Great things come in small packages

(Val) Spring and I, and our husbands, had the great privilige last night of being invited to an open house event at Grand Prix Speedways, and this time we got to do more than just look around and ask questions!

To begin with, GPS is not a go kart track, it's an experience. The cars are Italian, expensive, and run on electricity. With the price of gas hovering at three bucks a gallon, they may actually pay for themselves in fuel savings! The best part of using electric karts over the gas-powered kind is that there is no exhaust, and therefore no need for fans or air filtration systems. When you walk in, you don't smell the cars. My guess is, once the restaurant is done, the fragrance will be mouth-watering steak rather than construction-induced sawdust.

On our last visit, there were no cars running, so it was difficult to get a feel for the speed and excitement. This time, various groups were taking turns on the track, and there were a few black flags thrown along the way, but for the most part, everyone behaved themselves...except maybe our hubbies! (We just can't take them anywhere!)

Before anyone is allowed onto the track, each driver attends a brief driver training class, where the instructor goes over the operation of the vehicle, meaning of the flags, and how to put on the pieces of safety equipment that are required for racing. Yes, that's right, you don't drive these cars in jeans and a t-shirt. Instead, each participant dons full race gear including firesuit, head sock, helmet (mine was pink and black!) and neck brace. The only thing missing were the gloves, but they sell them in the pro shop for those who feel the need to complete the ensemble.

The class is fun, brief and just detailed enough that even someone who has never played around in go karts before ought to come away feeling confident and ready to roll. After leaving the class, we walked into a room full of equipment, chose our sizes and suited up. One hint to the girls out there: Remove your earrings before putting on the head sock and helmet! Earrings are NOT comfortable when squished up against the side of your head!

Once properly attired, we headed out to the track, where we received our last minute instructions: Toggle switch up, face shield down, first lap slow for practice. Obviously, I was the only one who got the message about the "practice lap" because as soon as the guys rounded turn one, they put the pedal to the floor and quickly left me behind. I never did catch up, but I gave it all I had, grinning like a maniac for the entire ten laps. I made the comment to Spring that although I am not a huge fan of head socks or full-face helmets, I was kind of glad for the fact that with the exception of my eyes, my face was completely hidden because I know I had to be making some silly faces during the race! Not only did I catch myself biting my lip to hold back screams of excitement, but the smile was definitely frozen in place. If not for the helmet, I'm sure I would have had bits of rubber in my teeth!

Those little cars can really move, and we put them through their paces. The track is smooth, and well laid out, with the final stretch to the finish line being my favorite part simply because it is where one can attain top speed. One cannot appreciate the speed of these cars until you get behind the wheel. We were told they can go into the mid-forties, and I'm pretty sure we pushed that envelope on that long stretch.

Spring's camera got a workout, and she will be sharing some pictures with us in the near future. Already folks were asking her how they could get copies of the ones she took of them during and after their races. The lighting is great in there, and the shots that I got to see were awesome.

After our race, we reluctantly returned our race equipment and checked out the pro shop and the display cars on our way out. We made the decision to go out for dinner, and over huge plates of Tex-Mex, we re-lived our race, and talked about the fun we had. It was a nice night to hang out with friends and discuss plans for an upcoming NASCAR bbq night during either the Bristol, Richmond or Charlotte races...or maybe all three.

Racing season is only half over, and we're certainly ready for more! Hopefully, Spring will be feeling better after her terrible car crash a few weeks back. As rough as it's been, I think she enjoyed showing us her new car last night, another 2004 Chrysler Pacifica. It's very pretty and I hope she will be happy with it. At least she can be confident that it is a VERY safe car!

Feel better soon, Spring. I'm sure everyone is getting tired of reading just my silly posts!