Travel
would drive and Laura’s smile grew
so large, her eyes were nearly shut.
We were photographed by and in the
car before being fitted with helmets
and introduced to our expert
instructors. These brave souls would
sit in the passenger seat and talk us
through the course. I can’t envision
myself working as a driving
instructor in a vehicle that can blast
from zero to sixty in less than four
seconds with amateurs behind the
wheel. I’d choose parading as Mickey
on a hot day anytime.
Laura slowly entered the seat of
a flaming red Ferrari with an MSRP
price of $262,000, and I must admit
she looked fabulous. Well, come on...
just about anyone would look
marvelous in a car like that. I was
offered a silver Audi R8 that carries
a MSRP sticker of $150,000. Whoa!
Together we were driving nearly half
a million dollars’ worth of machines.
On the first lap I was instructed
to drive at whatever pace felt
comfortable and just familiarize
myself with the track. I was fine
on the oval but the turns were
tight...honestly, very tight. I actually
thought I was done with the series
of zigzags and hairpin turns, but
completely missed the last one. I
kept my car on the track -- just not
the correct portion of the track. My
coach was pretty laid back, but told
me to be sure to include all the turns
the next time through.
With each successive lap, I did get
faster and faster and felt more
confident until I actually floored
the pedal to the metal and let that
baby take off. I was flying at 114
miles per hour. Not too shabby for
a grandmother of eight! I actually
wished the braking