That Time I Got to Race the 2017 Acura NSX Around the Desert…

About six weeks ago, I got a text from a friend saying that she had won a contest. That might seem out of the ordinary for some, it isn’t terribly unusual for this particular friend. You see, my friend Erica wins everything. Absolutely everything. Cash, gift cards, mini iPads (no mistake on the “s” there, I mean multiple mini iPads), tickets, you name it, she’s won it. When she says she’s won something, it’s typical for me to respond, “Of course you did!”. I almost don’t want to enter contests that she’s entered because there’s really no point.   The only thing that was out of the ordinary on this particular day was that she didn’t know what she had won.   I assured her it was probably a t-shirt and went on with my day.

Then 2 days later I got a call. She was right, it wasn’t a tshirt, it was something much, much bigger – it was an all expenses paid trip to Palm Springs to drive (and race!) the brand new 2017 Acura NSX at the uber-exclusive Thermal Club. It was a car that they weren’t even selling at the time, it was that new. Eeek. And when she called me, she wasn’t just calling to gloat about her amazing prize either, she was calling to invite me. Double eeek.

And then I almost messed it up. When Erica asked me to be her guest, my very first inclination was to say no. You know, I have kids and a husband and a job and pets…how could I possibly drop everything and go to California for a few days with very little notice? Much less to go race cars around the desert. But something told me to say yes. Something told me that this was a once in a lifetime trip that I just couldn’t turn down. So I told her to give me a few hours to check with my husband and my boss.  My husband then proceeded to move mountains in order for me to attend, including coordinating travel for my in-laws who agreed to come in to help shuttle the kids to school and their various activities while I was away.

Two weeks and approximately 8 waivers of any and all liability later, Erica and I were on a very early flight out to California start our adventure.  Whatever you do, never, ever, schedule an early morning flight cross country on the day that daylight savings starts.  Just trust me on this one.

After landing in LAX, we were picked up by the nicest driver – who was only mildly freaked out that I wanted to take pictures of him to post on social media in an attempt to document the trip – and whisked off to the Ritz Carlton in Palm Springs. That’s right, Erica not only won an all expenses paid, once in a lifetime vacation, she won a vacation with first class accommodations and five star meals.

Yep, that’s bacon wrapped pork.  On potato planks.  I only wish the picture quality here was better to match how ridiculously delicious it really was.  On a side note, I think I’m going to start calling all french fries “potato planks” to fancy them up for any occasion.  Hey, if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.

The very next day was the day – Race Day. We had been told at dinner the night before that there would be a brief, educational “Track Talk” session before we drove the car, and I took that to mean, paper, pencils, books, and raising our hands like we were back in school. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Instead it actually meant a quick huddle in the super ritzy Acura tent at the Thermal Club where they told us who would be riding along with us and how to stop. I mean, they might have told us more than that (I think there could have been a video?), but I’m honestly not sure because that was about the time that I started to panic…It was the very first time that I realized I could quite possibly wreck one of these beautiful and expensive cars.   After all, it was a very real racetrack and a very real race car. How much did my husband say these cars sell for…? What’s my insurance coverage…? I was on the brink of a cold sweat when they notified us that Erica and I were first ones on the course.

As a warm up, we did a few laps in the Acura TSX. Given my panic from the Track Talk session just moments before, these laps didn’t go so well. I was terribly slow and apologized to the guy riding along with me no less than a hundred times.  I simply had no idea what I was doing.  The track was curvy and I took the turns all wrong.  I held the steering wheel in the wrong place (it’s 9 and 3, not 10 and 2).  I couldn’t seem to accelerate enough.  I was a hot mess. When I got out of the car, I almost dreaded my next laps in the NSX.

And then I lucked out.   Ryan Eversley, Acura’s Real Time Racing driver, rode with me for my first laps in the NSX. He told me exactly how to drive the car.  I learned how to take the corners, where to start accelerating and where to start braking. They might not have been the prettiest laps that have ever been driven in the NSX, but they were so much more fun than my laps in the TSX.  I actually got up to 127 mph, a far cry from my normal mom-mobile car line speed.  I was sad when they waved the checkered flag.  I couldn’t wait to get back in that car.

There was a bit of a delay between our first laps in the NSX and our second, but it was the perfect amount of time to get a better look at the cars, play around with the Launch Control setting of the NSX,  and have some lunch.  If you’re a mom mobile driver like me and wondering what Launch Control is, it’s quite simply putting your foot on the brake and the gas at the same time until you see the “Launch Control” light illuminate on the NSX’s dash.  Then, in one quick movement, you take your foot off the brake.  You know all those “zero to sixty in 5 seconds” type of commercials you see on tv?  Launch Control in the NSX blows them away.  It’s AMAZING.   You can see a video of what it looks like here.

After lunch we hit the track for two more sets of laps – one where we drove and one where we rode along with an Real Time Acura Racing Driver.  My laps were fun, and I was thrilled to be back behind the wheel of the NSX, but I didn’t beat my speed from my first laps.  Naturally, Ryan Eversley, did.  We got up to 135 mph (well, that’s the point where I freaked out and looked away) and I was pretty sure we were going to fly off the track at just about any moment.  As the car came to a stop I assured him that the difference in our laps was negligible…  I’m lucky that he had a good sense of humor.

Then came the hard part.  We had to leave the Thermal Club and the 2017 Acura NSX behind.  I simply can’t believe how fast the day flew.  I won’t lie, I really wasn’t a car girl before this experience, but I just might be now.  The Acura NSX is so much fun to drive.  It’s comfortable and responsive and has a ton of technology.  It’s absolutely everything you think of when you think “luxury sports car”.  Best of all, it was forgiving to even a novice like me.  If only I had a little extra cash and could find a way to strap in the carseats (or strap them to the roof?)…take that, car line.

To ease the pain of having to leave the NSX behind, Acura was kind enough to loan us a gorgeous MDX for the night.  The MDX was one of the cars I considered when buying my current car, and I was thrilled to get another test drive.  Of course, with a day filled with excitement and adrenaline we didn’t have energy for much, but ended up finding the most amazing diner with Bingo (yes, you read that correctly) and trivia.

Since arriving home from the trip, I’ve gotten so many questions – questions about the trip, questions about the NSX, and questions about the contest – but above all, people want to know if we got to really drive the car.   As you can see from above, we were encouraged to drive this car.  Really, really drive the car.  I can’t tell you how many times I was told to push the gas pedal straight down to the floor.  I must have been told to take corners faster at least a dozen times.  And my Launch Control experience?  Well, I had to do mine a second time because I simply wasn’t fast enough the first time.  When Acura says they’re going to let you have a “NSX Driving Experience”, I can assure you that they really mean it.

So with that, I want to extend a huge THANK YOU to everyone at Acura for the amazing hospitality and once in a lifetime experience – I simply can’t think of anything that could possibly compare to the NSX Sweepstakes experience.  And, of course, lots of love and thanks to my friend Erica.  Because if there’s anything you should have learned from this post, it’s that everyone needs a friend like Erica.

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