Unorganized. Cars were breaking down one by one. Finally just one car was running. Sat around for hours in the heat with no relief or a chance to drive. I definitely would not recommend this place to anyone until they get their act together. This is no way to run a business at all. Guess we should have checked Yelp before purchasing our Groupon. Totally feel robbed! -5 stars! I was better off just doing laps on the Beltway in my GTi! read more

This could be so much better if they could run the operation better. As Hilary mentioned, it's a great concept but the execution is horrible. I bought a groupon for this place which was still expensive so I wasn't about to not use it. Making an appointment with them took 3 weeks to try to do. Their online system would not let me book anything further than a few weeks out and there was nothing even available. I finally got my date scheduled in June. I got there and the wait was so ridiculous. I would have sat there for 3 hours at least before I would have even been able to get my instructions from the pit crew. Having a timeslot does not seem to mean anything since it pretty much is first come first serve. Why have a time slot to register for if you are not going to follow it. Needless to say, I wasn't about to sit there for that long so I had to reschedule. Rescheduling is not something I was too happy about especially since they are about an hour away. By the way, I'm so glad I did not sit there and wait b/c I would have had to reschedule due to the weather. So I go home and try to reschedule. Nothing was available until September. I couldn't get myself on the waitlist through their online system and had to call them to do that. Luckily I was able to get something for July and they do give you enough notice so you can plan ahead. On the day of my new appointment, it was still a pretty big wait but definitely not as bad. I was shocked by the additional $30 I had to pay for tip and taxes. Luckily, groupon credited me $15 for this since they do have it in their fine print but you only expect this with restaurants. Thank you groupon for the credit! As an fyi, insurance is extra too. I didn't get it but if you do get into a crash, you may be screwed. The pit crew, all volunteers, were extremely nice and funny! They did make sure you understood what you had to do and that you were comfortable. Short people, you probably will want to ask for some sort of towel or cushion so you can sit closer to the pedals. Driving the car was a good experience. The first few laps were a bit scary but you do get used to it and want to go faster than 200mph. You don't have to worry about changing gears which is nice for those of you not comfortable driving stick shift. I do wish I could have gone a bit faster. I will say the funniest part of this whole day was that I got into an accident (the other driver's fault) on my way home and not at the track. read more

Yes, they got some suckers to buy coupons from Living Social and/or Groupon to race stock cars or be a passenger in a stock car. I bought a combo package from Groupon for my husband ($150 so still not cheap). We arrived 30 minutes early for a 3 pm appointment and he did not get in the car to drive until 5:30 pm. Keep in mind, this is a 100 degree day and you are stuck in the pit, surrounded by asphalt, sweating buckets, with little water and the vending machine was broken. If you want to walk across the track, you have to wait until there are no cars on the track. The place is horribly mismanaged and does not even give you a number when you arrive so you line up somewhat randomly. One of the stock cars was broken so they were backed up and then when he went to get in line for the passenger ride, that car broke as well. So we get a rain check and return two weeks later so he can ride with the professional stock driver. They are down one car, so once again, running over two hours behind. Then the passenger stock car breaks, so once again, a trip out to Manassas and another rain check? I don't think so. This place is a lemon. Great idea, horrible execution. read more

Wow, what a scam. They got some suckers to buy coupons from Living Social and/or Groupon to race stock cars or be a passenger in a stock car. We arrived 30 minutes before our 4pm scheduled time and had to take a rain check around 6pm. Cars kept breaking down, there was no ETA on time of repair. No one was communicating anything. Quoting this from another commenter: "Keep in mind, this is a 100 degree day and you are stuck in the pit, surrounded by asphalt, sweating buckets, with little water and the vending machine was broken. If you want to walk across the track, you have to wait until there are no cars on the track. The place is horribly mismanaged and does not even give you a number when you arrive so you line up somewhat randomly. " Even though they advise you to arrive early, it doesnt matter. People arrive whenever the hell they want; even if you have an appointment it's first come first serve; they were over 2 hours behind due to break in vehicles and poor mgmt. So we got a rain check and am planning on redeeming this at the end of the year when it is a bit cooler. I love the idea/concept, but their mgmt of the business doesnt make them worth while. Beware from others who have commented, they will make you pay a $30 gratuity and tax. I'm thinking of redeeming or getting reimburse from groupon. I disliked the service from Try it Racing. :( read more

