Rusty Wallace Racing Experience
Lo and our friend Chuck did the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience on Saturday and had a great time. They’ve been talking about doing a racing course or something like that for awhile, so when they saw an Amazon deal for this one at the Kentucky Speedway, they went for it.
I can’t say I wasn’t a little nervous to have him drive up to 140 mph just 5 weeks before our baby is due, but I know that if it wasn’t pretty safe, it wouldn’t be a regular thing that people do. He’s a huge racing fan (though incidentally, Nascar is his least fav type of racing) and I’ve seen enough racing to know that even when the pros get in wrecks going 200 mph, they often walk away from the scene, so the cars are quite safe too. My father-in-law did it last year and absolutely loved it – Lo’s been jealous ever since.
So I was fine with him having some fun before we have children and become poor. It definitely wasn’t cheap, after paying for insurance, extra laps (16 total), and the in-car video, but they had a great time and both found it thrilling, yet scary enough that they don’t have a need to do it again.
I thought it was pretty funny that Lo got assigned to the Lowe’s car.
Chuck got out on the track first in the Jimmy John’s #29 car.
Lo pulling out of pit row.
And then coming around after a lap.
Both of them coming around a lap before Lo makes a pass. He said he almost got black-flagged by his spotter for passing when he wasn’t supposed to, but he couldn’t hear what the guy said (they both had trouble hearing the radio communication), and didn’t realize he was in the wrong. He also didn’t hear him tell him to pit at the end on the backside of the track and had to pit on the front side. I’m sure his spotter was thrilled with him, but they should have better radio systems.
Both of them coming into pit row at the end.
They had a blast and got it out of their systems. And they survived, so Kelley and I were happy about that. 
If you want to splurge on a gift for a racing fan or thrill-seeker, this would definitely be a great gift. There are always Groupons and Living Socials for various racing experiences at tracks all over the place, so definitely get one of those instead of paying full price. You can also do ride-alongs with a pro instead of driving if that’s more your speed. You get to go even faster in the ride-along, so it’s probably nearly as thrilling (and a bit safer).