On heel-toe technique: on the racetrack, when you’re coming to the end of a straight you want to brake in as short a period as possible, and as soon as your braking is done, be in the proper gear and ready to apply the throttle instantly. When you started braking, you were probably in top gear, and you may need to be in second to get through the turn. So you have to simultaneously brake and downshift to the lower gear.
So you’re braking and approaching the turn-in point. As soon as you depress the clutch pedal, the engine will drop to idle, and if you just jammed the shifter into the lower gear and pulled out the clutch (without touching the throttle), the engine would be revved up to a speed that matches the wheels (which are still going pretty fast). This could mechanically over-rev the engine and damage it (worst case), or cause your rear wheels to skid, leading to a spin, or just seriously overstress the clutch and tranny.
So you want to rev the engine up to the middle of its rev range, at roughly the point that matches the speed you want to be at when you get off the brakes. This is rev-matching. And you need to keep braking the whole time.
For most drivers in most cars, “heel-toe” is a misnomer. I put my toes on the right side of the brake pedal and, while applying brake, roll the ball of my foot over to the left edge of throttle pedal to blip it. You quickly run it up to, say, 6000, and let go, then as the revs fall, pull out the clutch to smoothly match the speed you need. Off the brake, and power through the turn. Presto. You’re a race driver!
It takes a while to master, but you can practice on the street almost any time you go around a corner. But it’s really a track technique. If all you’re doing is street driving, it’s hardly a necessary skill. Guys who do it on the street are just showing off.
As for driving on race tracks, look into High Performance Driver’s Education (HPDE). For the last five+ years it’s been my main hobby, and I’ve been instructing for the last year. You drive your regular street car on various racetracks around the country. You’re learning and using race driving techniques, but it’s not a competition. There’s no timing, and passing other cars is only permitted in the straightaways and only when the car you’re passing gives you a sign.
Typically you’ll have 3-5 track sessions of 20 to 40 minutes each on a typical track day. If you think that doesn’t sound like much time, you have no idea of how much exertion is involved in this kind of activity. I get home after a day at the track completely exhausted. It’s great fun.
Interested? I highly recommend the National Auto Sport Association. It’s a great organization that runs safe, well organized events at tracks all over the country. Their Web site has lots more info about how HPDE works.
Or you can use this track locator to find a track near you (it has to be a road course–yellow dot), visit the track’s Web site and see what HPDE events are on its schedule. Or check out your local BMW, Audi, or Porsche car club (you don’t have to own one of those cars to participate).
If you have a convertible, you will probably need a roll bar, but various organizations have different requirements.
Don’t be scared: newbies ride with instructors to acquaint them with the basics. It’s safe, and as we often say, the most fun you can have with your pants on.