What First-Time Drivers Should Expect at a NASCAR Racing Experience Session

Updated

Expect a structured, instructor-supported solo drive. After check-in, you suit up in racing gear and attend a driver training and instruction session. Then you drive a real NASCAR race car by yourself — no pace car ahead of you and no instructor in the passenger seat. A personal racing instructor stays in contact through in-car radio, and passing slower cars is allowed. When you finish, you receive a Graduate Certificate showing your top speed plus a souvenir racing license.

Before You Drive: Gear and Training

The session begins with preparation rather than driving:

  • Racing gear. Drivers are suited up in racing gear before going out.
  • Driver training and instruction. You attend a session described by Driving 101 as "Drivers for training and instruction" — the classroom and orientation portion that covers what to do in the car.

Plan for this to take real time. The driving itself is only part of the visit; the gear-up and instruction steps come first, so arrive ready to follow staff direction rather than expecting to jump straight into a car.

The Drive Itself: Solo, With Radio Coaching

This is the part that surprises first-timers most: you are alone in the car.

What you might assume What actually happens
An instructor rides with you No instructor in the car
A pace car sets the speed No pace car to follow
You stay behind slower cars Passing is allowed
You drive in silence In-car radio communication with a personal racing instructor

Your instructor coaches you over the in-car radio while you drive. Because there is no pace car and no passenger, the coaching is your main real-time guidance — listen for it and use it.

Passing is explicitly permitted. If you catch a slower car, you may pass it. That also means faster cars may come up behind you, so stay aware of traffic around you, not just the car in front.

After the Drive: What You Take Home

When your run ends, you receive:

  • A Graduate Certificate with your top speed recorded
  • A souvenir racing license

The top-speed figure on the certificate is the concrete result of the session — it's the number most drivers compare afterward.

Practical Points for First-Timers

  • You drive a real race car that has been driven by NASCAR drivers, per Driving 101 — this is not a simulator or a street car.
  • The experience is built around solo driving. If you would rather not drive, Driving 101 offers a separate Ride Along where a professional racing instructor drives and you ride as a passenger. Choose that option if being alone in the car with radio-only coaching isn't what you want.
  • Radio coaching replaces in-car instruction. Ask questions during training, because once you're on track your instructor is on the radio, not beside you.
  • Passing is part of the format. Expect to overtake slower cars and to be overtaken; the session is not a single-file parade lap.

Driving 101 LLC is the parent company of NASCAR Racing Experience and Richard Petty Driving Experience, so the same operating standards apply across both brands.