Xtreme Xperience
Speed provides the kinds of sensations that words fail to describe. You have to experience it to get it. And this week Greg Carloss takes us Over the Edge with some car nuts that satisfy your need for speed.
GREG CARLOSS: Blasting down a front straight at wide-open-throttle in an exotic car is the thrill of a lifetime. Trust me, I’ve done it, but, guess what? So can you. And, I’m here with a group who has built their name on giving that extreme experience. In fact, it is their name. Since 2012, Xtreme Xperience has been hosting track days and checking off bucket list items for over 250,000 speed seekers.
BRANDON YORK: Xtreme Xperience got started in a very sort of rock and roll pirate way. With our founders...they saw an empty spot in the market where there was not a lot of auto entertainment available to the everyday guy. And so they grabbed up a couple of cars, rented some time on the local racetrack and gave it a shot.
GREG CARLOSS: A decade later, Xtreme Xperience holds dozens of events per year at racetracks all over the country including our own, Dominion Raceway outside of Richmond, Virginia. It all starts online with a simple booking process to choose where, when and most importantly, what to drive. American muscle, German precision, or Italian style. Xtreme Xperience has whatever revs your engine. And, if you can’t choose just one, drive the whole fleet.
BRANDON YORK: We’ve got the Ferrari 488...the Huracan EVO...McLaren 570 S...we just got in our GT3 RS...we’re running the new C8.
GREG CARLOSS: Pricing varies for each car, from $200 to $430 for a 3-4 lap session. An insurance package is required, but base coverage adds just $39 to the total cost. Then, when the day comes all guests have to do is show up and follow the signs.
BRANDON YORK: We get them everything they need to get ready they get the USB for the video...they get it all sorted out, boom, quick, easy waivers, everything. Then they hit the class...And safety is our number one thing...So the classroom is really where you learn a lot about how to get these cars around the track.
GREG CARLOSS: The class is quick yet comprehensive, but those looking for a little more instruction can opt for a ride-along with a pro-driver. After that, find your car where an instructor will get you strapped in before taking their place in the passenger seat where they’ll talk you through the car and the track.
BRANDON YORK: You got to figure that most people have never been on a race track. Most people have never driven a car like this...And so those instructors in the right seat have got to have a calm demeanor.
RYAN GROSE: What I liked is that the trainer they put me with, the other driver helped me to drive fast safely. So every time I took a lap, he was telling me, accelerate a little bit more in this turn, turn a little bit earlier...So by the end of the day, I was way faster than I was early on.
ADDISON GROSE: I drove the Lamborghini Hurricane Evo, the Porsche GT3RS, and the Ferrari 488...We hit like 153 in the Evo, on the straight right here...It was awesome. I've grown up just loving cars and watching videos of them all the time, but actually getting behind the wheel was insane.
BRANDON YORK: If you're into cars at all, this is the best way to figure out why we do this and why people spend so much effort, time and energy into these kinds of cars instead of your basic commuters...This is a very special, unique thing. And we have taken every single precaution to make sure that you have the best possible time that you can in the safest possible way.