So you've proven that you can take your car down the quarter. You've done it hundreds of times, and it's getting to the point where miniscule power increases are starting to cost thousands instead of hundreds of dollars. You want to do some serious driving, so you start looking for other outlets-other venues where you can drive your car the way it was intended to be driven (or at least as shown by advertisements), without fear of recourse from the authorities. Being the smart person you are, you know that taking it to the streets isn't the answer. Taking it out to the local NASCAR track won't work either because, dammit, all they do is turn left. Fear not, for as long as the automobile has been around, people have been finding ways to test the limits of their machinery, as well as their own survival instinct (and the size of certain extremities). At least a few of the names synonymous with this domain should be familiar territory: Mario Andretti, Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn. OK, those last few will be considerably vague to the average motoring enthusiast, but they are important figures in automobile history nonetheless. We're talking about road racing and open-track driving here, along with all the present iterations of the sport, including High Performance Drivers Education and Time Trial events, among others. Getting out there, carving up corners, making late-braking moves, and driving your vehicle at 10/10ths-a term often used to describe the physical limit of both man and machine-is easily within grasp of everyone who picks up this magazine.
The Path Less TakenRoad racing doesn't have the same allure as it did, say, back in the post-World War II years, but there are still a lot of clubs, sanctioning bodies, and organizations that hold road racing events, HPDEs, and TT events all over the country. They're out there; you just have to peel back the onion a bit. And don't lie-we know there are those of you out there who are interested in jumping ship over to the "corner carving" crowd. We will keep this user anonymous from a Fourth Gen message board:
"Hey guys, I have run into a tough decision lately. To make a long story short, I have decided that I like drag racing as a hobby, but the competition I really wish to pursue is in time attack/road course stuff."
Well, this is the right place for you, my friend.
As with life, people always take different paths to get to what they're seeking. Generally, though, HPDEs are a good starting point for anyone looking to get out on the track and learn how to make a car hustle around a road course. They can also be the perfect venue to hone the skills necessary for wheel-to-wheel road racing.
The name says it all: High Performance Driving Education. This is where other drivers and racers will show you the techniques required to beat the hell out of your vehicle on the track. One of the more popular organizations running HPDE events is the National Auto Sport Association, which has 11 regions across the country holding events. NASA is a for-profit establishment that has developed quite a following in recent years, especially with its "farm system" of developing HPDE drivers who often go on to race competitively in various NASA series. A typical NASA event weekend has two or three full days of on-track activity, with racing interspersed with HPDE sessions. More specifically, NASA (as well as most other HPDE-holding organizations) has four distinct classes, or groups, for differing skill levels. As an individual progresses up the NASA (or other) HPDE ladder, he or she will move through each of these run classes. Group assignments are determined at individual events, and are based purely on skill and experience.
Group OneCalling all virgin HPDE entrants. This is where you will end up at 7 a.m. on the first day of an event. The HPDE student will get one-on-one direction from an instructor (usually someone who has extensive HPDE experience or who is a full-blown amateur racer). In this group, car control and safety are the main teaching points, with emphasis on learning how to get the car turned into the corners properly and smoothly. Spatial awareness, or the ability to see everything that is going on in the periphery, is also an important subject Group One students learn. During on-track driving, the instructor will be present in the passenger seat at all times, shouting over the screams of the motor. In general, there is very limited passing here; however, it should be noted that in all cases, in just about every HPDE known to man, passing is done one way and one way only: with a "point-by." And it's exactly how it looks in those little seven letters-a slower car who is being approached by a much faster car, after seeing the car coming, points (usually out the window, over the roof) for the other car to pass to one definite side of the track.
Oh, and one other thing (and this deserves a line all to itself): HPDE driving is NOT A RACE. N-O-T A R-A-C-E. Pas une course. Nicht ein Rennen. No una raza. It's just not safe-for you, or for anyone involved. You're going to want to race, though. It's just a normal reaction when that little rat trap with the loud-ass exhaust is all over your bumper, trying to get by. The thing with HPDE driving is that you've got people with completely different cars and setups. That little piece from the land of the rising sun could have a set of $20,000 shocks-or some crazy 1,000hp dual-turbo swap. So, even if you're in a race-prep Z06 taking on a Yugo, there is no racing in HPDE driving. That's for later, when you actually go racing. Gracas!
Group TwoIn Group Two, things are a little different. In the case of NASA, you have been deemed safe enough to drive on your own, without someone sitting in the passenger seat. Generally, the driving isn't that much faster, but you are given time to focus on what you've learned in previous HPDE events. Passing rules are the same as in Group One.
Group ThreeIn this group, another where students run without instructors, there are much more lenient rules on passing, and, in some cases, it is the top of the pile in terms of the fastest drivers (NASA has one more, Group Four). With increased speed comes, though, an absolute reliance on being completely aware of everything around you. And it's still not a race-even at this level.
Group FourThis is the real deal. High Performance Driving. Passing is allowed just about anywhere on the track, as long as there is a recognized point-by. This is as close to actual wheel-to-wheel racing as you can come without wearing a couple of layers of fire-retardant material.
Group Four (or Three, depending on the sanctioning body) is likely where you are going to find instructors wringing out their cars. In most cases, and especially with NASA, instructors are not paid, but teach in return for free track time. Also, and this again is NASA-specific information, you will probably see the TT-competing cars in Group Four. These are cars that are competing not wheel-to-wheel but against the clock, and against other similarly classed cars. This could be an arena where you might find yourself in the future; so giving those cars room to push the limit is highly advised.
So, now you've been given a sneak peek into what to expect from a track event, and more specifically, a NASA HPDE day. Let's look at what you need to possess to make it out on the track.
The Right StuffYou'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.)