Has Anyone Taken any Specialty Driving Classes (racing, etc)?

[Angelfish]

Racing, evasive tactics, chauffeur (a real one), all kinds of interesting stuff.  Did you go on to use your new skills, and how did what you learned apply to everyday driving?  

 

There's a rally driving school not too far away, and while I don't ever plan to be a rally driver, I bet the class would be a hoot.  Plus I really want to go to Norway and try the ice driving and a little preparation seems worthwhile. 

[zepher]

Only course I have taken was a two week Motorized Equipment Training Academy when I was prepping to get my commercial driver license. 

 

It covered Class A Equipment and all sorts of construction equipment like loaders and graders.

Plenty of classroom and practical exercises. 

[John_S_in_Penna]

This might not be quite what you had in mind,

but when I first bought my 1916 car, my friend,

accomplished car restorer Rick Hoover, taught me

to operate it.  Before that, my earliest car was a

1957 Buick, much more modern.

 

I had never mastered a stick-shift before, so the

1916 might have seemed a bit daunting.  But I figured

that the original owner might just have graduated

from a horse--so if he could learn, so could I!

[7th Son]

This one probably doesn't count, but I was late to a doctor's appointment and got a speeding ticket along the way. The county sheriff's office offers a "Safe Driving" class in lieu of the ticket and fine. I opted for the class and was the oldest one in attendance by at least 40 years. 

Not the best way to attract attention. Haven't had another ticket in 15 years.

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by 7th Son (see edit history)

[Frank DuVal]

I was given a present of an Indy driving class at RIR. It was a hoot, but they really should have larger helmets, trying to get the helmet with the head sock and glasses on was about impossible!😮

 

🦃🕎🍠🎄❄️🐖🎄☃️🍲

[Swear57]

For my 50th birthday I and my son went to the Dayton 500 coming upon 17 years ago. Three days later I did the Richard Petty driving school back in Orlando on a 3/4-mile tri oval. I was one of 8 drivers 2 were older than me and 5 younger. We had our classroom time then we did a ride around in a van, to show us the marks to hit and we were to follow the car ahead of us and he would keep us 3 car links behind him. The top speed was 160 mph for insurance reason. I was last to go' the other 7 drivers were going 80 to 110 mph. I paid for 15 laps by the 3rd lap I was doing the max speed of 156 to 159.5 I had a blast. Afterwards they gave you a printout of your speeds and ask what they could do to make the experience better, my suggestion was to have a credit card machine in the car.

 

Jim S

[3macboys]

I'll spare the details of the course, but if you want to learn smooth driving a timed course with a wok mounted to the hood with a tennis ball inside will do it!  And yes you need to keep the ball inside the wok or you are chasing it on foot.  In the words of Jackie Stewart - Smooth is fast

[pkhammer]

  My Wife got me a gift of the Richard Petty driving school for my 40th birthday, 20 years ago, at the Bristol Motor Speedway. That was a blast and like Swear57 they gave us a printout of our speeds and lap times. I was only one of a few in the class that had at least one lap that topped 100+ mph. Going into those steeply banked turns at 100 mph is quite a thrill!

  Just as much fun was Taking a class that used to be offered at Williams Grove, Pa. where they gave you time at the throttle of a real steam locomotive. I also have my steam engineer's certificate from a class I took in Somerset, Va. operating steam traction engines. Maybe I need to buy a Stanley? 😃

[theconvertibleguy]

I did a commercial driving course for getting my Class AZ (known as Class 8 in a lot of places) for driving commercial trucks, since it was one of the few jobs where I grew up. I only used it for a few years as I found the industry is incredibly crooked, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I missed the open road. Just not the BS, dealing with customs, trying to get an empty 53 ft van over the Skyway in wind and freezing rain, you know, anything else that comes with the job

 

I had debated getting a early 60's Mack B61 tandem for hauiling around my toys if I ever won the lottery, so at least the training would be useful then.

[28 Chrysler]

At age 14 my father let me drive on a frozen lake in his 1960 Dodge wagon. 4 miles in every direction of 12 inches of ice all I had to do was stay away of the fishing hole.