What a waste of a day. So, let's start from the beginning. I bought a Riding package through Living Social for my boyfriend thinking he would get a kick out of it. The first two times I tried to schedule the appointment, it was canceled (first because of a professional race they added at the last minute, the second time because of poor weather). In both cases, I was never notified that my appointment had been canceled and only found out because I called the morning of to confirm. After the first time, we sent an e-mail to their staff complaining about the customer service and never received a response. The second time, it just didn't seem worth it. The third time I re-scheduled (for today, in fact), it seemed like things would go off without a hitch. I called this morning to confirm the appointment since Manassass is about an hour's drive away, but no one picked up. We decided to take our chances and head out. When we got there, there were no signs indicating where to go to sign in or register so we waited until more confused people decided to run across the track with us. When we signed in, I was surprised to learn that there was an additional $10 due in tax/gratuity, and the staff did not inform us of any scheduling problems or back-ups. That turned out not to be the case. After nearly 2.5 hours of standing around in line, we were starting to get peeved, and it was clear that the other Riding folks were as well. We had an 11 am appointment, but some had gotten there as early as 9 and were still waiting for their 10-minute ride around the track. Apparently, the driver (and also owner of the company) had arrived late, they'd had some difficulty with the car, and so were already running behind. Several folks from our Ride line noticed that they were taking other groups before us, but whenever we tried to talk to the staff available, they claimed ignorance. They made no effort to talk to those running the track to find out what was going on or what the estimated wait would be. We finally learned from our fellow customers that they were taking groups of people who paid for Drive/Ride packages before us, and that included not only the 9 and 10 am appointments, but also the 11 am appointments. That meant we'd have at least another 2 hours of waiting ahead of us, and we were already at 3. At this point we, and at least three other people ahead of us, decided to throw in the towel. We were offered no apologies and left feeling extremely disgruntled. This place is completely disorganized, has terrible customer service, and is not worth the time, money, or effort. Avoid at all costs! read more

I broke it down into the reservation experience vs. actual day of activites: Signing up: We bought groupons for my brother, father, and myself, the former from out of town. Making a reservation was challenging, as the Groupon voucher said to call them directly (which I did three times and never got a call back). Eventually I realized their website was the place to schedule appointments, and I was able to schedule a few months in advance. At the Track: So when you arrive at the track there is no direction on where to go; several others were looking puzzled as well. Registration/check in is inside the Pit area, so don't go looking for any help in the bleacher areas. In fact, as we were leaving and entered the structure under the bleachers looking for a bathroom, one of the employees of the track remarked angrily "they've gotta do somethin about these people. put up a sign or somethin". Paying 30$/pp for "tax & gratuity" really irked me ($90 for the 3 of us), and certainly should have been part of the Groupon. It's not a restaurant with a party of 6 or more, so why build in gratuity? I can't imagine taxes are that much either. No explanation of the cost was given... We waited about 30 -45 minutes for our even though we arrived on time at 11am (on a Saturday). I agree with someone else who posted that they shouldn't give appt. times if the actual time varies wildly. There was a lot of standing around wondering "do i get my fire-suit now?" or "how bout a helmet?" or as simple as "where should i stand now that I'm in my race getup?". So a couple of simple signs and direction at the outset would make the experience much better. It was also hot at the track and they only had an 8x8 tent for the 20 people there, so bring sunscreen or a hat if that concerns you. In the car: Was a lot of fun. The track is short so don't expect to go more than like 60-70mph, and not knowing the limits of the car or how sticky the tires are certainly made me go slower. 15 laps definitely felt like enough time for the initial experience. The only way to really have fun with the car would be to drive it for a full day and then try to test the limits. Overall: My family and I had fun while on the track. I had 3 stars selected the whole time I wrote this, but now that I just surveyed all I wrote I can't give it more than 2.5 stars. As most other reviews mention, these guys need an overhaul of their track day management practices. Ultimately though, we had fun & enjoyed the experience; I'm just not sure I would do it again unless it was MUCH cheaper. read more

Ditto all the mismanagement comments. I bought my husband a ride-along experience as a Christmas gift over a year ago. The first time he tried to redeem it, we ended up standing around at the racetrack for at least 4 hours waiting because the ride-along car broke down. At first they said it would be fixed soon, then they stopped saying anything. If they're trying to avoid disappointing people by saying "Sorry folks, this isn't going to happen today," they need to look at the consequence of having an angry mob forming instead, which is what happened on that day. I would like to say in their defense that they are very generous with rain checks - they even added 5 five extra laps to my husband's rain check to make up for the trouble. The problem is that when he went to redeem it today - MONTHS later - the car was broken down AGAIN. I'd like to hope it's just coincidence but from the other reviews I read here, I'm afraid it's more than that. read more

