NASA’s High Performance Driving Event provides a safe and controlled environment to have fun driving on a racetrack while learning high performance driving and better car control.

You will be assigned an instructor in the HPDE 1 group, and you will be assigned an Instructor in HPDE 2 until you are declared a solo driver. Through classroom sessions and in car coaching, you will learn skills of braking, smooth driving at higher speeds, learning the driving line, steering input, and how best to drive a corner turn.

NASA-certified instructors are included with your entry fee.

A download meeting is held after driving sessions to reinforce skills that you learned and to go over principles that you are putting into practice. You will discuss goals and additional skills to work on.

Crashes are very rare in the HPDE program and NASA takes safety very seriously. Our NASA Instructors are trained to coach you on track to prevent a driver from getting in “over their head”. Heed the advice of your instructor.

No, we welcome all types of cars from low horsepower to high horsepower. Manual or automatic are fine. But leave the trucks and SUVs at home.

Convertibles with proper rollover protection are permitted and we have a list of acceptable cars.

If your car passes a state inspection, it is very likely it will pass our HPDE tech inspection. Go to drivenasa.com for the tech form.

You will need a proper fitting helmet that meets Snell SA2015 (SA2015 or M2015) or newer (or equivalent) standards.

Drivers that are cleared as solo at the HPDE 2 level and beyond can drive without an instructor.

We have HPDE 1, 2, 3 and 4.

After HPDE 4, you can consider getting a Time Trial license or a Competition license.

Racecars require safety equipment, roll cage, fire systems and race harnesses. There is a an annual inspection for racecars. Drivers must have safety gear.

Visit DriveNASA.com, create a NASA membership and sign up for an event in your region.

NASA recommends purchasing affordable insurance for HPDE and Time Trial however it is not required. Hagerty Track Day Insurance is the company we recommend.

For a list of available options, please visit VIR's Fuel Information Page for current information on fuel grades offered.

Any safe car is fine. Previous participants have brought everything from Hyundais to Ferraris.

Participants must be at least 18 years old (16 with parent on site and waiver signed) and possess a valid driver's license.

Dress for this activity is a sleeved shirt (short sleeves are ok, just no tank tops), long pants, and closed toed shoes (no Crocs or slip-ons). Because this event takes place in May, we understand it may be warm during the day at the event. You are welcome to bring a change of clothes and change before and after your session if you prefer.

Yes, you must have a SNELL SA2010 or newer helmet to participate in HyperDRIVEs. If you do not have a helmet, loaner helmets will be available for you to use.

The technical inspection goes over various aspects of the vehicle to ensure it will be safe for you and everyone else on the track. As a general rule, an "unmodified" factory vehicle will pass tech without any problems, but cars that have been modified (seats, roll bars, belts, etc...) must conform to the preparation rules. Your vehicle must also be free from loose items; such as floor mats, beverage bottles, loose change, etc... If you'd like to inspect your own car ahead of time to ensure you won't have any issues at the track, you may use this checklist as a preliminary guide.

Each HyperDRIVE session consists of one (1) classroom session and one (1) on-track session. The classroom session is approximately 20-minutes and the on-track session is approximately 30-minutes.

Yes, many participants sign up for multiple sessions throughout the course of the event. If you end up signing up for more than one session, let the instructor know at your first classroom session. If you do well in your first session, you may be able to skip your other classroom sessions.

Yes, there will be approximately 15-20 cars on track at the same time spaced out accordingly, but HyperDRIVE is not a race. Please note, passing is allowed in HyperDRIVE and only when approved by the instructors.