One of the coolest experiences for a NASCAR fan (or someone who just likes to "go fast") is the Richard Petty Driving Experience (RPDE).  Petty Enterprises holds these programs at 23 tracks nationwide during the year (some, like Walt Disney World and Las Vegas are available year-round).  There are two basic types of programs offered; the ride-along and the driving experience.  In the ride-along, the participant sits in the passenger seat of a 600+ h.p. race car as a professional driver reaches speeds of up to 165 mph in a 3 lap qualifying-type run.  In the driving experience, the participant is behind the wheel of that car, driving for either 8, 18 or 30 laps.  For the advanced participant, RDPE offers an 80 lap, 1 1/2 day racing experience program as well as a 40 lap advanced racing experience. 

Almost as cool as the experience itself is the opportunity to win auctions for gift certificates for these programs on e-Bay, at substantial savings off the retail cost.  Knowing what to look for and how to bid can add to those savings.

First of all, PLAN your outing.  I would suggest visiting the RPDE website (sellers usually will give the web address as part of the auction information) or calling them (1-800-bepetty) to answer all of your questions BEFORE you decide to bid on an auction .  The RPDE employees are very friendly, knowledgeable and patient and will provide you with all the details you need.  Decide when and where you would like to go and give yourself plenty of time before then to win your certificate(s).  That way, you can plan your strategy to give you the best chance to win the auction(s) at the price you want to pay.  Getting a great deal 6 - 9 months before you plan to go is much better than waiting until the month before you go and then bidding desperately and paying too much.

When you decide to see what e-Bay auctions are available, type in "Petty Experience" in the search bar.  I have found that this will provide the widest range of auctions.  I actually found a seller who listed their auction under "Tom Petty Driving Experience."  I think it must have involved a rock concert as well. Had I entered "Richard Petty Driving Experience" in the search bar, I would have missed this one.

Ride-Along auctions

These certificates sell for $109, never expire and are good at all tracks except a few (Daytona and Indy - these certificates go for $135 and Watkins Glen - program not offered).   They can also be upgraded, with the value of the certificate applied toward the cost of a driving experience.  We'll get into this in more detail later.  During the holidays, RPDE also offers promotions on the Ride-Along certificates, charging $59 - $79. 

There are normally 4 - 5 e-Bay auctions at any one time for these certificates.  Starting bids are anywhere from $40 - $50 (plus a small fee for shipping in some instances).  Some sellers may also offer the "buy it now" option for around $65 (shipping is usually free on these auctions).  Some sellers will publish photos of the front and back of the certificate being offered as part of the auction info.  This will let you determine if this auction is for a "regular" ride-along certificate, or a "holiday rides" certificate (since that notation will appear on the back of the certificate in red letters).  Now, if you're only interested in doing the ride-along, it makes no difference if it's a "regular" or "holiday" certificate.  You get the 3 lap ride-along in either case.  However, if you're interested in applying the cost of the certificate to a driving experience, you can see that it is important to know the true value of the item.  Also, an auction for a "holiday ride" (valued at $79) claiming the value of the certificate is $109 is not such a good deal when the starting bid for the auction is $50.  If it's not obvious in the auction information what type of certificate this is, use the "ask the seller a question" option to find out. 

Driving Experience auctions

The 8 lap Rookie Experience starts at $399, the 16 lap King's Experience starts at $799 and the 30 lap Experience of a Lifetime starts at $1249.   Effective as of November, 2007, these certificates no longer have an expiration date.  Prices for certain tracks (Daytona, Indy, California, Talledega) will be higher than noted above.  Also, some states charge sales tax in addition to the cost of the certificate.  Again, these are good reasons to find out as much info as you can from RPDE about where and when you want to go before you start bidding.   BTW, if you have done any RPDE driving experience before, don't forget that you are entitled to a 5% "returning student" discount.  Once you have a date in mind and know how much it's going to cost you, you can plan a bidding strategy.

For example, let's say your family is planning a 10 day trip to Walt Disney World in November of 2008 (it is currently January of 2008), you want to do the Experience of a Lifetime (EOL) and this is your second time.  Calling RPDE, you discover that the dates you have in mind are all available and the total cost of the experience you want is $1,314.26 ($1,299 - $64.95 for the returning student discount, plus 6.5% Florida sales tax).  

How much would you willing to bid to win the certificate(s) to pay this amount?  With this much time to play with, I would be very aggressive and plan to spend no more than 60 - 65% of the total (say $790 - $850).  First of all, and generally, I would not bid on any EOL auctions.  These auctions usually have a reserve attached that may run as high as $900.  That's 72% of the retail value just to be the LOW bidder.  I've seen auctions for these things get up to nearly $1,100 (or more).  That's nearly 90% of retail!  The same is true for the Rookie and King's experiences.  Although they are less inclined to have reserves, I've seen auctions for Rookie experiences hit $370 (93% of retail) and for the King's experience hit $700 or more (90% of retail).  My point here is to not put all your eggs in the driving experience auction basket.

That being said, since there is such a long lead time before the trip to WDW, check back on these auctions often.  You might just find a nugget.  Last fall, I was browsing and found an EOL auction with a current bid of $470 (reserve not met) which was scheduled to end the next day.  On a lark, I bid $500.  That was the reserve price and no one else bid.  I won a $1,249 experience at 40% of it's retail cost. 

So, if the strategy is to avoid the driving experience auctions, what do you bid on?  The Ride-Alongs, of course!  Remember, these certificates can be used toward the purchase of ANY of the driving experiences.  I would snap up any and all "Buy it Now" auctions at the $65 price (with free shipping hopefully).  I would also closely monitor all other auctions for these certificates.  If you could win two or three of these open auctions in the mid $50 range (with minor shipping charges), you'll be set.  You've got lots of time, be discriminating. Now, here's where it becomes critically important for you to make sure that the auctions are for the regular ride-along certificates and not the "holiday rides."  Winning an auction for $60, plus $3 shipping, and then discovering that the item won is a holiday ride certificate worth $79 will destroy your strategy.  Remember, if you can't determine from the auction information, ASK the seller to verify which type of certificate is being auctioned.  Once you determine that a seller only offers the regular certificates, you can return to his auctions often.  Last year, I purchased 6 or 7 regular certificates ("Buy it Now") from such a seller.  Using this strategy, you should be able to purchase the 12 Ride-Along certificates needed (a total value of $1,308) in the $790 - $850 price range as set above.  Maybe less if you're lucky.  Once you have received all the certificates from each of the sellers, you will need to send them all in at one time to RPDE in order to get the upgrade to the EOL. Call RPDE in advance to let them know what you are doing and to be on the look-out for your package.  Once received and verified by RPDE, you can call and schedule your day at the track.

Have a blast and Boogity, Boogity, Boogity let's go racin' boys (and girls)!