The Session
Drive
You head out and drive. From the right seat, Jon reads it in real time — where your eyes go, your braking points, your line through each corner, and how the car loads and reacts underneath you.
NEW TO THE TRACK?
Your first track day, without the overwhelm.
You don't need a race car, a race suit, or nerves of steel — just your street car and a coach in the right seat. Here's exactly what to expect.
THE SESSION
A private, one-on-one first track day, built around you.
One car. One coach. One focus.
You bring your own street car. Jon rides shotgun the entire session — coaching in real time, reading the car with you, and building control before speed. It’s private, paced to you, and made for a first-timer.
Already done a certified HPDE course? Through 9 Octoberthere’s a smaller way in: the Founder’s Sessions are three 30-minute coached sessions in your own car for $120 total — $40 a session, against $500 for a half day. They pick up where a first track day leaves off, so if you have not run a course yet, start with a half day above.
See dates & bookHOW IT WORKS
How a coaching session works.
You’re not chasing lap times from lap one. We build understanding in a loop — it’s why drivers improve faster, with less seat time.
The Session
Review
You come in and break it down together — your video and data on the Garmin Catalyst from the run. Braking markers, apexes, your line against your best achievable lap — where you're leaving time, right next to what the car was actually doing. Then you pick the one change that matters most.
The Session
Adjust
You take that single change back out and feel the difference immediately. The loop repeats, each run building on the last — repetition with intention, not lap-time chasing.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
The core skills you’ll build on your first track day.
Every session is built around the fundamentals that make you faster and safer — the same building blocks the top schools teach, coached one-on-one and paced entirely to you.
Vision & where to look
Getting your eyes up and ahead — looking through the corner to where you want the car to go, not at what's right in front of you. It's the single fastest way to smooth everything else out.
Braking
Braking hard and early in a straight line, then easing off as you turn in. Where to brake, how to feel the limit of the tires, and the basics of trail braking.
The racing line
Turn-in, apex, and track-out — using the full width of the track to carry more speed with less drama and a bigger margin for error.
Car control & the limit
Feeling weight transfer and grip through the seat, keeping your inputs smooth, and learning to read what the car is telling you as it loads up.
Consistency
Repeatable, deliberate laps beat one hero lap. You'll build habits you can stack on — session after session, day after day.
THE CAR
No race car required.
The car you drove here is the car you’ll learn in — and that’s not a compromise. A stock street car is one of the best ways to learn: you feel every bit of weight transfer, and it won’t hide the small mistakes a built car would.
Drivers show up in everything from a Miata to a GT3. Your daily driver is more than enough for your first day.
- Your normal, mechanically-sound street car
- A helmet (rentals are available at the track)
- Long cotton sleeves and pants — no synthetics
- Dedicated track brake padsStreet and “performance street” pads fade, then wear out — often before lunch.
- DOT 4 racing brake fluidMotul RBF, Castrol SRF or Pentosin Super DOT 4. Street fluid boils under track braking.
Everything else on your car can stay exactly as it is. The brakes are the one place a stock street setup genuinely isn’t enough — here’s what that means.
What your car needs
Bringing your own car means two things have to be right before you arrive. Neither is expensive. Both take a week to order and fit, so check now rather than the night before.
Brake pads
A dedicated track pad
Street pads cook. They fade, then they are gone — often before lunch. You lose the half of the day you paid for.
These do not qualify
- PowerStop Z23, Z26, Track Day, and any pad-and-rotor kitIncluding the line named “Track Day”. Jon does not accept it for a coached day.
- Hawk Street and autocross compounds, including the Hybrid pads
- EBC Green, Red and Yellow
Brake fluid
A DOT 4 motorsport fluid
Street fluid boils under repeated hard braking. When it boils the pedal goes to the floor, and it does it at the end of a straight.
Any of these
- Motul RBF 660
- Motul RBF 600
- Castrol SRF RacingThe one that holds up best once it has absorbed some moisture — worth it if you leave fluid in over a season.
- Pentosin Super DOT 4boils at 509°FThe value pick, and the cheapest way to clear the bar. Note it is Super DOT 4 — not Pentosin DOT 4 LV, which is a different fluid for ABS systems.
For scale: a fluid can be a perfectly legal DOT 4 at 446°F and still be well short of every fluid on this list. “DOT 4” on the bottle is not enough on its own — it needs to be one of these.
