If you have completed 10 practice sessions on the Short Course and would like to take the L1 test so that you may proceed to the L2 class, please send an email to ben@drivewayaustin.com in order to schedule a time.  The test will take between 30 and 45 minutes and will require you to drive - you must know and understand ALL of the flags, rules and race lines!  The exam fee is $50.

On Saturday, May 10th, the first L2 class flew through the advanced elevation and blind corner techniques. All in the class agreed that they would not have been able to feel as comfortable with the L2 techniques if they weren't armed with everything they gained in the L1. Within the first two sessions, everyone was coming up to speed and getting in the zone. Steve Turpin, the first L1 graduate, commented on how much fun the challenge of elevation was after turning the fastest lap of the day with a 1.04.75. Nick Grobelny was the first to catch air off the corkscrew but masterfully kept his Miata on track... Dr. Timothy George and David Baranauskas quickly picked up the new elevation and blind corner challenges.

Sunday, May 18th, is the first L1 / L2 combination open practice day. Expect to see the new L2 class there for a day of elevated practice...

Sonoma, California - The third round of the 2008 Ferrari Challenge at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California was held May 2 - 4. Two of Driveway Austin's partners drove brilliant races to the top 5. Mark McKenzie, took his number 27 Ferrari 430 to a 2nd place podium finish after a hard fought battle with veteran John Horjdi. This was Mark's first trip to the world class facility but he methodically mastered the track in the 3 day event.

Henri Richard took his Future Electronics, Freescale Semiconductor, number 61 Ferrari 430 to an unchallenged 5th place finish. Henri drove a flawless race in spite of being under the weather with a bad cold. The weekend was attended by a large group of the #61's sponsors and their guests from Future Electronics, Freescale as well as Motorola.

The two Driveway Austin drivers will now prepare for the Montreal Grand Prix next on June 6 - 8 with Formula 1. This race will be extremely challenging and technical but both Mark and Henri are ready to bring it home.

The first round of L1 Alumni are graduating to the L2 class. Steve Turpin took his L1 test on Sunday, April 13 and will be moving on to the technical and challenging L2 course. Other alumni are right behind Steve such as Dr. Timothy George and Ray Powers. The L1 test to advance is challenging and earns the driver a spot with the increasing technical demands of L2 and beyond.

Today, there are more than 100 L1 alumni that are logging practice hours and tuning their skills to get to the L2 elevation course which includes the very challenging emulaiton of the famous Laguna Seca Corkscrew. The L1 classes are the first step in the ladder to get to the elite Grand Prix Course that includes two European Formula One circuit straights that carve their way through the trees. The process to get through the L3 level may take as long as 6 months but guaratees that the driver will have great car control and car feel skills at graduation.

One of the most interesting aspects of the training process is that the joy and satisfaction come with the journey rather than the destination. There's just no substitute for track time and that along with proper technique produces some great drivers that Learn to Have Fun.

Protection barriers which will line the track started going up Monday with the help of Texas Crane Service and Aztec Trucking. The barriers are 18,000 pounds each, 42 inched high, 30 feet long and solid concrete. To help with the installation process, the FSAE from the University of Texas showed up in force. Driveway Austin has a close relationship with UT by assisting the Mechanical Engineering department's testing and development of new and innovative automotive designs through the Society of Automotive Engineers and the prototype vehicle they construct. Bill Dollahite, President of Driveway Austin, lectures at UT frequently regarding high performance data gathering, analysis and design as well as with dynamic testing of the vehicle at Driveway Austin.

A team of about 8 UT undergraduate and graduate students that take advantage of Dollahite's lectures and testing at the track traded their slide rules for working gloves on Monday. They worked together to place the barriers in location with the highest degree of precision. Not as easy as it may sound when you're working with an 18.000 lb concrete mass swinging from a 200' crane line. 24 barriers were put in place Monday. Another 150 will be placed before the end of the week.

Austin Wood Recyclers are on site completing the final dead tree removal and cripping.  The facility at Driveway Austin is becoming a park like setting as a result of the outstanding efforts of Austin Wood Recyclers.  All dead trees and scrub brush is not only being removed but is also being mulched to aid the the landscaping efforts at the track.  This final process has really opened up the densely under-brushed areas and made the landscape a scene fit for a summer picnic.  The management at Driveway Austin has been very diligent at utilizing all the on-site resources to develop and beautify the landscape.  By mulching the underbrush and dead trees, the landscaping has been enhanced and made healthier.  "The site has so many natural as well as imported resources that we are very driven to utilize", said Bill Dollahite, President of Driveway Austin.  " We are fortunate to have service organizations such as Austin Wood Recycler that can help support that direction and their work is truly showing results."

The L1 school program has been ramping up since the track was completed. Without exception, every class has produced some great results and exposed some exceptional talent. Driveway Austin has committed to schedule at least 2 L1 weekend classes every month through the summer and has now added at least 2 weekday classes to the schedule.