My Adventure: Rusty Wallace Racing Experience

Sandy, my classroom instructor

A friend of mine and I had talked about my love of racing and that lead to a great adventure at PIR (Phoenix International Raceway) and that gave me to the chance to drive a real NASCAR race car. Can you say jump at that chance and adventure. Oh Yes!

While there are several companies that offer this I went with Rusty Wallace Racing Experience. I must say they are great to work with and very professional. They offer many different programs.

My day started with classroom instruction with a real racer. Then on to getting fitted in my drivers suit and helmet.  My first experience in a car that day was what is called a ride along. Around the PIR track we went. I must say it is a challenge to video a ride along as you are traveling the raceway at full NASCAR speeds. What an experience.

Then it was time to be fitted into the drivers seat for my shot at the one mile Phoenix track. The classroom experience went through my head, did she mention "fire" and where was I supposed to lift?  Was it the blue marks? With the help of the crew the racing harness was pulled tight and I flipped the switch and the 348 cubic inch racing engine roared to life. I nudged the stick into first gear. I pulled out of the pit smoothly. Then it was down pit lane and merged on to the track as my spotter talked me through the first of my laps. Talk about hearing voices. It gives listening to the radio a whole new meaning.

Boy, talk about a loud environment. But did that motor sound fantastic at full song. Traffic was on my high side as we blasted into to turn three and I made sure to hold my line and let him pass safely. Just so you know they will bill you if you break their race car.  I might add to buy the insurance from RWRE when you sign in at the track where you run.


Then before I knew it they were telling me to pit and refuel the car and that I was out of laps. Again the crew was fantastic and this is a true bucket list item.

Here is a short bit of text from their website http://racewithrusty.com/experiences/ "The Taste of Speed package is for those who want to say, “I did it!” This package will give you all the thrills and excitement of NASCAR racing in a smaller “condensed” version. After classroom instruction, you’ll be on track for laps you sign up for.".

RWRE is among several companies bearing names of famous drivers that offer one-day fantasy-type driving experiences to the public in "condensed" NASCAR vehicles featuring manual transmissions. An advanced package in a Nationwide Series car is available, as are ride-along options.

RWRE's prices range from a $169, five-lap entry-level package on a short layout up to $1,099 for 20 laps on a superspeedway. Classroom and on-track instruction is provided depending on the package, and a driver's license is required.


Participants must have their own health insurance and are responsible for damage to the cars. RWRE offers a $60 optional plan that limits individual costs to $1,000 and says that "due to the quality of the training and cars, damage is rare."

Rusty Wallace, Inc. (RWI) was a NASCAR racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near Charlotte. Owned by former NASCAR Winston Cup champion and commentator Rusty Wallace, the team competed primarily in the Xfinity Series (formerly the Busch and Nationwide Series) with Wallace's younger brother Kenny Wallace and son Steve Wallace.

Watch for more of my adventures here there and everywhere.

You can stop by my internet hub rizzi.rocks to find links to my many different adventures in all that I do. And if you are looking for a great Domain Name try my services at hrcdomains.net