My husband and I drove from CT to Orange County Speedway, NC to do this. I have family in VA that put us about 1.5 hours away. We arrived at 9:30am for our 11am ride. I do agree that it took a while. The experience was absolutely worth the wait, and both me and my husband would 100% do it again, though we're probably just going to buy track time instead of the little package deal. Before I go into the "needs improvement", I want you to know what you get. Seeing as how I trend towards speed demon, this was the best experience! We didn't understand the Groupon, so I thought we'd get 5 instructional laps, and then 15 regular laps. That wasn't the case. First, we did the 15 laps, which I got one of the (unofficial - a guy there was timing everybody) best times of the day! The track was only 4/10mi, meaning I know I've probably gone much faster in other circumstances. The steering wheel is a little squirly, and you do have to hang on to it pretty tight. They provide enough instruction to get you started. I spent my time thinking two things: 1) Don't hit the wall!, and 2) Don't lose the pace car!!!! The steep angle of the track really changes things. I can't believe how much the track helped me steer. As I finished, the crew guy (Rob?) let me know that I'd be doing the ride along next. Woohooo! Just as I was getting ready to go on the ride along, the car required a change of tires. I was the first one in after the new set was put on, and it was soooo worth the wait! Mike, the driver, was very cool, and he definitely made the ride exciting. On to the other stuff. While we were chatting with the crew, we were kind of given the back story on some of their troubles this summer. Hurricane Irene actually made a big crack in the racetrack, so they couldn't race at OCS (I think they mentioned similar problems at one of the other tracks). One couple, from MD, had been rescheduled 4 times, due to rain! Due to liabilities, they cannot run in the rain - not even sprinkles. We walked over and felt the tires, and the weather thing made total sense! They were still setting up after 10am, although there were lots of 10am appointments. The crew explained that because there was a race the previous night, they were not allowed to setup until well into the night. Further, the track didn't mention a Sunday morning noise ordinance, so the ride alongs couldn't start until noon. Try It Racing only "borrows" the track, and I hope they are able to build a better rapport with the tracks in the future. We raced around 1:30; our appointment was for 11am. During the time, we mingled with the other people there, talked to the crew, timed other people driving, and had a fantastic time. The lady behind the counter gave us a free water. My face and neck got really burned - do not forget sunscreen!!!! If I were to knock them on anything, it's getting a callback when I left a message to confirm the date and time. The email only listed the time and day. It didn't list OCS, so I just wanted to make sure - it's a long way from CT. I didn't get a call back, and I was a little nervous. I wound up going to the website and saw that the only time listed on October 9 was for the OCS track. There was an additional $30 fee per person for taxes and gratuities. This kind of worked in our favor. Groupon mentioned the taxes only - they should definitely work that out in the fine print. We also opted for extra insurance - $40 per person with a $2500 deductible. I didn't think it was worth the money; my husband wanted to get it. Whatever. Overall... When I think about all of the details involved in an extreme experience like this, my only thought is suck it up and get everything fun that you can out of it. It's Tuesday, and I'm still grinning! read more

Never even got in the seat. Went to the track with my family -- my brother bought everyone a ride for Xmas. Poor organization, driver breaks, broken cars. One thing led to another and we eventually left after over 2 hours of just standing around and two of the cars on jacks. There were no announcements and no official estimates of when things would be fixed. I also have concerns about safety. While this isn't a real race, accidents do happen. I couldn't see any fire fighting devices of any type except for the "halon fire repression system" that was supposedly located behind the driver seat. I'm not sure how to operate it and based on my observations would seriously question its operation. There wasn't even a simple fire extinguisher that I ever saw. I didn't ride, but I had plenty of time to watch others that did. Some people seemed happy and excited, but several wondered out loud if that was all there was. From my perspective, the drive-yourself cars looked like they were going about 40 MPH. The ride-with car went much faster but it was over in less than 2 minutes start to finish. read more

I have to agree with Bill. But for full disclosure, we did the driving/riding experience together. These guys went from about 300 customers a year to over 6000ish (numbers may not be exact, but they are at least in the ballpark based on conversations with the owner). Now I love groupon and living social, but they do sometimes cause problems with smaller businesses. I'd like to see them give more support to the smaller companies that end up with windfall business they can't handle, and then end up getting hammered on sites like this. This often ends with the smaller company getting dropped because people complain. This may also be a case of these guys not really knowing their clientele. Most of the clientele is DC, Fairfax and Loudon County folk, more along the lines of weekend warrior lawyers than anyone that has been to a racetrack or watched more than just a couple of minutes of the Daytona 500 every few years. The owner, his wife and 5-year old daughter, were in the trailer running the check in. He had hands black with grease and red with dried blood. Some of his guys were under a racecar welding the exhaust system back together, and the rest were prepping cars and drivers. That, ladies and gentlemen, is racing. People slaving over a passion. Its rarely pretty. I have a couple of suggestions for the guys - coddle you customers. Make sure to always reply to emails and return phone calls promptly. Make sure that additional charges are clearly laid out, not just in the fine print. Give refunds when people aren't happy. Losing the couple hundred bucks is worth not having someone bash you to the interwebs. And don't get discouraged when people get pissy because they aren't used to the racing lifestyle. Good luck guys, and I look forward to riding with y'all again. read more

