December 14, 2008
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
|
Seems like it has been forever since we had a race on, although it has actually only been a month. A very long month.
I have to say, I received a nice appreciation for what it is like to race each weekend last weekend while I was in Las Vegas. I took the opportunity to make a few laps around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway -- thanks to the Richard Petty Driving Experience.
They have a great deal going on, where for $49 you can get their basic ride-along pass: Three laps around the track. Now, I admit, I wasn’t driving. I can drive a stick, however not all that well, and I certainly wouldn’t want to be responsible for mucking up the gears of one of those cars. So riding in the passenger seat was just fine…plus, it gives you a chance to focus on the track, and not on the other things required to actually drive.
It was a small group I did the tour and ride with, a young man from Canada, a pair of newlyweds from Missouri, my sister and myself.
Our tour guide Bruce picked us up at Harrah’s Casino and first took us on a tour of the shop at LVMS where the Petty folks prepare their cars. Apparently, someone with Gillette-Evernham Motorsports was going to be doing a commercial shoot this week, because they were re-wrapping two cars (a No. 20 Home Depot and an No. 18 M&Ms) into a No. 19 Stanley Tools and No. 9 Budweiser car.
Bruce informed us that this was not unusual, why take the chance of damaging a real car when you could use a Petty car instead? It was easy enough to wrap and unwrap the cars and a whole lot cheaper for everyone involved.
Bruce also gave us the history of the Richard Petty Driving Experience, and noted that LVMS was the second track they recruited to take part in the program. They have had thousands of men and women come through the track to take the laps with the help of the Petty’s, either just as a passenger like myself, or as a driver, as several folks out there that day were doing.
They explained that the cars they use were not actual race-used cars, but were built specifically for the RPDE. They used Chevy engines, and Ford rear-ends, and pretty much every manufacturer in between. The tires are race-used tires. Once Goodyear takes the tires back from the teams, they look for ones with minimal wear and give them to the RPDE to use. The engines are used for a finite amount of time, then removed and sent back to Charlotte for an overhaul. Each car is maintained in a rigorous schedule, with oil and fluids being changed frequently, parts being replaced regularly, and cars being overhauled several times a year. Much of the work is done right there at the track.
After the tour of the shop, we were taken over to the track. I have been to the LVMS complex before, but never inside of the track. One of the fun things that were going on while we were there is that military planes were coming and going at regular intervals. Nellis Air Force Base is right across the street from the track, which means the track is on the flight plan for most planes landing.
We saw C-130s, F-16’s, and a few other large planes come and go while we were there for the ride along. Bruce explained that since the Thunderbirds are based there, every once in a while, they will get a free show as the pilots practice the routines they take across the country each year.
My sister was the first one out in the car, a No. 96 DLP Toyota Car of Tomorrow. She was suited up with blue and silver uniform and big white helmet, and after maneuvering in, they strapped her into the seat and off she went. Three laps later, she climbed out, all smiles. When she made it back over to where I was standing, she commented “that was cool!”
When it was my turn, I walked over and carefully got into the car. I really do have a new appreciation for what it takes to get into the car. It took a bit of twisting and turning, and that wasn’t even with the big seats they use in the real Cup cars. The helmet seemed to be a big issue, and I wonder why drivers like Junior put theirs on before they get into the car because it seems like even more of a challenge with it on.
I was introduced to my driver, Joe, who was from Orange County, California and has been racing since he was 5. After giving me a brief run through of how to get out of the car in an emergency, they closed the safety net, and we were off. We came off pit road and the guess is we were up to 135 mph by the time we hit the back stretch. The average lap is 165 mph, and when you get moving, things really start going by quickly. You can’t have vertigo, and you have to pay attention to hitting your marks.
At 165, three laps go by very quickly.
And then it was over. I thanked Joe, climbed out, and walked back over to take off my uniform and helmet. I know there was a big smile on my face, and I really wanted to go back out for a few more laps.
It is easy to be a back-seat driver to the guys we root for week in and week out, however until you sit in one of those cars and make a few laps, and realize just what goes into the job for hundreds of laps each weekend, you really can’t appreciate what they do. It was an overcast and chilly day in Vegas, so it was a comfortable day to go for the drive. I can’t imagine driving the car on a hot day in July or August, when the temperature inside gets up to 140 degrees, and still focusing on the job at hand.
Just the thought of doing it gives me a headache.
After a quick drive around the rest of the LVMS complex, I was back to the hotel and the rest of our vacation.
If you have a chance, to take part in the $49 special deal that the RPDE has going on right now, I would strongly suggest it. It is well worth the money, and you really will look at getting behind the wheel a bit differently once you are done. Plus, it really is pretty darned cool.
You can contact the RPDE at 1-800-bepetty, or go to www.1800bepetty.com to register at a track near you.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
You can contact Kim at..