Lucky Number 13

Today I had the amazing chance to do something that I have never wanted to do--ride in a race car. I hate to drive fast, and I'm much more comfortable 200 feet up a tree then I am even going over 50 mph. But, a friend of my dad's is a hobby race car driver, and invited us to take turns being passengers in a race for the New Zealand version of NASCAR, and how could I refuse that? The course was a curvy stretch of an old state highway, closed to the public, and each driver had 6 chances to take a timed run, and the fastest of the day took home trophies. It was totally exhilarating. The outside of the car looks pretty normal, but that is deceiving...the inside is a stripped down cage of roll bars and welded steel, with these special metal seats that are about 8 inches deep. You get strapped into a serious harness that extends all the way to the back of the car, pretty much pinning you back in the seat. The helmet was awesome, like a motorcycle helmet with a built in radio to talk to the driver. I was so secured to the car I almost wanted to flip over, it would have been even more like a roller coaster the it already was. David ended up placing 5th out of 19, with an average speed of 160 km. The best parts were taking a hairpin turn at 110 kilometers per hour, and then spinning out in a complete donut while breaking after the finish line (which I'm pretty sure was all show...I had mentioned that I like a bit of an adrenaline rush).

Here are some pictures of life on the track with a New Zealand race car driver...


Getting strapped in...














Heading to the lineup...










Portrait with David, the driver: