I did it! I went to race car school. It’s been on my bucket list for years now and I finally made it happen. I attended a class and training at Exotics Racing in Las Vegas. The staff was amazing and my experience was beyond awesome. I left the track that day saying that was one of the coolest things I have ever done in my whole life. It truly made me feel really alive.
After sitting in a class on technique and going around the track once to get some instructions from a seasoned professional, I was given the keys and allowed behind the wheel. For this adventure, I chose to go out in a Porsche Cayman. Although it was referred to by some of the drivers at Exotics as the "go-cart", I was still thrilled to be able to get out and make some turns.
My instructor hailed from the U.K. and was a very patient man. He must have had nerves of steel. He instructed me all the way around the track five times. I slowed way down going around the curves, but finally got up the gumption to turn on the speed towards the end of my session. When I reviewed the video of my laps, I burst out laughing because I looked like I was slowing down to get a parking spot at the mall. When I had originally heard that I was "only" going five laps, I thought to myself that that would not be enough. It turned out I was very wrong. It requires a lot of hard work and muscles to do even one lap.
As I left the vehicle, I was feeling like I hadn’t had the thrill of the speed. I realized that I had let fear hold me back and now I had regrets that I just didn't let it fly. To satisfy my as of yet unmet need for speed, I decided it was time to take a few laps with the Professional Race Car driver. His name was Rudy and his credits included being one of the drivers in the first Fast and Furious movie. I thought I would be completely nervous going into this adventure, but the opposite was true. I had such a feeling of calm come over me that Rudy could see I wasn’t scared at all. In fact, I think he took this as a challenge and turned up the heat. During our last lap, we completely fish tailed and swung around. I still wasn’t freaked out. Sorry Rudy, you can’t scare this old gal! I have made a vow to go back and do this again very soon. This time I will drive the Lamborghini.
After completing this adventure, I truly left the track on such a high. I also vowed that I would not continue to hold back because of fear. I would put myself out there and feel the fear and do it anyway!
“If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough.” ― Mario Andretti
Until my next adventure,
P.A. Walker
