I was making the rounds on FB yesterday and a friend who was a long time race driving instructor had this fantastic photo of a new student posted:
Yes this is actually real! Of course, this drew the interest of his racing instructor friends who made comments such as:
Most dumb moves at racing school are made by men. Women listen and follow directions … Except this one.
And: There are gender-specific dumb moves. Waiting til the “1” marker to brake in t11 on an out-lap? That’s a dude. Stopping on the front straight to ask a question? That’s a lady.
But what really got me fired up and made me want to share this chain was this nugget about the day that Dale Earnhardt was a student at Sears Point:
Funny and sorta related racing school story. Back in 1989 when NASCAR first added the Point to their schedule, there was a sudden (and understandable) spike in the number of pro racers who signed up for the Bondurant school there. Ron Nelson had the pleasure of having Dale Earnhardt as his student. Typical class included the instructor at the wheel giving the student the pointers on where to begin braking, what gear, the line, etc. before the “student” took the wheel for a slow lap before doing a hot one. Naturally Dale hit the track at speed and hot into it. Coming out of 9 he says (somewhat casually in his distinctive Southern drawl) “I forget, is 10 flat?” to which Ron replies (somewhat alarmed) “NO! 10 is NOT flat!!!” And Dale replies “Nah. I think its flat.” and proceeds to enter 10 flat out and into a drift, sliding off the track, over the curb, across the dirt and just barely kissing the tire wall, all with his right foot still on the floorboard. Nelson nearly had a heart attack, and as Dale got it back onto the pavement he says (still very calmly) “Well Hell. Its ALMOST flat!”.