I learned a lot about loss of control, regaining control and traction. I had a blast, so when I started driving winter driving on the street was nothing new.

[CarNucopia]

I've taken a few different motoring courses. The first was a beginner riding coursed from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. A year later, I took the Advanced Rider Course. Both absolutely helped me be a safer rider. Without it, I doubt I would have developed the defensive intuition for the roadway I have, or practiced avoidance skills. Also, much of what I learned made me a more aware driver. This really comes in handy when driving a Prewar car that puts me more at risk.

 

When I graduated from college, I was given a Skip Barber class at Road America as a gift. It was a ton of fun and taught me about vehicle handling and car control. It completely changed my taste in cars and I went from a V8 Camaro to a Miata. Since then, I've always placed handling as a priority over power (though I prefer both). This lead to a 33-year run of Miata ownership. The biggest benefit though was developing the skill to drive a car in slippery conditions, like midwestern winters.

 

The most recent class I took was the Model T driving school at the Gilmore. I've always had a curiosity about the "T" and wanted some first hand experience. It was enjoyable enough I picked up my '16 Runabout earlier this year.

[KVP]

Model T driving class at the Gilmore Car Museum.  😊

[TAKerry]

I have had a class A (big truck) and M (motorcycle) license for over 40 years. Never took a class other than drivers ed at Montgomery Ward.  Some of the racing schools do sound like fun. I know a couple of people that did that sort of thing at Pocono speedway. 

[pkhammer]

47 minutes ago, KVP said:

Model T driving class at the Gilmore Car Museum.  😊

Ah yes, the Model T Ford! That is a tricky one for sure! I bought my first model T at Luray, Va. (actually a TT truck) several years ago and thankfully there was room on the grounds and the seller was willing to give me lessons. Looking forward to having another T one of these days. 

[JACK M]

I never took any racing classes, but I have "schooled" a few competitors.

Literally thousands of laps on the dirt tracks in the NW.

[Terry Bond]

While living in Scotland (courtesy of the USN) I was exposed to the IAM - Institute of Advanced Motorists.  We were given a short course of information about the testing required to receive designation at the various levels, then had the chance to ride with a police officer over a road course while he provided near continuous commentary about what he was observing and how he was reacting to what he saw.  It was a rapid-fire description of what was gong on in the surroundings, with the car, and how obstacles (or potential hazards) were handled.  Then, we were given a chance to do the same.  I can tell you it was 30 minutes of intense motoring with a police officer in the passenger seat who was watching like a hawk.  We were downgraded on things we did not observe and comment on as well as errors made when we did encountered potentially difficult road situations.   Even failing to describe you were using your mirrors at certain intervals and what you observed in them was reason to fail the test!  The video gives some idea of the testing.

 

There are other areas that can be trained and tested as well such as evasive maneuvering, pursuit driving, etc.  We had the chance to see police demonstrate these on an un-used airport runway and I can tell you it was thrilling - much more exciting than any "drifting" demonstrations I've seen at some big car shows lately. 

 

 

 

 

Terry

Edited December 28, 2023 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[oldcarfudd]

Several years ago, the Stanley Museum in Kingfield, ME offered a 2-1/2-day one-on-one package with the museum director.  Learn to fire up, drive, shut down, and basically maintain a Stanley Steamer.  A total blast.  I've had a Stanley ever since, and am still learning.

[pkhammer]

56 minutes ago, oldcarfudd said:

Several years ago, the Stanley Museum in Kingfield, ME offered a 2-1/2-day one-on-one package with the museum director.  Learn to fire up, drive, shut down, and basically maintain a Stanley Steamer.  A total blast.  I've had a Stanley ever since, and am still learning.

This would be something I would LOVE to do if given the opportunity.

