Driving Skills

[dirtracer68]

Has anyone ever attended a driving school?    Which one? Dirt or Asphalt?  Do you feel it has improved your on track skills and if so, how? I have seen many advertisements lately on these schools and wonder if they are worth it?     Any help is appreciated

[justfreaky]

We have had several members here on the site attend racing schools. I have not heard of one say they wasted their money.
The benefits of learning something always worth the effort.

Steve

[dirtracer68]

We have had several members here on the site attend racing schools. I have not heard of one say they wasted their money.
The benefits of learning something always worth the effort.

Steve

That's great, I agree learning something is worth the cost. Maybe those individuals could share their experience with us. I am curious on the different schools, like whether they were dirt or asphalt, cost, could you bring your own vehicle, what they learned, do they provide additional help, if a past student calls and ask questions.

[justfreaky]

I do hope that some of them will post their experiences and what post driving school help is included.
Very good questions!

Steve

[thunder938]

does high speed Police Tactical Driving school count..LOL

[justfreaky]

That might help with road courses and auto crossing. lol!

Steve

[Babblinb]

Wesley and I attended the Rex Merrit driving school at Lucas Oil Speedway this year. Even though Wesley has been racing for 10 years we still learned alot. The First day was all class and the Second day was track, during the track session Rex talked to the driver via a raceceiver. Karl from Speedway Illustrated was there and gave some great insight to safety. The best thing about class was asking questions and getting a better understanding of what happens when you change things. The June issue of  Speedway Illustrated has reports of three different schools in it.

[Babblinb]

Forgot to add--- cost was 300.00 per person and you brought any race car.

[EJR51]

I went to the USLC "School" before I ever stepped foot into a Legend.  I had previous racing experience from quarter midgets to Pro Cup and everything in between.  I was getting into Legends for the cost, because I thought it would be cheaper (not by much).  The USLC School is on asphalt, and is usually run on the 1/5 mile out behind the backstretch, which drove much like a road course instead of an oval (dips, humps, jumps).  The nice thing about the school was 1 - seat time, 2 - 1-on-1 instruction in and out of the car (raceceiver and face-to-face), and guidance + marks on the track, so you could focus on what to feel for... i.e. tight vs loose and most importantly what it feels to have the car "set" and be able to smoothly get back into the throttle, and most importantly CAR CONTROL in a somewhat controlled environment (single car runs).  USLC provides absolutely everything for about $400-450 and you don't have to worry about crash clauses and mechanical failures. 

Bottom line, the USLC program is awesome because you get the instruction and you don't have the worry of "what if something happens to the car."  The cars are all in really nice condition, so you're getting quality equipment and Walter and Jimmy (if he's still with USLC) do a really great job of giving you candid feedback so you're able to concentrate on being smooth and learning.  It truly is one of the things that USLC has definitely gotten right, and even after competing for a year, I'm considering going back and doing the "summer camp" to get oval and road course seat time despite being 30.  Info for dates is posted on the USLC website.

[dirtracer68]

Wesley and I attended the Rex Merrit driving school at Lucas Oil Speedway this year. Even though Wesley has been racing for 10 years we still learned alot. The First day was all class and the Second day was track, during the track session Rex talked to the driver via a raceceiver. Karl from Speedway Illustrated was there and gave some great insight to safety. The best thing about class was asking questions and getting a better understanding of what happens when you change things. The June issue of  Speedway Illustrated has reports of three different schools in it.

That sounds like a well spent $300 if a veteran walks away from a driving school learning something. Does Speedway Illustrated have a web site?

[dirtracer68]

I went to the USLC "School" before I ever stepped foot into a Legend.  I had previous racing experience from quarter midgets to Pro Cup and everything in between.  I was getting into Legends for the cost, because I thought it would be cheaper (not by much).  The USLC School is on asphalt, and is usually run on the 1/5 mile out behind the backstretch, which drove much like a road course instead of an oval (dips, humps, jumps).  The nice thing about the school was 1 - seat time, 2 - 1-on-1 instruction in and out of the car (raceceiver and face-to-face), and guidance + marks on the track, so you could focus on what to feel for... i.e. tight vs loose and most importantly what it feels to have the car "set" and be able to smoothly get back into the throttle, and most importantly CAR CONTROL in a somewhat controlled environment (single car runs).  USLC provides absolutely everything for about $400-450 and you don't have to worry about crash clauses and mechanical failures. 

Bottom line, the USLC program is awesome because you get the instruction and you don't have the worry of "what if something happens to the car."  The cars are all in really nice condition, so you're getting quality equipment and Walter and Jimmy (if he's still with USLC) do a really great job of giving you candid feedback so you're able to concentrate on being smooth and learning.  It truly is one of the things that USLC has definitely gotten right, and even after competing for a year, I'm considering going back and doing the "summer camp" to get oval and road course seat time despite being 30.  Info for dates is posted on the USLC website.

I really appreciate all the feedback guys. Anytime you don't have to worry about the equipment makes it much easier (relaxing) , to learn and respond to feedback instead of getting stressed. My buddies and I took a tour of the USLC building last year while we were down for the World Finals. Everything we seen while we were there was top notch, so I can only assume their school would be the same.