By D. Brian Smith
Successful professional racecar drivers aren't simply born to the role of winning. Yes, they no doubt possess the right physical attributes. Things like keen vision, excellent endurance, a strong heart, animal-like instincts, and rapid-fire reflexes-the best all have these traits. But, having the required skills and concentration on a racetrack for the duration of a race and somehow crossing the finish line first, that comes from years of learning and practice.
Bob Bondurant posed with his trusty Australian cattle dog, Rusty. Rusty is at the track just about every day that school's in session.
The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving is the best place to learn the requisite skills for being a much better driver. Whether your goal is to race as an amateur, compete with the pros, or simply to be a safe driver in rush-hour traffic, you'll graduate from whatever Bondurant course you take as a much more accomplished driver. The list of professional racers who've matriculated from the Bondurant School is impressive. Some of the pros include: Al Unser, Jr., Rick Mears, Chip Ganassi, Scott Sharp, Casey Mears, Bill Elliot, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Dan Gurney, Stirling Moss, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Brett Bodine, Chris Kneifel, Robbie Buhl, Robby Gordon, Tommy Kendall, John Andretti-the list goes on and on. There's also a litany of celebrity graduates, including: Paul Newman, James Garner, Dick Smothers, Tim Allen, Tom Cruise, William Shatner, Walter Payton, Terrell Owens, Candice Bergen, Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, etc., etc., etc.
Now the school can add this automotive scribe, photographer, and enthusiast to the graduate list. I had the time of my life. It's easily the most fun I've ever had while attending any sort of school, and those who know me are aware that I love school, so that's saying quite a bit. What's more, I know that I'm a much better driver. I'd even go so far as to say that I'm a competent amateur racecar driver. I'm tempted to prepare my '90 Miata and take it out on the track to prove it. Or perhaps better still, I should build a kit car that's worthy of seeing some track time.
Classrooms and various Bondurant School employee offices are housed in this state-of-the-racing-art building.
I took the four-day Grand Prix Road Racing course, which involved three days of driving and expert instruction in an '07 Corvette Z51 400hp coupe and one day of racing in a Formula Ford open-wheel racecar. Professional Bob Bondurant Driving Instructor Will Parker was my mentor. The instructor-to-student ratio was 1:2. Will was the perfect person to learn from, as he graduated from college with a teaching credential. He has been an accomplished racer since he was a kid, and he has been an automotive enthusiast since he was a little kid (just like me). Though he's in his mid-20s, I didn't feel weird learning from someone who's young enough to be my son. The common bond we had, being certifiable car nuts, bridged any sort of generation gap that might have been prevalent otherwise.
As evidenced by the fleet of red Pontiac Solstice convertibles in the foreground, the Bondurant School will also host General Motors' events, including ride-and-drive events and various schools for its customers, employees, and dealer network.
Throughout the four days, we enjoyed a minimal, though necessary, amount of classroom instruction and a maximum amount of driving practice-both on the eight acres of asphalt that encompass the skills pad and on the 1.6-mile, 15-turn road course. On the skills pad, we performed driving drills for honing our heel/toe brake and accelerator pedal abilities for proper shifting of a racecar on a track, avoiding accidents, and handling the skid car in understeer and oversteer conditions.
On the road course, fellow student David Jones and I had ride-along sessions with our instructor, Will. We had some lead and follow exercises, where we learned the racing line by following Will in our Corvettes or Formula Fords. We also rode as passengers, while Will piloted our Corvettes. This enabled us to learn how to be smooth, which is something that really struck home for me. When I started, I thought going fast meant nailing the accelerator and muscling the car around the track. Will taught me to use my brain, to drive the racing line, and how to improve and be faster by developing a feel for the car and track. In essence, I gained a level of finesse and came to realize that what felt like raw speed at the beginning of my four days of fun was really a frenzy of wasted effort and scrubbing off of speed. Being a competent driver and racer requires a good deal of concentration, skill, and endurance. I came away from the school with marked improvement in all of these areas. We learned that great drivers are great at braking, not simply at standing on the throttle. They're also accomplished in looking ahead to where you want to go, heel/toe shifting, have acute depth perception, and are in excellent physical condition.
General Motors Corporation is the official vehicle supplier of the Bondurant School. GM provides Chevrolet Corvettes, Cadillac CTS luxury sports sedans, Pontiac GTOs, and Pontiac Grand Prix's to the School. All of the vehicles are serviced and maintained on a daily basis by the Bondurant School's professional master race technicians, within the Racing School's world-class service bays.
By day four of the course, I must admit I had developed a bit of a swagger. This made getting in the Formula Fords-with their 40-year-old technology, four-speed and notchy, gated transmissions, hair-trigger steering and handling characteristics-a humbling and thrilling experience. The little open-wheel cars were a blast! I felt like Schumacher himself negotiating the 1.6-mile course. My three classmates came to call me the Jack Rabbit, as I was fastest in the Formula Fords. Of course, I was also the only one to spinout, and I did so three times. But, they say you're not trying hard enough if you don't loop the car at least once. With that sort of logic, I guess I was really giving it my all.
Over 100,000 people from all walks of life have benefited from taking the Bob Bondurant School since its inception in 1968. Should you wish to be more competent behind the wheel of your race-bred replica, you need to sign up for one of the many courses offered. I guarantee you that you'll have the time of your life!
For more information on how professional racecar champion Bob Bondurant came to found his first High Performance Driving School in 1968 and to find out about available courses, visit www.bondurant.com.
I think I'll head out to the garage and finish my replica so I can practice what I learned on a road course. Thanks to Messrs. Bondurant and Parker, I'm a better, safer, faster driver and racer! Would anyone like to race?