[Dr B]

I have done several courses and high performance driving events (HPDEs) over the years: Bertil Roos, Skip Barber, Ron Fellows and numerous HPDEs with various car clubs and NASA and probably a few others. Yes, they are a hoot! Great fun, amazing focus while in the driver seat (no day dreaming or texting or you will ball up your car!) They are great at making one a better driver, understanding car dynamics, car control, learning the limits of adhesion, car rotation, polar moment, corner apex, etc. One of the most important lessons of these courses is situational awareness. That is important no matter what you drive or ride.  In addition, the courses improve ones appreciation and understanding of the limits of the handling of a car. It amazes me how few drivers have any idea about the limits of their car.  While I am not sure how add much they add to driving pre-war cars, they definitely help in improving ones ability to drive and appreciate post-war cars. I have no plans to race, but I think they definitely made me a better driver on the street. I have not done a rally class, but definitely want to do one some day. I've looked into them, but nothing in my area (I saw one was in Vermont and another was in Florida), so I would need to plan a serious vacation to take one of them. 

 

Robert

[John Kelso]

PK hammer if you get up to south central Pennsylvania I'll teach you in my Stanley

[pkhammer]

26 minutes ago, John Kelso said:

PK hammer if you get up to south central Pennsylvania I'll teach you in my Stanley

  Thank you, I appreciate that offer and I think that would be awesome! I got to ride in Willis Abel's Stanley years ago down in NC at Ken Eder's 100 years of progress farm show. I was amazed at the power it seemed to have. A gentleman had a Stanley at the Shenandoah Steam and Gas show in Berryville, Va a few years ago but I didn't have a chance to chat with the owner. I've messed around with steam traction engines for a number of years so I have a fascination with the steam cars too.

  I really need to take you up on your generous offer once it warms up!

[Hemi Joel]

About 7 years ago, I went thru the Frank Hawley School of Drag racing. I was very fortunate that Mr. Hawley himself was teaching the class that day. It was a very worthwhile class, and even though I had been racing since I was a teen, I learned a ton. And left the class with my NHRA Super Gas license, which was the goal.

[oldcarfudd]

On 12/28/2023 at 9:08 PM, pkhammer said:

This would be something I would LOVE to do if given the opportunity.

I'll up John Kelso's offer.  I'm starting to age out (87) and looking to cull the herd.  Buy mine, and lessons are included.  And mine's a 10-horse - decent performance, but won't break the bank.

[pkhammer]

8 hours ago, oldcarfudd said:

I'll up John Kelso's offer.  I'm starting to age out (87) and looking to cull the herd.  Buy mine, and lessons are included.  And mine's a 10-horse - decent performance, but won't break the bank.

  Wow! It's amazing just how much trouble a guy can get into on this forum! 😄 I'll send you a PM because if nothing else, you've got my curiosity up. 

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

In appreciation for helping my son get started in his career, in 2006 he sent me an airline ticket to Phoenix. He rented a Corvette for me to drive during my stay. Once there he took me to the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. There I was enrolled in the “Corvette Experience”, a one day driving class. Very fun and a great memory.

Edited December 31, 2023 by Jeff Perkins / Mn (see edit history)

[John Kelso]

PK you couldn't go wrong with oldcarfudd's car, a 10HP Stanley is a fine car and I've seen his run

[Matt Harwood]

In 1989 when I was 19, I used my earnings from a summer job to go to the Bondurant school in Arizona. Best weekend ever and it sharpened my skills immeasurably. I'm hoping to send one or both of my teenage sons to a similar school in the next few years to help sharpen their skills as well.

 

I did hold an SCCA competition license for most of the 1990s, although it's expired now. I actually got it in order to buy a 1995 Mustang Cobra R, which ostensibly was only available to people with competition licenses. Sadly, I didn't qualify in time and never got the Cobra R, but I did spend the rest of the 90s racing various Mustangs and Corvettes at different levels--never any big professional drives. I ended up at a Corvette tuner that was the GM skunkworks where we did a lot of the pre-production durability testing for the C5.

 

Anyway, I got all that out of my system and now drive slower cars that I find equally entertaining and surprisingly, less stressful. When you're building and racing cars, you're always ON. That's exhausting and I probably could have made more money working fewer hours at McDonald's. Meh, that's what we do for love, right?

 

 

Edited January 1 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[Marty Roth]

Many, many moons ago while in Phoenix on assignment, I took the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving.

