I'm the kind of guy who as a kid would yell "Geronimo" as I jumped from a moving truck, a who more recently begged for chance to do a loop in a stunt plane, and am always looking forward to the next adventure.
But on a recent Friday at
Infineon Raceway, in Sanoma, I found myself particularly unadventurous - bordering on conservative.
It wasn't that bad sushi sapped my mojo. I just didn't want to crash.
I'm not used to 420-horsepower, cornering as fast as possible and literally putting the petal-to-the-metal.
Thanks to the good folks at Jim Russell Racing Drivers School I went from cruising around in my 200-horsepower 1998 Saturn to ripping around in a brand-new high-performance Audi.
With driving instructor XX, calmly barking orders and The Bee videotaping it, I did my best
Jeff Gordon.
Some things I learned: I come into turns too fast, consequently coming out too slow. Racing means always preparing for the next turn. And Infineon has more twists your small intestines.
While I didn't rip it up, it was no Sunday drive. Tires squealed. We powered around corners and we left our share of rubber.
The school allows adventurous souls to learn to race in an open-wheel racecar, a performance Audi, or in their own high-powered auto.
The lesson was a fitting way for viewers and racing fans to get ready for the upcoming NASCAR race at Infineon, the Toyota Save Mart 350. Some of the best drivers in the world will be tearing up the same 10-turn 1.99-mile road course.
The lesson and video are part of The Bee's experimentation with new ways of telling stories on
Sacbee.com. We're calling this occasional series ed-ventures. Over the coming months, I hope to take you the reader/viewer on new experiences along with me.
If you enjoy it, tell your friends and us. If you have ideas - that won't get me killed - let me have 'em. If you think it's a waste of time, go jump off a cliff.