This is a fun way to experience driving a real race car. My wife got me this as a birthday present via Groupon. I was unpleasantly surprised when they hit me up for a $30 "tax and gratuity" charge. Apparently the fine print in Groupon says that tax and gratuity were not included, which is one thing with a $30 off groupon at a restaurant and something totally different here. They also scared me into buying $40 worth of "insurance". If you follow their directions and drive sanely you don't need it. Other than the sleaziness of the unexpected financial shakedown, I had a really good time. My kids got bored, though, waiting for my turn to drive. The staff does not do the best job of explaining the process when you arrive, so there was a lot of uncertainty about where to go and who was to drive next. If they really want to milk people for more money, they could do photo shoots like amusement parks and whitewater rafting places do and put cameras into the car and then sell us pictures and videos of our driving experience. But the driving was really, really really fun. :) The cars are real Nascar type stock cars, although they are old 1980s technology cars. I wonder what the newer race cars are like. read more

My friend got the certificate for the "Ultimate Ride and Drive" as a birthday present and I went along. I purchased the beginner's Simulated Qualifying Ride for $45.00 and I got to experienced the ultimate ride of a lifetime. I got to ride along as a passenger with a NASCAR licensed driver reaching top speeds in a stock car!!! That was only for 3 laps. Next time I will purchase the Ultimate Ride($75) for 5 laps and ask for a Donut Maneuver. I hope the driver will be able to amuse me. read more

Like David C. I was at the Langley Speedway on 9/8 and found it an absolute shower of an experience. My in-laws had kindly gifted me the 15 laps of driving plus 5 laps with the pro. I'd had it originally booked for July but that was cancelled due to under subscription a few days before. We arrived 15mins before the "11am-12pm" slot that we'd registered for and it was hopelessly disorganized. All the TryItRacing personnel were in the centre of the track with no staff, signs, instructions or anything to direct you. By 11.15 or so a group of others had given up and waited for the cars to stop driving and ran for it across the track. Once in the centre of the track we were added to sign in sheets and told to gather for a driver's safety briefing by the company photographer (!!). We were strongly sold on the $40 insurance (which still had a $2500 deductible!), informed of the $35 compulsory service fee and gratuity and then also the $35 photography package. According to my in-laws there was no mention of this insurance/service fee on Groupon or the Try It Racing website which left them rather embarassed when they found out (they had given up on watching me and left). What seems utter madness is that for each 1hr slot they book around 7-8 people yet if they were lucky they'd get one person out every half hour so they were going to get hopelessly backed up from the get go. It was an utter farce. That's before you factor in the factor the "ride in" car broke down causing a 3hr delay, then the car the customers drive broke down leaving the pit lane! It sat there for about 15mins before being nudged back into the pit lane by the pro's car. Then it was announced someone would need to pop out to buy transmission fluid as they didn't have any! By this time it was about 1.30pm and those who had turned up 10am still hadn't finished!! I seriously doubt whether I'd have got my racing in before 5pm and that's if everything had run smoothly. With other obligations to attend we asked to have the insurance and gratuity I'd paid for applied to another day of racing at the end of October. I booked their first slot of the day knowing that's my best chance of getting any action behind the wheel. However, after what I saw today I'm expecting nothing to come of the experience. Although I didn't get behind the wheel this is pure speculation but the cars weren't really going that fast. Langley Speedway is only 0.4miles around and when we turned up we saw the car driving around and thought it was only warming up but the whole time we were there they never got beyond what I'd say was 70mph. I timed a few laps myself and the people driving were doing 30-35 second laps and whenever people tried to go any faster they were waved down by the marshals or held up by the pace car to slow down. The pro laps were a tad faster but I really got the impression that if I got my own performance car out there for a drive I'd have been able to go as fast! I really could not recommend this experience to anyone, even though I didn't even get behind the car it was clearly obvious this was a poorly thought out "seat of their pants" operation with no contingency plans for anything going wrong. read more

While I agree about the management challenges, I'll tell you that we avoided the wait by booking for the earliest appointment of the day and getting there early. And it was a TON of fun. -3 stars for the issues booking it, +2 for the amount of fun once in the car and for the workers there. read more

I was given this as a gift back in March was overjoyed as I LOVE racing, Now yes things here may have been a little slower than we are used to however when you have numerous people driving and everyone driving at different speeds things may take longer than expected - I found all the staff to be great and very knowledgeable The driving was amazing but when Barry took me out for my ride he said he would make me scream and I offered 20.00 if I did - well my money is still safe in my pocket because it was AWESOME so I certainly give TRY IT RACING 5 stars and anyone who doesn't do the same is ridiculous - I will certainly be back - as for the other posts regarding cars breaking down well guess what RACE CARS Break maybe your car doesn't because you drive 55 but when doing much faster things have a stronger tendency to break and also the safety i saw fire suppression systems in each car and again if you aren't INTO racing maybe you would not know what to look for or where to look - But the Little red handle that says FIRE on the right side near the start switches is to activate this system - so thanks again to Mike,Barry,Rusty,Rob and all the bunch read more

