Rusty Wallace Racing Experience- Chicagoland Speedway

This deserves no stars at all. What a complete joke… Mine has been rained out three times and now they are offering a better deal and won’t even match that price now. Basically told me that this season has nothing to do with next seasons pricing even though I am being pushed into next season with this thing being cancelled three times. TRUST ME… Don’t buy this! It is a complete nightmare and their customer service is by far the worst I have ever dealt with. Basically took my money and no who knows if and when it will happen. And let new comers get a better deal then someone who has been waiting over 8 months and will be over a year by the time it happens. Disputing this with the bank. Total BS!!!

I got this as a birthday gift from a racing hater who knows how much I love NASCAR. It was awesome! I was apprehensive as I so not know how to drive a stick shift, but the guys were great in push starting me from 4^th on pit row so I didn’t have to worry about shifting. (Next time I might give it a shot!) Also, next time I will buy additional laps now that I know I can do this! The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars is the inability to call an speak to someone on the phone on a Sunday as I had last minute apprehension about my inability to drive a stick and questions as to if I could get help with this and there is no one who answers phones on Sunday. Otherwise, it was one of the best gifts I ever received!

I bought this as a Christmas gift and the race happened late May. (Perfect time, btw — before Father’s Day and not too hot, but warm enough for those of us in the audience.)
He arrived much earlier than his spectators, to get a feel for things and watch other groups to see what to expect. (I’m sure also to see how fast he’d be going and have something to compare himself to!)
Registration began 30 minutes before his race time. They offered a number of upgrade packages — I wasn’t there, but I believe an extra 10 laps for $ 150, $ 120 for a 2-​lap ridealong + video + picture plaque. I wish I knew the extra laps were available, we’d have bought them for him. Next time! He did get the video and plaque.
Because I wasn’t sure what to expect as a spectator, I’ll comment on that a bit. There weren’t many concessions (chips, pop, and gatorade). They sold some RWRE tshirts and hats, but that’s about it. Some people were clearly regulars, because they had their own chairs (recommended), coolers, music (!!!) and sunscreen.
It was so fun watching him race. I heard the class was actually really interesting and he learned a lot. The video shows a side-​by-​side view of his face and the track, the plaque is nicer than I expected. He had such a great time, I know he’ll be talking about it for a while!

I thought this was a once-​in-​a-​lifetime experience, but I will be back! I’m 42 years old and my wife purchased the racing package for my birthday. Without question, the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience was the best present of my life. If you have a bucket list like me, this is one item that needs a check mark.
This is a first class outfit from the time I walked into the gate to the sincere thank you and goodbye on the way out. The training session was thorough and extremely helpful, though I understand now why they suggest the ride along session before taking the wheel on your own. They make it very easy to follow the right line, but I think some additional time in the car would have helped me go even faster!
The best part of the experience for me? It was racing at speeds of 150 mph with only the voice of spotter and an open track. These folks truly understand the importance of making it as «real» as possible. I passed two cars and was looking for the third when the checker flag came out.
I highly recommend the DVD and the photo as I’ll talk about this experience for weeks to come.
Great people, safe, exciting, fun and professional all the way!!!

This was a awesome experience if you like to go fast this is for you. There were 4 of us that drove to the track together 3 men 1 female all had a great time.
We had originally purchased the 8 lap experience but opted to buy 4 more laps which I would recommend.
The staff did a great job explaining everything to us in the driver meeting. Then out
at the pits the staff assisted you in selecting your fire suit & helmet. Then on to the cars where you are assisted in getting in the car thought the window which is 15“X25″
but there were guys there that wore 4X fire suits that were able to get in the cars.
Once in the car the staff helps you get your 5 point safety belt on & Hans Device for your neck, then your helmet. Finally they have you insert ear pieces inside your helmet to hear the spotters & instructors. (one thing I would suggest is to bring your own ear buds, because at high speed with the noise of the car & wind with the ear pieces provided it is hard to hear the spotter).
I will definitely do it again

OK, I have done the Richard Petty Driving Experience twice (Vegas in the Lead-​Follow program, and Disney with the new side by side program) and I will say the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience was by far the superior program. Now, that does not say it is without problems because my day was full of them but all in all it was an amazing experience.
First off I know you cannot control mother nature and the rain delay sucked on Sunday April 29, 2013 but it was what it was. However I feel the staff could have been more concrete in nailing down times and estimate times as we sat at the track for 5.5 hours because of it. I kept hearing 20 minutes till this starts or 1 hour till this and what was a 2:30 PM estimate to get on the track turned into a 4:30 PM. trust me, i love to be at the track and would watch all day long but when you have a 3 year old with you that becomes a long day for mom and dad. If we could have gotten a more solid time for when racing would begin then we could have made better adjustments to our day. Also we were told the afternoon sessions were all cancelled but as we were leaving they were arriving and getting ready. If I knew this I would have switched to an afternoon session.
But the staff was very friendly and very accommodating to answering any questions you might have had. I know in time like a rain delay people can get flustered especially when dealing with other people, cancellations, and all that jazz so… kudos to the RWRE staff.
Now, the racing was fantastic when I got to race. For my first 3 laps my car would not shift into 4^th gear so I was going rather slow. When I had time as I was being passed I finally got up the car up into 4^th gear and was off and having a blast. It helped that I had done the Vegas and Orlando racing before as I had a very small learning curve. on being smooth, knowing the line, taking the turns and getting on and off the throttle. But as soon as I got fast I caught a slower car and awaited for my spotter to clear me to pass. That however never came and all of the sudden my 12 laps were done.
I was pretty disappointed as I spent my first few laps a gear down, then getting the hang of the track, and my last 4 laps caught behind a slow car. No real racing, not really a good lap… disappointment. As I pulled my car to a stop on pit row I motioned over to the crew chief and explained my passing problem and he immediately sent t me out for another 4 laps that were awesome! Super fast, hitting my marks and just having fun! Also if you are distracted that the max speed on the RWRE are only 125 – 130 and the Petty cars go 130−145…don’t be cause I could not tell… however I did know.
All in all it was an amazing time and I would love a chance at doing it again without falling behind the group with the gear issue. The staff was amazing (a bit disorganized at times but thats what delays do), the format was far superior than the Richard Petty program, and I had fun. I will do it again for sure.