Drive VIR

Braaad!! Chris and I were so happy when Brad pulled into the campsite Friday evening! We checked out his new track tires, and his new #81 magnets that would stick to the side of his car for the weekend driving event. Brad participated in a HPDE (High Performance Driving Event) on Saturday and Sunday. He had class lessons and 3 track sessions each day, spending 20 minutes on the track per session. Chris and Brad have done HPDE events together in the past, but this time Chris didn't have his car. Being an awesome friend Brad gave Chris a a Hyper Drive session as a birthday present. Chris got to take Brad's car out on the track and participate in a driving session. Needless to say he was excited. Chris had been itching to be back on the track for some time now!!

And then there was Bobby, Brad's mechanic, friend, and a very talented driver. Brad expressed our love for racing to Bobby and ask him if he would give Chris and I a ride along (which for the most part means riding in the car with an driver experienced in racing at the drivers full racing speed). Bobby took Chris out first and then I went later in the afternoon. Incredible. I have been to VIR countless times, been to every part of the track, know the turns, and have seen top of the line racers (the Rolex Series--these guys fly through corners at incredible speeds) race at VIR. But I had never been on the track myself. Riding with a driver that has driven VIR 60+ times was a new experience for me. I have rode along with drivers before but never has one had such an impact on me. Bobby did no holding back. His corvette ZO6 pressed his competitors out of the way. Any fellow racer that slowed him down was sure to feel the pressure of his front bumper on their tail end. He executed every corner, accelerating at the car's full capability. There is no question of Bobby's intimacy with his car or the ability he had to apply it.

There is really no room for conversation with the intensity of this experience, but Bobby managed to look over at me briefly while beginning to excel down the straightaway, and say, "You OK?" I looked over with my smile and bright eyes (that had been permanent from the start), and said, "I love it. I can't stop smiling." In that short moment I could see his face beaming and his smile radiating from underneath his helmet. His love for racing could not be hidden. I got the privilege to ride with Bobby for about 20minutes. Repeating the track again and again. Straightaway, into a blind corner, pushing straight into two more corners, another straight away, relentlessly down the esses, fast around the Oak Tree, another straightaway, down hill into corners increasing speed....   

We survived the storm. The Skamper was put to the test. The three friends inside made it through. Saturday evening our location was filtered through two cells. Almost the eye of the storm. Bobby had left us his golf cart for the night so Brad and Chris got on it and headed out to find a bug out spot. A near by ditch. When the sound of the freight train sounded we were to jump on the golf cart and hall to the ditch throwing ourselves in and riding it out. Yeah. To say the least it was intense. The tornado had mercy on us and passed us by.