About Texas Driving Experience

Imagine the thrill of unlimited acceleration in a 405-horsepower Z06 Corvette at Texas Motor Speedway! This, and much more, is what Dawn Stokes had in mind when she founded Texas Driving Experience, an organization dedicated to safe, educational fun.

An avid auto enthusiast, Stokes had always enjoyed participating in high-performance driving schools. The skills and techniques taught by professional drivers gave her a greater understanding of car control and handling. Stokes decided to parlay these skills into creating an environment dedicated to teaching our most "high risk" driving population: teenagers. In March of 2003, Stokes founded SKILLS, LLC, a program that provides teenage drivers with the behind-the-wheel experience necessary to survive today's dangerous roads.

Recognizing the success of SKILLS, Stokes wanted to reach a broader audience with safe, educational, fun programs. Combining 18 years of experience as a corporate executive and her desire to create better-educated drivers, Stokes developed cutting-edge programs for corporate groups and individuals under the name Texas Driving Experience. Utilizing a fleet of Millennium Yellow Z06 Corvettes and brand new Audi's, Texas Driving Experience offers extreme racecar Rides and Drives, results-oriented Corporate Team Building, Fleet Safety Programs, and the SKILLZ for Life Teen School.

Since its inception, Texas Driving Experience has educated thousands of drivers and corporate groups, such as Frito Lay, Chesapeake, IBM, Microsoft, UPS, Centex Construction and Capital One. Today, Texas Driving Experience remains passionate about producing safer, more prepared drivers through its exhilarating programs.

Dawn Stokes, Founder and CEO "Through creativity and commitment, TDE has gathered a set of individuals that truly care about what they do everyday. Our crew is accountable, brilliant, and performs at levels that blow our customers away. This dedication to their role within the company is not taught or formed. They bring their own talents and motivation. We are fortunate to be surrounded by people who want to be part of something that is growing and makes a difference in other peoples lives. You can see it here, on this page, in their own words and more importantly, in their faces. Yes, we are having fun!" Before founding Texas Driving Experience, Dawn spent 18 years as an executive in the Medical Industry where her sales and leadership skills earned her numerous awards and seats on several boards. Currently, she is CEO of SKILLS, LLC and was recently selected as a "Woman of Influence" by the Fort Worth Business Press. Dawn actively participates in numerous local and national charities, remains on several boards and tirelessly works toward her main passion: the SKILLS Teen Driving School.

