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The chamber of commerce had an event at Palm Beach International Raceway tonight. I had gone to the one last year and if you make a donation to the charity that is sponsoring the event, they let a member of their driving club take you around the track. Last year I went around in a Porsche 911 turbo, but the owner drove it like an old man.
As I walked toward the track after the dinner, I thought it was going to be the same as last year. They had 3 categories, $25 for a street car- more on that later, $50 for a race car, and $250 for the high rollers for a Radical driven by a professional race car driver. Last year the race cars were beat up old sportcars that people had turned into racecars by adding bigger engines and adding flairs.
#A Z06 Corvette, a Camaro, a few 911's, a Caymen , a Mini Cooper Works, and Nissan GTR were parted on the track, but then low and behold, I entered into the land of car nirvana.
This year was different. Hayes from wirewheels.com was there and had 2 Lotus Exige 260 Cup racecars at the end of the track. I told him that I wanted to go out in one of the cars having him as the driver. I didnt know that his 2 kids were into racing and that the cars belonged to them., so I went back into the main building and paid my $50. I met a friend in their and he was buying the $25 street car ticket and we walked back to the track. All of a sudden a new car was there- A yellow Lambo Gallardo convertible. It looked eerily familiar. Another friend of mine owns a car company that rents out exotics in Miami and I saw him near the Lambo. I then remembered that it was the car Justin Bieber got pulled over in last month! My other friend who paid the $25 for a streetcar ride, decided to go for a ride in the Lambo. I thought he was getting the better deal.
I walked over and got into the Lotus.
First of all, it is a pain to get into the car as a passenger with a helmet since it has a rollcage. I have no idea of how other people that werent familar with the car would have ever gotten in. Once in, I had a full harness seat belt on. Hayes son warned me about not letting my left leg get in the way of the shifter, and I told him I had an Elise and wanted to see how it would feel to go around the track in a racing Elise with someone that really knows how to drive the car.
All I can say is Holy Sh*t! We did 3 laps and went a little bit faster each time. Even with the harness on, my left leg moved over when we went around some of the turns, and I couldnt figure out how he could drive and handle doing perfect downshifts and turns when our bodies were being slammed back and forth as we went through a series of turns and hairpins. I had almost spun out a few times when I had driven my car on the track going much slower. The car had Hoosier tires on it and the racing sports suspension. I then realized that I had gotten the better deal!
Special thanks to wirewheels.com for bring the cars all the way down from Vero Beach and for LouLaVie Inc for bring the Lambo up from Miami on and giving rides so that funds could be raised for the cancer charity that was sponsoring the event.
As I walked toward the track after the dinner, I thought it was going to be the same as last year. They had 3 categories, $25 for a street car- more on that later, $50 for a race car, and $250 for the high rollers for a Radical driven by a professional race car driver. Last year the race cars were beat up old sportcars that people had turned into racecars by adding bigger engines and adding flairs.
#A Z06 Corvette, a Camaro, a few 911's, a Caymen , a Mini Cooper Works, and Nissan GTR were parted on the track, but then low and behold, I entered into the land of car nirvana.
This year was different. Hayes from wirewheels.com was there and had 2 Lotus Exige 260 Cup racecars at the end of the track. I told him that I wanted to go out in one of the cars having him as the driver. I didnt know that his 2 kids were into racing and that the cars belonged to them., so I went back into the main building and paid my $50. I met a friend in their and he was buying the $25 street car ticket and we walked back to the track. All of a sudden a new car was there- A yellow Lambo Gallardo convertible. It looked eerily familiar. Another friend of mine owns a car company that rents out exotics in Miami and I saw him near the Lambo. I then remembered that it was the car Justin Bieber got pulled over in last month! My other friend who paid the $25 for a streetcar ride, decided to go for a ride in the Lambo. I thought he was getting the better deal.
I walked over and got into the Lotus.
First of all, it is a pain to get into the car as a passenger with a helmet since it has a rollcage. I have no idea of how other people that werent familar with the car would have ever gotten in. Once in, I had a full harness seat belt on. Hayes son warned me about not letting my left leg get in the way of the shifter, and I told him I had an Elise and wanted to see how it would feel to go around the track in a racing Elise with someone that really knows how to drive the car.
All I can say is Holy Sh*t! We did 3 laps and went a little bit faster each time. Even with the harness on, my left leg moved over when we went around some of the turns, and I couldnt figure out how he could drive and handle doing perfect downshifts and turns when our bodies were being slammed back and forth as we went through a series of turns and hairpins. I had almost spun out a few times when I had driven my car on the track going much slower. The car had Hoosier tires on it and the racing sports suspension. I then realized that I had gotten the better deal!
Special thanks to wirewheels.com for bring the cars all the way down from Vero Beach and for LouLaVie Inc for bring the Lambo up from Miami on and giving rides so that funds could be raised for the cancer charity that was sponsoring the event.
