Excerpt from Chapter 19 – A Primer for Novice Racers

When the Green Flag Drops

Nothing that you’ve done in your previous track days or in racing school can prepare you for the experience that awaits you when the green flag drops in your first race. Nevertheless, we can offer a few suggestions so that the sensations of the moment don’t completely overwhelm you.

At the start of the race, you really find out what makes racing different from driving around the track on track days. The difference is that, while you are trying to get your shift points right, brake and turn in on the right line, and accelerate out, on all the different corners of the particular race track you’re on, there are 20 to 40 other cars out there trying to do the same things at the same time and, frequently, in the same place.

This is what’s different about racing. The new variable, that makes racing different from, say, golf, is that you’re not alone; there are other cars on the track with you. Nowhere is this more obvious than at the start. So let’s talk about what you’ll encounter.

On the Pace Lap

While you were getting belted in on the hot grid, starting the car, checking the gauges and listening to the engine to make sure everything was running right, we’ll bet that your pulse was beginning to race. It didn’t slowed much as you swung out of the pit lane and on to the track, and took your place on the starting grid following the starter’s instructions. Now you’ll be taking one full lap behind the pace car before the race actually starts so the first thing you need to do is calm down.

The first thing you should do on the pace lap is concentrate on your breathing. Yes, it’s a Zen thing. You need to get your pulse and respiration back under control. Sure this is the most exciting thing you’ve ever done, you’re all alone in the car, and you can’t remember a thing that you were supposed to have learned in driving school. All the more reason to calm down and relax.

Breathe slowly and listen to your breathing in your helmet. Try to get your breathing into a long, slow pattern.

Now you can begin to attend to the other three things you should be doing on the pace lap: checking your car, locating the corner worker stations, and reviewing your memory of the track so that the key points are fresh in your mind.

The first thing to do is to check your gauges to make sure that water temperature is coming up to regular running heat, and that oil pressure is still under control. Speed up a little and touch your brakes to make sure that the car revs and slows the way it is supposed to.

It is a good idea to begin heating up your brake pads a bit by riding the brake pedal with your left foot to cause the brakes to drag slightly while continuing to maintain speed with your right foot on the throttle. This is particularly important if you’re running racing pads, which don’t work very well when they’re cold.

Regardless of what you’ve seen on Speed Channel, one thing we don’t recommend that you do is to turn the car back and forth to “heat up your tires.” First, it really doesn’t do much good unless you’re driving on real race tires, which you’re not. Second, there’s always the potential of zigging when the guy next to you is zagging, which could lead to an exchange of paint. That’s never a good thing, especially on the pace lap. Third, a combination of a little oil on the track and a little zig or zag, and you could fi nd yourself spinning off the track before the race ever starts. That can be downright embarrassing.

As you go around the track, note the flag workers at each corner displaying the yellow flag. The yellow flag means that you shouldn’t pass, but you already knew that.

The main reason to notice the flaggers is so that you can fix in your mind the location of each flag station; the flag workers will be your eyes around the corner at each critical point on the track. It’s a nice thing to do to acknowledge their presence with a little wave so they know you know they’re there.

On the pace lap, you should also be checking for your cue points for each corner. Note where the braking point is, where your turn-in is, and where you’ll be tracking out. This can be a little challenging since you will also be trying to keep even with the car gridded next to you, trying to keep from running over the bumper of the car in front of you, and trying not to delay the person behind you.