November 20, 2015 Adventures

Live It Up In The Lap Of Luxury At The Auto Club Speedway

Less than 50 miles from the heart of Los Angeles, Auto Club Speedway is a treasure trove of all things motorsports including the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR’s XFINITY Series, and the NHRA. This 2-mile, D-shaped oval track in Southern California also hosts a variety of special events on its backstretch dragstrip. Crowds come and assemble around the official track, the championship quarter-mile dragstrip, the fun full-service karting facilities, and several racing schools – all arenas that showcase the spirit of motorsports and the love for the mighty motor.

At Auto Club Speedway, anyone can pursue some high-speed dreams behind the wheel of many of the world’s most elite manufacturers. Exotics Racing opens the driver’s door to sweet rides such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, and Aston Martin, with public one-on-one instruction and ride-alongs with professional racecar drivers. As another way to spin your wheels, check out CalSpeed – the premier outdoor go kart race track located at the Speedway. Wind your way around this 15-turn, ¾ mile circuit or come for other attractions like year-round wheel-to-wheel karting competitions.

READ: Sights & Scenes From The Garage And Pit Road At NASCAR’s Auto Club 400 In Fontana [75 Photos]

Participants can come to watch, play, or learn. Sign up at one of the seven racing schools to hone your skills through the Mario Andretti Racing Experience, Rusty Wallace Racing Experience, Fast Riders Motorcycle School, or Allen Berg Racing School. Whichever way you go, you’re sure to get where you’re going in a much more stylish way. As far as our own exciting experience at the Auto Club Speedway, it all started with a question.

READ: “Girl In A Ferrari” Speed Stick® GEAR UP Challenge

What happens when someone offers to let you drive a dragster from 0-100 in 10 seconds, go-karts and 600 horsepower Lambo? You say YES, duh! We were invited to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana Ca, for a driving experience of a lifetime.

Our first class was in session at Frank Hawley’s drag racing school where we were taught the tricks and tips on safety and, most importantly, how to drive like a pro. During a quick ride down the track, Frank guided our auto skills, showing us when we should let off the gas and apply the brakes, Then it was time for us to get suited up and ready to roll. Our need-for-speed excitement kicked in, and we couldn’t wait to jump in and start racing. The first race down the straight-away was essentially our warm-up to get more familiar with the dragsters. Our adrenaline started to pump after our warm-up, and suddenly we were comfortable behind the wheel. We’re proud to report a speed of 0 to 100 in 11 seconds – not bad for a first timer!

Right after our dragster experience, we kicked it up and took the competition up a notch. We headed over to the CalSpeed karting track to have a little friendly competition and square off against each other. We were quickly briefed on safety and a rundown of the track to help us maintain our speeds during our session. The goal of the session was to beat the time of one minute and eight seconds. Challenge accepted! We raced a total of 15 minutes, and each time we strived to shave off seconds and achieve a new personal best. Our final time was one minute and 10 seconds, which was so close and only two seconds far away from our goal.

After working up an adrenaline-fueled appetite and enjoying the go-kart fun, we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch in the Presidential Suite, courtesy of Exotic Racing. If you love cars, teaming up with these guys is a must for your bucket list. It’s one thing to have a dream ride in mind. It’s quite another to get behind the wheel of a $300,000 vehicle – perhaps even more – while you put the pedal to the medal at top speeds. If you’ve ever wondered why speedometers even go up to 110 miles per hour, we can’t even describe the rush of looking down and seeing that triple-digital number. Our experience at Auto Club Speedway was unreal as we enjoyed life in the fast lanes, the very laps of luxury. If you find yourself in Southern California, this is the destination to fulfill all your driving dreams.