I could barely hear the TWS announcer through the exhaust racket emanating from about 50 barely muffled engines. I look down the main paddock road and can see the big green card at the end of the staging area indicating that ‘green’ group drivers needed to take their place in the grid. The green group was for the least experienced drivers — followed by blue, yellow, and white in order of advancing driving ability. I’m in the green group

This is actually the second green group session. The first session was supposed to be a couple of laps with the instructor driving (green group drivers are required to have instructors in the cars with them) to give the drivers a track survey and show turn-in points and corner apexes, etc — then the instructor and driver trade places. But I flooded the car, couldn’t get it started, and was late to stage for the first session. By the time the instructor drove two or three orientation laps, the green group track time was used up. Now it’s time for the second green group track session — and this time I’m driving. I had just bought the Pantera two weeks ago and here I am putting my very significant investment with its ding-free, shiny red fenders on a racetrack. My wife thinks I’m crazy. I can’t exactly argue with her.

When I get to the grid, I realize I’m in the same group with Kirby Schrader’s and Tom Upton’s Panteras. Both are very experienced drivers with hot cars but have gotten stuck with the ‘newbies’ because the more advanced groups filled up with Porsches (the Porsche Club did sponsor the event so they got to put their guys in first). Upton’s driving his full-race, 600+ hp red screamer that’s so low a snake couldn’t get under it. Upton’s car is terrifically loud. Kirby has spent the prior two weeks installing an EFI setup and is trying to get the fuel map set. Even more impressive is the fact that Kirby’s instructor is so big that he has to remove the passenger seat to get him in the car. The instructor doesn’t seem to mind sitting on the floor pans though and I think the seat belt fits him better that way.

I’m waved out of the grid, on to the pit road, then out on the track near turn 1 at the end of the banked front straight. The Pantera is very cold-blooded and not completely up to temp so it stumbles badly for about half a lap then cleans up. The first lap is under a yellow flag and Viking, my instructor, is showing me the proper line through the turns and forcing me to wave at the corner workers (which I haven’t learned to even notice yet). By the second lap I’m starting to really like this track stuff. I’ve always been a back-road racer but have never actually driven on a real live racetrack before. I begin to hit the turn-ins and apexes better. I’m getting more comfortable and going faster every time around. Am I good or what !!

By the fourth lap I’m hoping that there are some Formula One scouts hiding in the stands looking for an up-and-coming new driver for their team. I’ve actually passed several 911’s and a Corvette. This track stuff is great. Faster, faster. Then I blast into Turn 11 way too hot and lift off the throttle to slow down. The back end swings around - I correct and pull it back. Uh-oh, too much correction. The rear snaps back the other way and I do an almost perfect 180. Now I’m looking at the cars that were behind me through the front windshield. The engine’s stalled because I didn’t get the clutch in quickly enough and I can’t get it restarted. I wave at Kirby as he glides by with his seatless instructor.

Finally I get the car going again and Viking asks me if I understand what just happened. I say, "Yep, too much speed in the turn and then I lifted". I’ve just learned the number one rule of mid-engine cars: NEVER LIFT IN A TURN. I drive the rest of the session in a much more controlled manner, trying to absorb Viking’s suggestions on picking the right line, driving smoothly, and accelerating through the corners. This is harder than I thought. Driving fast is easy. Driving quickly is much more difficult. Maybe Formula One will have to wait a while.

After a few more laps the green session ends. The cars funnel off the track and onto the pit road. I weave through the paddock to the coned-off ‘Pantera Only’ area. I’m just about to explode with adrenaline. When I get out of the car I’m immediately congratulated by the rest of the Pantera crowd for spinning a brand new car (new to me) my first time out. I feel this bizarre mixture of cool and stupid at the same time. I also discover I’m not the only Pantera driver who has spun their car. I guess if you don’t spin then you must not be going fast enough. But driving a very fast, great handling car like the Pantera at speed has been an awesome experience. I’m instantly ready to go again but the track shuts down for lunch. Bummer.

My wife Marilyn soon arrives with our two daughters, Kate (age 6) and Caroline (age 1.5). Much to my dismay, they have just missed out on the parade lap tour of the track. Instead, Kate spent the afternoon hanging out with Team Pantera Racing and discovered that very loud, very fast cars are very cool. She also collected autographs from all the famous Pantera racecar drivers, including me. Meanwhile Caroline, the toddler, figured out that the best place to take a nap was in Kirby Schrader’s dismounted passenger side Recarro, which was sitting on the tarmac in the shade.

The next two green group sessions on Saturday were spent learning to use the whole width of the track and attempting to drive as smoothly as possible — even though that meant slowing down. Eventually I began to recognize where the correct line through each turn was but I couldn’t seem to put the car there consistently. Viking, my driving instructor, was extremely knowledgeable and somehow managed to notice and correct my mistakes constructively (probably while holding on for dear life). He even invited me to ride with him for a few laps in his Porsche 993. It was during that ride that I really began to appreciate how ‘smooth’ and ‘quick’ are related. By the end of the day, I had gradually begun to increase my speed around the track and was running much more confidently and quickly. My wife, who only notices automobiles when they’re broken, even surprised me by mentioning that my lap times had improved. When I asked her how she could possibly know that, she told me that she had been timing me with her wristwatch. Amazing. I wonder if I can get her to help me bleed the brakes now.

