Track Attack registration now open!

[kilobravo]

Roger that, Jeff and short of a hurricane on the East Coast, I feel sure they will continue to add dates.

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[Epiphany]

Mother

 

[Epiphany]

of

 

[Epiphany]

God.

 

[Epiphany]

Best track day ever. Bar none.

 

[jwhite]

@Epiphany , so,,,, you had a good time?!! Lol
For those of us going next week, what’s 1 thing I need to remember to bring or do?
2 what’s the one thing you took away from it to help you ?
Very happy to see you obviously had a great time!!

 

[Epiphany]

Still not caught up from this trip but I'll do my best to hopefully impart some good advice as well as share my experience.

To begin with, the hotel recommended by the school (Terez in my case) was perfect. Near empty, plenty of parking (barely any cars there so you can park close to the hotel) and you can get in and out quickly. The promotional code provided by the school works and if you use it you'll see the rate get discounted. There are a number of bars and restaurants in the area and at current only the staff is required to wear masks so if you choose not to you won't be denied entry. I always had one with me in a small glad sandwich bag in my pocket but found I didn't need it to go into a store, gas station, or restaurant.

If you arrive the day before your scheduled track day you might want to make a dry run by the school's address just to familiarize yourself with its location. It is very close to the hotel the school suggests and you'll pass by the dragway as well on your way.

The day of your scheduled event get there a few minutes early. There aren't a whole lot of people in the covid-era classes but this will give you a chance to check in, park, register, and take a quick look at the cars if they are outside by then. They'll have you stay in your vehicle and drive to the center of the building where they will collect your covid questionnaire and take a quick thermal reading of your temperature from your forehead. They will direct you from there. Once registered inside they will put you in one of two classrooms which have the seating arranged to fall in line with social distancing requirements.

Note if you registered a guest to be with you the school will have the guest with you at times and at other times they won't be participating, for example. They do get first crack at the demo rides at the end of the day. Note - you can't bring a friend or a buddy. They won't get in. And they can't go to the track to hang out and watch from the stands either (either the speedway or dragstrip). Only registered guests can.

You'll get numerous opportunities to use bathroom facilities throughout the day but I highly suggest avoiding foods that historically may not agree with your stomach before you attend.

The school will assign you a car and you will use that vehicle all day. It will have been sanitized for your safety as well as everyone elses. On that note - the staff all have face coverings. Be sure to have your own just in case but you are not required to wear a mask while driving the car.

This may change as this is still early in the process (there was already a difference between the first class group and our second class group) but we essentially spent the first half of the day at the dragstrip and after lunch spent the rest of the day at the speedway. Sprinkled in between are classroom sessions and "get togethers." It is all very well organized in order to maximize track time as well as instruction. The day finishes with some demo laps with an instructor and after that you drive back (on a network of back roads that connect the school to the strip/speedway) for graduation. We were given the opportunity to shop after that. Then it is goodbye.:(

They store the cars in here prior to a given track day (both GT500 and GT350). This is where we drove through and checked in first thing.

Ok. Without a doubt, silver is the clear winner. I think everyone was blown away by how good it looked and this is with every color outside save for white.

They have you exit your vehicle at the digs and proceed to talk everything over. Basically, everyone does some individual 1/8th mile runs (pay attention to where you exit the track and remember that the left lane will always go first when exiting onto the return road). Don't be nervous about the lights and positioning your car for a given run. After the first time it is simple. You'll be in "drag mode" for all of this portion of the day. You then move onto the 1/4 mile (pay attention to where it ends as well as the end of the track!) and then side by side 1/4 mile runs.

The staff is the best there is. I had "Spencer" for my instructor throughout the day and thought he did an absolutely fantastic job. Very professional and ready to help or answer any questions you may have. These are some RAW files the school gives you that I edited to reflect what I'm trying to convey.

Of importance - the school didn't let us use the burnout box, so no preheating/hazing the tires before a given run. On this day that meant things could get a little squirrely at times and also meant nobody would be hitting some of the times you may have seen on YouTube etc. The track hasn't had much use and isn't as sticky as you'd hope for (I'm by no means complaining as the facility was gorgeous, clean, and the staff very professional). I didn't listen to the recommendation for launch rpm and went straight to the max. I then decreased each run by 300 rpm, eventually going as low as you could go. Even at that, traction was limited and we saw a little hop. I drove straight through the car wandering a bit at times due to available traction. In the following shot I'm doing just that. Also note the weight transfer and camber at the rear and rise at the splitter post launch...

