Mark Murphy ... It's my wife's fault... she bought me a day at the race track and now I'm competing!
Posted on May 19 2025
How Did I Start?
I never had any real interest in cars, until I took my kids to Lime Rock Park (LRP) back in 2009. Instead of them, I was the one who got hooked. Six months later my wife purchased me a track day, and it took off from there. Initially renting for the occasional HPDE, then purchasing a Sports Car for HPDE, then a Spec Miata. At first only for HPDE but eventually trying the Club Racing Experience (CRE) for a few weekends with the SCCA. It was a great experience, and I highly recommend it for someone on the fence. The program allows you to bypass the racing schools, and that led straight to my Novice Permit and eventually a full Competition License.
My Favorite Car for the Track
I've driven a few cars at the track. An M3 early on and an open wheel car with Skip Barber, even a high-performance front wheel drive Civic, but my Spec Miata is still the one I enjoy the most. Sitting in a racing seat, with the shoulder harnesses pulled down tight, really connects you to the car and allows you to really enjoy every aspect of the car, and the track.
My Favorite Track
I've been lucky to get to a number of them over the years, but I think my favorite is still Watkin's Glen. The track has a little bit of everything as far as straights, corners and elevation changes and there is so much history there. It's where F1 began in the U.S, and if you get the chance, you can still drive the Original Road course that winds through the surrounding town. The Seneca Lodge is a cool place to grab dinner also. Lot of history there from the glory days of F1.
The Best Track Day Experience
I would say either the first time I went to the Glen or the first time I raced with the CRE program at Palmer in MA. My first track day at LRP was fun, but it was only me and another driver on the track. When I showed up at the Glen it was 200 other drivers' and countless types of cars. The night before I was admiring some guy's Porsche at my motel after dinner and the next day, he turned out to be my instructor. After lunch he took me around the Glen at speed in his 911. I knew after that weekend driving home that this was something I was going to do the rest of my life.
The Worst Experience
Last year I had a pretty bad crash at Palmer in my Miata. I was going down the front straight flat out and hit the brakes heading into Turn 1. My upper control arm on my driver side rear tire snapped from fatigue and I went sideways into a tire wall, then another. Luckily all the safety equipment, and the tire walls worked as designed. The first tire wall slowed me down before I hit the second one, but the car was pretty smashed up and had to be towed in. Worse than that, the Han's devise isn't designed to protect a sideways impact and I didn't have a Halo seat. The result was my neck ended up with a pretty serious case of whiplash that took some time to heal, and it's still a little creaky even a year later.
Advice for Newcomers
- Focus on the basic's in the beginning.
- Run a good line, work on your corner exit speed definitely focus on keeping the eyes up and pointed on where you want to go, not where the car is going. I know it sounds like a cliche, but it's true, especially when the car get's loose, it will help you get the car back under control.
- Don't get too hung up on something if it's not coming instantly. My toe-heel still isn't text book but it' gets the job done.
- When your ready get some coaching, I recommend Ross Bentley's classes online "Speed Secrets". He coaches some of the best Pro's in the world and his classes are live, interactive and affordable.
- If you work the drills, you will improve and dramatically. I would argue it's money better spent then on Data early on, that is until you are at that point.
About Me
I live in CT. I'm married, almost 35 years. Father of three boys. My guys are all in their Mid-20's to early 30's. I'm a corporate accountant by trade. Before this, I used to ski, golf, play tennis and or fish, but that all changed in my mid-40's.
Although I recently, after 40 years, finally checked one other thing off my list and got certified for Scuba Diving. In a weird way it's kind of like HPDE and Racing. It's highly technical which I like, and of course get's the juice's flowing, but it's something I can incorporate into vacations and travel and similar to Driving, it's allowed me to meet a lot of really interesting people.
Conclusion
I think JP mentioned it in his Blog. I think the thing I enjoy almost, if not more than the driving is the culture of Driving and the people I've met and the place's I've gone. There's a lot of really cool people and interesting history around the sport and I don't know anyone who's ever gotten involved who's every gotten sick of it. So that tells me something.
Mark Murphy
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