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11:30am A clutch of excited boys cleverly disguised as middle-aged writers take turns sampling assorted sensations of speed at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The reason were here: its nearly time for Torontos Honda Indy and Honda Canada is gearing up for the big race with this event featuring Indy racing rock star James Hinchcliffe. The event features track time in three different cars: a Formula F race car; a 2014 Honda Civic Coupe Si, a zippy street monster whose 2.4L 4-cylinder engine emits 205hp and 174lb.-ft. torque; and some dangerous-looking go karts that speed up to 70 km/h mere centimeters from the ground. Hinchcliffe is just the big draw for our editors. Its driving the cars that were here for! To be fair, Hinchcliffe is a draw. Not only are his racing credentials impeccable—Hinch managed three Indy victories last year and took home 2011s ‘Rookie of the Year title—but hes a rare Canadian who has made a name for himself as a professional racer. Calling my own experience on the track “racing” is something akin to sitting in a 25-cent grocery store ride-on space-ship and calling that a trip to the moon. But, let me try to explain what it felt like anyway, because its about as close as most of us normals will get to the moon—or to being a professional race car driver. 9:00am Appropriately Lightening Crashes and rains falls until just minutes ago. So, despite the rising heat, the three tracks are patchily damp and puddled. My group is driving the go karts first. 24 year-old Daniel Morad, already a Canadian racing legend (he won the 2007 American Formula BMW championship and 2010 World Championship in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in La Conca, Italy), warns us of oversteer. We have rear brakes only on this wet, yet wonderfully challenging track. In spite of Morads warnings, for a half hour, we all spin 360 degrees in turns tighter than LIVE performing a third encore after a four-month tour. 10:30am ‘Use the whole track. The peppy Civic Si is my flying classroom. Voice crackling instructions via walkie-talkie, pro driver Jeff Boyce coaches us. We take turns flying through the circuit behind Boyce, observing where he floats, brakes, begins and completes turning. Pylons at corner apexes beckon the eye (briefly) into turns. Other series of cones, grouped into threes, twos and ones inform when to brake, then turn. Theres a lot to know and years of poor habits to overcome. It occurs to me how fortunate my group is. We began with fun go karting to quell nerves, then this technically challenging and massively educational hands-on schooling in Civics to heighten awareness — saving the best for last. Then we see the Formula F racer up close. ‘Will we even fit in that? 11:20am Im a sausage, zipped inside a Honda suit that restricts breathing, shimmying into the Formula F ‘casing. They remove the steering wheel for driver access. My small Caucasian keister and broadish shoulders barely fit. Its uncomfortably tiny, like the suit. Then they say, “Go!” Suddenly, this restrictive cylinder magically expands to an angelic extension of my consciousness — a roaring vengeful angel! The steering is too precise; it feels unreal. Marking then finding apex and braking cones becomes almost second nature. The shifter is the width of a pencil and tempting to shift with pinky extended as though drinking tea. Power? The uninitiated may scoff at the 2013 Honda Fit engine, outputting 110 hp. But this speedster weighs just 1,125 lbs with driver (keep in mind that a driverless Smart car weighs 1,650). Then theres the speed sensation. Consider: why does sliding prone on a skateboard, face near the ground, trump 900 km/h at 20,000 ft? Perspective. The VanDiemens view is about as high as the go kart — but 17 times more powerful. Imagine driving a really fast and stiff sleeping bag. And the feeling? Like a sunny Friday June afternoon when you got a raise and your boss was fired. 11:40am Im shotgun as Hinchcliffe rips out a hot lap. Weirdly, its nothing compared to the crack hit I was riding just minutes back. The car is so much higher up, it feels more normal, and when youre just a passenger youre not the one with all that power at your disposal. For Hinch doing these hot laps must be about as thrilling as an unintended afternoon nap. Leading up to lunch, I poll the events professional drivers for tips on driving better. * James Hinchcliffe: “Safety is the most important thing for people who want to drive better. For young people interested in racing, theres a whole other side to your career — the marketing.” * Chris Bye: Three-day racing courses re-teach important basics. They cost thousands but nobody ever told him it wasnt worth it, even if they never raced afterwards. * Jeff Boyce: Take his race-school training. * Daniel Morad: Using a different language, he said the same. What acute irony that Hinch emphasized marketings importance