Gentleman Start Your Engines

Thursday, July 31, 2008
Gentleman Start Your Engines
I came out of turn nine three quarter throttle and slight brake. Ron is sitting in the infield having spun out and stalled his engine. I drive to the inside of the track off the brake and throttle to the floor turning right through turn one. My rear tires squeal and I accelerate down the short shoot setting up turn three going hard into the top of the turn before I dive to the bottom of the track and accelerate down the back stretch, but wait I’m to high and my right front tire is off the track in the dirt, off the brake and throttle to the floor, rear tires grab but follow the front off the track. Dirt flies, gravel stings my bare arms, and ping off my helmet; I can see my front tires but that’s all... I’m in a cloud of dirt as I do a 360. “I’ve seen this before; I’ve seen Jimmy Johnson do this in NASCAR.”

Well you really didn’t think Ron and I would sit at home and lick our wounds from our weeks work on the Appalachian Trail did you? Trent, my son had told me about a Go-Cart track in Columbiana, 25 miles south of Birmingham, where you could go and drive their go-carts as fast as you wanted, that right no speed limit

“Sure I want to go, let’s do it next week.” Ron was in.


The track is a half mile road course with nine turns and a hundred and twenty meter back stretch. It sits right off highway 26, with a nice club house, flat screen TV, locker room with showers they even sell purple and grey racing shoes. “These people are serious; this isn’t a Panama City go-cart track.”

Derek, the mechanic and track marshal, fitted us with helmets and neck braces. “Yes, neck braces... These people are serious.” Derek walked us through the track layout on a white board emphasizing where to cut back our speed and what to do if you get off the track. Then he took us over to go over the Go-Carts.
“These are Arrow AX9-4S 6.5 HP racing carts; they’ll do 50 MPH down the back stretch, their set-up to give you maximum control. In other words, they’ll go where ever you steer them. Take it easy at first, the tire temperature needs to get up to 140 degrees for maximum grip. “I knew that; I watch NASCAR.”

I led off with Ron close behind. As Derek suggested we took it easy the first two laps to get the feel of the track and to “get the tire temperature up.” Even did some squiggly driving to “scrub” off the tires. Then it was “let’s see what this baby will do.”

I’ve done the Richard Petty Driving Experience, 170 MPH at Talladega, and I’ve been instructed on a skid pad by the Skip Barber Driving School. I’ve even driven a Viper at my full speed around the Barber Race Course. So I’ve experienced speed, I’ve felt a car get away from me, and I’ve muscled a steering wheel to get a car back under control, but I’ve never done it for fifteen minutes straight. We're one and a half inches off the ground, as we crossed the apex of turn six, the G Force on our body is at 3 times the force of gravity, push the throttle to the floor and the engine screams to its maximum speed, 50 MPH, into turn seven.
“Don’t let up, the cart can hold the track,” the tires slide, pull the front back into the turn, the rear of the cart drifts through the turn and it's back to full speed. Within thirty meters into turn nine, a hair pin, hard on the brake while keeping the throttle down in order to keep the engine’s RPM’s up, slide through the turn, the rear end wants to pass the front, jerk the steering wheel straight, off the brake and full throttle. The tires bite and it's back into turn one.

Hot, sweaty, and dirty we pry ourselves out of our race carts. “That hurts your arms, fighting the steering wheel.”

“What happened to you over in the dirt, you’re filthy?”

“Were you ever scared?” “Nah, you couldn’t turn those over if you tried.”

“Should we check it off our Bucket List?”

“You can check it off if you want, but I’m coming back.”

“Next week?”

“Sure. Who can we get to come with us?”