Avoid Speedtech Racing Schools & their Groupon Deal!!
08-08-2011, 01:22 AM
#1
Avoid Speedtech Racing Schools & their Groupon Deal!! Not sure where this should go, so I'll post it here. Mods can move it if it belongs somewhere besides here.
I attended a NASCAR driving school today that I picked up on Groupon when they had the deal for $169. What a horrible idea. Terribly unorganized. I read an eerily similar review from the NASA forums (linked below) to what my experience today was. I wasn't quite yelled at by the owner of the school, but pretty much everything else was spot-on.
http://www.nasaforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=36510
They were beyond disorganized. We started an hour and a half late, which in and of itself really isn't a big deal in the grand scheme. I had called probably 20 times, and left 2 messages the week before trying to get some information, since I hadn't received anything. I knew I had to go to AMS, and what time I was supposed to be there, but that was it. I wanted to find out if I could bring my own helmet, if any paperwork or ID's or anything was required, etc. No answer, and I got a call back, which sadly they left a message, I wasn't around when the phone rang, to call back to another number. Which, that number was also never answered, and the voicemail was never returned. Then I get to check-in finally and they lost my registration :/ For being a web-based registration system, they had no computer or internet at the track to even look and/or prove that I paid and registered. After waiting another hour or so while she finished checking in EVERYBODY else (and missing the beginning of the classroom session), she finally agreed to take my CC info so long as I could email her the Groupon confirmation of payment. Cool, that part is over.....
Classroom was basic, where's the line, this is what our markers are and where they are, and how you should be positioning the car at the markers. Cool, cool. We go from there, outside to a couple vans to take us out on track and show us the line, and the markers. Once we get back, nobody was telling us what we needed to do, or where to go, so most people were standing around, so I went and asked, and were told if we were suited up, we could go out towards pit lane and check out the cars. This seemed to be the mantra thruout the day, nobody was told anything until it was time to do something. There was no plan, no timeline, nothing.
At this point is where I began to get annoyed. Once they finally started assigning cars, they made us stand in lines with numbers on the ground corresponding to our car number. Not a HUGE deal, but they could have had us, idk, take a number or something so we could stand/sit under the covered seating area instead of standing in a line in the sun in a race suit in 100* Atlanta heat for an hour and a half before we were finally driving. We had to stand in line mostly because they made it a first-come, first serve basis in order to drive, so if we secured a position in line after our car was assigned to us, and we go sit down - you lost your place in line and get to run last :/
Now, Fast forward to getting into the car. Get in, get harnessed up, and the first thing the instructor says to me is 'take it easy on the throttle, these aren't crate motors and are getting tired quick'. Really? I'm at a race school, and can't use the throttle? We go over the line and markers one more time real quick, and out we go. The instructor told me that when we go out, first lap will obviously be slow, and when we come out of T4, he's going to grab the wheel and guide me thru the tri-oval so I could see right where the line should be. The neat thing, is you really don't need to give these cars hardly any steering input - a simple lift of the throttle before turn-in and ease back into the throttle into the banking and the car will basically guide itself around the banking.
My first big bitch came when he kept moving my hands UP the steering wheel - told me to be at 10 & 2, and moved my hands up farther than that. IDK about you guys, but on track - I use 9 & 3, sometimes a smidge higher, nothing more. Higher up = less control of the wheel. First couple laps were interesting, I didn't try to go all that fast, was still trying to get used to the dynamics of the vehicle. However, every 5 seconds my instructor was grabbing my steering wheel! WTF??? Not to mention, everytime I DID attempt to use the throttle more than say, 50%, he'd grab my pants leg and try to lift it off the throttle. I was getting really confused, and fairly pissed at this point. He kept bitching about how un-smooth I was driving, but when he kept grabbing the wheel, making me use the top of the steering wheel, and yanking my leg off the throttle - it's hard to drive smooth, since as soon as I lift the car wants to dart to the inside :/ The couple times I'd get a smooth, clean run thru one of the corners, I'd go to squeeze on the throttle a little more (which, naturally, will bring the car right where you want it anyways, just like any other kind of racing) - nope, foot gets yanked off throttle, then he's grabbing the wheel, since of course I went off line, you just made me lift!
I think I topped out at maybe ~4500-4600 rpm's, no idea how fast that is, I was too pissed to ask. Also, the Groupon said 6-8 laps, the signage there said 8 laps - I only got 4, and so did some others. Overall - a really, really bad experience, that I don't recommend anyone partaking in. Unless, of course, you enjoy disorganized events and being treated like a 5 year old
Oh, and I forgot to mention - at check-in they were collecting a $10 fuel surcharge.
