Driver's Training

Well, you can't race novice class until you take novice driver's training. So, we immediately had to have all our equipment in time for the novice class to begin.

While we were looking for a car for Kira and such, Kira and I were butting heads on her driving at all. At first she was all excited but then I realized she was going to be gone for most the race season since she leaves all summer to NC - race capitol of the world --- where she can't race at all.
So I started to think of not letting her race at all. She was also being a 14 year old pain and being picky about what color of car she should have.... So  that's it, decided. Not racing, not worth the cost and her grumpy attitude.
Enter temper tantrum #1: "My brother gets to do it! You love him more than me! You'll pay for him but not for me!"  I offer to pay for something back in NC like soccer camps (IF she can talk her dad into taking her to anything productive during the summer). No, not fair.
A few weeks go by.....
Fine, you can race too. I am now thinking Zachary can grow into her car. Same set-up. No real financial loss.
Enter temper tantrum # 2: "I won't ever see my friends or hang-out! I'll be too busy and I already don't see them in the summer!" Well, there is no way you are staying home all day on the weekends by yourself so, I don't care if you race but you are coming with us.
"Fine! You can make me race, but you can't make me like it!"
Deal.

I hate you with my eyes!

     
After getting who was racing out of the way, we were in a scramble to find a car her size. Don't worry, we found one.
Driver's training (aka Novice Training) was about 1.5 months of every weekend driving followed by a graduation race. I think there were about 15 junior novices (ages 5-8) and there were 3 senior novices (ages 9-16).
Our novice training happened to be completely in the rain and snow. It sucked bad. We were all wet and miserable and the rv smelled like wet kids. Blech!
There is probably so much to say about novice training, but not enough words to aptly describe everything going on.
So I'll sum it up this way -
      the kids learned how and what to wear, the parents learned how to put it on them
      the kids learned how to make the car go/stop/and pass, the parents learned how to push off cars/ detangle wrecks/work corners
     the kids learned all the other kids names/parents/cars, the parents learned to not worry so much cause their kid was off playing with another racer
     the kids learned flags --- yeah, I did too

Key learning points -
   Air is good to have in tires BEFORE you go on the track - otherwise you'll hear a gawd awful scraping and a lot of whining out of a senior novice.
  Turning the fuel ON at the gas tank helps the car go (this goes hand and hand with put gas in before you take the track)
   Listen to everyone, you need all the advice/help you can get.

Novice Graduation Class 2012