What is imporant to you when selecting an Open Track event?
 

when you are planning your personal Open Track schedule, what causes you to select one event over another?

Cost

Track Time

The Club Puting on the event

Instruction Opportunities

The track/track configuration

Social Aspects - parties, dinners, etc

Of these options - please tell me which of the three are most important to you. If there are things you have seen or experienced at a track day event, please include them in your comments

Thanks for your help

I consider open track events days when I am at the track to just run the car, so I pick them based on when the track is open and my schedule.

Race events are dictated by the club, class, and series scedule.

In order of importance for me:

1. Track Time
2. The club hosting the event
3. The track/track configuration
4. Cost

yeah you have it about right

1. date of event!
2. track
3. tracktime/cost
4. run group/orginization

1. Track Time
2. Cost
3. The track/track configuration
4. Club

1. Track Time
2. The track/track configuration
3. Cost
4. Club

1. The track
2. (1b really) Track Time
3. The host/format
4. Cost

1. Date
2. Safety
3. Cost
4. Track Time (reasson I dont run autocross anymore)

First, thank you very much for the feedback.

As a followup question, would a competitive aspect to a track day event add interest to you?

Because the group I am a part of puts on SCCA sanctioned club racing events we would have the option of incorporating a higher level PDX event that functions as a timed competition.

Honestly, no. Track days are test days and I use them to prepare for racing. A lot of people use track days as time to run thier street or toy car- the ones without safety equipment- on a race track. I have seen some pretty silly stuff at track days, including stupid fast cars with the driver belted in with stock seat belts, a t-shirt, and a dozen other cars out on the track.
Adding in a competetive element to encourage under-equipped cars to push harder seems like asking for trouble. Just my take on it, feel free to bash those opinions.

I don't completely disagree with you except that conducting a Level 2 or higher PDX event does change safety requirements appropriately. Still doesn't keep an idiot in a fast car from crashing....but then I have seen allot of non-idiots crash at clubraces all by the selves too!

I ask because I believe all of the track day events in this area are non-competitive. So I was thinking a different wrinkle that might set us a part. It would be a portion of the event - not the whole weekend or every run group.

They're non-competitive mostly for insurance reasons, which is why they get mad if you even put out your own timing beacon (so everybody just has to spend more $$ for GPS).

I wouldn't mind a time trial, or at least split timing being available, because in the advanced/instructor groups everybody does it anyway, and it's a good learning tool.

D Walker's point on safety equipment is a valid one though. It may not need to be NASA/SCCA stringent, but some common sense requirements might be smart.

Since there apparently is a NASA division now coming to the Midwest, I would say no.

GPS is so worth it compared to a plain timer though. My first time using one I took like 5 seconds off my lap time by the end of the weekend.

That's interesting. I was a member of NASA in 2008 and I remember a NASA Midwest but their definition of "midwest" didn't include the KC area. Their races were farther east as I recall. There have been NASA events at MAM - was that put on by NASA Midwest?

I'm not sure on the MAM event. I do remember their previous "Midwest" being more "North" than anything. ;) Some of the local guys have been working on bringing NASA to a true Midwest locale. I bring this up as I'm looking forward to participating in their Time Trial division.

I have several friends (which I know you are familiar with being in the same area) who have been unhappy with the way SCCA is operated. I have not gotten involved with SCCA. However, due to their complaining, I would probably look at a NASA backed time trial verses a SCCA backed time trial in the area. For just a regular DE, I don't think I would care all that much (unless SCCA goes back to putting cone chicanes at HPT to slow down the DE speeds :( ).

FWIW SCCA is about racing w2w, and has never really done very well with time trials. Some regions do better than others because of the individuals involved. My guess is that the complaints about SCCA is in regards to rules, especially saftey requirements- bottom line is that as far as SCCA is concerned, a time trial car is going just as fast as a racing car, its on a track, and therefore needs the same equipment.

I personally think NASA is a little cavalier about safety and tech, but then I have seen a guys brain exposed from an on-track incident, and think if can afford to be at speed on a track you can damned well afford proper safety gear, or you need a new hobby.

I don't want to create an SCCA vs NASA deal but some of the things you mention here do not occur at current SCCA PDX events. Specifically there are no cone chicanes on track during a Level 1 non-competition PDX. The event organizers may choose a course configuration that is deamed to be more save than others but the course is not artifically tamed. This type of thing went away a long time ago.

The rules do change when a competitiive aspect is added to a PDX event. Depending on the course a driver may not be required to upgrade their personal safety gear all that much. That said, any person that is going to drive a high performance car on a race track at near racie speeds should take their safety seriously.

I would like to observe/run in a NASA event. I would like to see how the events are organized and staffed for safety.

Again, my only dealing with SCCA was with the crippled DE's at HPT years ago. Track time was terrible and the man made chicanes were terrible. The rest is all hearsay. I used "Midwest" for NASA, but the new region is called "Central":

http://www.nasaproracing.com/aboutnasa/regions.html

Anyway, the info about the tracks are:

HPT, MPH, MAM, possibly Iowa Speedway and joint events with Texas region at Hallett

Thanks for your responses I will be presenting these results to the BOD that I serve on.

Here is how you ranked the attributes that I asked you about

1. Track Time
2. Cost (tie)
2. The Track (tie)
3. Club
4. Social (tie)
5. Instruction (tie)

Other attributes that you guys listed as important were:

The date of the event
Event Safety
Run group organization

One thing that I found interesting is that none of you valued instruction enough to rank it. Mustang drivers ranked instruction high on their list. I guess this tells us who KNOWS how to drive and who doesn't!