Ryan Cheek Racing

Every time you enter the race track and cross that blend-line there's a risk. Most people feel confident combating that risk by buying track insurance* and/or relenting themselves to the fact that they're not going to go "full beans" on track.

For this High Performance Driving Introduction I took the later form of "risk management", confident that this was a beginner level of track instruction so therefor there should be no possibility of mishaps. 

I was wrong.

The videos I've posted are from the final track session of the day.  There had been no previous mishaps or close calls. Before entering the track, my fellow student (with prior track time), my instructor and I had all discussed and agreed to continue our increased pace and to practice the skills we had been learning all day. Going into turn 10 for probably the 20th time that day, there was a small mishap. Visible via my rearview mirror, my fellow student lost control.  (short video is just the mishap, the other is the lap leading up to the mishap) Again, a small stumble by typical track standards and within moments the student had righted himself on track and regained our lead-follow formation. We calmly made our way to pit-in to give the car and driver and thorough looking over, both were fine. 

It's taken a lot of self searching to admit the fact that I was NOT fine. What if he had been right in front of me? What if that had been me losing control? What if it had happened when we were going 120+mph? What if, what if, what if... 

Most people will say it's the "what ifs" and chance of danger that makes the sport thrilling. That's not what I find thrilling about performance driving or the prospect of racing cars. I look forward to the opportunity to put my driving skills up against the skills of others. 

And so, with a heavy heart, I've relented to the fact that I will not get back onto a road course, with other drivers at speed, without being in a fully track prepped car with roll cages, harnesses, fire suppression, etc. and wearing a full racing suit. My heart is heavy for I know a car and setup like that is no where in my near future. 

I will be putting a lot more focus on my autocrossing and looking into the world of competitive karting.

It's #tbt and we're going all the way back to 2012 and the BMW Performance Center! 

Dang I was slow but Lucy sure was a beauty!

Thanks to Kyle for chasing me around with a camera for so many years!