Some days I love my job. The day I got to be part of NASCAR has to be one of the best and most exciting experiences I've had! I know, you are asking yourself how hard could this be. Actually, a lot harder than it looks! Let's start with the NASCAR car experience.
We went to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for our ride along. Now, I didn't actually get to drive the car. I got to ride along which was just as exciting. Now, with my motion sickness, I thought for sure I'd be green. I wasn't! It was amazing to go that fast in a car! It's also super hot in those cars! We did three laps at top speed with a racing instructor driving (so we were totally safe all along). Here's what it looks like:
Totally amazing, right? Next, we learned went to the Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) school. It is one of the coolest places to learn this trade. This crew training facility offers programs to those who want to become pit crew members. We all broke into teams and learned our roles.
We learned how to change all four tires and our roles included a rear carrier, a rear changer, a jackman, a gas man a front carrier and a front changer.
As easy as it looks, let me tell you, it isn't. Let me show you exactly how hard it is:
A normal pit crew can do this in 11 seconds. Needless to say, we took a lot longer. Every one of us had a role, and if you mess up your role, you can be fired.
I know I had no idea how much time, training, effort, and work went into being both a driver and pit crew. I have a new found respect for both. PIT has trained over 500 drivers and they work with over 200 businesses for team building training, and they are doing an amazing job of it! We learned how things have progressed and gotten both faster and safer over the years.
It's a whole different experience watching Cars 3 now knowing what I learned. Have you done a NASCAR ride along or been part of a pit crew? Did you learn anything from my experience?
CARS 3 is now available on Digital and DVD. Go get your copy!