I attended a NASCAR driving school today that I picked up on Groupon when they had the deal for $169. What a horrible idea. Terribly unorganized. I read an eerily similar review from the NASA forums (linked below) to what my experience today was. I wasn't quite yelled at by the owner of the school, but pretty much everything else was spot-on.
http://www.nasaforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=36510
They were beyond disorganized. We started an hour and a half late, which in and of itself really isn't a big deal in the grand scheme. I had called probably 20 times, and left 2 messages the week before trying to get some information, since I hadn't received anything. I knew I had to go to AMS, and what time I was supposed to be there, but that was it. I wanted to find out if I could bring my own helmet, if any paperwork or ID's or anything was required, etc. No answer, and I got a call back, which sadly they left a message, I wasn't around when the phone rang, to call back to another number. Which, that number was also never answered, and the voicemail was never returned. Then I get to check-in finally and they lost my registration :/ For being a web-based registration system, they had no computer or internet at the track to even look and/or prove that I paid and registered. After waiting another hour or so while she finished checking in EVERYBODY else (and missing the beginning of the classroom session), she finally agreed to take my CC info so long as I could email her the Groupon confirmation of payment. Cool, that part is over.....
Classroom was basic, where's the line, this is what our markers are and where they are, and how you should be positioning the car at the markers. Cool, cool. We go from there, outside to a couple vans to take us out on track and show us the line, and the markers. Once we get back, nobody was telling us what we needed to do, or where to go, so most people were standing around, so I went and asked, and were told if we were suited up, we could go out towards pit lane and check out the cars. This seemed to be the mantra thruout the day, nobody was told anything until it was time to do something. There was no plan, no timeline, nothing.
At this point is where I began to get annoyed. Once they finally started assigning cars, they made us stand in lines with numbers on the ground corresponding to our car number. Not a HUGE deal, but they could have had us, idk, take a number or something so we could stand/sit under the covered seating area instead of standing in a line in the sun in a race suit in 100* Atlanta heat for an hour and a half before we were finally driving. We had to stand in line mostly because they made it a first-come, first serve basis in order to drive, so if we secured a position in line after our car was assigned to us, and we go sit down - you lost your place in line and get to run last :/
Now, Fast forward to getting into the car. Get in, get harnessed up, and the first thing the instructor says to me is 'take it easy on the throttle, these aren't crate motors and are getting tired quick'. Really? I'm at a race school, and can't use the throttle? We go over the line and markers one more time real quick, and out we go. The instructor told me that when we go out, first lap will obviously be slow, and when we come out of T4, he's going to grab the wheel and guide me thru the tri-oval so I could see right where the line should be. The neat thing, is you really don't need to give these cars hardly any steering input - a simple lift of the throttle before turn-in and ease back into the throttle into the banking and the car will basically guide itself around the banking.
My first big bitch came when he kept moving my hands UP the steering wheel - told me to be at 10 & 2, and moved my hands up farther than that. IDK about you guys, but on track - I use 9 & 3, sometimes a smidge higher, nothing more. Higher up = less control of the wheel. First couple laps were interesting, I didn't try to go all that fast, was still trying to get used to the dynamics of the vehicle. However, every 5 seconds my instructor was grabbing my steering wheel! WTF??? Not to mention, everytime I DID attempt to use the throttle more than say, 50%, he'd grab my pants leg and try to lift it off the throttle. I was getting really confused, and fairly pissed at this point. He kept bitching about how un-smooth I was driving, but when he kept grabbing the wheel, making me use the top of the steering wheel, and yanking my leg off the throttle - it's hard to drive smooth, since as soon as I lift the car wants to dart to the inside :/ The couple times I'd get a smooth, clean run thru one of the corners, I'd go to squeeze on the throttle a little more (which, naturally, will bring the car right where you want it anyways, just like any other kind of racing) - nope, foot gets yanked off throttle, then he's grabbing the wheel, since of course I went off line, you just made me lift!
I think I topped out at maybe ~4500-4600 rpm's, no idea how fast that is, I was too pissed to ask. Also, the Groupon said 6-8 laps, the signage there said 8 laps - I only got 4, and so did some others. Overall - a really, really bad experience, that I don't recommend anyone partaking in. Unless, of course, you enjoy disorganized events and being treated like a 5 year old
Oh, and I forgot to mention - at check-in they were collecting a $10 fuel surcharge.
08-08-2011, 03:40 PM
#4
I would certainly hope he could out-perform me! I'm not sure 'wah wah wah' is 100% appropriate, would you want an instructor grabbing the st4eering wheel, or your leg, while you're moving at a fairly rapid speed in a racecar?? Highly unsafe.
08-08-2011, 06:05 PM
#7
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I'd rather rip my own car down the street than pay lots of money to go drive some whooped to **** POS "race car" on a track with an instructor thats more concerned about the wear on the engine than the guy who just invested $170 or so to have fun...
