Faster than Lightning

Surfing was only one highlight of the past weekend. Some of you don't know this, but I actually have a secret skill. I am a race car driver.

That is a slight exaggeration but every once in a while I go to the track with my dad and I drive his BMW race car. It's a 1991 318i that he has Frankensteined into this amazing tiny but powerful beast. Roll cage, huge engine, racing slicks, short shifter, and probably a million other things that make it fast and easy to drive. I usually go out to PIR (Portland International Raceway for the laypeople) but this weekend was a special treat. We went out to ORP (Oregon Raceway Park for the laypeople; car people love acronyms) for a special racing weekend.

This track is a crazy rollercoaster. If driving PIR is like driving in Houston (flat), driving ORP is like driving in San Francisco. There are banked turns, drops, dips, places that you drive straight and fast even though you can see the track due to all the little dips, and weird off-camber spots were you just hope your car doesn't fly off the track. Sometimes it does. There were plenty of dust clouds billowing over the course of the day, but I emerged victorious in that I didn't go off track or ruin my dad's car. He is usually my instructor when I go to these track days. Having Tim Wright as your instructor means that you hear a lot of, " MORE THROTTLE DON'T BRAKE MORE THROTTLE GO FOR IT!!! and then you go for it. It was definitely my favorite track day so far in my limited history of track days. Now you know who to call when you need a getaway driver.

Do you have any secret talents I should know about?