IMS Radio Voice Experiences St. Pete
Mike King of the IMS Radio Network recently took a spin around the Streets of St. Pete in the Indy Racing Experience 2-seater and was impressed to say the least

Related:  Drive with Davey:  Streets of St. Pete

In the words of Mike King, from indycar.com

It looks easy, but it isn't. You think you can do it, but you can't. It just can't be that difficult … but it is.

I re-learned a valuable lesson in St. Petersburg. I can't drive an IndyCar Series or Firestone Indy Lights car, and the men and women that do amaze me.

Two short laps in one of the Indy Racing Experience two-seaters with veteran driver Arie Luyendyk Jr. left me with a new appreciation for the skill that these guys bring to the track. Twenty-eight turns and 3.6 miles. That was all it took to make it abundantly clear that drivers are not like you and me.

Keep in mind that we were on the St. Pete street course by ourselves, turning laps 7 or 8 seconds slower than the times you'll be seeing on indycar.com during practice sessions. But even at that pace, it was difficult for me to imagine what it's like to be on track with more than 20 other cars blasting through the first three turns, then on to that downtown straight and into that right-hander that leads to the most technical part of the track.

I tried to observe as much as I could entering and exiting those turns, but truthfully I spent all of my strength just trying to hold my head straight up. I'm guessing it looked like Arie was giving a ride to a bobblehead.

I knew what was coming as we made our way through Turn 8. Acceleration, and lots of it. The speed in the Bayfront straight really gets your attention, and the kink that's labeled Turn 9? You never feel it.

You do not have time to look to your left and check out the yachts before you get to the braking zone for Turn 10. I completely underestimated how hard they get on the binders to make the left-hander. No sooner had my head whipped forward from the deceleration than it was thrown backward and side to side when Arie got back on the gas and ran through the 11-12 chicane almost flat.

Turns 13 and 14 bend you 180 degrees and feed you back on to the Albert Whitted Airport runway frontstraight -- the fastest, widest piece of real estate on the 1.8-mile course. But because there's so much room between Turns 14 and 1, it doesn't feel nearly as fast as the Bayfront straight section. At least that's what I was feeling in the car.

As we rolled back onto pit lane, all I could think to myself was "How do they do it?" How do these drivers go out there and control their race cars at these speeds, not for two laps but for 100?

It is a unique opportunity to experience a driver's world, if even for just a few minutes. To be terrified and thrilled simultaneously is an emotion that's difficult to describe.

Two laps. If all of you could strap in for just two laps here in St. Pete there would be no more squabbling by some fans about the insignificance of racing on road and street courses. You would understand the art and science of the discipline, and you would appreciate the drivers all the more.

We sit there as fans and we watch, and we imagine ourselves driving that car.

"I could do that," you say to yourself, "I could do that."

No you can't. Trust me.

The Indy Racing Experience 2-seater ride at St. Pete has sold out to the public, but footage of the in-car camera feed can be seen at top.  Take a spin around the Streets of St. Pete and let the Indy Racing Experience know what you think.  You can find us on Facebook and YouTube or follow us now on Twitter (@IRE2seater).  As always, information on the popular ride and drive programs is just a click away at www.indyracingexperience.com.

Tickets for the 2009 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg can be purchased by calling 866-INDYCAR or by logging on to www.indycar.com.  Be sure to check out Versus for the IndyCar Series qualification show at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday and the season-opening race on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.  Fans can also tune in and hear Indy Racing Experience driver Davey Hamilton along with Mike King and others on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.