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Dad, Barb, Kelly and I spent today at the famous Watkins Glen race track, which (by our good fortune) is about a 90-minute drive from Dad’s house in Mendon. Today was “Kids Day”, an event sponsored by Trackmasters (a performance driving school) where kids from Camp Good Days and Special Times (a local camp for kids undergoing cancer treatment) get to take brisk rides around the track in sportscars (and some exotics – yes, Dinah and her Ferrari were there). I got plenty of photos of the cars, the drivers and the kids – all having a blast – and will post them in the gallery section once I have time to review them.

The morning started out with registration and a few parade laps, where the car owners got to cruise leisurely around the track. Shortly thereafter, the kids arrived in three chartered school buses. The car owners lined up in the paddock, and took each camper (and most of the counselors!) out for a lap or two around the course. The kids loved the event, gawking at the Corvettes, Ferraris, Acura NSXs and BMWs. They smiled and waved excitedly as they asked the drivers questions about the cars and what it’s like to drive them. A few campers even got a special ride – three-at-a-time, a New York State Police officer took them out for track rides in one of their pursuit Camaros, lights and siren included!

After lunch, the normal Trackmasters schedule resumed. And that meant Dad made good on his promise to get me out for a ride with an instructor. After a brief walk around the paddock, we introduced ourselves to Mark – one of the Trackmasters instructors – and soon Dad was securing the 5-point restraints around me in the passenger seat of Mark’s Z-06 Vette.

After two warm-up laps, Mark introduced me to the concept of “open track driving”. Hitting 130MPH in the straights, he gracefully piloted us around the course for at least 6 or 7 laps. I lost count, choosing instead to watch Mark’s execution of the turns, and to observe how he shifted and interacted with other drivers as we passed (many, many cars) and allowed others by us (specifically, a single Porsche 911 GT3).

The word “fast” does not do this experience justice!