We drive a lot around here—which puts temptation at our doorstep every day. There’s no shame in admitting you’ve found yourself on an empty, straight, smoothly paved I-287 late at night and felt the urge to accelerate. Better option: Drive, safely, to Monticello Motor Club. The club is, first, a private club with a full-time chef, concierge, etc., but it also has 4.1 miles of race-grade asphalt. And hugging that asphalt is extreme. Yes, you can experience the seatbelt-gripping thrust of a high-speed, tire-screeching turn. Yes, you can weave in and out of cones like the “professional driver on a closed course” who teases us all in car ads. And yes, you can step on the accelerator and hold it…and hold it…and hold it—for between $35,000 and $125,000 up front, and a few more thousand per year, that is. But if the economy’s got you down (well, not that down), there are multiple experiences available for the not yet committed. These include the $1,200 “Taste of the Track” with an instructor, full club access, and a high-speed driving session. It’s BYORC (bring your own race car), but, for $800, the club will lend you one of its cars, or the two-day “Radical Driving School,” featuring training on a Radical paddle-shifting, rail-hugging, 2.5-Gs reaching SR3 racecar for $4,900. Google “SR3.” Then drool. Corporate three-day outings are available, too. And while you’re up there, say hit to Jerry Seinfeld. Oh, did we forget to mention he’s a member?
We left saying: “Now, about that lifetime membership…”
Bring a friend: Only if you can afford it.
Fear factor: Medium. We were more dizzy than scared. But some of those turns had our hearts pounding.
Just do it: monticellomotorclub.com, (877) 578-7223
PlusÂ
â–º Hang Glide
â–º Paintball
â–º Fight Club
â–º Archery
â–º Fly an Airplane
â–º Rock Climb
â–º For more from 914INC’s Q2 2013 Issue, click here.
