Hooked On Driving - Great Lakes region

The following is with permission from Rob Lay...

Partly as a result of this thread, on March 23, 2009 I signed the franchise contract to become owner/ Director of the Great Lakes region of Hooked On Driving. Our inaugural event is in the Chicago area at Autobahn Country Club Thursday June 18, North Circuit.

Here are our upcoming events in the Great Lakes area (plus two more yet to be scheduled; one at Gingerman, one at Blackhawk Farms):

• 
  June 18 (Thursday) at Autobahn Country Club, Joliet, IL
• July 16 (Thursday) Autobahn
• August 10 (Monday) Autobahn
• August 17 (Monday) Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI (immediately following the American LeMans Series pro-race weekend)
• September 10 (Thursday) Autobahn

We have four run groups: A-beginner, B-intermediate, C-advanced and D-race prepared, plus X-Coaches Only. HOD’s passing protocol is conservative (passing zones on straight sections of track, demarked via large green and yellow cones), passing must be acknowledged with a point-by from driver being passed and only on the left; we loosen it up a bit for C and we do allow open passing (driver’s left only) in D and X though no passing from turn-in to apex.

In 1000 events we’ve never had car-to-car contact and only one car with major damage. According to an independent customer satisfaction survey:
“88% of your customers will Absolutely or Very Likely drive again with HOD. They are “hooked”. HOD is clearly meeting or exceeding their customer expectations for event organization, coaching and out of car instruction. Significantly, a staggering 93% agree that they will unreservedly recommend HOD to their friends interested in high-performance driving.” – bento strategy, November 2008

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Background on Hooked On Driving:
Founded as a performance driving program with a national growth goal, HOD, Hooked On Driving has grown rapidly from its start in Northern California in 2004. HOD has two other major U.S. operations. One, run by Joe Mills, based in Pennsylvania and covering the Northeastern U.S., and Henry Gilbert located in Florida and serving Florida and Southern Georgia.
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Also looking to increase our coaches database; if you're qualified I'd like to hear from you.

Call or email with questions.

Best regards,

Rob

Rob Schermerhorn
Director, Great Lakes region
Hooked On Driving
10590 West KL Ave
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
P: 847.380.9508
M: 847.638.4226
F: 269.585.6013
[email protected]
www.hookedondriving.com

ps, still doing shocks and suspension stuff, this is an expansion of business!

 

Thank you! I was just out at Thunderhill with David's group for the Hooked on Corvettes Thursday and then Friday's 110+ sellout; were you there? What a fun circuit, I had never driven it before.

Best,
Rob

 

The Ferrari Club of America (FCA) selected Hooked On Driving (HOD) to provide their high-performance driver education program for FCA’s 2009 National Meet. In addition, FCA also requested HOD Great Lakes region owner Rob Schermerhorn to act as Chief Steward for the three-day high-speed driving event at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin’s internationally famous Road America.

Nearly fifty drivers attended the Friday driver’s school, 96 total participants for the three-day weekend event. Friday’s school weather was ideal, dry morning sessions followed by rain, providing students an ideal learning experience that will pay off for years to come.

One of HOD’s Friday students, Ed Muncie, won one of two presented Coppa GT awards, the highest award in the Club, which is achieved by demonstrating superior car control and situational awareness while piloting his mechanically perfect Ferrari at speed on the challenging circuit. “Hooked On Driving allowed me to learn a great deal in a very short time about driving, my car and myself as a driver. I recommend (them) to anyone who’s looking to become a better driver while having a ton of fun doing it” said an elated Muncie.

“Everyone I talked to about it said it was one of the best (on-track events) they ever went to”, Mike Epifanio, FCA 2009 Event Chairman.

“Hooked On Driving did a fantastic job for us. We appreciate you making us look good”, Fred Panici, Treasurer, FCA Central States Region.

“We were honored by the initial request to be the official school and I personally loved it as the event brought me back with my favorite marque and circuit; I managed a Ferrari team for ten years and Road America has been a home track since 1986” said HOD Great Lakes Director Schermerhorn.

Founded as a performance driving program with a national growth goal, HOD, Hooked On Driving has grown rapidly from its start in Northern California in 2004. HOD has three other major U.S. operations. One, run by Joe Mills, based in Pennsylvania and covering the Northeastern U.S., Henry Gilbert located in Florida and serving Florida and Southern Georgia and finally our founder and franchisor David Ray operates in Northern California and Nevada. HOD advertises nationally and is recognized as the official performance driving experience for Roush Performance. END