Summit Point, WV Track Day (Sun, Jun 18th 2016, 7:00am - 6:00pm) (Sun, Jun 18th 2017, 7:00am - 7:00pm)

1,2,3 Trip Report!

Executive Summary: Awesome day! Most manly father's day for me in memory.

Detailed Report:

First of all, awesome to see friends again.

lrobbi didn't bring his rig, but he did get in some sessions with Rocky, and JDin. He also brought a tent, chairs, iced cooler, and his new bride, as did Rocky. Made a stinking hot day much more bearable. It got over 100 degrees.

Miss Miracle did a very nice job with her camera, and got in a session riding with me. Nice to meet her boyfriend. Too bad she could not have stayed longer.

Gadget dude, Rocky, JDin dude, and I were the only crew members to track. Two invaders showed up, one was an experimental stage 2 invader, that never finished a session due to technical difficulties. The other invader hung in there pretty well, but both left a bit after lunch. That left the whole track to just 4 of us. Roger Lyle, who runs our track days, stopped by to give us the thumbs up for sticking out the whole day. We also got a compliment over the PA system at the end, for being the most exciting. Again, lots of cameras over the fence and on the bridge.

We ended up getting by with just short sleeve shirts, which was a huge deal, and very good for my stud muffin tan.

Rocky ate a little grass, twice, approaching the Karussel, where there there is a little squiggle before the approach. Damage was very minor, and I worried all day that I could have done the same.

Saw a new flag - yellow and red stripes. Roger reports that it means oil or debris on the track, and in this case, it was the tanom that did successfully track for a while leaving bits of fiberglass on the track. No biggie for us.

I did much better than last year. Tips from Rocky and JDin, and a better memory of the track made for a big deal. One step closer to passing somebody! Yay! Unlike last year, Gadget dude never managed to pass me more than once in a session.

Once the track and riders warmed up, Rocky and JDin really went at it. You would have been hard pressed to know which was boosted, and which was not. Very impressive. I was able to keep up only in very short bursts.

Once back in the pit, packing up, and reminiscing the day, some dude trying to fold up his tent by himself got caught by the wind. A metal post took out the rear window of Rocky's truck - just one big hole.

My body is still sore, and I am still trying to re-hydrate. Worth it 100%. A marvelous time, it was.

Thanks to Rocky for getting this setup, and he speaks of another run perhaps in September. Count me in!

@hrmiracle @lrobbi @TheRock @Gadgeteer @Jdin

-e

Quote from TheRock

Still playing with some layouts and got a bit more video, but I just wanted to get something up... a teaser if you will! (Have at it fellas, I lobbed that one up there!!)

This is insanely cool. Not that I'll ever find myself doing well enough on a track to make a video of it, but I may want to have this setup for my next trip to the mall. LoL what are you using to make it?!

@ethermion - great recap and great host! Thanks for havin' us - it was insanely hot and ya'll were champs!

Quote from hrmiracle

@ethermion - great recap and great host! Thanks for havin' us - it was insanely hot and ya'll were champs!

Thanks for the kind words. It was the first full track day for all 4 of us, and it wasn't easy, but we did it!

Insanely hot perhaps. @Cameron Roberts and I hit a few wineries last year, where we got up to 107 degrees. We ended up back at his place, where I twitched like a Mexican jumping bean, and spoke in tongues, for an hour or so, before heading home.

For some reason, a fond memory. Perhaps because I came back with a great tan.

I'll keep you current on interesting events in the future. We chatted up a Tanom factory tour in Culpeper with the owner, followed up by a scenic country ride.

If anyone is interested, I rewrote (and embellished) my XINSURANCE endorsement for track insurance and posted it as a new thread

Track Day Insurance - FOUND!

I figured, with a dedicated thread, it will make it easier for everyone to find and share/link than digging through this one. That includes me, because I always forget where I put stuff.

So last night, on the way home from Summit Point, I was thinking it seems ironic that some of the guys couldn't make it to Track Day because their families made special plans for them on the same day (Father's Day).

