OK - if you haven't heard, when you buy a Ford Performance vehicle i.e. Ford Raptor - you get an invite for the first year of ownership to visit the FPRS (Ford Performance Racing School) in Erda Utah. Erda what? Exactly! So here's a quick history lesson...
TOOELE (pronounced TOO-WILL-AH), UTAH – With the recent announcement that Ford Performance Racing School has signed a four-year agreement with Tooele County in Utah to provide new driving school programs at the racetrack formerly known as Miller Motorsports Park, it’s a pretty good bet that somewhere in the afterlife, the late Larry Miller is smiling. The racing circuit was first slated to cost $2M but ended up ballooning to a stout $160M! Seriously - it's a kick-ass track!
Lawrence Horne Miller (April 26, 1944 – February 20, 2009) was a Utah businessman and philanthropist who was well known as the owner of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Utah Jazz and of the Salt Lake Bees, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball franchise. Miller and his companies also owned 54 automotive dealerships throughout the Western United States,[2] and a variety of other business ventures, including Prestige Financial Services, Inc. The racetrack was sold to Tooele county and Ford decided to start it's racing school at this fantastic track!
Founded in 2006, Ford Performance Racing School has become one of America’s top training programs for those wanting to sharpen their skills while becoming better and safer drivers. The school employs a fleet of modified vehicles as well as a team of instructors comprised of championship-winning drivers.
Of course, there will never be another Larry H. Miller, who had ordered his casket painted Guardsman Blue with Wimbledon White racing stripes. While the Ford Performance Racing School at the Utah Motorsports Campus still honors the Miller legacy, we’ll likely never see another man with the passion or wherewithal to build such a tribute to Ford Motor Company’s racing heritage.
So now you know the history of why it's in Utah.
We bought our 2017 Raptor and officially took ownership April 10th, 2017 - and the school only allows a free visit/track day for one year after purchase! We JUST made it on April 2nd 2018 WAHOO!
My wife and I opted to drive from Folsom, CA to Toole, UT which is about 9 1/2 hours - yes a long day but it's fun to explore! Definitely try the Black Rifle Coffee Company - they're veteran based and roast their coffee right in the shop!
Anyhoo... We arrived late Saturday night 3/31 at our AirBNB - and we didn't plan this but it was Easter weekend - yikes! The family was super nice even though it was a busy weekend... only about 10 minutes away from the track as well.
Sunday was Easter so we went into Salt Lake City and tried out Finca - the Easter brunch was fantastic! Normally they're a tapas kind of place and it influenced the menu for sure! My sexy wife and her plate of food :)
Easter was nice and relaxing - kind of odd as we usually host every holiday at our house, but our kids seemed to enjoy the time away... don't worry, they're older. We explored SLC and had a nice little hike overlooking the valley.
My wife wasn't allowed to participate in the Raptor Assault (really our only gripe!) So we explored a bit more to find some spots for her to visit while I was out in the truck...
We found Kindig-It Designs and Diesel Sellerz both shows we like to watch on TV - so she was set and ready to visit them Monday.
The evening before the track/off-road day the FPRS guys host a dinner - it was pretty good, not a $120 plate by any means, but geesh guys it's free food and was good chicken & roast beef!
They have a 30 minute review of what to expect the next day - it's about 2 hours on track, and the rest of the day is off-road on public trails... very cool!
Some pics of the vehicles in the FPRS Center
Ok - onto Monday the actual day! You arrive around 7:45am and get an overview of the day, pair up with a buddy, plus you pick a helmet to fit your noggin. Yes, a few times in the day you have to wear a helmet - probably a good idea on some of these activities for sure! Also, to note, the front tires are inflated to 32psi and the rears are 28psi - after years of testing the FPRS team says that's the best setup - but the warning light will stay on in the truck at that lower pressure.
My buddy (Ray) for the day - with a thumbs up as we set off!
If you look at the pic below - we were at a 27-30 degree angle sideways and the instructor was standing UNDERNEATH us on the side and shook the truck! We seriously thought we would tip over and crush him, but he said the trucks are good for over 40 degrees before thinking about tipping - that's just insane!
Next we did a 30 degree vertical climb... just as crazy, turn-on the rear locker - can't see over the hood and have to use the front camera. The Raptor goes up and over without ANY issues... The hill-descent is amazing, hit the button and the truck will hold you in spot.
Next was the dirt track for us - had to wear helmets for this one! Each driver gets 4 laps. 1 in normal mode, 2 in mud/sand, 3 in baja, and 4 back in normal. You feel pretty good but when you hit Baja mode it's AWESOME!
After our toss around in the baja pit - we got to drive on the highway to our off-road courses
The trails were simple to crazy - the flats were Baja Mode primarily and we scooted across the holes and bumps like nobody's business. The hills were very much aligned with these bigger trucks - note: Jeeps have a big advantage because they have a shorter wheelbase. But when put to the task, the Raptors rock climbed with the best of em...
Here's some pics of the first trail... when you go offroad you have to turn on the front light bar and rear chase lights using AUX1 and AUX2 - the radio in the center console is great (Kenwood) and lets you chat with your lead truck all the time.
After the romp through the first trail, we came up to a nice climb - did some Baja to get to the base of the climb then used Mud/Sand (turn off the locker) to go the rest of the trail...
You get a box lunch and we hang out by these huge holes that are rebar-covered... they go down 70-100 feet. Pretty windy at this elevation (I think about 4,300 ft) but more to come!
Group pic!
After lunch we put it in Rock/Crawl mode with the locker ENABLED (we're gonna need it!)
We started up a trail that took us up to over 7,000 ft. The school placed a spotter in a few places because the rock ledges were pretty big and lots of shifting shale/rock - nobody wanted to experience downhill sideways :)
After we hit the peak we relaxed - but it was SUPER windy at 7,300 ft.
hey Ray!
The descent was really nice - got to use Hill Descent Control - basically you push the button and the truck takes over - you pretty much steer! Once we got past the steep stuff we put it in 2M and let the engine braking help with the rest of the way...
Then we headed to the last spot - for a Baja run through the desert!
After a training run, we each got 2 runs. The first cone was the start, and could run 40mph up to checkpoint 1, then slow to 30mph by checkpoint2, and finally back to 10mph at the end. Was about a 2 mile run and the Raptor ate up the holes, rocks like nothing was there! Just amazing!
After the Baja run it was time to head back to FPRS - we finally got some rain on the way back.
We get back - review the day and get our trophies - so cool the BFG KO2 tire that was built specifically for the Raptor is on the trophy!
Great job Ray! We survived!
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| My Trophy and Certificate! |
Overall - fantastic experience. If you have a Raptor - don't pass this up! You can even get some Ford apparel at the store on your way out... I nabbed a Raptor Assault sticker for my truck :)
EARNED IT!
The drive home the next day was nice during the daytime -got to see the Great Salt Lake and other fun stuff. Like the Morton Salt Facory...
Pretty cool how the water reflects the mountains...
The weird Tree of Utah
...and this dude in a '90s Mustang GT convertible with the top down at 37F 👀
we were doing the speed limit at 80MPH and he went by pretty fast!
Oh, and if you ever go through Sparks, NV - stop at BJ's Barbecue on Tuesdays -it's Tri-Tip day!