Felt scammed. The $150 groupon seemed like a good enough deal considering the cost of the Richard Petty Driving Experience that I had done before. Unfortunately, this is not even close to the same experience. I arrived 20 minutes early for the 9:00 AM slot fearful that if I missed my time I would miss the entire opportunity. The gate to the facility was closed and locked. A few minutes later someone from Try It Racing came and opened the gate and announced that they were at least an hour behind and were having problems with the track, cars, trailers, weather, phase of the moon, whatever. I noticed they didn't have any problem getting the deal up on Groupon. By 10:45 I had checked in and paid the surprise MANDATORY gratuity and tax of $30 (which means the gratuity was $22.50). I was early in the line up but they were having problems with the cars. First, one had a flat tire and then it broke a shock before any customer even got on the track. So they used one of the "customer" cars for the pace driver. Eventually, by about 11:20, they had all the cars working. But they had only one pace driver and the ride-along driver was helping to get that activity moving so none of the 5-lap ride-alongs were happening. I finally got my chance in the car and was ready to go but received no instruction about the car beyond the clutch pedal and following the pace leader. Whatever. I just wanted to drive. The racing suits are essentially cotton jump suits. They're not going to do anything more than your street clothes if the car catches fire but they probably look cool if you have a friend take a photo of you wearing it. I don't think this is unique to Try It Racing. Full fire suits would be a bit expensive. I had a good time out on the track and was well-prepared for what the cars could do. Since Old Dominion Speedway is a 3/8th mile track, there isn't a lot of room for top speed. Nevertheless, I pushed the car to my limits and enjoyed my seat time. I waited briefly for my time as a passenger for a quick 5 laps around the circuit with their pro driver. Nice enough guy but delays caused by malfunctioning cooling were a bit annoying. Probably more for him than for me since I was only in the car for five laps. It was wicked fast and made most of the participants look like Florida retirees in their Lincolns and Cadillacs on a Sunday. Once the ride-along was done, that was it. There was no certificate, no lap times, no top speed, no photos, nothing. Just put the helmet back and make a break for it from the infield to the grandstand area when there wasn't anything on the track. Very anti-climactic. I gave Try It Racing 2 stars because I enjoy my laps once I got out there but felt like this was more of a "slide me $150 -- no, wait, I mean $180 -- and I'll let you take my car for a spin" deal rather than a real racing experience. I deducted one star for poor organization, another for broken cars, and the third star for the mandatory gratuity. I would not recommend Try It Racing as a gift and would be reluctant to buy it for myself if I had this knowledge before my purchase. There are better options. And although they may be more expensive, you won't arrive confused, drive a crappy car, or leave disappointed. read more

****Scammer Alert**** I purchased two of these as gifts for my husband and his friend. What a NIGHTMARE. They arrived 30 minutes before they were scheduled to ride. It turns out, there was a noise ordinance restriction that the owners forgot to plan for. My husband and his friend waited for over 5 hours in the hot sun to "drive" the car. Too bad all of the cars were breaking down. They never even got to ride with a pro even after they were promised extra laps for Try it Racing cancelling their original appointment 5pm the evening before they were supposed to go. They waited 4 months to finally get to race. What a joke. I felt bad for buying them what was supposed to be a fun guy day to a nightmare on asphault. Not to mention they hit them up for an additional $30 each upon arrival. *****SCAM ARTISTS***** DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY***** read more

Family fun, we brought a bunch of guys from Carbiz (Baltimore, md :-) up to the speedway from a living social coupon. Ran 15-20 laps each. Was looking foward to the ride along with the professional driver but the engine blew on the ride along car. They let us either get 5 more driving laps or get a coupon for a raincheck ride along. I'm going to bring the wife back for a ride along! Overall very fun. read more

Everyone here bring up some good points. I did get in the car 90 minutes after my 4pm appointment. They did have 2 blown engines (out of 5 cars). I think they were only moderately organized, but certainly not terrible. And the track was a little beat up. But damn it was fun. And if you compare it to other racing experiences at Dover or Richmond or NC, it is SERIOUSLY cheap. C'mon folks, you can't compare this to your $10 for $20 of food at Sizzler. It is what it is, a small family owned company. Yes i went in with low expectations, but I was also realistic because I know how easily those cars can break down. It pleasantly exceeded all of my expectations but didn't blow me away. A couple of hints: - stay as close to the pace car as you can. They say 3 car lengths, but tailgate on his rear as close as you can. Don't worry, you won't hit them, there is no traffic or texting 17 year olds to cut you off. - don't expect 150mph. You might hit 70, but the track (Manassas) is small and it will feel faster - understand what to expect. You will wait. You will pay $30 for tax/gratuity. But you will have a damn good time. All-in-all, I recommend the place. It was worth the money. read more

Awesome experience driving the race car!!! Don't be afraid to get on the gas it sounds like you're going faster than you are!! Reasonably priced and a great idea to do before you try to go to one of the bigger tracks like Dover or Richmond! read more

