Racing for Pinks
Stepping up My Game at Bondurant Racing School
January 2016
Whoever said “diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” never had a racecar. I’ve been a car enthusiast for a mere couple of years, learning the ropes of the car world through friends and experiences. But this past January, I truly stepped up my game by taking a class at the Bob Bondurant Racing School. Now, before I express how my experience went, let me explain how I came to this.
I was sitting at my desk in my college dorm on a blazing hot day in Illinois, pouring over my accounting homework. My then roommate, Nicole, came in and asked if I had ever heard of the Bondurant School in Arizona. I told her I hadn’t, and she began to explain that it was a driving school where people can learn to be better drivers both on the road and the track. I proceeded to look it up on the internet, and found that she had greatly understated what the Bondurant School really was. I spent hours reading about the owner Bob Bondurant, a former driver for Carroll Shelby and accomplished racer, the advanced driving classes, and the sports cars they call “classrooms.” Nicole explained to me that her parents had purchased a 3-day driving class for her and asked if maybe I would like to go and take the class with her. After scrolling through images their facilities and high performance dream cars all morning, I was so down.
While it took quite some convincing for my parents and more money than my bank account particularly enjoyed, I soon was signed up for the beginner class: Advanced Teen Driving. The trip to Arizona was a mere month away and couldn’t come fast enough. Not to mention my family and friends (who were still shocked I was that invested in my car hobby) were pretty sick of hearing about it.
When January 9th finally came, I could not express my excitement. I had waited two months for this. I hopped on a plane and four hours later I was in Phoenix with Nicole. After a long restless night of excitement, Nicole and I made the quick commute from our hotel to Bondurant. The main entrance happened to be right next to a drag strip like the one I visit all too often near St Louis, and it already felt like home.
The whole first day was incredible, and it was only the beginning. We first received a tour of the beautiful facility with all those gorgeous sports cars, including countless 2015 Camaro SS’s, Corvette C7s, even F1 cars. After some formal instruction in an actual classroom, we were in our cars. My new best friend was #26, a yellow and black 2015 Camaro SS 1LE with a 6-speed manual transmission and track package including Brembo brakes. My first experience consisted of mostly trying to figure out the Camaro’s clutch. I was definitely not used to such a high performance clutch. My little Honda Civic back home feels more like a go-kart with a body than anything like this. This was different. The Camaro’s clutch was stiff, with some resistance, and sprung back at me. It also had about a two inch dead spot at the bottom before it caught. But it didn’t take me too long to figure out. There were only 4 people in my class, so I had plenty of opportunity to practice it. The clutch was no problem by the time we left the slalom course in the late morning. After a quick break we got chance to try out the accident simulator. We had plenty of fun putting those four-piston Brembo brakes to the test, as we screamed towards an ‘accident’ at speeds up to 60mph. While we let the brakes cool down, our instructors set up a few turns using painted lines and cones to teach us the proper racing line and most effective way to get around a corner. They used several sets of green cones to show us where the entry, apex, and exit points were, and where to apply brakes and throttle accordingly. We practiced both increasing and decreasing radius turns, feeling out the difference between where the various points were and how to approach each curve. We first practiced getting our lines correct,
then eventually our speed. After my fair share of practice laps, I was taking the turns at around 40mph, and getting up to 60 on the mini track. I already felt my driving skill improving after only a half day at this magical place. To be honest, I was already planning my next visit.
The next day my preexisting skills would be put to the test. We began Day 2 in the skid car. We drove around and around in a specially designed Cadillac CTS that allowed us to easily slide both the front and back ends of the car. We spend about an hour or so working on controlled slides and even drifts, perfecting our over- and understeer corrections. After a quick break to soak all the information in, we took to the autocross course. I was definitely intimidated at first by this one. It had some tight turns, even one where if we’re not careful we’d have to put our oversteer correcting to use. We first rode along with our instructor Tyler
as he completed the course. He started off slow, analyzing each section and giving us insight, then drove it once at full speed. And yes, it was tight. But it was also perfectly set up to not only teach us how to maneuver our cars, but that we could do so quickly if accurate in our maneuvers. Needless to say all of our first times were terrible. I was just proud to not have hit any cones! Each time I ran the course, my time improved. I was discovering how to distribute the car’s weight to get better traction and therefore a better time. Yet I still was unhappy with my result of 3rd place out of 4. As we left the course, Tyler promised we would get another opportunity to race again the next day.
