Our long-term Dodge Viper and I made it safely to the beautiful desert town of Pahrump, Nevada, about a four-hour drive from southern California, ready for the Viper Days event in which I'd be taking part in a Performance Driving School.
Not much to note on the road, other than the fact that the Viper's cupholder is completely useless at holding drinks in place during any kind of spirited acceleration--it's more of a "cupstander" than a holder, as I have yet to find a drink that won't fall out. Also, sixth gear is so tall it's utterly useless at anything near legal speeds, while any kind of large bump sends the Viper's rear end a-rockin.'
Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch has quickly become a top-notch facility, location notwithstanding. For the Viper Days weekend, we used a 3.1 mile configuration that is without doubt the most technically challenging track I've ever driven. Even the most serious Viper racers said the track's combo of high-speed and low-speed sections and multiple super-late apexes was giving them headaches.
Things kicked off with a driver's meeting explaining the day's events, followed by the chance to drive a few laps around the track at street speeds to see the layout. Drifter and rally racer Tanner Foust, who was on hand as a Celebrity Driver in the Viper Cup series, was kind enough to give myself and another journalist a ride around the track in a Dodge Ram. Although Foust had only driven a couple of rainy sessions the day prior in his Viper Cup car, he already seemed to have the track dialed and was extremely giving of useful information regarding line choice, braking points and the proper gear to be in.
While this was going on, the Dodge race crew was looking over Edmunds' long-term Viper, getting it tech'ed, numbers affixed and tire pressures set. In the process, they determined its clutch is just about done, guessing it wouldn't make it through the weekend. I blame Paul Tracy, as he drove this exact car during the shooting of Battle of the Supercars.
My instructor for the day, the very lively Jim Garrett, an ALMS racer and Viper GTS owner from Austin, Texas, was easy to work with. Unfortunately the first two sessions were kept at a painfully slow pace. The first session because instructors needed to gauge their students competence level; the second session because apparently some people have a hard time with the concept of "point-bys" to let faster folks pass. Frustrating!
Garrett's instruction was helpful, even if his suggested lines didn't always match up with Foust's from earlier in the day. More than anything, it was educational to experience just how insanely late you can brake in a bone-stock Viper. One other tidbit: While the Viper-loving instructors will be the first to tell you that Dodge's supercar has few peers when it comes to accelerating, turning and braking, they also admit that part of what makes a Viper so hard to master is that, unlike many cars, the Viper isn't good at doing any two of those things at the same time.
As far as the students: All manner, young to old, men and women, and from varying driving backgrounds. But they all seemed to share one common goal: Tame the beast that is a Viper.
The Viper driving school is fairly reasonable cost-wise. A single day costs $300, which includes four on-track sessions with an instructor as well as three short classroom sessions throughout the day; the two-day event will run you $450. For added fun, drivers can compete in the Challenge Series (a solo, timed format event) once they've successfully completed the driving school.
And for sure, $300 beats wrapping your Viper around a telephone pole, no?
The Viper coupe ready to go through the tech line. And yes, that's a Panoz two cars behind it; Viper Days isn't exclusive to Vipers.
Driver's meeting first thing in the morning.
The Edmunds Viper getting its lucky number 27.
Tanner Foust gives pointers as to the fast way around Spring Mountain, while driving a Dodge Ram pickup. He said he could take the scary "Drop" section of the track at full throttle in his Viper Cup race car.
ptcdawg says:
06:23 AM, 10/26/10
A cupholder has no place in this car. The fact that you complain about it tells me about all I need to know.
jeepsrt says:
07:34 AM, 10/26/10
I was thinking the same thing ptcdawg.
stingray454 says:
07:48 AM, 10/26/10
Very cool. "27" is the same number I use on my Z06 and CTS-V when I take them to HPDEs.
That is a good price for the school too.
jkavanagh says:
10:00 AM, 10/26/10
ptcdawg, 668 words of this 705-word post pertain to tracking a Viper. The fact that you complain about the 37 words that don't tells me about all I need to know.
matt310 says:
10:03 AM, 10/26/10
The first photo reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Marge is a cop. Courtesy of IMDB:
Marge: [thinking] Everywhere I look, someone is breaking the law. Dog, no leash. Man, littering. Horse, not wearing diaper. Car parked across three handicap spaces...
[out loud]
Marge: Homer!
Homer: Hey, Marge. How's my little piglet?
Marge: Homer, I'm on duty.
Homer: [chuckles] That's OK, I'm supposed to be working, too.
Marge: You have to move your car.
Homer: I'll just be a second, Marge, I'm going to get some beer for those kids over there.
[Dolph, Jimbo, and Kearney all give the thumbs-up]
Marge: I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that, but you have to move your car, now.
Homer: I'll be right back. Now keep your eyes peeled for a real cop.
Marge: Oh, that's it! I'm going to write you a ticket.
Homer: But Marge, we're family!
Marge: You're breaking the law.
I'm sure you could have found a better place for a photo, no? A Viper sprawled across handicap parking spots is just plain...retarded.
Sorry, I had to.
fst1 says:
12:01 PM, 10/26/10
@matt310: Really? That's retarded? The guy needed a picture in front of the sign, so no, he couldn't have found a better place for a photo.
charlesncharge says:
04:52 PM, 10/26/10
@fst1 & jkavanagh: Don't you guys think you're possibly being a bit overly defensive for a couple of Edmunds' employees?
I'm sure the new guy can defend himself if need be. I mean he used to be at Road&Track, now he's evidently there at Edmunds, so I'd imagine a move like that takes a lot of courage, not to mention driving a 600hp Viper on a very technical track!
oldno7 says:
05:53 PM, 10/26/10
Actually charles, I was kinda thinking the same thing. BUT, to tell the truth I'm surprised the editors don't go commenting more often, calling out stupid comments made by people that totally miss the point.
Mike Monticello drove a Viper to a track and then drove it on a track while every other IL editor has a problem not parking it in their driveway. Mr. Monticello happens to comment on a badly designed cupholder that bugged him during a 4 hour drive and that's what the first response from someone is? Insinuating that Mike is somehow a lesser driver and not serious about the Viper because he knocked a crappy cupholder?
He also staged a photo in front of an empty building across three empty parking spaces. Because of this horrible act, his actions were called retarded. Using that word is already pretty low class but to nitpick about parking over three spaces for 60 seconds to take a photo? That's pretty amazing.
Since no one else has asked, how fast did you go Mike? What were the faster cars there, besides the race cars?
skunkworks says:
09:15 PM, 10/26/10
This is an OUTSTANDING comprehensive automotive website, the fact they would A:Have a long Term Viper in the fleet and B:Take it to spring mountain and share the experience with us is 100% BADASS in this guy's opinion. Thank you all for putting in the effort to create such a quality experience.