SE Track Guide

As more of our members get out on track(s) in the SE they are going to notice that some eat tires more than others, some are going to push the the capabilities of their brake setup, some have so much run off making contact with large objects is nearly impossible, and some have horrible food (Robling Road hamburgers ). I figure I would spoil the surprise....

The following is intended to be a guide for what to expect at different tracks. Feel free to counter my thoughts/experiance or add different categories etc.

I have defined braking zones with referance to what a ~3200lb, ~300 whp car would be doing.

Low: med pressure to scrub speed (not full pedal pressure)
Med: full pressure to reduce speed 20-40mph from 100 mph or less
High: full pressure to reduce speed 40-60 mph from 140 mph or less
very high: full pressure to reduce speed >60 mph from 160 mph or less



Tallendega Gran Prix:

Typical cost: ~$150
Length: ~1.3 miles
Surface Roughness: High
Braking zones: Lots of 'low' to 'med' speed braking zones
Run-off: Decent amounts of run off. Tire walls where needed.
Gas on site: Yes, 112 leaded at 5$ per gallon (as of 12-05).
Gas near by: Yes, 89 to 93.
Paddock: Not much. Made of dirt and grass, no air, couple of electrical outlets.

Roebling Road Raceway:

Typical cost: ~$200
Length: ~2.5 miles
Surface Roughness: High (but will be repaved this year)
Braking zones: Couple of 'med' speed braking zones, one high speed braking zone.
Run-off: Decent amounts of run off. Tire walls where needed.
Gas on site: Yes, (if memory serves they have) Sunoco 93, 105 unleaded and 110 leaded at $3-7 per gallon (as of 1-06).
Gas near by: Yes, 89 to 93.
Paddock: Made of dirt and grass, with a maze of concrete, air at the tech station, many electrical outlets through out the paddock, can camp over night.

Barber Motorsports park:

Typical cost: ~$300
Length: ~2.5 miles
Surface Roughness: low
Braking zones: 2-3 'med' braking zones, couple of high speed braking zone.
Run-off: Not much run off in many areas. Tire wall construction is on going.
Gas on site: Yes, (if memory serves they have) Sunoco 93, 105 unleaded and 110 leaded at $3-$7 per gallon.
Gas near by: Yes, 89 to 93.
Paddock: 3 tears of large concrete parking lots, air at the tech station, electrical outlets at tech station. Jacks and jack-stands must be on top of boards or equivalent as to not damage .

Road Atlanta

Typical cost: ~$300
Length: ~2.7 miles
Surface Roughness: med
Braking zones: many 'med' and 'high' braking zones but good cool off in between them, 1 'very high' braking zone.
Run-off: No runoff or tires in many areas, sand traps in most all the right spots if your brakes go out.
Gas on site: Yes, (if memory serves they have) Sunoco 93, 105 unleaded and 110 leaded at $3-$7 per gallon.
Gas near by: Yes, 89 to 93.
Paddock: Large concrete parking lot, air at the tech station, electrical outlets at tech station. Jacks and jack-stands must be on top of boards or equivalent as to not damage .

VIR full course

Typical cost: ~$250
Length: ~3.2 miles
Surface Roughness: med
Braking zones: many 'med' and 'high' braking zones but good cool off in between them, 2 'very high' braking zones.
Run-off: Roughly half the course has run off, tires in many of the areas with out run off
Gas on site: Yes, Sunoco 93, 105 unleaded and 110 leaded at $3-$7 per gallon.
Gas near by: Not real close about 5 miles.
Paddock: Made of dirt and grass, with a maze of concrete, air at the tech station, many electrical outlets through out the paddock, can camp over night. Also have the VIR hotel on the course.

Carolina Motorsports Park

Typical cost: ~$300
Length: ~2.2 miles
Surface Roughness: Low/Med
Braking zones: Two high speed braking zones, lots of mid speed braking zones. Not a lot of brake "cooloff" time. The hardest track on brakes in the SE. Bring spares.
Run-off: Decent amounts of run off. Tire walls where needed. Issues if you lose brakes in 1, everywhere else there is plenty of runoff.
Gas on site: Yes, Sunoco 93, 105 unleaded and 110 leaded at $3-7 per gallon (as of 1-06).
Gas near by: Yes, 89 to 93 right next to the track.
Paddock: Made of dirt and grass, with a few strips of asphalt, air at the tech station, many electrical outlets through out the paddock, can camp over night, etc etc at CMP. Not sure if they will ever pave paddock.

 

I've heard they may extend the track.
Do you know if its an extension or repave or both?

 

from my understanding its both

 

With that layout the woods would have to come down...

 

why? the extension is into the farming land next to the pits etc.

 

Very cool guide , thanks for all the info.

