If you are looking for a summer activity for your driving-age child while school is out that will better prepare them for adult life and provide an exhilarating experience that they will never forget, the Radford Racing School Advanced Teen Driving program is the perfect option. While “racing school” in a 797-horsepower Dodge Challenger might not be what every parent envisions when worrying about their child’s driving ability, the Radford program provides car control skills that have a direct impact on everyday driving habits. The foundation of racing is rooted in the same philosophies and skills that are needed to be a safer and better prepared driver on the roads and Radford instructors are some of the best in the world at teaching those skills.
In fact, even for adult students attending Radford Racing School’s most popular Performance Driving classes, the majority of the driving time during the first two days are braking, turning, shifting and throttle application exercises on a massive skidpad – not on one of the dedicated racetracks. Only after students have mastered each of the key components of car control under the close watch of Radford’s instructors do they head onto the track, and those car control aspects directly apply to better, safer daily driving practices.
Every parent would like their child to be a good driver, but the average strip mall driving school with a mid-sized sedan that smells like 20 vanilla air fresheners is neither fun nor exciting. When children aren’t really interested in what they are being taught, they are less likely to pay attention to and grasp the concepts being presented. On the other hand, the fact that Radford Racing School’s Advanced Teen Driving program takes place in a Dodge Challenger SRT® Hellcat Redeye makes this educational program a whole lot more fun and interesting than just about any other teen driving program out there.
We spoke with Matt McAlear, whose son recently attended Radford Racing School’s Advanced Teen Driving Program. Matt attended the school at the same time, with the father participating in the traditional Performance Driving class alongside his son, who was working with an instructor in the teen program. Both the Advanced Teen Driving program and the Performance Driving programs are available as a 1-, 2- or 3-day program. Since McAlear’s son was the only student in the teen class that week, going through the 3-day program, the school ran his class sessions alongside his dad’s, with the key difference being that the instructor taught the teen at a different pace than the adult students. The fact that Radford can have a father and son who are technically taking two different courses go through the programs together shows how well the school can adapt their programs to meet the needs of their customers – while also showcasing how much of the Radford theory applies to all their courses.
We started by asking McAlear why he decided to have his son attend Radford Racing School’s Advanced Teen Driving program and what his son thought of participating in the program.
“There are several reasons for this; one being that I went through the school a few years back when it was the Bondurant School with my wife and valued the skills that it taught. I understood while it is marketed as a “Racing” school, it is truly more about car control and making him a better driver. I want him to have the freedom of being a 16-year-old with a car but don’t want him experiencing challenging situations or emergencies for the first time on his own without practicing them first. The other reason is that as my sons get older, I am realizing that there are only so many years left before they move out and I wanted to do something special together that he will hopefully remember for the rest of his life.
“He was over-the-top excited and couldn’t stop talking about it. Probably the thing he was most excited about was driving a Hellcat and the idea that he was going to ‘Racing’ school.”
Next, we asked McAlear what he and his son thought of the experience of attending Radford.
“It was a lot of work and we both had a great experience. Being my second time was fantastic personally to build on skills and continue to push myself. For him, it was great to see him progress and truly learn new skills. He reveled more in the car control part of the class and enjoyed emergency braking, slalom, high-speed lane change, and autocross, over the racetrack. He was doing things he had been told about in drivers ed and watched videos on but had never actually had the chance to perform or try. Being a new driver, the racetrack was more challenging than he expected but it didn’t diminish how much fun he had or learned. He still drove a Hellcat with a professional racecar driver, did lead-follow and got to push himself to his limits.
“It was a fantastic three days and I hope to be able to take my 14-year-old there in a couple of years. It gave him more respect for cars in general and he got to hear it from someone besides his dad.”
McAlear went on to explain that while it may have been his sons first time at a school like Radford, he did have some experience that helped get him ready for one of the most fun aspects of the program, the skid car simulator.
“He has always enjoyed the challenge of learning new skills and has been fortunate to spend time growing up driving snowmobiles, quads, dirt bikes, and UTVs. His time sliding those around on the ice and dirt roads helped him do very well in the skid control simulator and he will definitely be better prepared if it happens to him in a real situation.”
Finally, we asked Matt McAlear what his son’s favorite aspect of the Radford Advanced Teen Driving program.
“He loved the autocross course and his instructor. I think as a young kid getting to listen to a ‘professional racecar driver’ instead of your dad is pretty neat. As for the autocross course, it was more about technical skill vs. high speed. I noticed when he got out on the track, it was still intimidating for a teenager to push it at high speed with a big car like a Challenger. The autocross course was better for him because the worst that happens is you knock over a few cones.”
If you want your teenager to learn from some of the best instructors in the world, the Radford Racing School Advanced Teen Driving program is the way to go and it is certainly a whole lot more fun than the average summer camp. Best of all, Radford is running special discount pricing right now, so your child (or you) can attend the legendary racing school with lower prices than in the winter months.
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