DJRA Talladega, 2008!

[Power Hungry]

So... here we are. It's a gorgeous Sunday morning in Alabama. I'm here because my family and I were invited by one of our very good customers to have the opportunity to run his F150 on the track at Talladega. What? Talladega?? My first response was "You're kidding, right?" No. He wasn't. So here we are… Infield in one of the most prestigious settings ever to hold a NASCAR race and I am completely beside myself.

First, I will tell you that Van and his wife Ronda have to be two of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. You can tell right off that these are the people that would go out of their way to help a stranger, not to mention what they'd do for a friend. As it turns out, Van has been a firefighter most of his life which is something you can't help but admire. To put himself literally in harm's way on a daily basis shows the kind of character possessed by this warm, generous man. I also found out his wife Ronda has been involved in NASCAR for a number of years and is now handling the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure program. If there was ever a lady who bleeds for NASCAR more than her, I'd be quite surprised.

We arrive at about 10:30 pulling through the infield tunnel under turns 3 and 4. I am immediately intimidated by the 3 story high, 36 degree banked turn. Heck, the roof of my house probably has a smaller slope on it than this turn! We pull in by the garages and I stop to take a second to think how many drivers and cars have been through these doors. I again feel something like a kid at Christmas. No, I'm not going to get to meet Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, or any of the other NASCAR greats, but to stand here is akin to standing on the hallowed ground of the temple of the racing Gods.

Up to now, the boys have been absolutely silent. Corey has been patiently tolerating my rambling, knowing that this is an exciting day for me. Now, it's not that she doesn't understand the importance of our being here, but more that while she does appreciate the whole sport of stock car racing it's not something that she grew up with. It's like me trying to understand hockey. It's fun to watch from time to time but I don't have the passion for it. We park the Expedition and everyone bails out of the vehicle. All I hear is Roooaaaaaaarrrrr! Okay, so I can't put into words what it sounds like to hear these full-on Thundercars blasting around the track. If you never had the experience, I highly recommend it! Oh boy, this is definitely going to be a great day.

I catch up with Van and he introduces me around to some of his "friends", of course his friends are race car drivers. I meet "Wild" Bill Smith and Mike Fulmer, and a few other guys. They are just the kind of people you'd expect to find at a race track… people who know how important racing fans are and appreciate every single one of them. The boys are just about as excited as they can be. Wil is already starting with the "Can I go for a ride?" line of questions. Liam, only slightly less interested wants to go sit in one of the cars. Yeah! That's my boys! I promise both of them their chance behind the wheel on their 18th birthdays. That seems to pacify them for now.

I'm here to play with the F150, so now it's time to get down to business. Van informs me that he doesn't like the shift strategy in his truck, so after tucking Corey and the boys away for a little bit I grab the laptop and we go for a ride. He's right. The shift strategy sucks. 3rd and 4th are right on top of each other and the converter is locked in by 50 MPH at a pretty aggressive throttle. Miserable. After we get back, we spend a few minutes retuning the shift strategy along with a mod or two to spice up the AEM BruteForce CAI Kit we installed the other day. A quick spin back down the road confirms that we've got the shifting dialed in and the truck is now responding like it should. Solid downshifts to 2nd at 60 MPH and crisp 3rd gear shifts at 85. At moderate acceleration the converter locks in about 65 which feels just right.

We get back to the track and I get the equipment put away. It's time to watch the all the folks who've signed up for the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure to have their chance to drive an authentic Sprint Cup race car. Yeah, like that's not exciting! As I'm coming back Van asks me where Corey is and I tell him she's sitting with the boys keeping them from trying to make off with a race car. After all, it's tough to hide one of those in the closet. I'm told that she needs to come and get ready for the Driver's meeting as he has signed us BOTH up for a ride. It's a good thing I'd had nothing to drink because I certainly would have wet myself at that point. As I had said earlier, this is a person whose generosity is immeasurable and honestly likes to make people happy. Sorry Santa, I think you got beat on this one!

I convince Corey that we need to go into the hospitality building because it's warm and they are getting ready to have a Driver's meeting which I think would be cool to watch. On the way in I also convince her that she needs to sign the release so we can be by the track when the cars are running. No problem. At this point Van comes by and drops the bomb on her… She's going around the track with Mike Fulmer. After picking her jaw up off the floor and rolling her tongue back in her mouth, I also tell her that I have been signed up to take a little "drive" myself. Now she starts to wonder what she's gotten into! Hah hah hah!

