FAST, FASTER, FASTEST
By KEVIN RAUB
FOR many race fans, a pilgrimage to Indianapolis (May 29)or Daytona (February)on race weekend is the thrill of a lifetime. It seems there's nothing quite like sitting on a crowded bleacher eating nachos and downing watery beers as high-powered machines create a deafening roar. And the wrecks. Let's not forget the wrecks.
For some, life doesn't get any better than this.
For others, it gets a whole lot better - and a whole lot faster.
These are the folks who see no reason to sit back and watch Jeff Gordon or Michael Schumacher have all the fun when they could be having it, too.
Why not learn what they already know: Whether you put yourself at the wheel of a Formula 1 (open-wheeled racers, commonly known as F1), a NASCAR (stock cars), a dragster or a motorcycle, learning to drive like the dickens will make for one of the best vacation you've ever had.
There are over 100 schools and trips to choose from - we've narrowed it down to a few of the best. Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.
1 ESPN Russell
Racing School
Sonoma, Calif.
Founded in 1957, this school was the world's first training facility for racing drivers. It offers dozens of racing and driving courses, is located at Infineon Raceway in the gorgeous Sonoma Valley and, as an added bonus, has teamed up with Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa - a quick 15-minute drive from the racetrack - for a sweet his-and-her package deal.
A good beginner's course - which you can take with or without the spa package - is the three-day Techniques of Racing, where you'll master a purpose-built F1 racecar. Catch on quick and your fellow students will be eating asphalt as you learn passing on Day Two.
If you take the package deal, one of you will race around the track and the other will luxuriate in one of the spa's treatments (packages from $3,749, including the course [for one person], three nights' accommodations, two spa treatments, one dinner and a wine- tasting at nearby Gloria Ferrer Vineyards; [800] 733-0345, espnrussellracing.com).
While you're there: Sonoma is crawling with vines, so don't stop with Gloria Ferrer. For info, visit sonomavalley.com.
2 Richard Petty Driving Experience
Nationwide
If F1 is a little too girly for you, you're quite likely a NASCAR fan.
The Richard Petty Driving Experience offers 16 programs where bare-bones stock cars rule, ranging from those that keep you in the passenger seat ("ride-alongs") to those that you let rip around the track yourself. The Advanced Racing Experience, for instance, will get you ready to take the pole position at the Daytona 500 (not really, but why not dream big?).
Most courses take place over one day at any number of the NASCAR-sanctioned tracks around the United States; see the schedule on the Web site for details (from $99; [800] 237-3889, 1800bepetty.com).
While you're there: What else there is to do depends, of course, on where you go. If you chose Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C., for instance, there's not much to do at all. Pick Homestead-Miami Speedway, and you're close to The Keys and Miami Beach For Miami info, visit gmcvb.com.
3 Frank Hawley's NHRA Drag Racing School
Pomona, Calif. & Gainesville, Fla.
OK - enough hand-holding. If you're feeling crazy, hightail it to Gainesville, or Pomona, Calif., where the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) World Champion Frank Hawley runs, among many other classes, a two-day Alcohol dragster course.
In case you're thinking you'll be handed a Bud Light, you should know that it's the hot rods that run on alcohol, not the drivers. Alcohol cars have explosive power and are difficult to drive, so a strong previous racing history is recommended.
Take this class, and you'll be driving a top Alcohol dragster or Funny Car - though it ain't so funny going from 0 to 215 mph in six seconds.
Other, less scary, classes include a half-day introductory course complete with classroom instruction and two 1/8-mile runs in an Adventure dragster. In addition, Hawley's school also delves into the psychology of the sport.
If you've driven six successful runs without killing yourself, you'll walk with a NHRA competition license (from $4,995 for the Alcohol course; [866] 480-7223, frankhawley.com).
While you're there: In Pomona, check out the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum (museum.nhra.com); and, in Gainesville, take the edge off your rush with a hike through Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park (visitgainesville.net).
3 Wildside Adrenaline Sports
Monte Carlo, Monaco; Magny-Cours, France; Barcelona, Spain
Most F1 schools will have you behind the wheel of a purpose-built Formula training car complete with all sorts of added safety measures (and really, who wants those).
Wildside Adrenaline, however, will hand you the keys to a genuine F1 Grand Prix racecar. Though this U.K. company has three sites, the biggest and the baddest is in Monte Carlo.
There you can take the Monaco F1 Drive, which offers participants the opportunity to drive a V10-engined F1 car on a real Grand Prix track. (The four-day jet-setter's excursion includes both F1 and F3 racecar training.)
You won't be able to drive at actual racing speeds, however (trust us; you can't handle it), though you will get to have your heart in your mouth from the passenger seat - the course culminates with you riding shotgun around the track in an F1 two-seater with a retired F1 racer behind the wheel.
Wildside also throws in a helicopter tour of Monte Carlo (from $4,291 for the Monaco F1 Drive; [702] 454-9406,
www.adren-a-line.com).
While you're there: Spin a roulette wheel in one of the many casinos, or go celeb-spotting on Monte Carlo's jam-packed (but still pretty) beaches.
For more information, go to visitmonaco.com.
5 Derek Daly Performance Driving Academy
Las Vegas
If race cars aren't your thing but you fancy yourself a modern-day James Bond - i.e., you want to learn how to ditch men in dark glasses and dark cars on dark city streets - head to Las Vegas.
At Derek Daly Academy, which offers a range of racing and driving courses, you can take the two-day GT Performance School program, where you'll perfect heel-toe downshifting, trail braking, cornering skills and other evasive actions in a BMW Z3 roadster.
Sure, you can take one of its F1 courses, but that won't help you the next time you need to outrun the authorities on your next televised car chase on the freeways of Los Angeles (from $2,000 for the GT program; [888] 463-3735, derekdaly.com).
While you're there: We heard there are some casinos around here somewhere. For more info, go to visitlasvegas.com.
6 BMW Motorad Enduro Tours
Argentina and Chile
Actor Ewan McGregor tackled the world on a BMW R 1150 GS Adventure off-road motorcycle for a reality show. Now it's your turn - minus the show and a handful of continents.
BMW's "Enduro Tour of the Tierra Del Fuego" is a 15-day adventure trip through Argentina and Chile, including Patagonia, for those who like their speed without the repetitive scenery of a typical race track. In other words, this isn't school - it's life.
You'll zip across thousands of miles of untamed South American wilderness from San Carlos de Bariloche to Ushuaia, the southernmost settlement in the entire world.
BMW has a long list of other trips, if you're not in to SouthAmerica.
Several days of training at BMW's Enduro Park Hechlingen facility in Germany (covering safety, navigation and handling) are recommended, though not required; this is a separate trip from the bike adventure that can be done at any time (from $7,400 for the Tierra Del Fuego tour; [49] 18-05-324-737,
www.bmw.de/fahrertraining).
While you're there: You won't get bored - this is Patagonia.