I have always loved to drive, beginning with my little red pedal car when I was 5. My love affair with Porsche began in my late teens. A friend of mine had an adorable 911 he called “The Silver Bullet”. I loved the way it sounded, the way it smelled and the way it felt out on the road. One day we were zipping around when we came up behind a very slow Cadillac on a wide exit ramp. He said “Hang on!” and neatly proceeded to execute a pass. I was momentarily terrified but thrilled at the same time.

Fast forward to nine years ago. After 30 years of marriage, two grown children, not retiring, but having more free time, Dennis and I decided to buy a 1996 Porsche 993 Cabriolet. We thought it would be fun for Sunday drives together. We joined PCA and soon learned about Autocross. What a great start to our adventure! Getting more familiar with what our car could do was outstanding. We also attended a Car Control Clinic which further helped us explore braking, turning and tire adhesion limits. Someone mentioned that PCA sponsors events in which you could learn to drive your car on the track and we were intrigued. Dennis signed up and drove, I tagged along, went for an incentive ride, and that was it! We fell in love with DE (Drivers Education) and have been having the time of our lives ever since.

I still remember my first event as a Green driver at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Waiting to go out on the track with my first instructor, Matt, my stomach was in knots. HOW DID I GET MYSELF INTO THIS MESS?!?!?! What was going to happen? Could I really do this? My instructor was kind and patient. He taught me how to navigate the corners and other cars at my own pace. Wow, it was awesome! I gained a bit of confidence. The second day of the event it rained and I was terrified all over again. I had a different instructor, John, who was also fabulous as he taught me to drive in the rain. He even made it fun! Having overcome my fear of driving on the track with other cars and in the rain, I knew I was going to be able to do DE.