steed awaits

Wow, what an experience. It’s totally changed my perspective of oval racing. While not a fan of NASCAR I never doubted the skill of the drivers or actual engineering that goes into apparently simple cars, I’m just not interested in the spectacle of cars going in circles drafting each other at speeds that vary my 1-2mph. That said this has upped my appreciation of exactly how hard it is, more of that later.

The school starts with an hour classroom session that was more like 1 ½ hours. First off they line everyone up in height order to assign cars. As the cars are real race cars with fixed seats they need people of similar stature in the cars. There were a couple of guys between us, but due to them obviously being anorexic we ended up in the same car. Then they go over the usual safety stuff plus the line, how to enter and leave the track, passing etc. Yes, this was open passing on the straights and not a lead follow school. Nothing earth shattering but still important. Then we got suited up in proper 3 layer Nomex and off for some familiarization laps with the instructors in a number of course trucks. That was the first real shocker. You look at the map layout and it appears as if the track is simply a mirror image of itself if you cut it in half through the start finish and back straight. It’s not, the two ends (turns 1-2 V’s 3-4) are very different. It was apparent that you really need to concentrate of late appexing turn 1-2 as on the exit of 2 the upper part of the banking drops away and loses its 14degree very quickly onto the back straight which is only 5deg. Conversely turns 3-4 seem to hold the incline for longer and it only drops to 12 deg on the start finish. There were some sobering tire marks where the pro’s hadn’t got it right.
Got Stagger?

Peek-A-Boo

After that we should have checked out the cars and got on with it. Unfortunately mother nature decided to put a literal dampener on proceedings and rained on us. Luckily the radar said it wouldn’t last long and if we could wait around and run a couple of hours we’d get to run later. Thankfully we both have supportive wife and kids who were game to wait. One guy had some silly hand egg game to go and watch (the University of overpriced and over rated Vs. a really confused group who call themselves Irish but name themselves after a French Cathedral? Shrug, silly games) so bailed and the class behind us was canceled as we would end up running in their time slot. The green meanie, more on that later.

As a result we had lots of time to check out the cars and chill. The cars are all genuine ex Cup or Nationwide chassis, all fitted with 450hp Chubby crate motors and Jerico 4 speeds trans. Apparently the cars can turn 160mph laps so I assume they are geared for a bit more than that. They weigh in at 3500lb’s. With the spare time we all practiced getting in and out. Let me tell you, even with bigger than normal window apertures that was not as easy as it looks due to our manly physics, although the kids could jump in and out far easier, skinny runts
My skinny runt

So at last the rain stopped and the track dried very quickly. They had the instructors and track people driving around and around at 60mph to dry it out. Then we realized the school participants were also let out to circulate at 60mph in their road cars as well. The problem was by the time we realized that it was too late and the track was totally dry, that was a big missed opportunity. Oh well.

So then it was our turn. Tom had elected to go first, me second. They supply you with a balaclava and helmet, and a new experience to me a HANS device which was interesting in itself. As it was going on it felt tight as it pushed past my neck, but once on my shoulders you simply don’t know you’re wearing it and I wasn’t aware of any restriction in movement. If I ever get serious about track days again I think I’d get one, it’s a no brainer. So after watching Tom doing his laps ple the hilarity of him getting in and out of the car it was my turn. One of us leaving the pits for our run.

I is race car driver!

The green menie again. Not the greatest pics, 12 year old photogopher with camera on portrait setting and no concept of panning!

