Smyrna Doctor Offers Teens Lessons, Spin Around Superspeedway

 

A Smyrna anesthesiologist and car enthusiast is moving drivers' education to the fast lane. Dr. Graf Hilgenhurst is the coordinator and an instructor for the Tire Rack Street Survival coming to Middle Tennessee.

 

Then day-long workshop is aimed at teaching teens safe driving skills, while letting them have some fun behind the wheel-on the track at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon.

Hilgenhurst, a pain management specialist and owner of Precision Pain care, says his passion for high-performance driving, along with his concerns as a parent, are what attracted him to the driving school.

"Most kids find the limits of the vehicle the hard way," he says. "The Street Survival School allows teens to experience this under controlled conditions." The Lebanon program, set for September 12, is sold out at 30 drivers, with a waiting list for would- be students.

Formed in April 2002 by the BMW Car Club of America Foundation, Street Survival is a nonprofit driver education program. With more than 80 schools planned on courses around the nation in 2009, the $60 workshops are designed to go beyond the typical high school drivers' education program. Students drive their own cars, accompanied with experienced instructors, and navigate a variety of road hazards and conditions.