I also held an SCCA competition license for most of the 1960s, driving E and F Production classes. A lady I dated also drove H Production with her Sprite.

 

Back in 1960, having won the JC Safe Driving Road-E-O both for my home town of Linden, and later for the State of New Jersey, the organizers arranged for me to attend the Safe Driving course offered to Esso Standard Oil employees at their Research Center in Linden.

At the national competition inside the District of Columbia Armory, representing NJ, I glanced up into the crowd, saw my parents, temporarily lost concentration, and brushed the curb during the parallel parking event - normally one of my exemplary areas. I was told later by the judges, that the points lost there moved me from first place to fourth, completely out of scholarship awards, and down to "Honorable Mention" (4th out of 51 contestants - no consolation).

 

[philip roitman]

Starting in 1980 I did the SCCA autocross and Car club Track days from the RX-7 Club to the Z club of America. (Starting at the now closed Bridgehampton Race track) This all led to the Bertil Roos school, did the Skip Barber school a few times, eventually doing some instructing there also. Got my SCCA competition license in 1984 and embarked on a 30 year journey into racing cars in SCCA starting with the Improved (IT) Touring class, then into Showroom Stock National and Regional racing in several different sub Classes from SSGT to SSC. Had a full sponsorship from B.F. Goodrich. Ended my track driving in a heavily Modified Mustang in the American Sedan (AS) Class getting a Body in White Mustang and sponsorship from FORD. Also ran in IMSA a lot including doing the 24 Hours of Daytona a few times. Have also held the Lime Rock Track Record in SSGT for a few years. I have also been an SCCA and IMSA driving instructor giving back what I have learned which I still do occasionally. (Always nice to do get the opportunity to do instructing and sometimes get to use someone elses race car on track)  All this while also on the Board of Directors for the New York Region SCCA for 30 years. I also have been doing some vintage Street tire and Buick Club Drag Racing the last 20 years for fun and the friends. (Brings me back to my teenage street racing memories). Great times and memories. Doing a racing school is the best way to really learn how to drive and handle a car in all situations. Have made sure my children and now Grandson all took/take professional Driving schools. I have been truly blessed to do most everything and continue to do everything I want to do with cars and car people on so many different levels. 

Edited January 1 by philip roitman (see edit history)

[Paul Dobbin]

After awaitng the finish of the First Great American Race, Knott's Berry Farm in L.A. to the Indy 500 in 1983. 

We sent in our application to race in the 1984 Greatrace.  Not knowing anything about rallying or timed Porsche

style rallies, we chose to spend our time preparing our car to survive the 3000 mile event.

The Greatrace offered a "Practice Rally" in Miami.   We signed up for that too, hoping to learn something.

We took the whole team of 5 to Miami where we met the Greatrace crew and several veterans of the 1983 Inaugrial Race.

Tom Lester was there in his 1909 Mercedes with the 1908 Mercedes Racing engine,  Ted Holden of Airflow fame (Who I

would team up with later for 9 Greatraces) was there in a 1915 Packard, most of the others, like us came in modern cars. 

(We were in a new 1983 Ford passenger van.)  

It was a horrible rainy weekend and we didn't learn much but did get invited to Tom Lester's Collection in Deerfield Beach.

We followed Tom up I-95 and couldn't keep up with the Mercedes.  When we got to his private collection he remotely opened

the doors and drove inside where his crew was ready to detail the car.   We were way out classed but it was part of the

adventure.   I'll add a picture here later.

Once we got to L.A. for the 1984 Start, we went to their rally school the night before the big event.  But we were late due to

our appearence on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  We finshed 46th of 120 and learned a lot from our competitors

as we went.   We learned by the seat of our pants, so to speak.   Example: we made 5 minutes in errors on day one and the

winner in Indy had less than 5 minutes in the 3000 miles.   Gary Wales won with professional navigator John Classen, who

later became the Rally Master for all the Great Races.   We returned in 1987 with a good working knowledge of rallying and

did much better.

  Tom's Lester's Colllection ,1984

Edited January 3 by Paul Dobbin
added picture of Tom Lester (see edit history)