Four Time Zones, Three Provinces, Nine States: The Longest GR Track Experience Journey Ever

Next time you get the urge to complain about how far away a track is, think about how far Luke Johnson had to go to take advantage of his GR Experience.

Johnson spent six days driving his Toyota GR Corolla, crossing four time zones, two international borders, nine U.S. states, three Canadian provinces and logging more than 4,800 miles to reach Watkins Glen International, the storied New York track he had memorized in video games.

A resident of Eagle River, Alaska, with the nearest road course about 2,000 miles away, Johnson decided to turn his complimentary GR Track Experience into an adventure. With a full roof rack and the inside of the Corolla packed with spare tires, food, clothes and camping equipment, Johnson was prepared for the drive ahead.

“He did mention he’s from Alaska,” said George Menabde, Johnson’s instructor at the Glen. “But I never for a second imagined the guy actually meant he was driving from Alaska.”

Alaska Racing Scene

When it comes to racing in Alaska, competitors basically have a choice between drag or oval-track racing. Because of the short racing season and small motorsports population, Alaska doesn’t have a track with a dedicated road course.

So, racers like Johnson either do autocross or must drive thousands of miles to get their road course racing fix. When the free day of HPDE and NASA membership arrived in the mail after Johnson bought a GR Corolla and Johnson knew it would be a long haul, but he wasn’t going to pass it up.

“I still had to drive over 2,000 miles to get to any track,” Johnson said. “So, in my head if I was going to drive that far, I might as well go to my favorite track from every video game or race I watched.”

Racing to the Border

Driving from Alaska to the Lower 48 isn’t for the faint of heart, but Johnson knows the Alaska Highway better than most motorists. Johnson has traveled the roadway since he was a kid, visiting family every summer in Oklahoma.

When he left his home north of Anchorage in early October, Johnson already had snow tires on his car. His goal was to get quickly through Canada and re-enter the U.S. at the North Dakota border. Johnson drove at least 12 hours a day, either camping or sleeping in his Corolla at rest stops. He pulled off the road for an hour at dusk and sunrise, trying to reduce his chance of striking an animal. Johnson saw a brown bear, caribou and plenty of bison on his trip.

“I was stopping for everything, just having fun,” Johnson said.

Windy City Arrival

Johnson designed his trip to stop over in Chicago to get his Toyota GR Corolla ready for his track day at Watkins Glen International.

He took his car to LIMIT+1 and got better brake pads, swapping the snow tires for new wheels and tires. Johnson had a new exhaust intake installed and got the Corolla tuned. After the tuning shop finished its work, Johnson took the car to the local dealership for its 20,000-mile service. The Corolla got new oil and fluids, and Johnson still had an 11-hour drive to the track in upstate New York, though he made time for a side trip to see Niagara Falls.

Welcome to Watkins Glen

Eager to get on track, Johnson arrived at Watkins Glen around lunchtime only to be told to come back at 6 p.m. when the track opened. Johnson had never been to a track before, so learning track etiquette was like drinking from a fire hose.

“I was pretty excited, but I didn’t quite read the itinerary close enough,” he said.

Once Johnson got onto the grounds, he set up his campsite. Being on the road for more than three weeks, Johnson did everything he could to contain costs. “I brought a bunch of dehydrated food so I wouldn’t be eating out every day,” he said.

Johnson caught up with his GR Track Experience instructor, George Menabde, who was prepping his own car for the NASA Northeast Region event. They would meet up in the next morning for a track session that Johnson will never forget.

Breakthrough Speed

Before the GR Track Experience started on Friday morning, Menabde drove Johnson’s car to show him the Toyota GR Corolla’s capabilities.

“He drove the absolute hell out of my car. It was awesome,” Johnson said. “He pulled out on track, and he’s flying by people, sliding it around. It was pretty incredible because I was stoked just to see what it could do.

“It really helped me the whole rest of the day when I was driving, knowing that I could push it harder than I was because I watched him in my car.”

Knowing it was Johnson’s first time ever on track, Menabde said his goal was to get Johnson comfortable. “I was a student at one point, and when the instructor drove my car, it helped me understand the limits of the cars that I owned,” Menabde said.

In the classroom session, Johnson received a quick rundown on everything from the flags to braking zones. The instruction reminded him to be aware of the surroundings.

“Everybody wants to go out there and be a racecar driver, but you didn’t have to,” Johnson said. “If you didn’t feel comfortable, you could slow up and let people by.”

Extended Play

When word spread through the paddock that Johnson had driven all the way from Alaska, fellow racers rallied to get him an extra track day. NASA Northeast officials made it happen.

Johnson also was paired with HPDE instructor Mony Sar, who thought he had the longest trip, towing from Florida to New York. “The two farthest guys were together for the day, so it worked out,” Sar said.

Sar worked with Johnson on the track, encouraging him to turn the Corolla’s driver assistance systems off. On the last session of the day, Sar had Johnson turn off the traction control.

“I wanted him to kind of just experience the car in its raw form and then to see what it was capable of,” Sar said.

Driver Improvement

Even if a GR Track Experience student never returns to the track, instructors hope they leave as better drivers.

Menabde, Johnson’s first instructor, said he could see his student’s confidence grow in each track session. Not only was Johnson gaining speed, his braking skills improved.

“When we first started, he was braking before the checkered flag,” Menabde said with a laugh. “After a couple of sessions, I’d say he had the most pace in the group.”

With the coaching from his instructors, Johnson’s lap times kept improving. Johnson said he picked up 20 mph going into the Esses at Watkins Glen.

“I got a lot more comfortable after the first (session), all the nerves kind of washed out,” Johnson said. “As a guy that drives on the road and has never driven on the track, yanking the steering wheel and turning it into a corner hard at 90 mph really doesn’t make sense in my head.”

Soaking up the Paddock

From the moment Johnson was introduced in the driver’s meeting from Alaska, the NASA racers welcomed him as one of their own.

“We had a lot of conversations with him regarding his trip,” Sar said. “It’s a testament to him to drive from Alaska to New York and track it all weekend.”

Racers were offering Johnson food and drinks, and the 27-year-old joined the Super Touring 5 group for an Oktoberfest party in the paddock.

“Everybody thought it was pretty cool I was from Alaska,” Johnson said. “I was walking around, and everybody was super nice. I would just hang out and talk to everybody.”

When Johnson wasn’t in the classroom, he spent the weekend watching the races from different vantage points around the track. Packing up on Sunday morning to start the 4,800-mile trip back home to Alaska, Johnson got a last taste of NASA.

“The guys that were camping next to me made breakfast, which was awesome,” he said.

Future Racer?

As soon as Johnson started heading back to Alaska, he started thinking of how he could get to more tracks.

While Johnson was able to take 2 1/2 weeks off work from the school district where he does general maintenance, it’s not something he could do every year. With relatives in Iowa, Johnson is considering putting a car there and flying in for a race weekend.

“I don’t have to be fast, I’m not racing,” he said. “I’m just having fun.”

Watkins Glen was everything Johnson had hoped for when he set out on the trip.

“It was awesome,” Johnson said. “I’ve driven it a few thousand times in video games, but it doesn’t compare to being on the real track.”