My NASCAR Experience at Pocono

After I finished Freezone in the Morning on Monday, my coworker Jay, who works at 98.1 The Hawk, and I jumped in the station vehicle and made our way to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Stockcar Racing Experience gave us the opportunity to drive NASCAR stock cars. This was one of the best experiences of my life.

If you are a NASCAR fan, or you just like to drive really fast, you have to look into this. You start off sitting through a short class watching two videos that explain the safety features of the car and teach you what to do once you are out on the track. Then you get in a van and they take you out on the track to show you the line that you should be following on the track. There is no line painted on the track per say, but there are cones that tell you when to accelerate, decelerate, and when to start moving down towards the bottom of the track in the turns. There are boxes painted on the track in certain places that you straddle while driving to help you to get the most speed on the raceway and to you keep on the optimal line. After we got out of the van, Jay and I took ride-alongs with professional drivers. That was awesome. They show you exactly where to accelerate and decelerate on the track and where you should be going in and coming out of turns. After we are done with that, it was time for us to get in the car and drive for ourselves.

These cars have 600 horsepower and can go over 160 miles per hour. You follow an instructor around the course and stay about four car lengths behind him. The first lap and a half are driven at a slower speed so you get the feel of the car. The remaining lapse you are flying. I exceeded 143 miles an hour.

When it was all said and done I bought my pictures and the video of me in the car. The video was really cool because it was a split screen of your view as the driver, and a small picture and picture box down the bottom of the driver themselves from inside these powerful machines.

With Father's Day coming up this would make a great Father's Day present if your dad is into NASCAR or just has a lead foot. Or, just treat yourself to this experience. You get to drive actual stock cars on the same track that they use for the NASCAR and Indy races at Pocono. It's a short ride from Binghamton, and you will remember the experience forever. Check out their website for more information and check out the pictures below. I can't wait to go back and do it again.

[via Stockcar Racing Experience]