Can someone please point me to the starting line? One of my first questions when I was climbing into a race car for the first time. I have had the good fortune to spend plenty of time at race tracks in normal cars. A good education in and of itself. And the term race car I use as loosely as I could, It had a roll cage, 5 point harness, every bit of the interior had been stripped out. It was nothing more then an 1990 Audi 100, It was not fast, but it did have all wheel drive; QUATTRO!!! It was incredibly light and nimble.

I asked one of my fellow teammates, a gentleman that had raced wheel to wheel for a few years. “how do you think I’ll do? I’ve never raced wheel to wheel in a car.” We had most recently competed in a 24 hour go-kart race, I was addicted. I grew up watching a few circle track races, but never really got the bug to race them. Road courses are something else, a good driver in a lesser car can out wheel someone with more car and more power by just “knowing how to drive.”

His response, “You’ll be fine, trust me.” I remember the butterflies in my stomach as I climbed in during a driver change over. I was still getting use to the car and never been on the Track. I rolled out of pit lane, making my entry on to a hot track. Just then a car passed by the pit lane Exit or Pit Out. Every emotion went through me, “No one can pass me!” “Where did that guy come from.” ” My car is faster!” and “Holy Smokes! here goes nothing!” I downshifted, hit the throttle. The Race is on!

At some point during the race, I felt like I was getting the hang of it, Managing the car, driving what felt like a bat out of hell. And then going into turn one, A car on the inside of me, I gave him an inside lane, He crushes into my passenger door. I quickly look left, realize that there was not one car but two cars inside of me; both of which preceded to shove me around the corner of turn 1, and off the track. I realized through out this entire thing that my foot never left the throttle, I drove back onto the track, and passing one of the two cars that hit me. I had become over the course of a day a full fledged racer.

I’ve been into cars ever since I was a kid, my grandmother said my first word was car, I would sit in the back seat and say car, every time one would pass by. No seats belts, or car seat for ol’Junior here; I was happy as a clam.