 

A few things I'd like to see from the more experienced people that have run these:

Typical cost to run each track (i.e. TGP for the most recent track day was $180. A typical Panoz day at RA is $XXX(X?)...

Do you have any thoughts as to a natural progression of tracks for those of us that have limited experience? Ex.: Maybe TGP (easiest, most conducive to "rookies" -> RA (hardest, not recommended for first timers).

 

good info thanks Javid!

 

Panoz track day
$275 Sat 4 sessions
$375 Sunday 6 sessions

 

Hey don't forget about CMP! I like that course alot, it's really really technical. The course turned my brakes to mush though...

 

Yeah, I've heard cmp is hard on brakes. But i've never driven it.... Need to add CMP, Sebring, and Daytona; who's run these / want to give notes?

I will add info on ball park HPDE prices. Keep in mind that some clubs (panoz) will cost more than large clubs (PCA, BMWCCA, NASA).

 

As for natural progression, I think all tracks are good for any level, so long as you respect your car and the track.

I will point out that Road A, Barber, and VIR all have various uphill / down hill sections that you need to respect and learn how your car's wieght transfer characteristics will effect handling.... You could drive Tally or Roebling for weeks on end and still not be prepared for the elevation changes. Just take your time when you run these courses and work up to speed slowly.

Some pointers: when the road drops (either uphill to flat, or flat to downhill) you loose rear grip. In an all wheel drive car, too much throttle will get you loose; in a rwd car these section will have you pointed backwards with too much throttle.

When the road climbs (down hill to flat or flat to uphill) the car will pick up lots of grip both front and rear. You will be surprise how much speed you can carry in uphills. As one might guess, brakes don't work going down hill... brakes will blow your mind going up hill...

Going to very complex road courses will teach you new skills / car control and make you faster at previous tracks that you thought you mastered. Diversify your HPDEs!

 

Javid,
Are you planning to run any of the SCCA track trials this year? I believe that the Alabama region has several this season, including one at Barber. I'm thinking about entering the SE-R...

 

Yeah, after one lap, I want to run a couple nasa or scca time trials. I am not going to try and make a season / tour out of either but they will be good / cheap track time and a decent start for a serious season next year...

Nasa goes by base car + mod points that bump you into higher classes. Is the SCCA based on solo II classes? Do I need a roll bar for SM (where I think the car would end up)?

 

I did CMP, RR and TGP twice, and my favorite was CMP. But, TGP is a close second, as it is cheaper and closer.

I wouldn't mind another CMP track day being organized.

RR wasn't too bad, and I think that the fact that my oil filter came loose on the front straight and I dumped 5 liters of oil on the track effected my opinion of it. (was with my s2000, and after a new filter and 5 liters of oil, I was back on the track in an hour. Was pretty scary, entering the main straight and seeing tons of smoke coming out of the back of my car, coasting off the side, jumping out and watching the guys put out a small engine fire Wasn't my fault, and the trackday was run by the shop that change my oil the day before the track day, so the fully cleaned up my car and replaced the hood liner.

CMP track layout:
http://www.carolinamotorsportspark.com/tracklayout.htm

--
Brian

 

The main thing with CMP is the last turn on to the straight has a strange rumble strip, like the kinds they use on the shoulders of highways. I managed to screw up that turn about 90% of my laps and would always hit that strip.

 

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I believe you can run under either Solo classing or Race classing. That would make for a ton of classes, but that is the way it was explained to me last year at the SEDiv banquet.

 

10-4, I need to look into it more. I'll give you a call this week.

 

Carolina Motorsports Park

Typical cost: ~$300
Length: ~2.2 miles
Surface Roughness: Low/Med
Braking zones: Two high speed braking zones, lots of mid speed braking zones. Not a lot of brake "cooloff" time. The hardest track on brakes in the SE. Bring spares.
Run-off: Decent amounts of run off. Tire walls where needed. Issues if you lose brakes in 1, everywhere else there is plenty of runoff.
Gas on site: Yes, Sunoco 93, 105 unleaded and 110 leaded at $3-7 per gallon (as of 1-06).
Gas near by: Yes, 89 to 93 right next to the track.
Paddock: Made of dirt and grass, with a few strips of asphalt, air at the tech station, many electrical outlets through out the paddock, can camp over night, etc etc at CMP. Not sure if they will ever pave paddock.

-Tom

 

Note that all these costs are the "entry fees", and not your "cost for running a track day". Maybe we could add a checklist of what the check the day/week before, checklist morning of and through the track day and also what costs to actually truly expect as you go? Let me know if a thing like that exists, if not I can write one up.

-Tom

 

Thanks hoppster. I'll add them notes up top... I wrote a trackday brake guide in milo's brake-fluid thread. You could grab that and expand for other components...