Two newly race tracks beside Limerock

[Croc]

I take it like a man, no vaseline needed! :ack:

[jimrankin]

I know I'm going to ramble on and I don't really have an actual point other than "there is no excuse for not getting on track"so please forgive me in advance.:deadhorse:

When I was young, single and had the disposable income to fuel a sports car habit there weren't a lot of places, or rather, opportunities to get your street drivable car onto a real racetrack. I did manage a good bit of unsanctioned weekend racing when I lived in the south ('69-'71)but the events were mainly geared towards full size NASCAR wannabe's and my hopped up MGA and a couple of TR's and the like who would show were usually pretty lonely. Moved to Ca. in '71 and making a living and a family became more important although I still always had a sports car of some kind to work on and play with.

I was out of touch with "road racing"'till '01 when I discovered through friends who belonged to the local BMW club that you could actually get on our local tracks without joining the SCCA or building a track only car. But even then it was a really limited number of events and if you weren't quick they were full.

Then in early spring '04 I was at a club event at Thunder Hill Raceway and met David Rey who came to pitch Hooked On Driving, his start up track day organization. HOD was a bit more money for the track time than club events but he was soon booking quite a few NorCal track days so "ordinary" working guys like me could usually find a way to make time for several events and get onto tracks like Laguna Seca and Sears Point (Sonoma) as well as his "home" track at TH.

I still do 3-4 HOD events each year although I prefer club events because of the lower car count and more on track time (and usually cheaper, tight b-----d that I am). That said I still pitch his events to anyone who I meet that has either a decent performing car or an interest in trying some "spirited driving" because his whole low key approach of "safety, fun, learning" seems to be the best way to get newcomers "hooked" and coming back. Too many club events either don't allow "first timers" or if they do the level of competition seems to make them feel uncomfortable and they never come back.

Hold on, I'm finally kinda getting to the point! Maybe not.

First, lets dismiss "video game" type devices as "driving". Even the best arcade type 3D does everything simulator units don't have a lot to do with driving other than giving you a real preview of a track you may not know. Admittedly, they are great for that. OK to rant back if you love simulators and yes, I know the pros use them, but it's usually to pre learn their reference points etc. ;-).

Second, getting onto a "real" race track is just too easy these days for anyone to even consider not giving it a try. I usually ask people if they want to learn just where their car looses grip and make some dust on the run off, or would they rather use parked cars or guardrails?

Third, todays "pedestrian" cars and tires handle better than performance cars and tires from my youth. If your buying anything today that's aimed at actually being "sporty" you just about can't find the end of it's performance envelope at anything close to reasonable speeds. If you want to learn the limits of the car you either get to a track or your probably going to a hospital or jail, or both.

When some of the younger "idiots" who worked for me would talk about street racing I'd cringe. I used to tell them "street racing doesn't decide who's the best driver, just who's stupidest". Didn't do me a lot of good, but then after all, I was talking to idiots.

Take your friends to the track! I warned you I was going to ramble!

[xcarguy]

Yeah.....what Jim said. :jester:

[yellowss7]

Our 7's gathering track day is the perfect place to get a taste of what our cars can do on a nice track, with the benefit of running with just other 7's so there is no issue with bigger cars on track at the same time. Add in a little good natured ball busting and you have a really fun event.

 

So as Jim says, take it to the track! Tom