This Is What It’s Like To Ride IndyCar With Mario Andretti

Earlier this year, I got the experience of a lifetime at the Indianapolis 500, which I believed was about the pinnacle of the full IndyCar experience – boy, was I mistaken.

For the second straight year, the Verizon IndyCar Series made its way to Pocono Raceway – a quaint speedway deemed “The Tricky Triangle”, nestled in the eastern mountains of Pennsylvania – and after my last go-round, it took little convincing to make the trip up from the Philadelphia area last weekend. But while I once again got a garage tour and a chance to watch a pit stop with the crew, there was one thing I hadn’t done in Indianapolis – and that was get up close and personal with the track.

Upon arrival to Pocono, my wife – who was my photographer – and I got the usual stuff out of the way before making our way to the infield for our first adventure. Leading up to the event, I received a voucher for a ride in the pace car – one lap, three turns and 140 mph in a Chevrolet Camaro SS. As the four vehicles approached, I began to think of random cliché movie lines, as though I was Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights, Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder, or Steve McQueen in Bullit.

As I got into the vehicle, I couldn’t think of a time when I had ever gone that fast on asphalt. With the vehicle’s engine humming, I made my way into the last car of the group, where I was greeted by a very nice individual, who has one of the coolest jobs I can think of off the top of my head. Just like that, he slammed his foot on the pedal – and we were off! I felt the jolt, then took this video:

Once we came to a stop, I removed myself from the vehicle and was fortunate enough to watch my wife take her turn. She was much more apprehensive about it than I, but assured me that she didn’t scream and after exiting the Camaro, explained how intense it was – pushing her back into the seat on the straight-aways and then towards the window on each of the three turns. But she was all smiles – and probably wanted to do several more laps. However, there was no time for that, because my chance to get to know Pocono Raceway was just beginning.

It was brought to my attention that the voucher I had received was not for the pace car, but rather for the IndyCar Racing Experience – two laps in a two-seater, race ready, IndyCar. After signing a waiver or two – which proved this was going to be an adrenaline rush – beforehand, I began to suit up.

I was sized for a fire suit and as I began to hop into it, I noticed Mario Andretti and several other drivers chatting and preparing as well. With “National Guard” branded across my chest and my blue Converse sticking out, I was taken to the track, where I was given red gloves, a white headsock and most importantly, a helmet – making friends with the workers along the way. Then my IndyCar pulled up.

As I made my way to the front of the vehicle I noticed “M. Andretti” written along the side of the blue, green and white two-seater Honda. I was already a little bit nervous, but when I discovered the greatest American racecar driver ever at the helm, I knew I was in good hands – even if he is 74-years-old. Unfortunately, there was no time to chat, as he had business to attend to – and as they strapped me into what felt like a hole, I was still nervous, like, first-time-on-a-rollercoaster, nervous. I gave a quick thumbs-up and just like that, we were off.

Within seconds my head was propelled back against the seat and as we exited the first turn the fear and grimacing suddenly turned into delight and exuberance – in fact, I might have yelled in Andretti’s ear once or twice, if he could hear me. The wind was whipping and if I attempted to tilt my head to the left, or the right, past where his head rest blocked, the wind would jolt my head as though it was nothing. As we entered the second turn, I noticed a pair of skid marks that went right into the wall. My nervousness returned for a brief second as I didn’t want to become the newest skid at Pocono Raceway – but it quickly subsided.

After the first lap, I looked over to my wife and the crew, who all kind of resembled a blur. By this point I was soaking it all in, though with each turn I felt like a pancake as the g-forces pressed me up against the right side of the vehicle. I was told later by the crew that we did just over 180 mph, about 40 mph slower than the top speed during the Pocono IndyCar weekend. When we hit the straightaway and began to slow down, my mind was spinning almost as fast as the tires – and immediately I was helped out of the vehicle. I forgot to thank Andretti as they loaded the next spectator in but did muddle to the crew chief, “It feels great to be back on Earth,” before he snapped a quick picture.

The next 10 minutes were spent collecting my composure and explaining what just happened to whoever would listen to me – with the biggest smile on my face. I likened it to taking part in batting practice with Babe Ruth – if he were still alive, of course. Even though I had seen those cars and what they’re capable of, it was completely different to actually do a few laps, let alone with Andretti.

It was probably the coolest experience of my young, professional career and one I won’t forget. If you want to live out the IndyCar dream, be sure to visit the Indy Racing Experience’s website for details.

Ed Miller is a contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillyEdMiller or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.

Photos courtesy of Megan K. Miller