While we’d both jumped in and out of the cars a couple of times, the helmet and HANS added a whole new level of pain in the ass and Tom suddenly didn’t looks so funny while he was doing it. How even your average skinny mini race driver gets in and out with such ease is beyond me. I’ve done easier Yoga positions than folding myself in half to get through that opening. Whatever. Once in they fired it up and I was of! Creep down the pit road, getting it up to 4th gear before the end of the pits, then on the apron until merging on the back straight. WOW. First off, I never thought I’d say it, but only 450hp isn’t that fast. What is hard to get your head around is how close the walls are. We all think we’re brave and have a certain amount of talent, even once we’re old enough to realize we are not the second coming of Senna. But I tell you those walls are really really close. Even barely being half in the ‘4th’ lane and nowhere near the ‘5th’ lane and the wall, it feels to the uninitiated like you’re mm’s from the wall, it’s really intimidating. Then there’s turn 1-2. No matter how I tried to tell myself to turn in late, it’s really hard, especially when you’re 10-15’ from the wall when you start to turn in. I kept finding myself down at the apron too early and having to ride down there until the apex when you can easily go WOT again. The issue is with ‘only’ 450hp you’ve already lost all your momentum and at best you’re doing maybe 130 by the end of the straight. Turns 3-4 are much less intimidating and it was easier to get the turn in correct, although I was still way to far from the wall. Lift off (no brakes or as they kept telling us you’d turn left and spin before you could start to pucker up) down to the apex, much easier to get there at the right point rather than riding the apron then hard on it to the track out point which was a cone on the outer wall. It’s funny to be looking at the top left of the screen to see exit of the corner. Then back on the start finish straight before losing my nerve again and turning in too early for 1-2. Over all it was just sensory overload, the noise, the vibration, I never once looked at anything of the dash, every ounce of concentration was looking ahead. I’d love to tell you I was hitting 160mph but that would be pure fantasy. The corners were so intimidating that by the time you get on the gas you’ve down to maybe 100-110mph which means I’d have been lucky to see 130 before lifting off again. No regrets, it was an awesome experience, I got passed and I even passed a couple of cars. But I can say for sure, ovals are not easy, at least mentally not for me. One thing that really surprised me was how you could feel the car move around under you when you lifted off into the corners. I know with the way the cars were set up they were as safe, predictable and easy to control as it’s possible to make them with lots of rear down force from the massive high flap on the rear, but man did they feel like it was moving around. I’m not sure if it was aero or what. No, I'm not supposed to be down there!

Speed demon!

Crossing the line

One more because I can, hey, if your gonna show off, show off big time!

If I could have gone away, slept on it and gone back I think I could talk my brain into being closer to the wall and not turning in so early to turn 1. That’s not to say I imagine I have the skill or testicular fortitude to be any good at it, but it would be fun to have another try.

If you get the chance to do the Mach 1 or any other oval school I heartily recommend it. IT”s an amazing, exhilarating and very worthwhile experience.

My version:

We had an hour-plus classroom session which was actually pretty interesting, the instructor is a guy who has done tons of racing of all kinds and was pretty funny. Then they suited us up, firesuit, full-face helmet, HANS device, the whole bit. We both got 8 laps. Of course, as soon as our classroom session ended, it started to rain. We ended up getting delayed by about 2 hours. The girls went and found us some food and we hung out. They were giving rides around the track in the safety trucks, so we and the family did that. To try and dry it out, they let folks take their personal cars out, but we found out about that too late. I would have loved to have had a picture of Kelly's Taurus in front of the "Michigan USA" sign in the turn 2 wall.

