Tropical storm Hanna was moving up the coast, but the Delaware sun was blazing as 11 of us circled Dover (Del.) Int’l Speedway in a Monster Racing driving experience van.
Driver Bill Swecker, who would later wheel one of the pilot cars, covered everything from when to shift to which concrete strip to be on at different parts of the speedway to how far to stay behind the car in front of you. More importantly, he explained how you’d end up in the wall if you got down on the flat and unloaded the suspension or followed the black groove lain down in recent Cup test sessions, as the Cup guys run along the wall off the turns.
Swecker left the group laughing with a tale of how one nervous driver took the wrong lane off the speedway and ended up on the horse track behind pit road.
Family members of the participants were also given a short ride around the Monster to get a feel for what their favorite driver would experience, with one participant’s brother so enthused that he purchased a 10-lap drive on the spot. Our run came courtesy of Monster Racing through a drawing at the Eastern Motorsports Press Ass’n convention.
Once fitted with firesuits, the group assembled on pit road to hear photographer “Big Mo” Ral caution everyone to be careful what they said in the car, as the in-car video records everything, including words you might not want children to hear. And he, too, drew a laugh with the admonition that “Everybody who comes here is going to run 180 till they get out there!”
The twice-daily sessions begin with rides. Some just rode, while others had both a ride and a drive scheduled. And according to Swecker, he and his fellow drivers give as many as 350 rides the day after Dover Cup races when rides are the only thing scheduled.
According to Monster owner Sonny Kruhm, who previously built racing engines in the Winchester, Va., area for oval track and drag racers, Monster Racing is in its 13th season.
“We started the year after Petty (Driving Experience) and it’s been a wonderful experience. We meet people from all over the world and we’ve had drivers from all 50 states. When we started, we went after race fans, but that’s changed over the years. Now, we get a lot of people looking for excitement — people who bungee jump, go white water rafting and things like that. It’s about 50/50 now and we think we’re an excellent marketing tool for NASCAR. A lot of those people become fans.
“Our customers are like NASCAR in general. The pickups are going away and the BMW’s are coming in.”
We watched others receive their final instructions in pairs and take their laps behind the pilot cars.
Then came the best part of the afternoon, as Kruhm sent an official to ask if I’d like to ride in the lead car for the next round. And after we were strapped in, driver John Gunther, a NASCAR East veteran, was told to give me a couple of fast laps before taking the next group out. Fast they were and as we told Gunther, the most fun we’ve had since riding around Oswego with the late Richie Evans in a Troyer two-seater.
Driving ourselves was almost as much fun and gave us an appreciation for how hard it must be to run two wide. It seemed like we were going much faster in the car than it appears from the in-car video and if we had it to do over again, we’d have closed even more on the lead car, the signal to him to pick up the pace a bit. But, we didn’t tag the wall like so many other Dover rookies have done.
Kruhm doesn’t skimp on help, with employees assigned to give final instructions, strap drivers and riders in, man pit wall and main flagstands and operate safety equipment among other tasks.
New Jersey firefighter Bill Monzo tried to drive last year, but got rained out after a two-hour wait. This year, he finally enjoyed his 40th birthday present from his family.
“That was unreal,” said Monzo. “I’m ready to do it again. I can’t wait to turn 50!”
Maybe, my wife will remember Bill when I turn 65.