The Ride of My Life

by Tammy

Thanks to a very good friend (lookin' at you, Shane Mahoney), I got to go to Media Day for the Grand Prix of Long Beach last Tuesday. First I talked my way into the soon-to-be IndyCar paddock area, then there I found a dozen or so race trailers and cars and a few dozen people. Cars were drifters, some Pirelli World Challenge GT Porsches (from TruSpeed Porsche at right), and a bunch of Scion TCs that the celebrities race in the, you guessed it, Celebrity Race next Saturday.

The people milling about were race teams, celebrities, race organizers, and media. And a handful of people like me: hangers-on, there for the free ride.

OK, that's not entirely true. I'd asked Shane if I could go see what all the fuss and show was about in the interests of research for my own racecar driver, Kate Reilly. That's when Shane said the magic words, "Sure, and we'll put you in a racecar for a ride."

I was there early.

Remember, everyone? Unlike Simon, I've never raced cars. I research, I imagine, and I write. Fortunately, it seems I'm good enough at all of those to give people insight into the mind of a driver. But as for the idea of me driving? I'm ... well, "a chicken shit" wouldn't be too far off.

On the other hand, any car in the hands of a professional? (Or skilled amateur, I'm not picky.) I will take any ride I can get. And love it.

I was all suited up and ready to go for the 10:45 session, when the checkered flag fell as I was waiting (I was to have been the third person at that time). Shane promised me a ride in the 1:15 session, so I grabbed some lunch and loitered, which I realize is no hardship for me. As a writer (and mostly an only child, let's be honest), I do just fine living in my own head for hours and days at a time. So I enjoyed sitting in the shade on a mid-70-degree day and watching what was going on.

I met some great people, too, in some of the journalists that were there for rides and information, including Kayte Deioma, a Long Beach photographer and writer who admitted she just can't stay away from the GPLB.

But my favorite person for the day (sorry, Shane) was driver Tomy Drissi, whose #47 Three Stooges Porsche (really) I got to ride in. (Thanks to Kayte for the photo of me and Tomy.)

I was a little nervous, I'll be honest. I've gotten lots of hot laps in street cars around racecourses, driven by some excellent people (including a lap around the LB circuit with ALMS and Radio Le Mans announcer John Hindhough, and yes, he did some narration of that lap for me!). And I was a passenger in the Panoz racecar built for my racing school, in the hands of Grand-Am champion Andrew Davis.

But this was my first honest-to-God, this-car-will-be-racing-next-week racecar to do more than sit and imagine in. I hear someone saying, "Could the reality possibly live up to all that hype?"

Yes. Yessssssssssssss. It was awesome.

Tomy took the precaution of telling me he'd give me a thumbs up sometime during our two laps to make sure I wanted him to keep going. When he did so, I couldn't get my thumb up in return fast enough. I almost thumbs-uped him from the first corner all the way through our laps, because I was having so much fun.

What was good for my research was a first-hand look at the concentration and focus a driver needs to maintain, because he (or she) is keeping a car at its limits at every moment.

What was good for my bragging rights was that we just touched 150 m.p.h. before braking for Turn 1 on the second lap. (Yes, that fast, even though he wasn't going 100%.)

So I owe huge thanks to TruSpeed, Shane, and Tomy for reminding me of the exhilaration and adventure that is racing. This is why I hunch over my keyboard day after day: to share the wonder and fun with the rest of the world.

Fun at TruSpeed's Race Shop

by Tammy

I had a rare treat for a race fan last Friday. I'd written an article about my adventures at racing school for a magazine, and they wanted a photo. Not just any photo, but an artsy photo of me in a racecar. It took some doing to find a car I could climb into, but in the end, a friend reconnected me to someone I'd met at the racetrack years ago, and the deal was struck.

Well, it wasn't a deal, except for me. Tyler at TruSpeed Motorcars basically said, "Come on in," and took the time to rearrange and polish a racecar for our use. And then he left me and the photographer alone.

While the photographer set up his gear, I looked around a bit, peeking into the shop part of the building and staring at an amazing array of Porsches. I recognized a few of the cars from past seasons, and I marveled at the number of gorgeous street and race machines they had there. There was a particularly good looking dark green street car....

But before I got too distracted, I climbed in the red racecar and sat there for an hour, resisting the photographer's suggestions that I get out and stretch or relax now and then. I mean, come on! This was my chance to sit in a racecar! I wasn't getting out before we were done. No self-respecting race fan would do anything else.

Besides, I told myself that an hour was nothing. Drivers sit there for more than twice that. (There's the proof I was there.) So I studied the dash and the pedals and the stickers on the rollbars that showed the car had been run at Monza and other cool tracks. And I soaked in a little bit of the racing vibe.

So I owe a big thanks to TruSpeed, a clean and friendly operation ... and one that's good at their job of prepping racecars, judging from the number of trophies in the shop, and from the Pirelli World Challenge GT championship Patrick Long took in the TruSpeed car. I can't thank them enough for allowing me and a photographer to climb around one of their cars (we didn't hurt it, of course). If you're looking for Porsche sales, service, or racing support, check them out. And join me in rooting for them in the IMSA GT cup next year.

It's about time for some racing around here, don't you all think?!