They started us on a small oval section at the end of the track, the Maricopa Oval, named for the highway on the other side of a tire wall and chain-link fence.  Patrick told us the story of one student who went through the tire barrier in his Mustang, through the chain line fence, and out onto the highway.  He drove down the highway to the entrance to the school, pulled in and drove all the way back to the Maricopa Oval.   The instructors had not been watching and none of them saw him leave, but they noticed his return.  Apparently, it was hard concealing all the scratches that completely covered the car caused by the bottom of the chain link fence.

The Maricopa Oval was almost the same as the painted oval on the training grid, so it was a good starting point.  I was still having trouble with trail braking, but was getting smoother each lap.

Slippin' an'a Slidin'

While the other students practiced on the Maricopa Oval, a small group of students was taken back to the training grid for the skid pad training.  The Bondurant School's fleet has perhaps a dozen special cars with what look like large training wheels sticking out of the side in the front and the rear.  The cars look like large orange spiders with black legs and feet.  Hydraulic actuators can raise the front of the car to remove weight from the front tires and cause understeer, or remove weight from the rear tires to cause oversteer.  The instructor would have us go around a small oval, and then just as we were in the middle of the turn, change the weight and trigger a spin.  The driver had to correct, by turning the wheel and using the gas pedal, and keep the car going in the right direction.  This was one wild ride, and you could always tell when there was someone on the skid pad because of all the tire screeching.

Some guys disliked the skid cars because it made them nauseous, but I loved them, probably because I took so easily to them.  My instructor, Patrick, a dirt track racer with years of experience, would tap me in the shoulder with his fist and say things like, "Great!  Terrific!  Couldn't have done it better myself."   Even if this wasn't true, it was great to hear it from your instructor.  We practiced in both front wheel and rear wheel drive cars, and believe it or not the effect of the weight transfer and the steering corrections needed to recover are identical, even if the cars respond to the throttle a bit differently.

After Lunch You Drive the Full Track

Guess what?  After lunch, we got to drive the full racetrack in the Mustangs, and got a chance to put all our new skills to work.  The rest of the day we spent practicing on the full track, with the instructors periodically riding along to offer more advice.  If we got tired, we just pulled into the pits for a rest.   If we wanted help, we pulled in and our instructor hopped in for a ride.   Sometimes Patrick would drive to demonstrate while I rode.  If a turn bothered me, we would walk over to the white board and Patrick would draw on the board's track diagram where to lift, turn, etc., and I would discover my mistake, and go out and try again.

This was my favorite part of the course, because there was no pressure, no expectations, and it seemed like we were able to race and race forever.  We also got a chance to see how we stacked up against the other students--if we could reel them in, pass and pull away, or have to pull over and let someone pass.  One of the guys got some sticker tires on his car and was the fastest during the afternoon.  I think I let him pass at least twice.  The effect of new tires was incredible.  When I complained about my car getting looser and looser, Patrick took it over to the shop for some new right side tires.  (I came in and told him I wanted four new tires, a round of wedge and a pound of air in the right rear.  He said, "Sounds good to me.")  I could not believe how much faster I could go on new tires.

About fifteen minutes before the end of the second day, I pulled my first big blunder.  I flew too fast into the last turn that exits from the carousel onto the straightaway.  As I entered the turn, I locked up the brakes (or as much as you could with ABS), and the rear started coming around to the right.  My front wheels went off the track into the gravel, and my rear wheels remained on the pavement.  I went through the entire turn completely sideways.   When I came to a stop, I quickly pulled back out onto the track and sped away for more laps.

Next time around, I went through the carousel at a slower speed, but as I went into the final turn, I suddenly realized that some fool had covered the entire turn with gravel.  When I hit the gravel it was like riding on ball bearings.  I spun once, then twice, and ended up pointing backwards on the track with three Mustangs coming right at me.  They slowed and missed me, but we all got a kick out of the fact that I had spun out in my own mess.  One classmate said that he knew I was in trouble when he saw my headlights, then my taillights, then my headlights again.  He figured something was up.

You're Gonna Love the Formula Fords

Wednesday morning was spent on the racetrack in the Mustangs, as each of us slowly improved.  I began to feel a certain rhythm to my laps, and fell into a long section where I was just flying as fast as I could around the track, but felt perfectly comfortable doing so.  Then I slowly began to make small adjustments at each turn, lifting a half-second later, braking a little less hard, carrying more speed into the turn, coming out faster.  Bit by bit, I was able to look further and further ahead as I got more comfortable with each turn.  Seeing the improvement was one of the most enjoyable experiences for most of the students.  We really did get faster, and not just a little.  A lot.

After lunch on Wednesday, we moved onto the Formula Fords.  These cars are powered by a four-cylinder engine producing little more than a hundred horsepower, but the cars only weigh a thousand pounds, so they are much quicker than the Mustangs.  We switched to full-face helmets for these cars, and I have to say that they made me feel claustrophobic at first, they are so totally encompassing.  You can only see directly in front of you, not down, and can't even see to fasten your safety harness.

The first thing we had to do was learn how to shift the #$%@ things.   I say it that way because these things are almost impossible to shift at first.   But, in true school fashion, plenty of time was allotted to doing nothing but shifting from first to second to third and then back down to second and first.   Patrick gave me a little encouragement by telling me that everyone had as much trouble as I.  The gears don't have rounded edges, there is no synchro-mesh, you just have to try to match the revs and you can't be gentle.  It would not be uncommon for me to accelerate, then take 10 to 15 seconds to find the next gear.  Once I got over worrying about damaging the gear box and no longer tried to be gentle, I slowly began to get the hang of it and could join the others on the full track and race away.

The Formula Fords are not only faster than the Mustangs, but they are harder on your bodies.  You are practically laying on your back, and there is no padding anywhere.  I got a large bruise on the back of my right hand from banging it every time I shifted into fourth gear, and my entire right elbow was one big bruise from the banging.  In addition, because I was using my arms to hold myself up and keep myself steady, they became tired in only a few minutes.  Patrick told me not to do that, but I never could figure out how to support myself without using my arms.

But I have to say that because of their quickness, and because they will do almost anything you tell them to, including turning with more g-force than you thought a car could handle, we got a strong taste of what driving a real race car is like.  They were just too punishing for my taste, and I much preferred the Mustangs.  We spent the whole afternoon on Wednesday on the track having great fun in our genuine race cars.

Tomorrow You Race

Thursday morning would be a ten-to-twelve lap student race in the Mustangs.  This was to be a genuine race, which would satisfy the requirements for a regional SCCA license.  The rest of Thursday would be spent back in the Formula Fords for the conclusion of the course.

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