Drivers’ need for speed saves lives in Iraq

By CHARLES SHEEHAN

WAMPUM, Pa. – At a racetrack north of Pittsburgh, the air is thick with the smell of burning rubber and overheated brake pads. Cars hit speeds of 100 mph, then execute 180-degree, sliding turns.

But the drivers squealing around the BeaveRun Motorsports Complex aren’t risking lives in the name of speed – instead, they are speeding to save lives, teaching people leaving for Iraq the skills they may need while driving in a war zone.

As government agencies and private security teams prepare people for deployment, business at racetracks offering instruction on driving through roadblocks, past roadside bombs and away from fiery ambushes are booming.

Analysts say it became clear early in the conflict that U.S. troops, contractors and members of the Coalition Provisional Authority are most vulnerable while on the road.

That’s increased the demand for training facilities that can teach drivers how to drive fast, drive hard and "Get off the X" – an imaginary box where insurgents have trained their most devastating fire.

"If not unique to Iraq, it is much more important" to have highly trained drivers, said Jack Stradley, managing director at the security firm Kroll Inc. "The insurgency has realized there are so many contractors and so many Western personnel moving around Iraq, it is easy and efficient to attack them as they move."

At BeaveRun, about 30 men, identified only as operators under the control of the U.S. State Department, were in the midst of an intense, three-day program in which mock attacks will be sprung and explosions detonated.

Later in the afternoon, they smashed through cars blocking a road – or, in the words of Don Barrack, the chief of training at BeaveRun, they "became the hammer on the nail."

All of the men training Monday will depart for Iraq this summer.

BeaveRun began high-risk driving instruction in the past year as classes reached capacity at Summit Point Motorsports Park of West Virginia, about 50 miles outside of Washington, D.C. Summit Point had offered about eight high-risk classes a month but now offers as many as 22 classes.

There have been spikes in enrollment during past conflicts, but the perception among many trainers is that classes will be full for the foreseeable future, reflecting a new reality.

"Given the conflict we have now, it’s going to get worse, not better. That is the nature of this war on terrorism," said Cal Frye, chief operating officer at Virginia International Raceway.

Business at Crossroads Training Academy, which operates at tracks in Florida, Texas and Michigan, is up 40 percent this year and is expected to get better, said Jerry Yoakum, director of operations.

"We’re definitely seeing a big influx as a result of the conflict," he said. "And the business is shifting from corporate to government and government contractors."

Virginia International opened its Safety and Security Institute in 2003. It features miles of road configurations and has a 360-degree firing range that allows students to jump from cars, fire a barrage and escape. AP)