Tommy Constantine sees many parallels between racing and everyday driving. A 38 year-old professional race-car driver who's been driving Nissan 350Zs since last year for Playboy Racing in the Grand-Am Rolex and KONI Challenge Series, Constantine is a driving authority both on and off the race course.
"Whether you're on a racecourse, or you're driving down the road, it's all about processing information," he says. "Keeping track of where your competitors are while racing is no different than watching for pedestrians, obstacles or other cars while driving your daily commute."
To process information better, Constantine recommends that drivers learn to avoid focusing on just one thing at a time. To practice, hold your hand in front of you and pick an object across the room - and look at both without focusing on either. "In racing, you need to look at multiple things at once, like the apex of the corner and the exit going into a turn. On the street, you should widen your view to see the streetlight and the cars ahead instead of focusing on just the car in front of you. Another thing you want to remember is to look where you want to go. If you find yourself going into a corner a little too fast, look where you want the car to go instead of the guardrail."
Constantine also emphasizes the importance of not trying to do more than 100 percent of what you and the car are capable of while driving. "If you're accelerating or braking at the limit, you can't make sharp turns without losing grip. When I am racing I can only be 100% in the moment. Any distractions can lead to serious consequences on the track"
But, according to Constantine, nothing's more crucial to road safety than driving a neutral-handling car - and he's found that driving for Nissan. "Getting incredible balance is something that most racing teams spend millions trying to accomplish - and the SE-R and 350Z do it right out of the box. I've driven production models of both cars on the track and could dance around the corner like I was driving a brilliantly balanced racecar. That's very rare."
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