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Nurburgring | Racetrack

For anyone who has ever wanted to see exactly how good of a driver they are, there is no better place than 'The Loop' at Nurburgring. My first trip to the Loop was nothing short of amazing! I have bungee jumped, skydived, boxed and scuba dived with sharks without getting overly anxious or excited. In fact, I remember as I was getting ready to jump out of a 'perfectly good airplane,' thinking nothing more than 'nice view.' As I was falling and then drifting to Earth I specifically remember thinking, 'I'd rather be turning a double-play,' for all the excitement I wasn't feeling. In other words, while I get excited by life, I rarely feel like it's out of control.

However this is different. I could feel a buzz in the air as we drove up...with beautiful cars arrayed about the parking lot and motorcyclists in full leathers. If all you did was eat lunch here and admire the cars, it would be a day well spent. However on this day, our goal was to take a Volvo through its paces. Yes, you read correctly...a beautiful Mango colored Volvo C70 (at left with the owner), with a skilled driver(walking away) at the wheel. I quickly felt my pulse quicken as we looked at row after row of beautiful cars that spanned the gamut from hugely modified Porsches with oversized tailfins to a Mini Couper that has completed literally thousands of laps at the Loop. There is everything in between, with many of the cars equipped with roll cages and minus the interiors to reduce the weight. Some cars are trucked in, as they are true race cars in every sense of the word, including sponsors. With this image in your mind, don't think that this is a carefully controlled environment where cars are dispatched one-at-a-time with ample space in between. Cars roar out in rapid succession. While racing you are passing and being passed! It is as close to real racing as an amateur will ever come!


This is what happens when it's wet outside, and the track gets a bit slick! I wish this was a strangers car...but it's not. It's a friends car...the same guy who drove the Volvo!

I have scuba dived with sharks, jumped out of an airplane and bungee jumped...and NONE of those things come close to the thrill of the Loop!
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