Danny McKeever’s FAST LANE Racing School has teamed up with Toyota for the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in April, which is part of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. FAST LANE Racing School will be in charge of preparing the mix of celebrities for the race event with a four-day high performance course where they will learn the basics like skid control all the way to advanced techniques like heel-toe downshifting. The celebrity race is Saturday, April 19th 2008, with the champ race following on Sunday, April 20th, 2008.
In addition to offering race courses, FAST LANE Racing School also provides courses for new/teen drivers. Their Defensive Driving Academy, an extension of FAST LANE, is also involved in the “development and management of Toyota Driving Expectations, a free program offered to teens and parents throughout the United States.”
Press release follows for more on FAST LANE Racing School and the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race:
An eclectic roster of stars of film, television and sports will strap into brand new race-ready Scion tCs to vie for the checkered flag in the world’s longest-running, most successful celebrity racing event: the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race on Saturday, April 19, part of the 34th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
For the 23rd year, Danny McKeever and FAST LANE Racing School, the Official Racing School of Toyota Motorsports, will provide all driver training for this coveted event. Participants are required to attend a four-day high performance course at FAST LANE, where they will prepare for their racing adventure in Long Beach, CA, April 20. Regardless of previous experience, all participants start with the basics such as braking and skid control, and work their way up to advanced racing techniques, such as heel-toe downshifting, passing and simulated race starts.
“It’s the camaraderie that occurs in these four days of training that makes this event special,” said Mckeever, a 40-year teaching veteran and CEO of FAST LANE. “To watch a NASCAR pro like Mike Skinner or Todd Bodine come out along side of someone who barely knows how to drive a manual transmission, and watch each participant meet or exceed their personal limits is exciting and rewarding.”
Based at Willow Springs Raceway (just north of Los Angeles), FAST LANE offers various courses in driver training, from a Teen Defensive Driving School to Advanced Racing Schools and everything in between. Racing school participants can be taught in the same race-prepared Toyota Celicas that were previously used in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, or have the option of bringing their own high performance car. Either way, these courses are guaranteed to get the adrenaline pumping with high performance driving techniques such as high-speed cornering, extreme braking and ultimate skid control.
The Defensive Driving Academy educates new drivers in advanced behind-the-wheel driving skills. The one-day course explores the dynamics of a vehicle, exploring ultimate cause and effect behind-the-wheel. It’s a safe environment where these young drivers can experience a vehicle out of control as slower speeds and learn how to recover properly.
“Our driver education system does not prepare new drivers as well as it could,” explains McKeever, who opened the doors of Defensive Driving Academy nearly five years ago as an extension of FAST LANE. “We continue to improve the safety and technology of our vehicles, and we need to give that same attention to the new drivers. They can greatly benefit from these additional skills training.”
Defensive Driving Academy is also proud to be involved in the development and management of Toyota Driving Expectations, a free program offered to teens and parents throughout the United States.
2008 Pro/Celebrity Participants
Drew Lachey
Raymond Cruz
Wilmer Valderrama
Eric Dickerson
John Salley
Daniel Goddard
Jamie Little
Nancy Lieberman
Brad Lewis
William Fichtner