Cool experience. Don't expect to feel like real nascar though. The track is very short. You will feel like you are going very fast in the car but in reality you aren't going much more than 50. It is a great value compared to the big tracks at Dover or other places they do the Nascar experiences. Worth it especially if you get the groupon deal. Don't be surprised if the ride along car beaks down. These cars get beat on day in and day out and need constant repair. They will give you a rain check or let you take extra driving laps if it happens. Great customer service. read more

Our entire experience with Try it Racing was less than desireable from the getgo. I purchased a Groupon for my boyfriend as a birthday present and trying to even schedule his experience was a hassle and a half. Their scheduling website had some very significant problems and would not accept my appointment, so I had to end up calling the number on the website. It took approximately 10 calls to actually get a hold of someone (despite constantly leaving messages and sending emails, no one responded) and when I did speak to someone they were rude and not very helpful. After FINALLY getting the experience scheduled, we drove to the track -- 45 minutes away --- to find that is had been cancelled due to rain and we were never notified. Luckily it seems that the two additional time we had to reschedule, the scheduling website had been fixed and I didn't have to deal with less than friendly staff. On the day of my boyfriend's experience, we arrived at 1:30 for a 2:00 ride, checked in, got his driving suit, then were told to wait in a certain area for driving school. 2.5 HOURS later my boyfriend listened to the driving school, which was nothing less than a man yelling to a crowd of people. Finally, after 3 hours of waiting, my boyfriend finally got to drive and do his ride along. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience, hence the two stars rather than one, but was a little annoyed that he wasn't able to drive the car faster than 40 or 50 miles. Again, it was a good experience for him, but was poorly organized and a hellish process to actually get to the goods. read more

I wish I had seen some of these reviews before purchasing the Groupon! What a mess. First we arrived 30 minutes before the appointment time as directed. We too had to wait around for the appointment time like everyone else. What they failed to mention in the Groupon was that the company requires you to may IN ADVANCE, the gratuity and taxes and insurance. In addition, since we had waited so long and it was soooo cold, we paid for the photographer to take pictures. Finally, after 2.5 hours my husband was able to get into the car. That's all he did, was get into the car. He was too tall. There is nothing in the fine print that states that you have to be a certain height to fit into the stock cars. There is a weight requirement, but no height. There was no way my husband could have safely driven that car. So they promised me a refund of the $105.00 I paid in addition to the Groupon price. It is now almost three weeks later and I am getting ready to file a small claims action. Now, Groupon refunded me immediately, but these clowns... Their customer services is horrible, there is barely a bathroom that you can use. When we went it was so cold, that my daughters and I waited in the car and came out when we thought it was time for my husbands ride. Also, he was to receive five laps in a ride along, that didn't happen for anyone while we were there. I agree with all of the other people who posted, this company is a total scam. Completely mismanaged and a total rip. I've been around professional NASCAR, and this group here is as close to NASCAR as a weekend warrior is to being a professional soldier. The front window was so scarred that you could barely see out if. It was a hot mess all the way around. read more

wish we had read the review before buying this groupon! I am writing this while sitting here there hours and still waiting for my husband to drive. This is the first time driving at this track so we can compare experiences. Nothing much has changed from previous posts. Still only one car..other is broke down, still way behind schedule, vending machine is still broken. Something new is the smell of the stinking toilets that we are trying to stay upwind of. My husband said next time to make him a dentist about for his birthday. read more

Being in the pit of a race track and watching the driver follow the pace car was an amazing experience. The pace car slowly goes faster and faster and the sound of the cars roar louder. Just the sound of the cars is a complete rush. But then you hear a huge roar and the ride car comes screaming through the pit, wheels squealing and it does about five or six doughnuts in the pit before speeding onto the track. Within seconds, the ride car with it's professional NASCAR driver has overtaken the pace and driver cars. He overtakes the car two or three more times before bringing the rider back to the pit. Finally, it was my turn to ride. The sound, the vibration and the power you feel when you're in the car is incredibly intimidating. My thoughts were racing a thousand per second. Then we took off and my face was immediately stuck in a perma-grin. I can only compare it to being in a full-size go cart going 100 miles and hour. The g-forces are amazing because of the way the car corners. This is truly a unique and inspiring experience. I've been dreaming about race cars ever since. read more

I completely agree with someone's statement: "This place is a lemon. Great idea, horrible execution." That sums it up perfectly. Save your money! read more

I bought a drive package for my husband's birthday. We had an appointment at the end of 2012, We drove two hours, paid the additional fees and waited for my husband's turn. Well the car broke down, both of them.. We waited and waited some more. There were around 25 people in front of us, so we asked for a rain check. I have been calling and emailing ALL YEAR. It is now the end of the season and I still have not heard back from anyone. I am very disappointed and feel as if they stole from me. I cannot even begin to tell you how disappointing the whole experience, or lack thereof, has been. I am still waiting a year later. read more

