I would leave the high school parking lot everyday by smoking my tires all the way up the steep hill that led to the exit.

I thought I could drive. I thought I was above average.

A lot of years later, I still felt and acted the same way. Then, I went to an autocross in my new Miata. That was a huge eye opener. All those people in sedans and econoboxes were a lot faster than I was in my little sports car! Still, I thought that it was because they had aftermarket suspension or race tires and ignored the long list of street tire and stock suspension cars that also beat me.

I signed up for a Driver's Education event at a road course. My instructor drove my car, with me in the passenger seat. This showed me, first hand, how much I had to learn and how much more my car had in it that I didn't even know how to tap. I got hooked on doing driver education events at the track and then moved into racing.

After that first event, I immediately saw that there was no point in trying to drive fast on the street. I would never be able to push the car as hard on the street as I could on the track, without taking huge risks to myself and others. So, I thought "What's the point?". I know I can take that corner down the road a lot faster, since it's just like turn 9 at TWS, but at the track there is no incoming traffic, there's plenty of runoff area if I make a mistake and there is no chance of a finding a little kid crossing the road on the other side of the turn. On the street, I can't use all the road, so I really can't go as fast as on the track. On the track I don't have to keep my eye out for the police or the concerned soccer mom to report me as a "road rager".

Racing also has taught me about risks. At the track, I have a lot of safety equipment in my car and myself that I don't have on the street. There's a whole network of trained personnel available within seconds to help in case of an emergency.

The experience of being able to drive a car as close to the limit as you can, without the concerns that you have to have on the street makes it so much better than anything you could try on the street that it simply makes it not worthy to even try on the street. At least for me.