The smell of rubber from tires and exhaust fumes is pungent. The parking lot looks like a giant sea of bright orange cones but if looked at carefully, you can vaguely make out the autocross course that the cars are driving through. My brother pulls up to our pit spot in his '76 911 and asks me if I want a ride along through the course. Being the adrenaline junky and racing enthusiast that I am, instead of responding I grab my helmet and jump in the car. I strap my harness and wait anxiously at the start of the course. It's been nearly three months since my last ride along at Buttonwillow raceway. As my brother takes off on his cue to go, I realized that this ride along was long overdue. I got that butterfly feeling in the pit of my stomach and let out a faint giggle. The car is powerful enough to put me back in my seat and before I know it, I am being tossed left and right in my seat as we go through the turns, thank goodness for this five point harness! It isn't long before we hit a straight again and rather than sliding left or right, I am put back in my seat again. However before I even have time to blink we hit the next set of turns and I am sliding again. The sliding doesn't scare me but it does begin to bug me so I make a stupid attempt at tightening the harness straps to stay in place. Attempt 1 failed. My hand slips off as we go through the chicane and I continue to bounce around. Attempt 2 is successful, but the engine is no longer roaring, I look up and we're at the end of this 90 second course. I was so distracted by my harness that I didn't even get to soak up the last 30 seconds of the course. Luckily, we get back in line behind the other cars to go again. Round 2, and this time it has my full attention!
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