We get the full lowdown on what to expect from the vehicles and from the drivers who will be copiloting with us. After the detailed 30 minute instructions, it's time to go for a quick spin around the track while we go over again the entry procedure, the exit procedure, driving lines, passing lines, turn lines, and everything else. We all pile into a number of F350 Duallies (6.4L ones… Might need some tuning there) and take our spin. We are quickly up to 85 MPH taking what would amount to a Pace Lap, but on this track we feel like we are standing still. And we haven't left the apron yet! We come out of turn 2 and climb up on the back straight. This is awesome! Again, I'm so excited I can't stand it. I can't even begin to express my feelings so I keep quiet. As we come into turn 3 I begin to realize just how high the bank is and just how slow 85 MPH feels going around this turn. I swear to you that as we go around the turn I feel like I'm looking straight down and that the truck is going to roll over. Of course it doesn't and around the turn we go. Going through the Tri-Oval that Talladega is famous for and crossing the finish line gives me another rush of exhilaration. Again, I think back to all the legends that have come across this line after hours of brutal competition and finished first. We come around again, drop on the apron and pull back in the pits. It's time for the final pep talk before we put on the racing suits.

We get suited up and then start loading the cars. We get our "victory" pictures taken first because they know that when we're done we will be so shaken that trying to get a picture will be useless. Smart folks! Now it's time to squeeze into the purpose built (and purpose fitted) race cars and get strapped in. Now stock cars and a 5-point harness is nothing new to me. It feels good to sit in the seat, although I'm sure after 200 laps I'd feel differently. One thing that is quite different for me is the HANS device which I've never used before. It's a little restrictive at first but after a few minutes you find that it doesn't affect your driving at all as you are completely focused on what's directly in front of you and don't really need to turn your head. My copilot, Bill Smith, once more goes over the instructions and hand signals we'll be using (since we can't talk over the roar of the car) and then we are ready to go.

3… 2… 1… CONTACT!

I've been in fast vehicles before. I've been in sub-11 second drag cars and have also been in stock cars on small dirt tracks. I am here to tell you now that they absolutely pale in comparison to a 180 MPH Thundercar. As we start rolling you can already tell that this is not your normal high performance car. Maybe that's an understatement. We pull through the pits, grab 2nd gear and then it's out on the apron to start picking up speed. Coming around turn 1 and 2 we hit 3rd gear and then quickly 4th. Bill pounds my leg because despite the fact that we've been told 20 times, I've got my damn foot on the clutch. *SIGH* I'm so excited at this point I'm surprised I can remember to even breath!

Coming down the back straight we are quickly up to speed and I get the signal to go up track. Out we go, on the high line. This is the normal running position unless you are passing. Bill gives me a couple nudges on the wheel to let me know where I'm supposed to be and then I get settled in. According to the time sheet, I am about 116 MPH as I head into turn 3. Did I mention how high that bank was?!? We stay on the high line the first lap through because we're still picking up speed and don't want to get in the way of the faster folks already on the track. Coming out of turn 4 we head into the Tri-Oval and we're still accelerating. I'm up to about 150 MPH now and heading back into turn 1. We come into the turn and then roll down into the lower line. I've seen this a zillion times on TV but it is whole lot different sitting behind the wheel. Bill gives the wheel a nudge again to keep me on the right line and then it's up and out of turn 2 onto the back straight. Outstanding!

I won't bore you with the details of every lap, but the next 5 laps were more of the same. I got the opportunity to pass a couple cars and eventually reached a top speed of 177 MPH on lap 6 with a lap time of 58.51 seconds. I had so much adrenaline going through me at that time that I could have chewed through barbed wire and come out smiling. We slowed down, coasted into the pits and came to a final stop. As I go to get out of the car I get chastised for almost hitting the START switch with my knees. Sometimes being tall has its disadvantages and I hope that Bill doesn't think I'm TOO big of a screw-up for that moment of stupidity.

After floating down from about 12 feet in the air (at least it felt like that's where I was) and thanking Van profusely for the experience of a lifetime, it was time for Corey's turn around the track. She got suited up and then waited for her turn to take a ride. Mike Fulmer was her driver and is again, one of the nicest people I've had the pleasure of meeting. Corey gets her "victory" picture and then gets her helmet on and the settles into the seat. It's always interesting when you have to deal with women and the gentleman buckling her in was trying very hard not to grope around between her legs to get the center harness strap. It's a little amusing because after 2 kids, there's very little Corey will get embarrassed about. Once she gets strapped in, Mike fires up the car. Yeaaaaah BOY!