So, instead of Dad spending a day running the wheels off his favorite toy, he stayed home... to do something special... for Father's Day.

I don't have kids, so maybe I don't "get it". Anyway... just one of the countless and (often) pointless thoughts that pop into my head and I decided to share. Hope all the guys had an enjoyable and happy Father's Day, on and/or off the track!

Quote from TheRock

Added the rear facing view to the video. I'm open to any suggestions for changes in layout or other information/guages that you all would like to see.

Very very cool to see both views....

I am still not happy with frame 10:18.... you was being Mr. nice guy

That was just the first session. A few sessions later, Rocky and JDin were playing games with him. I was amused more than once by Rocky blasting past me, being drafted by the tanom, which was being drafted by JDin. That tanom did pretty well, but nothing special. He wasn't gonna pass Rocky, and wasn't gonna shake JDin.

@TheRock, do you have footage of the last session, when I was riding shotgun?

I'm surprised to see that your speeds in session 1 were very similar to the speeds I was hitting, and I felt like you wear hitting much higher speeds on the last session. While your mods can accelerate and decelerate faster than stock, I wouldn't think that would make enough of a difference for you to lap me. I'd be curious to see a comparison between the 1st and last sessions, to see the difference in speeds.

Either way, I'd just like to see that last run again, if for no other reason than to see what actually happened. All I really remember is a shit ton of noise blasting out of the speakers, occasionally overwhelmed by the roar of your engine approaching red line, and a blur of black, green, and blue, with a small circle of focused clarity in the center of my vision. I know it was fun, because I was laughing, but the details are foggy.

I agree. I did about the same in later sessions.

Don't know who was riding shotgun on his first ride, and that might have influenced him.

Hopefully this vid is just Rocky getting his data fusion efforts up to speed. @Jdin has yet to post his vids too. Later runs would be wonderful.

Watching the vids like a hawk. Free lessons without spoiling your shorts.

More vids Rocky!

Quote from hrmiracle

This is insanely cool. Not that I'll ever find myself doing well enough on a track to make a video of it, but I may want to have this setup for my next trip to the mall. LoL what are you using to make it?!

I'm with @hrmiracle on this one. What are you using to put that all together @TheRock??

Quote from TheRock

Still playing with some layouts and got a bit more video, but I just wanted to get something up... a teaser if you will! (Have at it fellas, I lobbed that one up there!!)

Good run ther @TheRock

Quote from TheRock

Added the rear facing view to the video. I'm open to any suggestions for changes in layout or other information/guages that you all would like to see.

I enjoyed the video once I figured out what gears you were running on the turns

Thanks to NA (for now) @Jdin, I figured out you can run the whole track in 3rd. Rocky is boosted, so he can do things I cannot. That knowledge is a big deal. Last year I found myself in 5th gear from time to time. 5th gear is wrong on this track, and perhaps any track. Stay in 3rd, ignore the noisy complaints from the engine, run 'er up to redline. It works a treat.
If you are trying to learn from Rocky's vids, also watch his hands on the steering wheel. And, such that he shifts, watch *when* he shifts. What is not so obvious is when he brakes for a turn - important too. Little things matter a lot at the track.

Quote from ethermion

Thanks to NA (for now) @Jdin, I figured out you can run the whole track in 3rd. Rocky is boosted, so he can do things I cannot. That knowledge is a big deal. Last year I found myself in 5th gear from time to time. 5th gear is wrong on this track, and perhaps any track. Stay in 3rd, ignore the noisy complaints from the engine, run 'er up to redline. It works a treat.
If you are trying to learn from Rocky's vids, also watch his hands on the steering wheel. And, such that he shifts, watch *when* he shifts. What is not so obvious is when he brakes for a turn - important too. Little things matter a lot at the track.

5 gear is wrong anywhere except on the inter-state

Perhaps, obvious to you.

95% of my 25k+ miles are on an interstate on cruise control. My first track day was intimidating, and exhausting. Mistakes were made. 2 wrecks in the first few minutes unsettled me too. 5th gear was wrong, but I didn't wreck.