I managed to talk my way into a ride-along with the
Buck Baker school at Bristol a few months ago. (It
pays to be the manager at a go-kart track 10 miles
from Bristol sometimes...I get to meet all kinds of
pretty neat people.) That was pretty cool, but I never
really lost my nerve like I did on Tuesday when I was
actually driving.
What I did notice at BMS was that the g-load I
experienced was not so much lateral, but more
vertical, like doing aerobatics. At Kingsport
Speedway, the g-forces weren't really an issue. the
banking is a lot less and in order to get through the
corners fast there with the pro challange cars, you
actually have to come off the banking, drive the apron
between turns 1 and 2 and then head back up onto the
banking exiting turn 2. Same with 3 and 4.
I thought I'd feel more side load than I did on
account of the fat slicks, and driving across the
apron like that, but the sensation wasn't there.
Everything I expected to happen didn't and I was just
trying to adjust to the conditions at hand.
The only problem with that was that I was trying to
adjust, and run fast at the same time...not the best
time to be doing that. I ran pretty competitive
times...I would have been only .05 sec off the pole
from the last race, but if I had to do that with other
people on the track, I don't think I could have done
it.
I guess I am just used to the sensations I get from
autocross and racing karts.
One other big difference is that in the pro challenge
trucks, the brakes and the clutch are WAY over on the
left, and the gas is way over on the right. When I
spun the truck around, I moved both feet over to where
I thought the brake and clutch would be, but when I
slammed both feet down, my left foot hit the brakes,
and my right foot hit the floorboards. Then I got off
the pedals, and tried to hit the right ones, but by
then I had already broke the darn thing. Not the left
foot braking skills I've strived for!
A little autox content: I only tried the oval thing
because I can't find an autox to go to in the East
Tennessee area.
Buddy.
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