[Land-speed] Driving skills

[Benn]

In my twenties I roadraced.  Now in my fifties, I realized that I'd lost
a lot of my "edge", and I don't just mean reaction times (which
apparently start to fade as we leave our teens).  My solution?  AutoX.
This is low cost ($40 per outing or so), low risk, fun, and you can ride
with others during the runs.  I've improved a bunch, and I feel more
confident in my street driving as well.  I'm now running in the middle
of the pack for my class, which I feel good about.  While I run my old
'vette or MR2 on street tires, you can run pretty much anything that
won't roll over (e.g., no SUVs or pickups).  You need a recent
Snell-approved helmet.  Several people around here run recent full-size
sedans including rear-drive Impalas and Cadillacs, to add to the mix of
various sports cars and small sedans and coupes.  Your grocery-getter
will probably work fine, or share a car with someone who has something
with a bit more spunk.  Low-friction surfaces are often available in the
winter and spring (they run rain or shine).  While nothing will simulate
a spin at 200 (autoX speeds are typically 25-65), you can improve your
"feel" for impending slides and spins, as well as improve your control
of them.
Benn
opinion worth what you paid for it...

> Well I've pondered this question quite a bit and wanted to bring it up
simply
> as a topic of discussion.
>
> We all assume we are gods at driving race cars... simply cause we're
guys (
> for the most part )   My question is how good are we really?  Most of
us are
> semi older ( not all of us want to admit that-Tonya signed us up for
AARP this
> morning)... our reflexes are what they are... and our experience is
truly
> limited to the occasional opportunities that we have each year...
> Any thoughts on the whole subject?  or anything specific?
>
> Keith