I would NEVER recommend Try It Racing to anyone. Don't EVEN think about it! I booked an experience for my husband as a gift based on receiving a promotional email. I called and booked through Try It Racing directly and received a nice gift certificate to present to my husband on his birthday (January). The ride was scheduled for March. Several days before the day of the drive, I called and called to confirm. No answer and no return calls to my voice msgs. Finally the day before the drive, I called again, left a message and receive a return call from Mike stating that the date was bogus as no rides were scheduled for that day. Okay....mistakes are made. However, upon asking for a refund ( husband is too busy to be able to reschedule ), Mike stated that I needed to send a request via email - which I promptly did. Guess what?! NO RESPONSE. I sent 3 add'l emails and called 3 other times and NO RESPONSE. Finally, today, May 3rd, I finally get through to Mike (again) and he now states that the business does NOT GIVE REFUNDS! I was never informed of this policy, can't find it on the website (if it's there, it's buried), and never signed anything. I think this company takes your money, schedules you for bad dates, and never gives your money back! read more

My kids got me the certificate for the Ultimate Ride and Drive as a Christmas present. I was a bit neglectful in scheduling my ride due to work constraints but Try It Racing was very accommodating in giving me more time to schedule my appointment. Even though they were having some troubles with the rider car there were no issues at all with the driving car. After a brief indoctrination of what to expect and instructions we were each given our chance at the wheel tail chasing the instructor car. I am an experienced road racer and it was still a lot of fun to drive a Stock Car and do the left turn only thing. And since the rider car was having trouble they let me drive an extra 5 laps which is more fun than being a passenger anyway. A great time, I recommend with two thumbs up. read more

They really should call this place "try to race" because that is what it feels like the majority of people are doing. You show up 30 minutes before your scheduled time just to wait in another line which could take up to 3 hours before you can actually race. Unfortunatly, I scheduled a time in November, and had a time of 3:00. I show up at 2:30 and was told due to the daylight ending around 4:30 I had no chance of being able to drive. On top of that, the extra 5 laps I paid for to drive with a professional would not have happened either because the car was broken down. They knew the 5 lap car was down for the day and they also knew I had no chance of being able to race yet not a single one of these assholes called to tell me. They instead, gave me a reschedule date which is 6 months away from now and I've already waited 6 months since the first time! Over a year wait now to get what I've paid for and it is not even likely when I go back things will even be working. Took me 2 hours to get there and 2 hours to get home just to do NOTHING. Worst part is, the woman who does registration didn't seem to care what so ever, nore did they do ANYTHING to compensate the people for their wasted time. No extra free laps, no money back, nothing, just a "well, it is what it is" attitude and sent you home pissed off. The people who run this thing are a joke. None of this even begins to explain how run down the arena is, how crappy the track itself is, and that nowhere it has signage to tell you where to go. Nothing about the actual facility is in operation, no lights, no bathrooms, nothing. The entire thing takes place in the center of the track near the pit, where there is a porta john, no food, no drink, waiting for 3-4 hours with no heat or inside. You have to "run" across the track itself when there are no cars on the track "at your own risk" and don't even have people directing anyone on where to go. It is a complete pile of crap at a premium price. The idea and experience (if you actual get into a car) I'm sure is great, but you have no clue if you will ever be able to do it. The only time of year this is even doable without freezing or sweating is spring time. If you're looking to do this, consider as early a registration time as possible and get there as early as you can so the line is less. Go at comfortable temperatures and bring your own food and drinks so you have something while you wait. read more

We went to the Orange County Race track this morning. My husbands appointment was 10 AM for a ride along. After 2 hours my husband went and asked how much longer the wait would be and he was told it would just be a short while. After 3 hours nothing. We could clearly see that the only 2 passenger race car had it's hood up and no one was working on it. No one was telling us anything or apologizing for the long wait. No one ever told us the car was not operating. After 4 hours they got the car working. Great ( we thought ). It took 2 people around the track and broke down again. We waited for a long time watching them work on it and finally left. Over 5 hours waiting for nothing and 1 1/2 hours of driving to get there. I also found out from reading other reviews that there is a noise ordinance in Orange County and they couldn't even drive the 2 passenger car until after 12. WHY did we have to be there at 10 AM then ? They are unorganized and could really care less about their customers. I would not recommend this to anyone at all. There are other better organized race car experiences out there. Don't waste your time and money on this one! read more

