Snakester
Enthusiast
Well, I got there this morning at 5:15AM and it was still dark outside. There were already about 100 people in line, some with sleeping bags, many with chairs to sit on.
At about 6:30 the rest of the organizers came and an hour later. The waiting in line ended up being the best part, being able to talk with veteran drivers and hear their racing stories.
After getting our numbers and packets everyone went back to their cars, then the organizers ushered cars around to get everyone in a line for tech checkout. The line was VERY slow (Imagine leaving the parking lot from a sold out baseball game).
Then there are several stages of tech inspection, froma visual inspection (cracked windows, bald tires, fluid leaks) to pulling off a lug nut to see thread depth, to jacking the car up and checking bearing play/tie-rod ends, to running up your car to 30mph and coming to a stop.
After passing tech, you park your car in a row, and go out to watch the earliest cars run through the track. There's every kind of car here from Datsun 510 station wagons, to Vettes (all years), to Mini Coopers, to full race trailered cars. And they all race in different catagories.
As the lines for cars feed through slowly, two hours later it's time to move the cars to the final feed in line to the track.
Unfortunately, there has also been a threatening storm that has started to sprinkle lightly.
There are three runs, with the first one being a practice run, and the last two being the timed runs.
I went through the first time carefully to get a feel for the track, but there was a lot of mist now and it was overcast and difficult to see.
I must have missed one of the corners because the setup for the middle slalom was off from inside the car. On my second lap the cone recovery guys were waving to me to go some other way, and it went the same on my third lap.
Retrospectively, I think that I turned in too early all three times, but I couldn't see any other way through the sea of cones and mist.
I ended up with a DNF, and a new high water mark for one of my most embarassing incedents in my life.
..And this was why I had waited for 6 hours? For two minutes of driving, and making a fool of myself in front of a couple hundred people.
I should have had someone in line hold my place, so I could have walked the course and know where I was going. But I didn't know anyone, and the veterans in the line around me could run the course in their sleep.
Oh well. Live and learn.
Maybe I'll stick to the 1/4 mile tracks for a while.
At least I passed tech, and I didn't wreck the car.
-Dean.
At about 6:30 the rest of the organizers came and an hour later. The waiting in line ended up being the best part, being able to talk with veteran drivers and hear their racing stories.
After getting our numbers and packets everyone went back to their cars, then the organizers ushered cars around to get everyone in a line for tech checkout. The line was VERY slow (Imagine leaving the parking lot from a sold out baseball game).
Then there are several stages of tech inspection, froma visual inspection (cracked windows, bald tires, fluid leaks) to pulling off a lug nut to see thread depth, to jacking the car up and checking bearing play/tie-rod ends, to running up your car to 30mph and coming to a stop.
After passing tech, you park your car in a row, and go out to watch the earliest cars run through the track. There's every kind of car here from Datsun 510 station wagons, to Vettes (all years), to Mini Coopers, to full race trailered cars. And they all race in different catagories.
As the lines for cars feed through slowly, two hours later it's time to move the cars to the final feed in line to the track.
Unfortunately, there has also been a threatening storm that has started to sprinkle lightly.
There are three runs, with the first one being a practice run, and the last two being the timed runs.
I went through the first time carefully to get a feel for the track, but there was a lot of mist now and it was overcast and difficult to see.
I must have missed one of the corners because the setup for the middle slalom was off from inside the car. On my second lap the cone recovery guys were waving to me to go some other way, and it went the same on my third lap.
Retrospectively, I think that I turned in too early all three times, but I couldn't see any other way through the sea of cones and mist.
I ended up with a DNF, and a new high water mark for one of my most embarassing incedents in my life.
..And this was why I had waited for 6 hours? For two minutes of driving, and making a fool of myself in front of a couple hundred people.
I should have had someone in line hold my place, so I could have walked the course and know where I was going. But I didn't know anyone, and the veterans in the line around me could run the course in their sleep.
Oh well. Live and learn.
Maybe I'll stick to the 1/4 mile tracks for a while.
At least I passed tech, and I didn't wreck the car.
-Dean.
