The Ohio Auto-X and Track Event chat thread

[rally2003]

Found out I placed 5th out of 6 in SMF with a stock Olds Alero. I wounder how he felt about his modded Integra after that. I miss my car. I would have placed 1st easily by 2 or 3 seconds. Oh well...
If my car my car isn't done by the next event my friend is letting me co-drive his Vantage

 

[Evan9999]

HAHA Goes to show you that the driver mod is very important! Even if you get your car done in time, you should still try to co-drive that Vantage haha that would be awesome.

 

[codex]

Auto interests just posted a new Mid Ohio event for July 7th.
http://autointerests.com/events/570

Something different:
NOVICE DRIVERS MUST HAVE AT LEAST ONE DAY OF DRIVING EXPERIENCE AT MID-OHIO for this event.

FIRST-TIME DRIVERS - should sign up for our acclimation program for this date.

 

[Perro del Sol]

Auto interests just posted a new Mid Ohio event for July 7th.
http://autointerests.com/events/570

Something different:
NOVICE DRIVERS MUST HAVE AT LEAST ONE DAY OF DRIVING EXPERIENCE AT MID-OHIO for this event.

FIRST-TIME DRIVERS - should sign up for our acclimation program for this date.

There will be additional enhancements on this program for the first timers.

 

[Lewis7789]

YES! Good idea. A couple of those cats were downright scary out there. And I'm no pro driver at all, don't get me wrong. But I think even when we did Hyperdrives we got 1 hour of classroom instruction for the basics.

I should be getting my quarterly bonus so I might sign up for that event. Anyone else want to go?

Marlon, Will and Marc, would you guys be instructors again?

 

[WillD]

Sure I'll instruct again. I like Monday track days because it beats the heck out of working.

 

[Lewis7789]

Dibs on Dr. Dodd again! haha

 

[princess peach]

Bad news:

- they're totaling it
- they're not allowing me to but it back or negotiate some way to fix it

Good news:

- Farmers approved the claim
- some mods will be covered, they're still looking into that
- I'll be allowed to swap some parts with stock ones, need to look into that
- John is interested in some of the parts, so they'll go to a good home and I get a bit of money back

Since I'm sick of parking cars and want to get rid of the dependency from the part time, I'm getting rid of what I can for now and eventually I'll look into getting another fun car.

Anybody got some cheapo 17' tires? I need a set

 

[Perro del Sol]

YES! Good idea. A couple of those cats were downright scary out there. And I'm no pro driver at all, don't get me wrong. But I think even when we did Hyperdrives we got 1 hour of classroom instruction for the basics.

I should be getting my quarterly bonus so I might sign up for that event. Anyone else want to go?

Marlon, Will and Marc, would you guys be instructors again?

Yes, I will be instructing and I am trying to get Marc Miller, Tom Long, Stevan McAleer, Chad McCumbee, Jaon Saini and Andrew Carbonell to lend a hand as well.

 

[codex]

I'm interested in going to the July event. We should try to get some of the OMS members to go out for the first time. Track First is running a special as well helmet + Mid Ohio track time = $399.

 

[Perro del Sol]

YES! Good idea. A couple of those cats were downright scary out there. And I'm no pro driver at all, don't get me wrong. But I think even when we did Hyperdrives we got 1 hour of classroom instruction for the basics.

I should be getting my quarterly bonus so I might sign up for that event. Anyone else want to go?

Marlon, Will and Marc, would you guys be instructors again?

Thre were Intermediate drivers that should not have been out in that group as well and Jason is looking into options for that as well. I know that we had a few incidents where point by's were given too late and in the wrong areas of the track. Going forward, two instructors must sign off on drivers wanting to move up classes and a check list is being created (similar o NASA's Passport) to verify the students ability.

Also, there's a possibility that lap timers for Novices will not be allowed, as this has proven to be a distraction for novices. Just taking your eyes off the the track for a split second, is too long, as things can happen in an instance!

 

[Lewis7789]

For anyone wanting to run the July 7th event (yay 4 day weekend!) there is a early registration sign-up for only $125.

http://autointerests.com/content/july-7-2014-mid-ohio-hpde-deposit

 

[Lewis7789]

I'm interested in going to the July event. We should try to get some of the OMS members to go out for the first time. Track First is running a special as well helmet + Mid Ohio track time = $399.

But I would bet most of the OMS guys would be track virgins. Didn't you post earlier novices without any experience at Mid-Ohio won't be able to run at the July 7th event?

 

[Perro del Sol]

But I would bet most of the OMS guys would be track virgins. Didn't you post earlier novices without any
experience at Mid-Ohio won't be able to run at the July 7th event?

You are correct, they would be eligible for the introduction to HPDE Program.

 

[WillD]

Thre were Intermediate drivers that should not have been out in that group as well and Jason is looking into options for that as well. I know that we had a few incidents where point by's were given too late and in the wrong areas of the track. Going forward, two instructors must sign off on drivers wanting to move up classes and a check list is being created (similar o NASA's Passport) to verify the students ability.

Also, there's a possibility that lap timers for Novices will not be allowed, as this has proven to be a distraction for novices. Just taking your eyes off the the track for a split second, is too long, as things can happen in an instance!

I like it!

Auto Interests is the only club that I've heard of that doesn't require you to submit your experience when you sign up for an event. I'm sorry, but I hate organizations that just let people pick their run groups and go with it. NNJR PCA lets you pick your own run group, but if they think that you don't have enough experience for the group you selected, you aren't running in that group!

When I went to Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama over the winter they put me in the novice group despite the fact that I've done 50+ track days. Would I of picked that group? No... But they err on the side of caution since I had never been there before.

As far as lap timers... I think that lap timers can be a good tool for people, but they absolutely should not be visible to novices or maybe even intermediate drivers while they are driving the car.

 

[Evan9999]

I like it!

Auto Interests is the only club that I've heard of that doesn't require you to submit your experience when you sign up for an event. I'm sorry, but I hate organizations that just let people pick their run groups and go with it. NNJR PCA lets you pick your own run group, but if they think that you don't have enough experience for the group you selected, you aren't running in that group!

When I went to Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama over the winter they put me in the novice group despite the fact that I've done 50+ track days. Would I of picked that group? No... But they err on the side of caution since I had never been there before.

As far as lap timers... I think that lap timers can be a good tool for people, but they absolutely should not be visible to novices or maybe even intermediate drivers while they are driving the car.

I went to the Mid-Ohio Autointerests event near the end of last season. There was a guy in a Mustang in the intermediate group that definitely should have been in the beginner group. He was driving insanely slow and probably lapping somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 minute laps times. On top of that, he wasn't driving the racing line at all. Also, he was giving people point-by signals in madness. When he would give the point-by signal, he would slow down even further! Luckily, they dropped him down to the beginner group after 2 sessions.

They should definitely require drivers to submit their track experience. I doubt there would be a lot of people lying about their experience. Even if they did lie, I'm sure the track organizers would be able to tell right away based on how they drive.

I agree, lap timers shouldn't be allowed for novices. Other than bragging rights, why would a novice even need to know their lap times? They're a novice so they should be listening to the instructor and focusing on getting used to the track.

 

[pmartz16]

But I'm a race car driver...

 

[WillD]

 

[pmartz16]

That video never gets old

 

[WillD]

No, it most definitely does not.

"That is how I drive. Flat out."