So anyhow, Ade and I were both in the same car. They grouped us by height because of how far back the seats were set in the different cars. I went out first. First off, you remember AJ trying to stuff his fat ass into a NASCAR car for the Brickyard 400 back in the mid-90s? I can identify. It is not easy to get in and out of those things. And these were actual ex-Sprint Cup or Nationwide cars with detuned Chevy small blocks, about 450hp. Once I was in, I could barely move, just my arms, really, which is how they want it, of course. My head was tilted forward because of the helmet, all in all it wasn't particularly comfortable. I found first gear somehow, that Jerico 4-speed had the vaguest shifter I've ever felt, nearly stalled it pulling out of the pits, but I got it going. They wanted you in 4th gear by the time you got to the end of pit road, then you were supposed to take turns 1-2 on the apron then gradually merge onto the back straight. There were a few cars out already when I went out, so I had to watch my mirror, which wasn't easy given how much it was shaking. As far as how the car itself drove, you could tell they had it set up for a ton of downforce to keep it safe for us newbies. I'm pretty sure you could take the whole track flat-out, but I lacked the testicular fortitude to try. One thing that struck me was that the car didn't feel particularly fast. It's so tall-geared that it doesn't accelerate all that quickly at low RPMs, but it'll do 150+ even with a big rear spoiler and everything. It also took a good half a lap to get back up to speed if you got caught behind a slower car. It was fairly easy to drive, the steering feedback wasn't very good, but the car felt very planted, at least until your speeds got higher, when the aero started coming in and the car started to kind of dance around on you. It wasn't losing traction at all, just moving around in the air. It was disconcerting at first, but I kinda got used to it. I never used the whole track, I wanted nothing to do with that wall, SAFER barrier or not. In short, I was a big wuss. But man, was it cool. I know Michigan doesn't have high banking by typical oval track standards, but it sure looks high from way down in that car. I can't imagine doing that for 500 miles with twice the horsepower and 42 other cars on track with you. I have newfound respect for those guys. So does the arrogant, know-it-all Brit who did it with me. :-)

I got to drive around the Kentucky speedway in my Impala SS. A couple laps were wide open, I agree it's a lot narrower in real life than it looks on TV.

Cool experience, thanks for sharing.

Great write up. BTW - MIS also usually does a "track laps" program during the summer. You can show up and get several (six, IIRC) laps around the track in your street car. Its definitely worth the price of admission, usually around $25.00, even if you aren't a huge NASCAR fan. Insiders tip: You have to follow the pace car, which travels around 70 mph. If, however, you happen to be last in line, momentarily fall back a little, and need to go a little over 70 mph to catch up, no one seemed to mind a whole lot as long as it all stays reasonable.

I've done it too and I have to agree it's a much better way to spend a Sunday afternoon that watching ball.

Unfortunately I went for the 3 day course - big misteak! It was too much.

It was fun, but I came away with exactly the opposite reaction than you and I felt it was even easier to do than it looks. You could literally remove your hands from the steering wheel and the car would drive the track.

That's not to say I didn't have fun, cause I did, but I lost what little desire I had to watch Nascar, so I took it down to the dirt track level to watch roundy round racing - now that's fun!

Now do the Indy cars. You'll love it too. They are a handful and much more physical.

Even tho in theory you can run the same speeds it feels totally different.

In reply to kazoospec:

Ours was the same, except our pace truck was an SRT 10

Indy car experience!! MUST DO in the future.

I mentioned the green meanie truck. That car)?) was the same spec in that it had the same Chevy 450hp crate motor but probably worse aero. That had a pro driver going rides and was circling without lifting. Round and round at 160mph unless he had to lift off to due to catching someone up in the corners. Cool to watch and proof that the cars we had were capable of doing it.

I've done open lapping at MIS in my Miata. Before starting I ASSumed a Miata could simply be held wide open all the way around. Imagine my surprise when I went into turn 3/4 almost wide open and the car starts pushing up the hill toward the wall ! After 15,or so laps I did manage a lap where I could get from the walls down to the apex at both ends. It really was an eye opener. I was showing 125 on the speedo (probably more like 115 really) and it was all happening very quickly, so doing it at 200 is pretty impressive in my book.

In reply to DeadSkunk:

Our top out was probably 105-110 down the back straight in the SE-R. It probably could have gone to 120/125 if we weren't limited by the "don't pass the pace car" rule. Almost double that would be insane, but awesome.

my first track day in the CRX was at Rockingham (roval ) ... we'd exit the infield section near the end of NASCAR 4 ... then full bore down the front straight, enter T1, turn down to the apex, drift up to the wall in T2, then down the back stretch to the turn in for the infield ...

even at my speed (85 maybe) I couldn't help myself, I'd lift as I'd approach T1, then get back on it for the turn down and drift up to the wall ....

my instructor kept telling me, "you don't have to lift there" (he raced a CRX) ... I finally told him, "maybe you don't, but I do" ...

I now firmly believe that the NASCAR drivers have to carry their's around with a wheelbarrow ....