Story Todd R. Pajonas
Photography Aaron Diamond, Jay Harder, Susan Vaccaro
The title of this article probably caught you off guard so let me start by admitting I shouldn’t have said “you don’t know how to drive your car.”
That was wrong and I apologize. What I really should have said is, that unless you have driven your car on track, I am quite certain you don’t know how to drive your car. My apology is for giving you false hope and trying to spare your feelings. The problem is that you really believe you know how to drive your car. You’ve thought that way for years and it would be hard for you to admit otherwise. But the fact remains – you have never even scratched the surface of what your car is capable of and that means you don’t know how to drive it. The good news is that if you continue to read this article I will tell you how you can get on the right path!
Once upon a time I was like you – I grew up with cars on my mind and they have remained a big part of my life. I worked at a gas station when I was a kid and owned my first car at fifteen. I’ve always driven hard and fast and delighted in everything having to do with cars. My ability to read traffic and find the fastest way around other cars convinced me that I was a good driver. Not only did I think I was a good driver, I was certain that I was a great driver.
That all changed the first time I drove on track. I drove up to Lime Rock Park about a dozen years ago full of hubris and self-aggrandizing pride for my first Driver’s Education event. During the driver’s meeting I nodded my head confidently to the Chief Instructor’s speech as if I had been doing this for years. I adopted a breezy confident attitude and chuckled good-naturedly when someone asked a real “first timers” type question. I had never been on track before, but I was certain I would impress my instructor.
At the end of my first session I had my first debrief with my instructor. I knew things hadn’t gone quite the way I had thought but I still held out some hope that I was on the right track. With his helmet off my instructor explained to me that I had done things “wrong” and “more wrong”. I hadn’t hit one apex, my braking was atrocious, and I hadn’t the faintest notion of “the line.” PCA instructors are trained to communicate these thoughts in a more polite fashion but since my first time on track was with another organization the critique was very blunt.
“I knew that I needed some work but didn’t think I was that far off from where I needed to be. We went out in his car with me as a passenger and my world changed. When I compared my driving skill to his I concluded that I was a fraud and didn’t really know anything about driving a car.”
I learned a lot that day, but the most important lesson was that I didn’t know how to drive my car. From that point on I gave myself over to the instructors. I soaked up every bit of knowledge I could get and followed every instruction given. Slowly, ever so slowly, I started to become more confident. With that confidence I became smoother. And with that smoothness came speed. Moreover, I felt like I really understood what the car was doing and how to react.One of the most important lessons I have learned along the way is that not everything about driving a car is intuitive. Some things must be taught and then experienced in order to learn their value. If you have never driven on a track, chances are you never learned any of these lessons.
Did you know you can use the gas and brake pedal to help steer the car? Do you think brakes are only for slowing a car down? Do you hit the brakes or gas if the back end of the car starts to come around? The most important lesson of all was learning the balance of the car and understanding what it is doing at different points around a track. Those skills translate into real world experience off the track as well. Those skills are how you learn to actually control your car. Those skills are what makes you a good driver. Without those skills you don’t know how to drive your car. It’s really that simple. If you have the same attitude I did years ago, and want to change it, let me challenge you to find out what you and your car can really do. The Connecticut Valley Region (CVR) has the best instructor corps in the PCA and we are here to help. In this magazine, appropriately named “Challenge”, you will find a calendar of remaining dates for Driver’s Education (DE) this year. If you register for a beginner driver event, whether it is Lime Rock Park, Watkins Glen or Palmer, you will be paired up with an instructor who will sit in the right seat of your car for all your on-track sessions. The instructor’s job is to help you understand how to drive your car on track and keep you safe.
If you are worried about your car there are two things that you should be aware of. First is the requirement that every car taking part in a DE event must be inspected by an approved shop to make sure the car is safe. There is a list of approved shops on the CVR website and most of them do not charge anything for this “tech inspection”. Second, if you are worried about potentially damaging your car, you can take out an insurance policy for your track day event through a number of third party insurance companies. While the risk of an incident in a beginner run group is extremely low some people appreciate the peace of mind knowing that they are covered should the worst happen. I am no statistician, but I would prefer to drive on track in a controlled environment, with a strict set of rules everyone has to adhere to, rather than the general chaos and mayhem which is a normal commute on the Merritt Parkway most mornings!

Beyond the tech inspection, the only other requirement is that you wear a helmet, long pants and appropriate footwear. If you do not wish to make the upfront investment for a helmet, CVR has a number of loaners for rent. Just make sure to register early for an event to make sure that there is one available for you. There is additional information on the CVR website, including a short video made by yours truly, which explains what to expect at your first day on track. (see below)
Let me also tell you what you can expect in the way of a general atmosphere. If I could use only one word to describe the atmosphere at the track it would be FUN. Everyone is there to have a good time learning to drive on the track. There is no competition. You can’t “win” a driver’s education event. The goal is to learn how to be a more competent driver and have fun while doing it. It is a family atmosphere comprised of good people who want to help each other in their shared passion for motorsports. It is not unusual to see spouses and families take part in the event together. Whether you decide to make these events a new hobby or are content to walk away from an event having learned some additional skills is up to you. Either way, I am very certain that you will have fond memories of your first day on track.
In conclusion, I will tell you what your Porsche has been trying to tell you every since you bought it – you need to get out on track! Stop rubbing the car with a diaper and applying ten coats of Armor All to the interior. The most apropos quote to end this article is from Ferry Porsche who famously said when seeing a bunch of cars lined up at a concours event, “It makes me sad. Our cars were meant to be driven, not polished.” Come join us on track and put a smile on Ferry’s face, as well as your own!
Great story!!
I, too, now a PCA instructor at Road America, went through the same “learning curve ” when I started doing DEs in ’08. Your entire article is spot on!