Corey has never been in a race car before, much less one capable of 180 MPH, so I'm certain this is a completely new experience for her. One quick lap around the track and Mike is up to speed. Sadly, I can't hear or see Corey so I have no idea of what her reaction is. After 3 laps, Mike is up to a top speed of 181 MPH and then settles down and returns to the pits. Corey is unbuckled, climbs out of the car, and much to my pleasure is grinning like a fool! Mike climbs out, gets his well deserved hug and then Corey gives me the details of her experiences. Needless to say, she is exhilarated and wasn't the slightest bit scared. Like me, she also has a different view and appreciation for the people who do this for a living. These guys (and gals) are AWESOME! After just 6 laps I felt like I had just run a marathon, not just physically but mentally. The kind of focus it takes to drive one of these cars astounding and I didn't even have to worry about things like gauges and traffic and pit stops.

What were we here for in the first place? Oh yeah. We were going to take an F150 around the track. After about an hour or so, the rest of the drivers and riders finished up and then the track was cleared off. Now it was our turn. Mike was kind enough to drive the F150 for us and so the 3 of us piled into the vehicle, strapped in, and we were on our way. The first lap around was just to sort of feel it out and get settled in. I was watching the vehicle speed, line pressure and spark advance as well as making mental notes of what gear we were in. Coming out of turn two we climbed up onto the track and were at 105 MPH rather quickly. So far, so good. The funny thing is that after going almost 180 MPH on the same stretch, it felt like we were cruising to the grocery store or something. It's amazing how your perception of speed changes in that short amount of time. You brain goes into overdrive trying to process everything faster and all of a sudden 100 MPH is like sitting still. We come around another lap and then on the third lap we floor it coming out of turn 2. We hit a final top speed of 121 MPH, which I felt was respectable for a SuperCrew F150 5.4L. We come out of turn 4, slow down and come to a final rest in the pits. It has been an awesome day.

Again, it's tough to find the right words to describe exactly how I feel. I guess the best I can do is to take a moment to express my gratitude and thanks to Van Robertson and his wife Ronda for providing me, my wife, and my boys with this wonderful opportunity. My 6 lap "drive" around the track cost $395.00 and the 3 lap "ride" Corey took is only $150.00. Given that for most people this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, the price is certainly reasonable. Just be careful because it can be addicting! At only $695.00, I think I'll be going again this spring for a 10 lap drive. You can even do a 60 lap drive, if you think you can handle it!

In addition, I would also like to thank the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure staff and team of drivers for their thorough dedication and professionalism, even with knuckleheads like me. You guys are fantastic! I also want to take a second and congratulate Mike Fulmer on his award for MVP of the year for DJRA. It was well deserved.

*SIGH* It's a 2½ hour ride on the 150 mile trip back to Winder from Talladega. I betcha I can do it in an hour… in the right car!

Me suited and ready to go.


Corey suited and ready to go.


Liam is ready to take that first lap!


Wil can get his chance in 9 more years.


My final lap times.


F150 at 119 MPH. Sorry, I missed the 121 MPH by about 4 seconds.


Turn 3 at Talladega!


Van and Me... Thanks for a great day! (Sorry we didn't get a better picture...)


Videos will be up soon!

[Jackpine]

Great story, Bill. Almost felt like I was there with you (and I wish I was)!

Would have been fun to see you and Corey getting out after the rides!

- Jack

[glockwinger]

Outstanding Bill! That is something I have dreamed of doing someday! What a rush...thanks for sharing your adventure and the pictures.

-G

[CHARGED97]

That is an awsome adventure .......I am so jealous .....to be able to experience something like that wow!!!

[Gator]

I think all the viewers will go nuts when they see the video.... it will super charge them... of course you could have a PHP field day and all come to the track... I am sure Ronda would give some sort of discount if enough showed up... sorta a club meeting...

Just something to think about for later on down the road...if you want to get a club event up or something like that....Ronda is good at thinking up stuff to promote ideas and market your company...

That was her life for years... marketing...

Uncle Gator

[Power Hungry]

Originally Posted by Gator

I think all the viewers will go nuts when they see the video.... it will super charge them... of course you could have a PHP field day and all come to the track... I am sure Ronda would give some sort of discount if enough showed up... sorta a club meeting...

Uncle Gator

Gator,

I was actually going to ask you about that and see if there was a possibility of a "group rate" if we can get 10 or 15 people together. Of course, we'd expect to be drafting and playing a little "tag"!

I can't wait to get behind the wheel again! I think I've found my new addiction.

I'm going to rip the DVD here shortly and get the video up. You're right. Folk will go nuts when they see it.

Thanks again. Catch ya later.

[Power Hungry]

Okay... Here's the video.



It was originally 10 minutes but I cut out all the parts where I hit the wall and ran 2 other people off the track. Just kidding.... I did trim it down to make it a little easier to watch, though.

I hope you enjoy it!