I did see a couple guys back out of a run due to their cars becoming too upset. Cliffs:
- look straight down the track but take in all the periphery
- start with a low rpm setting in drag mode and work your way up
- the first run may surprise you at how fast this car is but you'll quickly get used to it and go even faster

Once staged, I found that if I removed my foot off the brake just as the second yellow light illuminated, I wouldn't red light and got along with the tree very well. There is quite a delay in the DCT. You'll see what I'm talking about and pick up on it quickly after the first time you do it. Don't be afraid to experiment or feel bad if you red light. Best part - you barely have to wait between runs to go again, again, and again. This part of the day was a blast I honestly didn't expect.

Lunch. I think there were three different meals to choose from (I had the roast beef and it did the job well).

Charlotte Speedway was a joy I won't soon forget. My group consisted on myself, one other guy, and the instructor (Spencer). They school you on flags in case of any issue and then stagger the groups on the track. You'll start the lead/follow sessions by getting to know the line and then things will ramp up if your group is capable. This is why small groups can potentially be better. I made sure to ask the instructor how close he wanted us to him as well as each other and then did my best to stay on him. He'd say "good job guys" or "red car, give the black car some space", etc. When I immediately followed him I worked hard to mimic his brake points, lines, and his steering inputs. I'm chasing him here...

The infield has plenty of elevation changes and can be tight in a few spots. This car will throttle oversteer at will if you'd like it to (I did and had a blast sliding where I wanted it to). Be prepared for the banked oval as this is where you'll feel it throughout your body. The guys here that frequent Daytona can no doubt elaborate on how you feel when banking at speed. It is something you won't forget if you've never done it. Personally, I was shocked at the grip of the 4S tires and think the aero did well here. I can't imagine how much better it would be with Cup2's and the GT4 wing! Remember, these cars have more power than the Nascar machines that can be 4 wide, etc. Insane.

We were able to press pretty hard and the two of us in our group were out of fuel whereas that didn't happen to anyone else (but I'm sure they were close). So pay attention to your fuel gauge during the last session. In talking it over with the school they mentioned they may have to make an adjustment and give the cars a splash at the end of the day.

Anyway, kudos to the school for the experience they provide. It is beyond superb. If anyone has any questions, ask now as my mental hard drive dumps data on a whim and I never get it back.

 

[IceAge]

Great overview and really appreciate your posting. Wish I could have gone but too many underlying issues at this time to be able to.

 

[Jmeo]

Nice cliff notes Tob, I am now even more excited to go!

 

[Epiphany]

Great overview and really appreciate your posting. Wish I could have gone but too many underlying issues at this time to be able to.

Hopefully it all works out soon and you can experience it. You won't be disappointed.

Nice cliff notes Tob, I am now even more excited to go!

My car had like 150 miles on it when I got in it in the morning IIRC. They will all be broken in by the time you tear it up, so you'll get to go even faster!

On edit:

I took some quick shots of everyone's ride before the day was done.

 

[kilobravo]

Even better than I expected, Tob..well done and roger on fleeting data. :-)

One question...I looked at both groups of cars and didn't see a CFTP. Are all the cars Base models?

Like Jaime, I'm now even MORE excited to go!

 

[Caballus]

Super write up. Interesting that between @Goose17's day and your day they stopped the burnout box. Makes sense though.

One question: what mods, if any, did the cars have?

 

[Epiphany]

One question...I looked at both groups of cars and didn't see a CFTP. Are all the cars Base models?

Just like they've only used regular GT350's an not the R they are only using Base GT500's and not CFTP cars.

One question: what mods, if any, did the cars have?

- ARP wheel studs with open lug nuts
- Watson 4 point cage (bolted in)
- LRS rear seat delete
- Safecraft 4 pt belts
- Motorola communications system
- removed tire inflation kit from trunk

 

[jwhite]

@Epiphany i appreciate the review, I feel a little more prepared for next week.
1 question, They provide race suits, did you just wear shorts and a T-shirt to the track, or pants?
Great review! I can’t wait

 

[kilobravo]

Thanks, Tob. Kind of a shame they don't use some of that profit from the big option to pay for the slightly increased cost of having both models available to match the customer's purchase.

Of course, not that I could tell the difference. <chuckling> I was just hoping to be a little faster than one or two other drivers with a few more goodies to help make up for my zero track experience. <grin>

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