I thought it was great fun.  For someone who hadn't driven on a race track, it was amazing.  Bob asked us if we wanted to drive the car and follow him around the track and , of course, we both said yes.  We drove around the track, never getting out of second gear by design.  His car was set up so fine that I told Gordon Levy it was like driving a luxury car compared to the street set up that I have on mine.

I am going to take my wife and have her do the same thing.  I asked him if he was going to expand with the Factory Fives and he said they are working out the details now and would like input.  Of course, when you do this with Bob, you are getting the best from a master.  He talked a bit about the car itself (I didn't know he had such a history with the cars at several tracks).

I would think most people don't go to a track and drive it hard like we did.  This all but sells the car itself.  You get past being afraid of going fast and see the power of the car in a track situation.  The Factory Five car was the star at the school..  Even the instructors get a big kick out of watching Bob B drive the car around the track faster than any of the other cars he has there.

All were very positive about Factory Five, and you can tell he (Bob) loves to drive the car.

Clearly, Factory Five Racing will get big points out of this, especially if people know what Bob B did in his past and, of course the cars.  I drove the blue one.  Oh, they gave us a picture of the car with Bob and me, signed of course, a shirt, and a history book.

Once again, I loved it!

Bob Fitzgerald

The day went like this: sign in with the receptionist and signed the death and dismemberment sheet,  meet and greet with Bob and two instructors, instructors took us on a tour starting with the sponsor wall, instructor wall, and the celebrity wall, pointing out the first two students (Newman and Gardner) as well as about 15 other people.  We then went out to the hot pit lane and were shown the instructor cars, GT's, SVT Cobras and Formula Fords on the way to the Mustang, formula and kart garages.  We spent about five minutes in each garage and they answered all my questions well.  They even took the time to track down the head mechanic to answer one of my questions they didn't know.  We left the garages and headed out to pit lane to be fitted for a helmet and Bob was already in the car ready to go when we came out of the equipment room.  I got in and we went around the long track and he checked with me at the start/finish of every lap to see if I was OK.  The guy can still drive!  We pulled in after lap five and Bob asked if I wanted to drive for three laps.  He got out of the Spec Racer and into a mustang and I followed his lead for the three laps going progressively faster each lap.  After the session, we pulled off and got a picture with Bob in front of the Spec Racer and the main building.  We went back inside and Bob personalized a copy of his "High Performance Driving" and  T shirt, which were given to each of us.  By the time I had paid for the additional laps, the photo's were ready and Bob signed them too.

Things they did really good:  great value (less than $300 for laps, driving, book, photo, T shirt, and in car video), on time, cars performed very well, staff very knowledgeable and courteous, clean facility, good/new helmets.  Bob is a gracious host, pace was good (as a passenger and driving), picture, book and T shirt bonus.  Five laps is about right for the average person to absorb the stimuli without shutting down and being a blur, and I liked the lead follow portion.

Needs improvement:  attention to safety details (my harness wouldn't tighten up enough to be snug, rode in T shirt and shorts, no arm restraints).  I was all enthused about the ride and would have spent money to drive the karts or more driving laps in the Spec Racer, needed in car video."

Wayne Pressley