My driving improvement continued through the first two sessions on Sunday with Viking managing to gently tone down my overly enthusiastic driving style. Once at the beginning of a session I ended up behind Kirby Schrader (still stuck in the green group) and was surprised that I could keep right up with him. I was actually beginning to think I was pretty hot stuff again until Kirby finally passed the car holding him up and then disappeared into the distance within about 20 seconds. Viking comments that the guy in the silver Pantera is pretty quick. The track gods quickly moved Kirby up two classes to the yellow group. I guess Kirby will probably get that Formula One slot instead of me. Bummer again.

By the end of the second Sunday run I had managed to learn that you can actually dive down off the banked front straight at speed and still burn through Turns 1 and 2 without dying - but not without some hairy moments. Overall though I think I am driving much more cleanly. I can usually anticipate and set-up the turns pretty well, turn-in at mostly the right spot, accelerate through the curve, and then blast up the straight to the next turn. Best of all, I can almost always tell when I don’t take the right line. The highlight of the day is when Viking compliments my progress and tells me that I’m now running faster than anyone else in the green group. Of course, Upton and Schrader have by now been moved out of green into the more advanced groups and it’s clear that I have a lot more car than most the Porsche drivers. Still, it’s a nice comment. Unfortunately, my driving day ends shortly after when the Pantera’s engine began to run rough and I had to pit early.

All things considered (what is this, NPR ?), it was an absolutely fantastic weekend. The Pantera track presence was very strong with 6 cars running (including Top Upton’s and Gray Gregory’s awesome racers). Dennis Antenucci flew in from California with Steve Donegan and was driving fast and furious in Gray’s street Pantera. Dennis also sold Team Pantera Racing caps and t-shirts out of a box from the trunk of his rental car (gotta pay for that plane ticket somehow). Donegan couldn’t find a car to drive but managed to bum a ride in the white group with John Taphorn - who promptly showed him what it’s like to see the track going backwards. Steve was glad that with supreme foresight he had put on his Nomex before getting into the car. Gray Gregory’s red racer was incredibly fast and by far the loudest car on the track. Gray’s trailer full of tools and supplies were available to everyone for the entire weekend. Kirby Schrader continued to drive quickly even while tuning the fuel map on his new EFI setup. Kirby got some unexpected help with the fuel adjustments from Mr. Big, his seatless instructor, when his posterior came into contact with the EFI mixture control knob on the floor. Oops. Tom Upton ran faster both days with expert help from master engine builder Joe Halliday. Last but not least, John Taphorn, the self proclaimed spin-meister, spun his Pantera twice, then followed up by borrowing Gray Gregory’s racer and spinning twice more — once under yellow on the warm up lap. A weekend total of 1260 degrees of rotation according to John. We all accepted his explanation that he just liked doing donuts.

In all there were over 25 Pantera enthusiasts in attendance. John Haas, Richard Greenblum, Rick Inserra, and Jim ?? (sorry I missed the last name) drove their Panteras to add to the TWS contingent. Jack and Robin Tunnell, from whom I recently purchased my Pantera and who are currently shopping for a racer, drove down from Dallas and got out on the track with the dually during the parade lap. Zack Zinter, a Ft. Worth Pantera owner, volunteered as a cornerworker and helped troubleshoot the sick David Bell Pantera. Martin Machin brought his two daughters with him from the Woodlands and identified an ignition problem on the same car (loose plug wires). Martin is just about to fire up his recently purchased but long time idled Pantera. Bill Bitner crawled into the engine bay to help John Taphorn reset his valve lash. Dennis Coffin arrived from Nacogdoches, Texas, lent a hand where ever needed and picked up a set of 17" wheels and tires for his Pantera. Allen and Marylynne Brown, Michael Frazier and Delores, John Holmes, and others jumped in as pit crews and generally cheered everyone on. Don Franck and Bill Borello joined in the pre-race send off at Papacito’s Thursday night. It could not have heen better. The Pantera Club is a great, dedicated group willing to chip in and help at any time. In particular, John Taphorn and Kirby Schrader went out of their way to help get my car race ready in the two weeks before TWS.

I’ll admit that as a first timer on a racetrack, I was initially very nervous about putting my precious Pantera in harms way. Over the course of the weekend though and with the help and encouragement of Team Pantera Racing, I was surprised that I was pushing the car and myself harder and harder. Instead of a car that sits under a cover and gets driven to work once and a while, I’m now secretly planning for the next track event. Let’s see — I need a 10 quart oil pan, and definitely some wider wheels with sticky tires, and Kirby’s EFI is really nice, and …. hey, where’s that Summit Racing catalog anyway ??