My disappointment didn’t last for long. The next thing was even better: the Maricopa oval. We were getting our first taste on a real professional track. The Maricopa Oval is a small section of Bondurant’s famous track. It has both an increasing and decreasing radius turn. Here, we applied what we learned earlier on the skid pad about apexing and racing lines, to a real track with red and white cribbing on the edges. The track felt surprisingly different. It was smooth with plenty of room. It almost felt more relaxed. We rode a few times around with Tyler again, mostly to reinforce what we had learned before, and also to learn about cribbing. After that we were set loose. With a few laps under my belt, I soon found myself
really opening up the throttle and allowing the Camaro SS show off its performance. As day two came to a close, I was already beyond excited for day three. It would be my two favorite things - more autocross and track time. I couldn’t believe the opportunities I was getting as a 19 year old girl.
Day three started off right with several hours of autocross practice. After every lap, we would pull up next to Tyler who would give tips and tricks to try to make our times faster. But there came a point where I couldn’t really make any more major adjustments, and although I had managed second place, I was not as fast as I knew I could be. Tyler suggested taking a run without thinking too much, and to just “let her rip” as he put it. So I did. I jumped off the line and slammed second gear before rounding the first corner. I felt like I was flying, allowing whatever raw driving skill I had accumulated in my short time at Bondurant to emerge naturally, without thinking, but pure focus. Some still spots felt slow, but were actually fairly quick, and I managed to use a bit of oversteer to my advantage. Switching from hard braking to easing into the throttle became easier as I learned from the car’s responses on previous laps. When I finished and again pulled up next to Tyler, he asked how that one felt. I told him it felt amazing, but I knew some spots still felt slow. It turned out to be my best time, and I ended up “winning” autocross for the day by 1.4 seconds. On this high note, it was time to hit the track.
We had only driven on the Maricopa Oval on day two, with a few guided laps around the main section (The Lake Loop and Carousel). Day three on the track was different. We spent the first hour with Tyler in the lead. We drove more guided laps to get a feel for the curves and corners. Then, after a quick break, Tyler let us go out on our own. No speed limit, no regulations. Just drive. I’ve never felt so free. Or so much like myself. While focusing on my line, figuring out when to heel-toe downshift (another useful technique I learned on day two), and how to distribute the weight of the car to get the traction I wanted, my mind was somehow clear. Everything we had learned started to fall into place. I’m still no great driver, but I could see the amplitude of what I learned in just three days.
After spending the last few solid few hours on the track, it was finally time to bid #26 goodbye. Nicole and I “graduated” from our Advanced Teen Driving class, receiving an elegant plaque, report card (after all it is still a school), and special Bondurant Graduate sticker for our cars. I was feeling pretty accomplished. I truly did not want to leave. I felt like I had gotten to experience something truly unique walking away from those three days. Bondurant Racing School had fulfilled many of my dreams, but also gave me more. I was instructed by and drove alongside some of the best drivers in the country, improved my own racing and daily driving, and got to do it all in a 2015 Camaro SS 1LE. Not to mention I got to meet world famous racer, driver for Carroll Shelby, and owner of the school, Bob Bondurant and his wife Pat. Bob was nearby the entire time, even stepping in
to offer pointers. It truly was a special trip that I’ll never forget. I’ve even been talking to my dad about going back in a couple years when we can both afford it to take the next class, Advanced Road Racing, where we’ll drive the Viper SRT for three days (the school will be switching to a Dodge sponsor).
I know what you may be thinking; sounds amazing, but I’ll never afford it. Yes, it is true that it’s not exactly cheap. But let me be the first to tell you it will be the most worthwhile class you will ever take and worth every penny. If you are a car enthusiast like me, you will learn the basics of racing and car control, and have a blast in the Charger SRT or Viper SRT. But even if you’re not a car person, it’s still just as worthwhile. Not only do you get the unique experience of track driving, but you will learn ultimate car control, which is valuable everywhere. They’ll even teach you how to drive a manual transmission for those who don’t know.
For the more experienced drivers and professionals, Bondurant also offers higher level courses including Advanced Road Racing, Motorsport Grand Prix Racing, High Performance Driving, and even Open-Wheel Mazda Formula 1 Racing. And for the ladies, a Women’s Driving Academy. There really is something for everyone. It may be expensive, but it is a once in a lifetime experience. Let me promise you, you will have no regrets.