The Right Stuff
You've come this far, and you're ready to get out on the track somewhere to test the limits of your vehicle. Well, there are a few things you need to know before you even walk the track. A real quick self-appraisal is probably the first thing, in order to see if driving a car on a purpose-built racetrack is for you. Obviously, there are some corners on road-racing tracks, and with those twists and turns come lateral cornering forces. If things like roller coasters and bumpy airplane rides bother you, you might think of keeping it to the dragstrip. This isn't intended to discourage anyone; it's just a fact of this type of driving. In some extreme cases, new HPDE and road-racing students leave before their first on-track session is complete. It just isn't for them. There's absolutely no shame in deciding against going out on the track. It's actually much better than the alternative-being out on the track, and coming to the realization that the speed is too much, and endangering people's lives in the process. Whether it is the speed or that wall in Turn 3, something just doesn't click.
This is also where we can talk about the survival instinct again. A journalist much more astute than this author, back in the '50s, wrote a highly detailed study about racing drivers and how their survival instincts are highly tuned (we're lumping first-time HPDE drivers into the same group as racing drivers, as the skills necessary are similar to get a car around the track). That being said, if you're the type of person who finds downhill skiing, bungee jumping, or any other "extreme sport" right up your alley, road-course driving might interest you.
While we're talking about the mindset necessary for successful track driving, here's another, even "touchier" subject: physical condition. Even if you are at your first HPDE event ever, you are going to use muscles and reflexes you didn't know you had. And that's just while sitting through the education portion of the event, where you will numb your haunches through what feels like decades of classroom instruction. Once on track, a combination of physical as well as mental fitness will pay dividends. Steering might require a deft touch, and having great footwork on the pedals is pivotal. Staying hydrated, especially in the summer months, is also essential, as is good sleep the night prior. (If you're having trouble sleeping, as many nervous drivers undoubtedly do before an event, try to pick up some specific info on the track, or take a look at some in-car video-a quick study of the track can be extremely beneficial on that first lap.)
Sticky-as-glue rubber might be in your future if you enjoy road-course driving. Shown here is a popular model: the Kumho V710 R-compound, DOT-approved tire. | 
A helmet is required for all HPDEs, from NASA to SCCA. We here at the magazine recommend a full-face model, and maybe even a pair of gloves for those cold months. |