Not sure what’s on your car? Call Jon before you order — (214) 794-2657. He would rather spend five minutes on the phone than watch you lose a day you paid for.
Free — both of these
The prep checklist — and Jon’s read on your driving
The Prep Checklist + Jon’s Driver Assessment.Every tire, fluid and torque check he runs before he grids up — plus his read on what’s costing you time. He replies personally.
IS IT SAFE?
A track is the safest place to explore your car’s limits.
A coach in every lapJon is in the car with you the entire session, guiding every input in real time — you're never out there figuring it out alone.
You set the paceYou never go faster than you're comfortable. We start slow and build up speed only as your confidence does.
A controlled environmentEveryone runs the same direction with clear rules — no oncoming traffic, no intersections, no surprises.
A NASA-certified coachYou're learning from a nationally certified instructor who coaches at Motorsport Ranch every week.
WHAT A DAY LOOKS LIKE
From your first session to your last.
- 01
Arrive & plan
You arrive and we talk it through — your goals, your car, and the plan for the day. No big group meeting to sit through; just you and Jon.
- 02
First sessions on track
You head out with Jon in the right seat, starting easy — building control and reading the car together before there's any talk of speed.
- 03
Review the data & video
Between sessions you come inside to Senna's Lounge, sit down, and we break down your video and telemetry on the screen — name the one thing to change next, then send you back out with a clear focus.
- 04
Build through the day
Each session builds on the last. You finish the day driving with more control, awareness, and confidence than you showed up with.
Ready for that day?
One car, one coach, one focus — and a date that’s yours.
See dates & book
WHERE YOU’LL DRIVE
More than a track — a private motorsport destination near Fort Worth.
You’ll drive at Motorsport Ranch Cresson — a purpose-built, members-only facility that feels more like a country club than a race track. Every session is 1:1 with Jon, paced to your level.
Set on 300+ acres just south of Fort Worth, the Ranch has multiple track configurations, a skidpad, private garages, and a clubhouse — one of Texas’s most established driving venues, and the right setting for a focused, deliberate day of getting faster.
Nerves are normal. We build speed in tandem with confidence — and here, mistakes aren’t failures. They’re information.
STUDENT RESULTS
Where drivers find their lap time
You don’t have to take my word for it. This is a driver I’ve coached at Motorsport Ranch Cresson — and the data-backed method behind the lap time that followed.
QUESTIONS
First-timer FAQ.
Is a track day safe for a beginner?
Yes. This is private, one-on-one coaching — Jon is in the car with you the entire time, you set the pace, and the whole day is built around control and smoothness, not speed. You're never thrown in with a pack of faster drivers.
Do I need a race car?
No. A bone-stock, mechanically-sound street car is ideal for your first track day — drivers show up in everything from a Miata to a GT3. The one exception is brakes: you need dedicated track pads and a DOT 4 racing brake fluid before you go out. Nothing else on the car has to change.
What brake pads and brake fluid do I need for a track day?
You need a dedicated track pad and a DOT 4 motorsport brake fluid — Motul RBF 600 or 660, Castrol SRF Racing, or Pentosin Super DOT 4. Street and “performance street” pads do not qualify, even when the box says track: that includes PowerStop Z23, Z26 and Track Day, PowerStop pad-and-rotor kits, Hawk street and autocross compounds, and EBC Green, Red and Yellow. Street pads fade and wear out, often before lunch, and street fluid boils under repeated hard braking — which means the pedal goes to the floor at the end of a straight. If you are not sure what is on your car, call Jon on (214) 794-2657 before you order.
What do I need to bring?
A Snell-rated helmet (most tracks rent them), long cotton sleeves and pants, and your street car — on dedicated track pads and DOT 4 racing brake fluid. That's it.
What if I'm slow or nervous?
That's exactly who this is for. Nerves are normal — we build speed in tandem with confidence, and you set the pace. Mistakes aren't failures here; they're information.
Is it one-on-one, or a group?
Fully one-on-one. Jon coaches you from the passenger seat the entire session — no run groups, no waiting on a classroom, no sharing your instructor with a dozen other drivers. Everything is paced to you.
KEEP LEARNING
Go deeper before you go faster.
Once the basics click, the DATL Method is how you actually get quick — feel and awareness first, data second.
Explore the DATL MethodReady for your first day?
Pick a date and hold your spot with a 50% deposit. We’ll handle the rest.