Performance & Race Driving Tip
Speed Secret: Be aware of how fatigued and un-focused you are before heading home.
When is the most dangerous time of a race, HPDE or track day weekend? The first session of the day, the last one, the warm-up session or the race, the session just after lunch, or?
A Speed Secrets Weekly subscriber (http://speedsecretsweekly.com) reminded me of how hazardous the drive home after a day at the track can be! Perhaps that’s most risky part of the day!
In the case of our subscriber, it was while trailering home his track car after a long, tiring day.
How many times have you told friends and family how tiring and demanding a day of track driving is? And you weren’t just responding to their… ahhh, let’s call it “un-informed” comment, “It’s just driving. How difficult can that be?”
We all know how mentally and physically taxing a day of driving on the track is. But our subscriber’s story of misjudging the stopping distance needed to whoa-down his fully loaded tow-rig because his mind was not where it needed to be reminds us that we need to be aware of these facts.
Driving home at the end of the day, you’re physically and mentally tired. And usually, your adrenalin is still pumping. Not a good combination.
The next time you’re at the track, packing up and getting ready for the drive home or to the hotel, stop for a moment and imagine how you would feel if you made an error on your drive home… and caused someone else harm. One of the reasons we drive on the track is because we do it on our own (with fellow track geeks). If we make a mistake, well, everyone on track has accepted that it could happen. But when we make a mistake on the public roadways, we’re risking others who haven’t accepted that you may not be fully focused due to your reduced mental state.
Think about it.
Check back here often for more tips and advice for performance drivers, race drivers, high performance driving instructors, and anyone else interested in learning to get around race tracks quickly.
Please do me favor and share this now with others who you think would either learn something from it, or enjoy it, by clicking on any of the links below. Thank you!