just before his colleagues shilled for their driving schools. Yet they werent wrong. If dangerous idiots were forced to buy track lessons and learn the essentials of speed and motion, our roads would be far safer. Noon Aglow from driving the light speed Formula F, I spy a pretty woman grilling meat and accept the rawest steak she has. Steven Bochenek is a freelance contributor forAutofocus.ca, Canadas pit stop for auto enthusiasts and car buyers alike. Walter Brown Jersey . -- Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera has a broken bone below his right eye after being struck by a bad-hop grounder, sidelining the star slugger for at least a week with opening day on deck. Jaylen Brown Celtics Jersey .com) - Patrick Reed poured in a 19-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole Monday to defeat Jimmy Walker and win the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. http://www.authenticcelticsproshop.com/Walter-Brown-Jersey/. Pospisil, the seventh seed, saved match points in each of the last two sets before falling to the unseeded Dutchman. "I wasnt very happy with the way I was playing,"said Pospisil. Robert Williams Jersey . The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the search, confirmed reports by several media outlets. The interview took place in Southern California on Monday. Kevin Mchale Jersey .C. -- After turning Tobacco Road into "Raleigh Top," Tennessee is headed to the round of 16.DETROIT -- Drew Smyly acknowledged thinking about the possibility of throwing a no-hitter. When Yan Gomes broke up his bid with a two-out double in the fifth, Smyly shifted his focus to simply winning the game to help his team end a skid. Smyly allowed four hits and matched his career high by pitching seven innings, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 5-1 Sunday to avoid avoided a four-game sweep. Smyly (6-8) noticed after two innings that he had held the Indians hitless. "If any pitcher says they dont notice it, theyre lying," he said. "You think about it." The left-hander ended up allowing only one run -- on Gomes seventh-inning homer -- walked two and struck out six. "They didnt see a lot of the same pitches back to back," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. Joba Chamberlain walked two in the eighth, and Joe Nathan pitched a perfect ninth in a non-save situation. The AL Central-leading Tigers (54-41) stopped a four-game losing streak and increased their lead over Cleveland to 5 1-2 games. "Its huge to come and get the win to end that little streak," Smyly said. "But thats baseball, youre going to go on a lot of hot streaks, youre going to go on some cold streaks and you just try to weather the storm." Josh Tomlin (5-7) allowed four runs, six hits and a walk over 4 1-3 innings. Cleveland (50-48) had reached a season-high three games over .500 by winning four in a row. "It was a great series for us," Tomlin said. "Took three games from them, but I came up short." Detroit gave Smyly some support offensively, scoring two runs in the first and two more on Torii Hunters drive deep into the left-field seats in fourth. Austin Jackson led off the first with a double and scored on Ian Kinslers single. Kinssler came home on Victor Martinezs sacrifice fly.dddddddddddd Indians relievers C.C. Lee and Kyle Crockett stranded a total of five runners by combining to strike out the last two batters in the fifth and the sixth. Cleveland manager Terry Francona was pleased with his pitchers performances against Miguel Cabrera, who went 0 for 4, and Victor Martinez, who was 3 of 15 over the four-game series. "Those guys in the middle are pretty special," Francona said. "And, I thought we did a good job against them." Nick Castellanos hit an RBI double for a four-run lead in the eighth inning, taking some pressure off Nathan, who was greeted by the fans with a mix of cheers and boos after giving up a game-losing hit in Saturday nights loss. "I dont think it hurt that he got back out there," Ausmus said. NOTES: Tigers RHP Justin Verlander (8-8, 4.88) is to face Arizona LHP Vidal Nuno (0-1, 3.00) when Detroit begins a seven-game trip that continues against the Los Angeles Angels. ... Martinez played first base, giving Cabrera a day of relative rest as a designated hitter, and may play there while Cabrera moves to third for a game or two against the Diamondbacks. ... The Indians will stay on the road, expecting to put called-up LHP T.J. House (1-2, 4.40) on the mound against LHP Kris Johnson (0-1, 5.40) Monday night and called-up RHP Danny Salazar on Tuesday night at Minnesota. ... Detroit and Cleveland optioned the 26th players they had for Saturdays doubleheader, sending RHP Drew VerHagen to Triple-A Toledo and RHP Zach McAllister to Triple-A Columbus. ... Tigers owner Mike Ilitch attended the game on his 85th birthday. ... The Indians had won a season-best five straight on the road. ... Cleveland had won a season-best five straight on the road. ' ' '