Anyone that knows Laine well knows that he loves cars and driving fast. As a matter of fact he says he remembers wanting a Porsche 911 at 5 years old. What can I say, he's always had expensive taste in cars. It's typical to hear Formula 1 racing on our TV on the weekends. He and Jackson enjoy listening to the engines loudly and occasionally watching for crashes.
So, a few months ago, when I saw a Groupon for a chance for Laine to drive an Indy car for 5 minutes at the Texas Motor Speedway I knew I had to buy it. I wanted to save it for a gift but I was just too excited so I think I told him the same day I bought it. We finally got to go on Saturday
Laine attended an hour long class while Jackson and I went to McDonalds for an ice cream cone. Then we joined him at the speedway. There were about 30 people in Laine's class and of course he was one of the last ones to drive so Jackson and I ended up just hanging out for about 3 hours until he got to drive. Thankfully, G and Dada kept Ryan at home.
Here are some of the Indy cars lined up.
Jackson hanging out.
Jackson posing in front of an Indy car.
Jackson posing in front of a NASCAR car.
Number 13 is the one Laine ended up driving.
There he is waving, getting ready to go!! Laine had two way communication with a crew chief on top of a trailer that could watch him the whole time to make sure he knew what was going on around him. At one point he came upon another car and his guy helped him get around the car and encouraged him to floor it. I was surprised when I saw Laine come around before the other guy!
A couple of pictures from his drive. They are very blury - he says because he was going so fast. :-) (Please excuse the four wheeler pit crew members in my way!)
Pulling in after his 5 minutes were up.
Getting out.
Laine's certificate said he went 160.08 miles per hour. They have the cars governed so they can only go a certain speed. The drivers are encouraged to go as fast as they can because that really is the safest way to drive on these tracks. I think Laine took advantage of this. :-)
Laine's ultimate dream would be to drive the Nurburgring in Germany and maybe one day we will be able to do that. Hopefully this will satisfy his need for speed until we are able to get over to Germany....
5 comments:
Come to Germany!!! That would be so fun! Steve would totally do that with him!
Dana, that is so cool!! I bet he absolutely loved it! And I bet Jackson was thrilled to watch his Daddy do something so fast and manly! You can mark that one off the bucket list now! :-)
I'm glad he had a good time. I bet he was wishing that 5 minutes was more like 5 hours of drive time! I bet Laine was in heaven! And Jackson too for that matter. I love that they share a love of cars together. What a special father/son interest! I see many more of these activities in your future with a house full of boys! :)
WOW!! He was a blurrrrrr! You are a wonderful wife to get him a present so dear to his heart, Dana. Next, Jackson will be wanting to drive one. ;) blessings ~ tanna
You, my friend, are a good wife. For knowing what Laine would like and then surprising him with such a great gift. Oh, and for hanging out at the track with your two and a half year old for three hours. =) This is definitely one for the memory books!
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