derBayerische March/April 2023 - 27

and-a-half journey. After all, the
venue wouldn't be open for check-in
and tech until Thursday afternoon
anyway. With regards to that leisurely
trek, Tommy said I must be " slightly
aged " ; I prefer to think of myself as
" older and wiser " .
After packing the car and getting
a good night's sleep, I slid into the car
and set off at the crack of 9:30 a.m. on
Wednesday so as to miss most of the
D.C. area's notorious morning traffic.
I-95 was its usual scenic self (actually,
it was cold, rainy, and wet, and the
traffic from the Washington beltway
all the way to Fredericksburg was its
usual congested self, but hey, I was
on vacation).
I reached Savannah, GA, (~620
miles from my starting point) at
around 8 p.m. Having achieved my
travel objective for the first day, and
with the Springhill Suites beckoning
right off I-95, I checked in for the
night. The following morning, after
another good night's sleep (there's a
recurring theme here) and a hearty
hotel breakfast buffet, I hit the road
again for the remaining 200 miles to
Daytona Beach.
When I arrived at the Speedway
at noon on Thursday, the gang was
waiting along with dozens of other
groups (and their rigs) in a field outside
the track. 'Round about 2 pm,
Security started letting everyone in,
and we trundled along to the
paddock, and thence to check-in,
tech, and the tram tour around
the track.
The tram tour was quite an eyeopener,
particularly when we stopped
and got out to stand on the banking
(Daytona is a " tri-oval " with two long
banked turns, plus the infield on one
side, and the chicane [bus-stop] on
the other side). The banking is 31
degrees! That's steeper than my roof!
Holy cow! What was I getting myself
into? A slight case of nerves started
settling in, but that's normal for me
before any event, even after 20 years
of motorsports. (Typically, after the
first lap of the weekend, I tell myself
" Ok, Jack, you still remember how to
do this. " )
March I April
A B U C K E T L I S T T R I P : D A Y T O N A I N T E R N A T I O N A L S P E E D W A Y
Friday morning finally arrived,
■ (Top) Dr. Kiran flying on the banking. Photo by Sideline Sports
Photography. LLC '23. (Above) The banking is steeper than my roof!
Photo by Tommy Ivic. (Below) Tommy Danger and Steve Racer standing
on the banking. Photo by Kiran Kuna.
and it was time for my group's first
session on the track. Get in line and
follow pit-out onto the track.
Daytona's pit-out is long, narrow, and
winding, with several 90-degree lefthand
turns right next to concrete
walls. Don't overcook it on cold tires;
drivers have been known to hit the
pit-out wall. Pit-out brings you to
turn three in the infield, a sharp right
hander. (Daytona's infield is shaped
rather like a bow, or a pretzel, if you
prefer.) Brake hard, slow way down,
and be patient waiting for the car's
nose to come around. Accelerate
briskly but smoothly for the halfdozen
seconds or so to " the kink " , a
gentle left hander. The kink can be
taken full tilt if you're Dr. Tommy, or
with a slight brush of the brakes if
you're not. Accelerate again to turn
five, another sharp right hander, brake
hard, be patient, let the car's front end
come around, and carefully squeeze
the gas. Don't kick the tail out.
Accelerate to turn six, which marks
the end of the infield. Brake hard,
turn left. Don't even look at that
concrete wall on the right, since the
car goes where the driver is looking.
Trail brake, rotate the car, and then
accelerate onto the banking. Squeeze
the accelerator to the floor and keep it
there for the next ¾ of a mile. Wind
that motor up!
The banking is easy-squeezylemon-peasy
at speed. 100 mph, 120
mph, 140 mph. The banking levels
out onto the back straight. 160 mph.
The chicane is coming up on the left.
At the 200 ft marker, brake hard in a
straight line. Get the car down to no
more than 90 mph; 70 mph is better
for the inexperienced. Do not trail
brake into the chicane, lest the car's
rear end come around and induce a
spin. Instead, lift off the brake before
turning into the chicane so as to let
the suspension settle. Ride the rumble
strips on the left, arc right, ride the
right-side rumble strips mid chicane,
and start accelerating out, riding the
rumble strips on the left as you exit
the chicane and back up onto the
banking. Go, baby, go!
27
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