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bmwnomore
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| Drove 175 miles per hour today.
Not in my SLK though.
My wife bought me a "stock car racing experience" for Christmas. I went today. This is a program where you drive a NASCAR-type stock car around a track at considerable speed. Mine was held at Pocono International Speedway in Pennsylvania, USA. It's a track stop for the NASCAR circuit. It's a 2 1/2 mile tri-oval(three turns).
This was probably one of the biggest rushes in my life! After a training session, the first part of the program was to ride with a professional driver in a stock car around the track a few times. We went about 175 miles per hour. The first turn and I was literally petrified. It really seems that the incredible speed you have in the turns will surely slide the car up the turn. The G-force on your body is crazy. It's amazing how these cars stick to the track. Your mind tells you disaster is iminent, but the car says differently and absolutely stays glued. I couldn't believe it.
After the ride, I was a little apprehensive to take the wheel, knees wobbling and all, but what the hell! The way it works is you follow a professional driver and a driver like you is behind you. No radios whatsoever. Hand signals and the flag tower is all you have for the staff to communicate to you. I followed the pro-driver and my brother who went with me followed. We took off (manual transmission, of course), and before I knew what was happening, we were flying. I had a little trouble keeping up (that fear thing kept kicking in), my brother actually passed me. But it was an incredible experience. We went around the track eight times, gradually increasing speed with each lap. You drive a line that brings you from the lower edge of the track near the grass in the turns, to the straight-aways where you are about one car width from the wall. An incredible sensation. Eight laps go quick, but it is mentally draining. Your focus and attention is intense. There are actually other drivers on the track at the same time, so you have to have tunnel-vision. It was so much more intense, thrilling and scary than I ever thought it would be. These cars are real stock cars. They are loud, rough and vibrate, but they have incredible power. They backfire and make all sorts of rudes sounds. No doors or dashboard to speak of. There is no speedometer, but the tach has a memory feature that stores your highest RPM. Mine was 7000, which translated by their chart to about 160. My brother got his up to 7500, which is about 165.
It was great experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates speed and a sense of adventure. This is speed like you've never encountered before. It gives me a whole new appreciation of professional drivers. It all looks so easy on TV. When you try it for yourself, you'll know what I mean. Nascar drivers go about 40 miles per hour faster than I went on the same track. It doesn't seem possible, but it is. And they do it with forty other cars on the track for hundreds of laps. Unimaginable.
I was happy to get back in my refined, hugely under-powered SLK350 to go home. On the way home, I drove 100 miles per hour and it seemed like fifty. No drama whatsoever. And that's fine with me.
I think I understand now, the allure of the SLK 55 AMG. Speed is an intoxitating, adrenaline pumping thing. |
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bclark
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| RE: Drove 175 miles per hour today.
What a rush. How jarring was it? I'd also be interested
any hearing a narrative account by one of the members
who takes their SLK to the track. |
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etyu
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| Re: Drove 175 miles per hour today.
I think I might lose bladder control. Hah hah, but I am still willing to go for a spin at more than 160 mph. I better drop a hint to the wife. :-) |
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dsb
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| Re: Drove 175 miles per hour today.
thanks for the story. great read.
Question... how much was the event? I think I'd be interested in doing this sometime. |
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bmwnomore
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| RE: Drove 175 miles per hour today.
bclark - 4/30/2006 9:18 PM
What a rush. How jarring was it? I'd also be interested
any hearing a narrative account by one of the members
who takes their SLK to the track.
It is actually very jarring, and rough. The cars are very raw and you are shaken pretty good during the trip. The only saving grace is that you are strapped in so tight, you can't move much. You strap yourself in to the point of discomfort, it loosens a tiny bit as you get pushed back in the seat with speed. Also, the seats have huge side bolsters that stick out about a foot to hold you in place. There is also a head side bolster that sticks out about four inches. You are outfitted with a neck harness, racing helmet and a fire-proof suit. But, the roughness or rawness of the car is a little unsettling.
Edited by bmwnomore 5/1/2006 8:41 AM
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bmwnomore
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| Re: Drove 175 miles per hour today.
dsb - 5/1/2006 12:09 AM
thanks for the story. great read.
Question... how much was the event? I think I'd be interested in doing this sometime.
My wife bought me the program not last Christmas, but the Christmas before. We actually went last year, but got rained out literally moments before we were going to start. So we finally went yesterday. The cost of the program at that time was about $ 600.00. That included the trainig, the ride portion and the drive program. That seems like a chunk of change, but honestly I think it's worth every penny. It really is an experience of a lifetime. When you see what goes into this type of thing (cars,fuel, track, safety equipment,professional drivers, etc.), you can understand the cost. Not sure if the price has gone up much since we purchased ours.
If you're on a budget, you can just go on the ride portion of the program. You don't get to drive, but you do get the incredible ruch going around the track with a professional driver. That only costs about $ 110 (at that time). |
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