95jersey

I got the opportunity through work to go to one of those Pocono drive days (Stock Car experience). Although I have done Pocono probably 50 times in every configuration, I have never used one of their stock cars or drove the full tri-oval. Has anyone done one of these days? Is it worth spending the day, or will I just be fustrated by the experience compared to a HPDE? I would not go into it with a big head or think that I am so experienced that I should be leading the class, but at the same time, I am not sure if I want to waste a day waiting to do 4 laps at a slower pace than what I would do in my C6Z. They say up to 160mph, but I have heard you can get stuck behind other slower drivers.

Also, does anyone know the stats on the school cars...power/weight? They use real slicks, so that would be cool, but I am wondering if my C6Z is actually faster and lighter

RUN4CVR

I haven't myself, but have a close buddy who has done it. He says its OK compared to to DE's. Its a little restricted because you ride behind a lead car.

Also, he didn't figure out until the last lap that the gas pedal actually pushes differently than in a regular car so he was leaving the last 1/4 of the stock cars potential unused. (hint: push it towards the ground, not towards the fire wall...or something like that!)

Have fun!

CF6873

I did it about 10 years ago before I was doing HPDEs and had a good time. Looking back now after running the Z there I don't think it would be much fun. You would do a whole lot of waiting and watching to get about 10 minutes of seat time behind 1 to 3 other cars. If the guy in front of you is slow you cannot pass unless he gets flagged. The cars have great corner traction but probably no more corner speed than you get with your Z. One thing though, they won't have ABS issues.

Joseesp

I did it a few years ago and it was fun. (a present from my good wife) Driving the stock car is definitely different than our Z06, and just for that, it's worth it. There is only the instructor in another car in front of you. You are supposed to follow him at a fixed distance and keep the same line. He will go faster on every lap if you show him that you are good. Go for it and good luck.

The Spark

I did 10 laps at Texas Motor Speedway and had a blast. Not all schools are the same. The one I did they put an instructor in the car with you just like a HPDE. I've had friends do ones where you mainly do lead-follow I don't think they were turned loose by themselves.

I got up to ~150 when you hit the rev limiter.




The bad part is that just when you get in a groove its over.
Something that is fun to do but for the money I don't think I'd do it again. HPDEs are more fun and cost less.

ken-rx

DID it last year, it was great. Go for the ride along too, its an eye opener.

sothpaw2

I did an Indy car one at Cal speedway. It was follow the leader but only the 2 of us were allowed on the track at the same time. It was plenty fast for me. Power to weight was incredible--limitless--I never even used 1/2 the throttle because of this and had an avg lap speed of over 150 on my last lap.

JRD77VET

I've done it twice at Pocono. Had a blast. Here's how they run it. First you get classroom time where they go over the rules and how the car works. They will also ask if anyone has race experience. Pay attention to those who have raced and try to "pair" with them later ( unless you came with a buddy with experience)


Then the class is split and half goes out to a race car and the other half gets into a window van for an "on track tour". In the track tour, they will show the white outline blocks painted on the track ( you can see them on TV when NASCAR runs up there ). They will also show the cones on the wall for where you let up on the throttle and where you get back in it.


Pay attention to this part

They want you to maintain a certain distance between the cars on the track and to follow the instructor's line. Keep the proper distance and stay on line. The more "perfect" your following distance and line, the faster the instructor will drive. Hang back to "get a run" and he'll slow down to let you catch up. They look in the mirror 90% of the time to keep an eye on their two cars. They also keep in touch with radios between the instructors ( not the students).



The guy I paired with raced motorcycles ( I used to race gokarts) and we both followed perfectly. We turned in a couple of laps where I was able to 8400 rpm on both the main straight and the Long Pond straight. According to the chart in the racing suit trailer, that was good for 175 mph. I was able to hit 8400 both times I went.

If you have current safety rated helmet or racing suit ( along with gloves & sunglasses) bring it.

I highly suggest taking the ride BEFORE you go out yourself. You'll be able to see how the car moves and where the bumps are.

When I went on the ride along, I "stroked" the driver's ego before my ride. I thanked him in advance for the "ride of a lifetime" and that I always wanted to see what it really was like for the NASCAR drivers.

We took off from the pits with the tires smoking. He never lifted going thru the gears as we headed to turn one.I thought to myself " I'm either going to smack the wall or it'll actually make it". It stuck and I had a blast on all three laps. The driver kept it on the brink of adhesion ( where you're just a little squirrely) but never felt out of control. I thanked him again when we got back.

On the track, turn one and two are easy to hit your marks. Turn three is very long and easy to "lose your place". Watch the billboards on the out side ( or count the POCONO letterings on the wall ) to keep track of where your at.


Have fun, I know I did
Jeff