June 8th 2014: Driving an Indy 500 Racing Car in Loudon NH

I had to get up really early this morning in order to get to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH,

where I was to drive an IndyCar racing car for the first time around a track with Mario Andretti Racing Experience.

After signing in at the gate, I drove into the area surrounded by the track,

where the race cars were being prepared for the day's driving.

Signing in for the second time, I received my racing jersey to wear for the day.

After having put it on, our instructor brought a bunch of us into a classroom to show us an educational video on how to drive the car and to be safe, as the cars have no mirrors at all, and the only way to know about the surroundings and where other cars on the track are would be by radio communication with our instructors. I didn't know there would be other cars on the road beside me. Oh dear.

After the briefing, we headed back out onto the track. While waiting for my turn, I took some pictures of the cars on the track.

It was my pleasant surprise that I was one of the first to go, probably because of my small size, and because the cars were made to suit the driver based on size. I was given ear plugs, having them taped to my ears, and then put on a protective covering before putting on my helmet, with my ear plugs/phones being plugged into my helmet.

I was brought into the car in the second lane,

where it was pretty hard to get into it,

but even harder to press the pedals, and the instructor had to put 3 seat cushions behind me

before I could finally push the clutch down to the base. The instructor checked for radio communications with me, and after my acknowledgement, they attached an ATV to my back,

which served to give my car the initial push off with my clutch pressed down,

and when I was near the exit to the pit,

I was allowed to accelerate after the ATV detached itself.

Out on the track, I drove the first round within the apron area

before being told to move out beyond the yellow line, and accelerate on the straight portions of the track.

At the turns, I had to remain 5 feet off the apron line, as crossing it would wreck my car as the car cannot handle the differences in slope.

I was slow due to a fear of getting hit, so I kept getting overtaken by faster cars.

As soon as I was getting comfortable in my car, my time was up, and I had to get back to pit row, going between the cones and depressing my clutch

to let my car cruise within the apron

and into the pit with my gear pushed down into neutral

before breaking to come to a stop before my instructor.

With that, my ride came to an end. I got a plaque, a certificate and other stuff to commemorate my experience. I don't know why, but I did not feel any exhilaration from doing this. It was like riding a go-kart, just faster, but it wasn't fast enough as the straight stretches here were pretty short. Oh well, at least I have the pictures.