	Ray Anderson, TDE Driver, Instructor na Ray has loved racing since the age of five and has always wanted to be a racer. In 1983 he bought his first Porsche 911, which eventually led him to racing Porsches in 1999. Since then he has obtained a National-Instructor SCCA and NASA license, won the SCCA Southwest Division F-Production Championship in 2003, and raced in the 2003 and 2005 Runoffs at Mid Ohio (SCCA National Championship event). He has worked for O. Bruton Smith, owner of Speedway Management, Inc, for three years and manages an automotive loan portfolio for Sonic Automotive.
	John Barrentine, TDE Driver, Instructor, SKILLZ Instructor "My passion is the Teen program for so many reasons...However, seeing adults raise their personnel bar is also rewarding and makes this unique profession fun." John is a "weekend warrior" crew member of the RealTime Acura Racing Team and raced for the Sports Car Club of America for fifteen years, competing in SCCA's Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge. In addition to his racing career, John was also Vice President of a national restaurant chain for twelve years and has worked in restaurant consulting and real estate brokerage.
	Neal Bellamy, TDE Driver, Instructor "I enjoy helping people learn what is going on when they lose control of their vehicle and gain the skills needed to safely correct the situation and avoid an accident." Neal has taught high-performance driving since 1988 and has raced in over 700 events in his lifetime. Neal's business career includes thirty-three years with Verizon/GTE as Assistant Vice President in Regulatory Affairs, where he led a team of more than twenty professionals in establishing a company position on regulatory issues.
	Pete Baynard, TDE Driver, Instructor More information coming soon!
	Lisa Boyd, TDE Driver, Instructor, SKILLZ Instructor Lisa Boyd has been racing sports cars since 1994. In 1998, she was the SCCA Southwest Division Champion driving an F-Production Fiat Spider. Lisa currently races an Alfa Romero GTV-6 in the E-Production SCCA Club Racing Series. Lisa is a TDE Driver, Instructor, SKILLS Teen School Instructor and Introduction to Road Racing Instructor.
	Paul Evans, TDE Driver, Instructor, SKILLZ Instructor Paul has been involved with motor sports for over 25 years. He began with dirt track and then moved on to road racing in 1985, driving a wide variety of cars from Stock Cars to Cobras. In his professional career, Paul is employed with BMC West, a construction distribution company where he is in charge of Business Development. He is also a licensed instructor for Nation Home Builders Association and teaches all the sales, marketing, and customer service classes around the country.
	Scott Evans, TDE Driver, Instructor "The most enjoyable aspect of TDE for me is getting to share my knowledge and talents to help others achieve a higher level of driving ability." Scott has been racing competitively for the past twelve years, winning races in Karts and Legend cars all over the country. He is a UNT graduate with a BBA and is currently the Vice President and General Manager of a small aviation parts manufacturing company.
	Leann Falk, TDE Driver, Instructor Leann has extensive racing experience, including ten years of road racing, two top-three finishes at the SCCA National Championships, three years in the IMSA Endurance Series, one season in Mini-Sprint Cars, and two years of ice racing. She shares her time between instructing and driving for the Marlboro Racing School and for Texas Driving Experience. She is fluent in French.
	Josh Gilbert, TDE Driver, Instructor "I enjoy the satisfaction of helping others become better drivers and have a great time." Josh has eight years of professional racing experience, including racing go-karts, ASA Speed Trucks, Super Late Models, and over 60 wins in Legend Cars. Currently he is racing in the Hooters Pro Cup Series. Josh and his dad own a racing shop in Hurst, Texas.
	Phill Osborne, TDE Driver, Instructor, SKILLZ Instructor "Personal Passion at TDE: "Seeing the light bulb come on when students finally 'get it'!" Phil has been a corporate driving instructor for SCCA and an autocross and track event instructor for twenty years. He is a retired police officer of 27 years and taught high-speed pursuit tactics and police defensive tactics for fifteen years.
	Alan Riley, TDE Driver, Instructor "If it has wheels and horsepower -- I'm in!" Alan started out racing motorcycles, then won third place in the nation and two state championships racing Legend Cars. His most recent endeavor is racing NASCAR Cup Stock Cars. In addition to his racing career, Alan has owned Riley Transportation for twenty-seven years, contracting with companies such as FedEx and DHL.
	John Rutherford, TDE Driver, Instructor, SKILLZ Instructor Passion at TDE: "Knowing that everyone who participates in a TDE 'behind-the-wheel' event will have a fantastic experience and that they will be better, safer drivers when they return to the streets." As a racecar driver, John has competed successfully in Karts, Pro F2000, Pro Toyota Atlantic, and Pro Endurance Sportscar competitions. He has worked as a racing instructor for thirteen years and enjoys being an automotive product specialist.
	Gerry Terranova, TDE Driver, Instructor Gerry currently organizes, teaches, and competes nationwide in Autocross events and is a multi-time National SCCA Champion Autocrosser. In the world of business, Gerry is a senior programmer for Fortune 100 companies.
	Andre Vandenberg, TDE Driver, Instructor "What I really like is to see the improvement in the drivers' abilities as I take them around the track. To see them gain self confidence and trust is something no money can buy." Andre's extensive racing career includes dirt track and road racing in South Africa and motorcycle racing in South Africa and the U.S., winning several regional championships and placing third in national championships three times. Andre's business career is linked closely to his passions, as he has spent seventeen years in the motorcycle auction and export business and three years buying products at auctions nationwide for domestic and foreign dealers.
	Mitch Warren, TDE Driver, Instructor Personal Passion at TDE: "Seeing the expression on a student's face before, during, and after a TDE experience -- because I still feel the same range of emotions they do." Mitch's passion for racing goes way back to his childhood, and he has experience with both on and off-road motorcycle racing and road racing. Outside of the racing world, Mitch has spent twenty-four years producing employee training and information multi-media programs for the nuclear power industry.
	Jim Woodard , TDE Driver, Instructor "I believe the work we do with Teens in our safety school is very important and helps young people learn essential skills in handling a vehicle safely and avoiding an accident." Throughout his life, Jim has participated in national drag racing events, crewed for a race team campaigning a GT2 car for five years, and worked as a driving instructor for the last several years. He has a particular passion for Cobras and currently sells Superformance Replica cars. In addition to working with cars, Jim served over 38 years with American Airlines as Managing Director Field Services in the Cargo Division, responsible for the day-to-day field operations for the Americas, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

	Reggie Hurry, TDE Driver, Instructor, SKILLZ Instructor Personal Passion at TDE: "I love it all! My first passion is to help Teen drivers discover and perfect accident avoidance skills but I also enjoy corporate people coming out and having a great time." Reggie has worked on the crew for the RealTime Acura Racing Team for 11 years and has also been involved in SCCA Road Racing for the past 18 years. Reggie also owns a cabinet-making business and builds and creates custom entertainment centers.
	Kevin Williams, TDE Instructor, SKILLZ Instructor, Safety Manager "It has been a pleasure to watch the students' confidence rise and know we've made a difference. The biggest reward is seeing the smile on a customer's face at the end of the day." Kevin enjoyed a brief career in SCCA sports car racing and then became involved in race officiating for both professional and amateur organizations, serving two terms as Regional Executive of The Texas Region SCCA and other prestigious positions. He is also a businessman; in 2002, he opened an industrial supply company after twenty-two years of experience as a salesman and manufacturers representative in the industry.
	Jane Willis, TDE Instructor "I love teaching people to drive fast and to go beyond their wildest dreams!" Jane began racing go-karts and then moved into racing full-bodied cars in 1990. She has accumulated four National Championships and seven second-place finishes, and in 1995 was one of only two women named Driver of the Year by the Sports Car Club of America. Besides driving for TDE, Jane has worked for Volvo Car Finance in the Retailer Services Department for four years.

George Shepherd, Event Assistant George enjoys spending his time helping at both TDE and Speedway events. His experience is grounded in drag racing, and he has built and raced Street Stock, Sports Stock, and Modified Production cars in the Midwest. Outside of the track, George is a successful Business Development and Program Management Professional in the high-tech industry.