Driving school near Chicago?

[ROC CHGONSX]

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a driving school near chicago to learn how to drive my NSX to it's fullest potential and basically learn how to handle the clutch better, turns, etc. This is my first clutch and I got the daily commute under by belt and I'm ready to step it up a notch.
Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[RP-Motorsports]

Yes, the Windy City region of the BMWCCA will be hosting its annual driving school with classroom, in-car instructors, skidpad, braking exercise etc. 2 full days at one of north americas premier tracks Road America (about 2 1/2 hours north of chicago)

It will be held on the weekend of May 6, 7 2006.

You will be put in the "novice" group and will have an in-car instructor during all 6 on-track sessions, and is 99.99% safe and controlled. In the novice group towards the end of Sunday, you will get to see speeds up to 120mph (only if you and your instructor are comfortable with it)

It is NOT about speeds, but lines, braking, track interactions with other cars, and the increased speed will come with learning.

If you pass the course, your instructor will move you up to intermediate for the next event.

It is where I started my high performance craze, and I have ZERO regrets!

Join the national BMWCCA and you will automatically be assigned Windy City chapter based on your local to Chicago. Milwaukee also has a chapter called Badger Bimmers, and they host a school in fall, so if you want you can pay the extra $15 or so and add a second chapter membership. This way you will receive Windy City's and Badgers newsletters. They both also offer Auto-X, schools @ Blackhawk Farms, Gingerman, and Graten, and other driving clinics throughout the year.

Here is where you sign up. http://www.bmwcca.org/members/am/template.cfm?Section=Welcome

 

[nsxtasy]

I second the recommendation of the Windy City BMW CCA's drivers schools. Beginning this year, Windy City will not be going to Grattan, but will instead go to Putnam Park. Here are their dates:

Road America (WI) May 6-7
GingerMan (MI) June 24-25
Putnam Park (IN) August 26-27

I will be going to the Putnam Park school held by Hoosier Chapter on April 15-16. A couple of other chapters also hold schools there.

When you join BMW CCA, you can sign up for any driving school that any chapter holds, not just your own chapter. As Tom notes above, you can pay a bit more to join other chapter(s) and receive their newsletters. Chapter policies vary as to whether you have to actually pay extra to join their chapter to drive in their events; some do, some don't. Each chapter has its own website, with links from the national website at http://www.bmwcca.org[url]. I also...http://www.cgimotorsports.com]CGI Motorsports. They put an instructor in every novice's car (IMPORTANT!) and they hold classroom sessions for the novices (IMPORTANT!).

And if you haven't already done so, join the NSX Club of America. We have a big group of members in Chicago-Milwaukee. Please come to our annual dinner on March 11. We will also be holding a multi-day event called the Spring Fling in May.

 

[ROC CHGONSX]

Thanks for the leads. I've read a little about Road America and the BMWCCA here and it looks like the place to be. Last thing: We get to drive our NSXs right and not BMWs?

 

[nsxtasy]

Thanks for the leads. I've read a little about Road America and the BMWCCA here and it looks like the place to be. Last thing: We get to drive our NSXs right and not BMWs?

That's correct. You can drive any make and model of car. And you do not need to own a BMW to become a club member.

The NSX gets a lot of respect around the BMW club...