Feature: Rush Valley Pony Express
02/01/2008
The temperature in Tooele, Utah is a sweltering 102-degrees Fahrenheit on this mid-August afternoon, but the heat does not dissuade enthusiasts at Miller Motorsports Park. The 0.9-mile cart and Supermoto track is in heavy rotation and workers are preparing for an event, which is scheduled to showcase a 600-hp Mustang for executives the following day. But the full track, which happens to be the longest in North America at 4.5 miles, is scheduled under my name for the next six hours.James Burke, my personal instructor, goes over a few basics in the classroom—located just south of the main track—before we finally make our way to the Mustang GT school cars. "I can talk to you about oversteer and understeer or hitting the late apex all day," says Burke, in a congenial British accent, "but that’s just textbook. The best way to learn it is to do it."
We head toward an open lot just outside the paddock area; a Mustang GT is hoisted atop a purpose-built hydraulic system and several orange cones are laid out for an autocross lesson in car control. "This machine is designed to give the effect of oversteer and understeer at low speeds," says Burke. "So when it happens on the track you will know exactly what to do—the feeling will be familiar." It is an underwhelming experience to have the rear wheels swing out at 10 mph, but it does provide an unusual perspective. The world seems to move in slow motion as I maintain complete control of the car, which is floating and fighting to get away from me. After a few runs around the coned course and some light footwork training, Burke gives me the green light for the 4.5-mile main track.
"This course is world-class," says Dan Davis, Director of Ford Racing Technology. "The run-offs are big, so you don’t have to worry about coming off the course and slamming into something."
Typically, the Ford Racing High-Performance Driving School only uses the 2.2-mile West Track, but because I am the only driver fitted with a helmet and gloves, Burke insists that I learn every turn. Each corner is given a whimsical name, but it still takes me about ten full laps before I begin to familiarize myself with the course. Brake hard and heel-toe at Black Rock Hairpin, come in wide at Demon in order to anticipate Devil and Diablo, then lay into the throttle after cutting left at Release.
I work my way through the model line: from the standard Mustang GT to the Challenge Car to the Ford GT supercar, each vehicle is a lesson in Ford’s devotion to durability and performance one-upmanship. "We have a philosophy about Ford Racing cars," says Davis, "they must be the most durable cars on the road. You can beat up on these cars. They get abused, and just keep coming back for more."
This is a good philosophy, because whether you plan to attend the one-day course ($1,495) or the Three-Day Ford Racing Signature Supercar Experience ($7,995), you will certainly want to come back for more.
Miller Motorsports Park, 435.277.8000, www.millermotorsportspark.com