Auto Racing at Thunderhill

This weekend I did something I had never done before – I went to an auto racing meet up at a racetrack north of Sacramento called Thunderhill. My friend Tim from Houston was over participating in a 25 hour race (1 more hour than Le Mans). He races Mazda Miatas and he and 2 other drivers were on a team that took it in turns driving over the 25 hour period.


It was actually quite exciting – when the race started the noise was quite deafening and the speed was cetainly scary. They would come barreling into the corners at what would appear to be impossible speeds and somehow come out the other side intact - something to get the adrenalin going for me as well as the drivers.

So we hung out for a while and eventually the adrenalin rush wore off – how long can you watch cars going round and round anyway. We got to hang out in the pits and watch the crews at work. Not quite your Formula 1’s 8 second refueling and tire changes, but it was somewhat choreographed.

I actually got to sit in one of the cars – a stock Mazda Miata with a serious roll-cage and only one seat. Just getting in was a quite difficult process – you have to somehow thread yourself through this roll cage assembly into the seat. And getting out was even more difficult – a procedure requiring strength, agility and a certain degree of limberness. Apparently to be licensed to race you have to be able to disable the car, activate the fire extinguisher system and extract yourself from the car in 15 seconds. It took me a couple of minutes at least, as I had to rest halfway through the process and I wasn’t even encumbered by a helmet and any harnesses.

Racing cars may not be in my future, but I can see where the attraction and excitement is. Here are some more photos.