Racing At The Atlanta Motor Speedway In Georgia

Racing at the Atlanta Motor Speedway was one of the most frightening and exhilarating experiences of my life. I laugh when I remember that day and I am thrilled that I pushed down the raging nerves and made myself get into that car.

So, here is how it all went down and what you can expect when you go:

Early on Mother’s Day morning, my husband told me to get ready, that my mom was keeping the kids and he was taking me on a surprise trip. He would tell me nothing else except that I would love it.

So of course, my mind was instantly conjuring up visuals of a romantic beach get-away, a cabin in the mountains, a posh hotel stay…none of which were accurate. As he pulled into the Atlanta Motor Speedway parking lot and informed me that I was going to ride with a NASCAR driver at the Richard Petty Driving Experience, I can say honestly that yep, it was a surprise.

What I felt as I walked onto the race track was awe (the race track was cool), nervousness (bad), and a little irked we weren’t headed for the beach. I had always watched NASCAR races but never really had any desire to actually DO it.

We entered the prepping building and were instantly greeted by a crew team. After checking in and getting the largest helmet I have ever seen in my life, we were taken to a room for training on how not to die and, if you do die, sign these papers releasing us from liability.

Really not feeling great about this at all.

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My class wasn’t very long as I was riding shotgun with a driver. My husband was driving his own racecar alone so he was taken to an extended version of the how not to die lessons. I was then guided to a waiting line at the race track by pit row and asked to please put on my gi-normous helmet.

I will be completely honest and tell you that I am truly sick with fear at this point. I could hardly breath. I was so wishing that I were on a beautiful beach or enjoying a romantic dinner.

I was taken on legs that felt like water to a racecar and there I met my driver, who was very nice, before being lifted and plunged through the car window with my giant helmet squeezing in with me.

I sat with my driver on pit row waiting for our turn on the track and pleaded with him to take it easy, telling him I have never done this before and to please be gentle. He just chuckled and patted my hand and told me to hold on.

I wanted to throw up. If there had only been door handles…

When you go from 0 to flooring it in a race car, it feels as if a board has been placed upon your body and a large weight placed on that board. You are flattened against your seat by the pressing g-force as all air leaves your lungs. My lower intestines seemed to rise up to clog my ears as he rapidly gained more speed until we were flying around the track at 180+ mph.

I am screaming. The car is so loud however, no one can hear me, not even me, as the side lines along the track passed by in a colorful blur. I never really knew where I was at any given moment.

Next, my driver begins racing with three other drivers, drafting and then swerving to the left to weave and pass with all of 2 to 3 feet space between the fenders of the cars. OMG, and the entire time the wall looms so near to my right. It is a good thing to be strapped in because when the racing starts, you are bounced around in your seat like a pinball.

Let me say that I never relaxed. That was impossible to achieve however, I did begin to actually have fun. I began to have more faith in my driver’s abilities and I started to truly enjoy the experience of going just below 200 mph.

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I saw the checkered flag wave above me and he gradually slowed down and drove onto pit row. Once stopped, you unhook all the belts tying you in and proceed to get out of the car.

As Bill Engvall once said, “I was almost cool”…

You enter and exit the car by way of the window. There are no door handles. Getting into the car was a piece of cake, getting out, not so much in my case.

I could not get my enormous helmet head to push through and out of that window. My legs were way too short (and shaking but I did not feel bad about that because everyone else’s shook as well) and my head way too big. Plus, I could not take the helmet off inside the car.

Several men pulled me from that car with my gigantic helmet leading the way. There was no coolness, no gracefulness, no pride as I came out of that car. My glamourous show of ‘yes, I did this awesome ride’, was not to happen.

When I finally was free of the car, I was helped out of my helmet and the relief of feeling balanced again was incredibly gratifying. I thanked my grinning driver for a great ride and for not hitting the wall and waited on my husband, who had achieved 140 mph driving his own car, to join me.

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Would I recommend this…absolutely! And I would recommend having a driver rather then driving yourself because we rode at a considerably higher speed and you are able to get the real feel of racing. Or, do both.

It was an exhilarating experience that I will never forget.

The next day, we took the kids to ride Thomas The Tank Engine. We topped out at 7 mph.

Richard Petty Driving Experience: RICHARD PETTY DRIVING SCHOOL

Some other excursions outside Atlanta that we have thoroughly enjoyed are North Georgia Mountains and Callaway Gardens

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