Business people involved in customer relations are familiar with the golf outing as a key relationship tool.
   While those that “play” together often improve their chances of doing business together, not everyone plays golf. Some don’t like the game and others, like me, simply have no aptitude for it. Being the one person in the foursome who can’t hit the ball isn’t my idea of fun, but what’s a business person to do?
  For me, the answer was the opening in 2008 of New Jersey Motorsports Park in the South Jersey town of Millville, NJ and with it a whole new avenue for recreational business relationships was opened as well. Although golf is a popular pastime, many guys (and some gals as well) are car buffs who dream about driving their high performance vehicle at the speeds and in the manner that they are capable of. These days, the automotive marketplace offers vehicles with a level of performance that cannot be explored on public roads (that is, if you are socially responsible and law abiding). Fast cars provide a temptation that can't be yielded to unless you have access to a race track.
South Jersey residents now have access to a race track, two of them, in fact. New Jersey Motorsports Park offers the Thunderbolt track (2.25 miles long with 14 turns) as well as the Lightning Track (1.9 miles, 10 turns). These tracks have been designed with both the spirit of driving fun and safety in mind.  Since opening in August of 2008, NJ Motorsports Park has not only hosted races for various professional series, but also accommodates track days or driver education days for The Porsche Club of America and other car clubs from around the region.
  My company, Maran Corporate Risk Associates, is an insurance brokerage in Marlton. As it turns out, a number of my clients have been bitten by the car bug and have scratched their itches by purchasing fast cars.  For example, one of my clients has 5 Corvettes, another has a race-prepped Mazda Miata and a BMW M3; another has an AC Cobra replica that he built himself, as well as some vintage muscle cars.  I have a Porsche 944 Turbo and a Camaro SS.  Having NJ Motorsports Park in the area now provides me and other "car crazy" business people a place to share our common interest off the golf courses.
  Twice during this past summer, I joined my clients from Thomson Lamination for a day of perfectly legal, triple-digit speed and at-the-limit cornering fun. It was as easy as registering with the Porsche Club online, paying a surprisingly reasonable fee (not that much more than greens fees at an exclusive club) and having a pre-inspection done on the car. For those who are new to driving their car on a race track instructors are provided.
  In July we ran our cars on the Thunderbolt circuit, which is the track of choice for most of the professional race series hosted by NJMP. In October, we had a turn on the Lightning circuit, which is shorter but just as fun (some critics prefer the Lightning track because of its better rhythm). 
  Although golf is a great pastime, driving a car to its limits on a racetrack is a more unique experience. Many people have hit (or tried to hit) a golf ball at a corporate golf outing. How many people have put their foot to the floor down the front straightaway of a racetrack and left it there till the speedometer read 120mph?  That kind of common experience has a tendency to create a special bond among people who were formerly just “business associates.”
  So, here’s hoping that more business people will consider New Jersey Motorsports Park, our fantastic new resource, as a effective, viable, different and yes, more exciting alternative to the ubiquitous golf outing. Either that or I’ll have to continue watching my ball roll away from the tee.
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Provided by Joseph L. Pilato, CPCU of Maran Corporate Risk (pictured)