“Oooh
The machine of a dream
Such a clean machine
With the pistons a pumpin’
And the hubcaps all gleam
When I’m holding your wheel
All I hear is your gear
With my hand on your grease gun
Ooh, it’s like a disease, son
I’m in love with my car
Got a feel for my automobile
Get a grip on my boy-racer Rollbar
Such a thrill when your radials squeal”
- “I’m In Love With My Car” – Queen (Roger Taylor) – 1975
“I’m in Love with My Car” is a song by the British rock band Queen, released on their fourth album A Night at the Opera in 1975. It is the album’s only song written entirely by drummer Roger Taylor. The lyrics were inspired by one of the band’s roadies, Johnathan Harris, whose Triumph TR4 was evidently the “love of his life”. Music writer Tom Reynolds described the song as “seriously, one of the greatest and most passionate love songs I’ve heard during the last thirty-plus years”.
While I can’t say I’m actually “‘in love” with a car, this weekend I did have a visit with a car of my dreams, as I got the opportunity to complete the first item off my new bucket list- to drive an exotic high end performance car on an official race track. What an adrenaline rush!
The Xtreme Xperience company offers packages to get you behind the wheel of their fleet of exotic cars at Pocono Raceway in Northeast Pennsylvania. Their Professional Instructors teach you how to drive the racing line as you cross ‘Drive a Supercar’ off of your bucket list. The Pocono Raceway is well known amongst the racing community hosting a variety of NASCAR and INDY Car events throughout the year. Established in 1968, the Pocono Raceway held some of NASCAR and INDY Car’s first races, and the racing on Pocono’s “Tricky Triangle” course continue to this day.
The nickname ‘Tricky Triangle’ might sound like a catchy marketing phrase, yet it’s anchored in reality rather than mere hype. Unique in the NASCAR circuit, no other track mimics its distinct design or the strategic challenges it poses. The ‘Triangle’ descriptor reflects the track’s unusual scalene triangle configuration, while ‘tricky’ aptly captures the complex tactical demands it places on crew chiefs and their drivers. The raceway is distinctively shaped with three unequal sides and corners, lacking a fourth turn — hence their tagline, “What turn 4?” The layout adds a unique strategic element to the races held here. Designed by Rodger Ward, a celebrated two-time Indianapolis 500 champion, the track’s architecture borrows elements from three venerable racing venues, creating a challenging circuit that tests the mettle of NASCAR’s best.
They offer a variety of cars to pick from- I opted for my “machine of a dream” – a Lamborghini Huracan. The 802 horsepower Italian beauty has a top speed of 202 MPH, and goes from 0-60 MPH in 2.5 seconds. Just out of curiosity I looked it up and found a slightly used 2023 Huracan on sale for the bargain price of $415,000. I’m not sure what year Huracan I was driving, but it was one sweet ride! If a Lamborghini is not your thing, they also offer a variety of Ferraris, Porsches, and Corvettes for your driving experience.
Eva went along as my guest, with a “pit pass”. We started things off with an instructor led training and safety class. After about 10 minutes of instruction I was saying to myself “Oh crap- what did I get myself into??” I have to say it was pretty intimidating- the instructor went over a series of hand signals that the in-car instructor would be giving us, as well as going over the track layout and meanings of the various cones along the track. He then showed an in-car video of a sample run. The instructor was giving a rapid-fire series of commands and hand signals as I was thinking “how am I ever going to remember all this?” I was sweating bullets. But I knew all the participants were all amateur drivers, so I was not alone. I would just put my faith in the instructors. They mentioned that you could purchase an optional “ride-along” package with a professional driver prior to your race, so you can see what it’s like as a passenger before driving yourself. I figured I needed all the help I could get, so I signed up. Anyone can do a ride-along, so Eva decided to join me although she wouldn’t be driving herself afterwards. We got fitted for our helmets and climbed inside the Charger Hellcat for an exhilarating ride-along. I’m not sure how fast we were going, but we got bounced around like ping-pong balls in the back seat as our instructor flew around the track explaining what he was doing as he was driving. He checked periodically to make sure we weren’t getting motion sickness (there is a separate fee for bodily fluid clean-ups). While the drive-along was fun (it reminded me of a roller-coaster ride), it made me even more nervous since I knew I would soon be the actual driver.
Now it was my turn. I got into the Lamborghini as the staff member adjusted my seat and steering wheel to get me the proper position. The cars are not modified in any way, so the instructor sitting next to me has no secondary controls to take over in case of emergency, and the speed is not restricted in any way. We are basically on our own. But my instructor put me at ease right away. I expressed my anxiety after sitting through the training class, and he mentioned I can go as fast or as a slow I was wanted- no pressure.
I nervously pulled out onto the track. So far, so good. I listened intently to the instructor’s commands- “Squeeze the gas pedal”, “stay to the right”, “squeeze the brake”, “release”, “orange to green”, “straight line”, “left left left”, “down to the red cone”, “brake brake brake”. It was thrilling, fun, and nerve racking all at same time. We did three laps around the complex track. It wasn’t until the third lap that I actually started getting a little comfortable.
After the run, I got photos and a video of my drive. While I was driving I didn’t get to notice how fast I was going, but the video had a speedometer and track outline so I could see my speed. I couldn’t wait to get home and check out the video on the flash drive. It felt like I had to be going at least 120 MPH. Much to my disappointment when I watched the video, I never got above 85 MPH. But it’s not hard to see why- the track had a lot of curves and I had to constantly brake prior to hitting the next curve- it was a lot of gas-brake-gas-brake switching back and forth. And although I slowed down prior to the curves I was going a hell of a lot faster around a curve then I was used to on a normal street. There was one big straightaway, which was certainly the most fun, but in a few seconds I had to get ready to slow down for the upcoming curve. I was certainly a bit conservative in my driving as I didn’t want to crash. I couldn’t help but think of my former Merck colleague who didn’t show up for work one Monday morning and we found out he died in a crash on a race track that weekend- I wonder if it was the same track that I was driving on. I think I could have gone faster once I got used to the layout, but just when I was getting comfortable my three laps were done. Now that I am a bit familiar with driving the “tricky triangle”, I may have to go back and do it again some time. Quite a thrill! My Fitbit watch showed a significant jump in my heart rate as I was driving around that track. So exciting!
And so ended my first “bucket list” challenge. Subscribe to my blog for my future Golden Years “bucket list” adventures!
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