DEARBORN - Adrenaline. Pure adrenaline. Two words that are rather fitting and perfectly sum up my experience at the Ford Performance Racing School’s RS Adrenaline Academy.

The day was April 4th, my birthday, and it only made sense to fly out to Utah for a one-day, once-in-a-lifetime experience at the famous racing school. I knew I had made it home when I walked into the lobby of the Comfort Inn hotel and saw a Porsche...just sitting there. I mean, how many times do you see a racing vehicle in your hotel lobby? I was ready. I was excited. I was pumped to get the day started.

The school wanted their students there for 5:30 with a dinner reception for 6. But, in typical Natasha fashion, I needed to show up exceptionally early (4:30pm to be exact). Luckily I did as the school also had some sweet eye candy waiting for me to drool over. You know, just the typical race/road cars: a classic Shelby Mustang, Fiesta ST, Focus RS, a Raptor, a Boss 302, and the cherry-on-top, a 1960s GT40…oh boy, was she ever a stunner.

Dinner was next, followed by a walkthrough of our day-long itinerary and instructions for April 5. Did I sleep that night? Absolutely not. I daydreamed of finding those perfect apexes, drifting corners, and auditioning for the next Top Gear Stig position. You know, the usual stuff.

7:30am – 8:45am

The next morning, at 7:30, the students made their way back to the school, eagerly waiting their turn to get into the driving seat. We were suited up and ready to take notes from worldclass instructors.

8:45am – 10:30am

We were divided into two groups with each group making their way into the Transit vans that patiently awaited future race car drivers. We made our way over to the East track, and our driver/instructor drove the course, stopping at reference pylons along the way.

Both groups made our way to our classroom garage where instructors gave us our first mission: follow the leader. Each group of students would be further divided into smaller groups: a GT350 would lead the pack, followed by 3-4 RS’ behind the legendary Mustang. After every lap, the first RS behind the Mustang would move to the left and allow the other RS’ to get their own turn behind those famous tri-bar tail lights. This would ensure that each driver would have the optimal racing line.

10:30am – 11:30am

Okay, enough hand-holding. Let’s get out there on our own. Each group had their own turn on the track, and with the GT350 training wheels off, we could take our RS’ to the limit. Once our three laps were completed, we had another three laps, but this time, our instructor sat passenger. Stay focused. Don’t mess up. You have a world-class instructor beside you, show him what you’ve got! #NailedIt

11:30am – 12:00pm

We all felt pretty confident going into that East track, but then it was time for the hot laps…you know, when you think you’re a pretty great driver, but then the instructor gets in the hot seat, and you’re sitting there thinking, “Wow. I felt like I was going 20mph compared to these guys!” They were pretty good. Okay, okay. Great. They were pretty darn great.

12:00pm – 12:45pm

Lunch time! We ate. We had some water. We were all fidgeting in our seats. “Can we go race now?”

12:45pm – 1:30pm

It was time. Three groups, three sections. Our first section was learning the three main driving modes: normal, sport, and track. Each driver would complete the course 8 times: 2 in normal, 2 in sport, 2 in track, and then 2 in normal again. This was to help us understand how the car handled differently depending on the mode you were driving in. Oh, boy, what a feeling (my favorite was track mode…obviously).

1:30 – 2:30

Can anyone say drift stick?! That was the beginning of the fourth driving mode: drift mode, which was next up on the docket. Okay, now it’s my chance to be like Ken Block. Close your eyes, Natasha. Okay, repeat after me, “Be like Ken Block. You ARE Ken Block.” Exhilarating can’t even begin to describe the feeling of drifting around corners. Can anyone lend me $1,000? Should I start a GoFundMe for one drift stick?

2:30pm – 3:30pm

Now it was time to “launch” into our next activity. Literally. We were all sent to a figure 8 that we needed to complete 4 times. Twice starting off the line in normal or sport mode and twice starting off the line in launch mode. I have never had so much fun in my life. You literally feel like you’ve been “launched” out of your seat.

3:40pm – 4:30pm

Last, but not least, it was the UrbanX. We needed to take all the skills we learned and put it to the test. It was a mini autocross course with chicanes, figure 8s, more chicanes…what a rush! We completed the course 4 times: once with our instructor to learn the course, 2 practice runs, and 1 final timed lap. The top three times were recorded and the winner won a suitable trophy: a pylon.

*Pylons were harmed during the autocross course. RIP pylons.

4:30pm – 5:00pm

The day was over and we were heading back to the classroom. We just had no idea what was waiting for us when we got there. Graduating gifts! Wait…Brembo calipers? Those aren’t REAL, are they?! Yup. We were given REAL calipers. How am I going to get this through airport security?!

The one-day racing school experience definitely needed to be extended to more days…or maybe I could just live there? That could work, too. In all seriousness, Ford always surprises me. I’ve been a blue oval girl for as long as I can remember. Programs like the Ford Performance Racing School makes me fall in love with this brand over and over again. As an RS owner, I neverthought I would receive an owners kit, let alone an owners kit with an invitation to such an amazing experience. When it arrived in the mail, I was over-the-moon. Although I bought the vehicle in 2017 and couldn’t book the school until 2018, I’ve been counting down the days ever since. Now that my racing school experience is over, my racing career is just starting to begin. Already trying to figure out ways I can make it back out to the school and try out something completely different: like the Raptor Assault!

The school, the instructors, the experience — truly incredible and really made “that adrenaline rush” stronger than ever. Thank you, Ford.