Full price, half price, free ... do not use "try it racing." Too bad there isn't an option for ZERO STARS. My family gave me the "extreme racing package" for Father's Day in 2011. Due to no fault but my own, I finally redeemed the package on 9/8/2012 in Hampton, VA. The best word to describe this operation is a "CARNIVAL." We showed up 30 minutes early for our 10 AM session and did not start driving until nearly 1 PM. For starters, they hit us with a $30 service/gratuity charge that was not readily apparent in our original deal. Then they tried the hard sell on insurance and a photo package for another $75. Two of their cars were not functional. Fortunately, I was first in line to drive. I was not able to experience 5 laps "with the professional" because the "ride along" car" was not working, so I opted for 20 laps on my own in lieu of a "rain check." I appreciated the novelty of the "racing" experience, but frankly, I have much more enjoyment and confidence driving my personal BMW, and am certain I would have driven faster, although admittedly not as fast as the professional. My friend was next in line to drive immediately after me, but unfortunately the clutch seized before he could leave pit row. After pushing the race car back into the pit, they determined there was no fluid in the transmission. They also did not have any extra transmission fluid, so they left to go buy transmission fluid from the nearest auto parts store. Ultimately, they decided to put the customers in the "pace car" and used an E36 BMW as the pace car because they only had one functioning car. My friend was able to proceed with his 20 lap "experience" but stopped after about 12 laps because he had had enough. I personally don't believe these cars are well maintained. I base this on the facts only 1 or 2 of their 4 cars were working; no transmission fluid on-site; and the tires on the company tractor rigs were dry-rotted such that there was at least a quarter inch crack running the entire inside of each front tire. If I had realized this before driving, I probably would not have driven their cars. A litigious attorney would have a field day on this company if, God forbid, there was an accident, based on how these cars are maintained. I'm sure this is a great racing company and I appreciate entrepreneurs trying to make additional income. Also, I was excited to experience race car driving. All of the staff were very pleasant and accommodating. However, this company clearly was not ready for the volume of customers and risk resulting from Groupon, Living Social and other advertising. Save your money or spend it elsewhere. Go Karts are a better experience. To my family, if you happen to read this, thank you very much for thinking of me. I'm not trying to take anything away from the AWESOME idea you had as a gift and I know you're always trying to think of great ideas to get my blood pumping. I just want others to be fairly warned if they consider this company in the future. read more

Thank you try it racing and driver Rob for a great time Saturday at Old Dominion Speedway. Myself and frinds had a ball. It was a little sad for me as I understand that the Speedway has been sold and will build condo's there. I started going there with Jim Ellmore, flagman in 1958. I learned to score up in the still existing timing tower. Thanks again Rob for taking me around, fast.I recommend to anyone who likes racing to try this, you'll have a ball. read more

If I could give them zero stars I would. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY on this joke of an operation at Old Dominion Speedway. We had a 12 noon appointment today for the Extreme Driving experience (15 laps on your own + 5 with a pro driver). We waited for OVER FIVE HOURS before my husband got in a car - they were running behind all day due to cars breaking down. He did his lap, but was not given his 5 laps with the pro driver. He was also forced to pay a $30 gratuity as part of the registration paperwork - this happened HOURS before he got into the car. I am so extremely disappointed in this "$300 experience of a lifetime" - I bought him the package in May and have been waiting for months to surprise him for his birthday. Every single customer who was there today had a bad experience - I'm sure this will not be the only complaint they receive. Total racket. Can't believe they are still in business... read more

I purchased a Groupon for Try it Racing for my father for Christmas for a ride along experience, and it turned out to be the worst gift ever. We arrived at the Orange County Speedway at 9:45 for his 10 am appointment. We figured we'd be there for an hour and a half tops, considering his groupon was for 5 laps around the track. We had not eaten breakfast, did not bring food, did not bring water, did not bring chairs to sit in (we thought we would be able to sit in the bleachers...), it was a 90+ degree day and the nearest place to get food was miles away. We found out that the people who purchased the driving experience went first (and that included everyone who was assigned a 9:00 appointment.) They didn't even start driving until 10:45. After a couple of hours of waiting, my father asked the woman who worked in the trailer when the ride-alongs would begin and she answered, "shortly" which was a big, fat lie. The ride-along car was broken and they never bothered to tell us that there would be a major delay. The pit crew got it working around 2:00, drove 2 people around (people who had already done their driving experience), and then the car was back up on the blocks being worked on. After 5 hours of waiting, we couldn't take it anymore (we had sunburn, were very hungry, thirsty and cranky) and got in line with the rest of the very unhappy customers to get our groupons back. This company is absolutely terrible and wasted so many people's time and money. I would not recommend them to anyone, ever. read more

they sucked poor management and equipment they turn 15 minutes of driving into 4 hours

I got this for my father for father's day and we had a great time. We also drove on a Monday in the morning. Once you got to the track, where you had to go was pretty obvious. They had a sign in trailer and since we were the first ones there for our timeslot, we got in in the next wave of drivers. I think the whole experience took less than 2 hours for us (although their website says to allow 4-5). Also while my dad didn't have any issues with the cars, the person in front of him had the pace car run out of gas 2 laps into his drive. It's a car, you should know how frequently you need to gas up. They don't have any height restrictions or request that you are in shape to drive, but you do have to climb through a window and my guess is that the height restriction should be 6'3". My dad is 6'4" and he didn't fit in one car and barely fit in the other. They did have firesuits big enough for him though and I would not have expected that. The $30 extra fee wasn't something I had planned on...but when you've already spent the money for the drive package, what are you going to do? Overall he had a great experience. read more