I just finished reading by Ingrid Steffensen. It's the story of how the author somewhat-reluctantly tried taking her MINI (R53 MCS!) to the track, got hooked, and transformed her average suburban life and how she thought about herself.

I heartily recommend this book. It is well-written and entertaining, and easy to get sucked into. The author describes a number of the situations that all track drivers have found themselves in quite succinctly, such as her first spin, the first time she passed a car that should have been faster than her, and so on. If you've driven on the track you will smile remembering how you felt about those times as well.

This is not a technical book about how to drive on a track, and it talks about rather more than just getting out there and piloting your car around.

I bought the book as a gift for my wife, who is a sometime track junkie, but contrived to steal it back for long enough to read it myself.

If there is a lady in your life who might consider going to the track, buy her this book. If there is one who already does, buy her this book. If you yourself are thinking of going to the track, buy this book. It is very entertaining, and can show you what sorts of lessons you can take from race-type driving--over and above how to drive on The Line.

Spoiler alert: She eventually retires the MINI to daily-driver duty, and winds up in a more or less dedicated track car. But the MINI is where she fell in love with the racetrack.