Salinas,CA…Now that the racing season is revving back to full throttle, it’s time to revisit our racing lines tutorial by one of the winningest drivers around, Mr. Scott Pruett.

Here’s Turn 1 in our series of articles, in Scott’s own words. Enjoy.

Here is the bad news. You’re about to race on one of the most difficult tracks in the U.S.A. Here’s the good news. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll have a blast both driving and racing on it and you’ll be able to take on any track in the U.S. Of course let’s also not forget, you have both Monterey and Carmel to enjoy just minutes up the road!

I’ve put together a “cheat sheet” if you will, on how I drive Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. If you’re wondering why you would take advice from me, you must realize I was racing go-karts here in 1976. I’ve done thousands of miles in Sports cars, Trans-Am cars, Indy cars and many production cars around this great track. Most recently I raced IMSA and had the fastest lap of the race in a Daytona Prototype, so I have a pretty good idea what I’m talking about. With that said, here we go….

Turn 1. This is not really a turn, more of a kink on the front straight. As you exit turn 11 and look towards start finish, apex at the end of pit wall. This should put you in perfect position for turn 2. The thing you need to pay attention to, is exiting 1, the kink, stay all the way to the right, get your car straight, then hard on the brakes, down shift to first or second gear (depending on your gearing).

For more information, visit ScottPruett.com.