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Going Green by Jason O'Dell In the spring of 2000, I was doubly blessed to both have
the honor to graduate from Clemson University and acquire my first sports
car. In the year-and-a-half since, I have enjoyed both. This past April,
my birthday present was to finally bite the bullet and give the Driver's
Education scene a thorough checking-out. While I had "Oil, check…lots of oil, check." Reliability was my primary concern going to the track for the first time. I had never driven the pretty 944 turbo this hard before, what would it do? While my oil consumption was moderate on the street, I had no idea what redline upshifts would do when brought on for 20-minute run groups. As required, I had the car inspected before leaving and was instructed to keep the oil slightly overfilled and I should be fine. This helped to ease my fears of rebuilding an engine and allowed me to focus on the part that would make help me to best improve my skills-my brain. Day 1 at the track started at 7AM. A driver's meeting followed a short tech inspection. So, there they were, all standing around me, the pros, guys who knew how to drive well. I needed to learn from them. Out of that crowd stepped my instructor, Dave Gross, who had a car similar to mine. 'All the better to instruct you with, my dear.' The camaraderie of the driver's meeting was followed by the orientation for the beginners-the green group. On the ski slopes, beginners must stick to the trails marked with green dots, and likewise, I was given a green dot to place on my windshield. The educational meeting was probably the most important part of the green group experience. This set the tone for what was about to happen. We had to be safe, serious and receptive to criticism and this new experience. With the explanations of oversteer and heel-and-toe came the warning to stay "cool" and in control at all times. That first day was all about the Line. There is only one Line, a line you never drive. The Line is too perfect for mortal man, but we must try to stay as close as possible, for only then will we enjoy the smoothest, fastest lap possible. As the laps accumulated, I began to grasp the Line well, and I began to appreciate the capability of the car. While the Line came fairly easily, other things did not. The way I was getting around the track was like connect-the-dots. For instance, I would drive from the spot of asphalt I used to mark my turn-in, and then over to the rumble strips at the apex, then back over to the spot I knew to be the exit of the turn. These little spots had been burned into my mind from my first run on the track and I felt I had the line down. Dave knew there was much more to driving than the Line, though, and he challenged me to better use my eyes and hands. Under Dave's guidance I realized that I had not be driving the track; I had only been driving from point-to-point, only looking at the pavement just in front of the hood. On the street, this would not work; you must look ahead and anticipate! This was the change I had to make. I fashioned a sign that read "Look UP Stupid!!" and affixed it to the dash. As Dave explained to me, when you begin to look up you can see the whole area of the track that you're on and the apexes you must try to reach. I had driven on a racetrack the entire previous day and not looked where I was going! When Stupid here finally began to look up, I could tell that my driving had improved and I was faster. I was also safer, simply because looking up brought all the flag stands into my peripheral visual field. This breakthrough was when, on a particular lap during the second day, Dave made me count the number of flag stands. Amazingly, some of them I had not really noticed before! As Sunday drew to a close, I was appreciative of all the effort Dave and the entire Florida Crown Region group had done to make my first track session safe and successful. The product of shared Porsche enthusiasm is truly a great thing. I cannot wait to return and continue my instruction; I have lots left to learn! Home | Calendar | News! | Articles | Eddresses | Links | Caption, Please!?! Contest
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done some NASCAR and vehicle handling schools in the past, I had never
"run what I brung." While this made me somewhat anxious, I
was interested to see what happened when I took my bull to the china
shop, or at least to Roebling Road Raceway.