Well, most of you probably saw the posts a few months ago from Jeff, a visitor from the DV Miata club inviting us to join in on their track day at Pocono Racetrack.

I went on my usual rant about how everyone complains about not getting on the track, and here was the perfect chance, and only 2 members at the time decided to go. Those two were Paul (crazeylimey) and myself. When we got there, there were two more S's. Joe (MiniF1) was there and Eliot (who I don't remember is a board member or not.)

Things started not so promising, as on the drive up on Sunday night, I, yes, even I was forced to put the top up in the monsoon like conditions. Monday looked bleak with storms forecasted during the day. Well, the weather cooperated, as it started overcast, which lasted until noonish, then got sunny and hot for the afternoon. Other than a damp track until about midday, things were going well.

There was a total of about 50 cars, with about 35 Miatas, 4 Ss, 1 Z, 2 Corvettes, about 5 Porsches including a GT2.

Anyway, I had a blast. It wasn't a race, but I did a whole lot of passing, and wasn't passed the entire day until the last session. The sessions were between 12 and 15 laps a piece. In the last session of the day, the Z lined up behing me at the pit out station. I went about half way through the session with him creeping on me on the Nascar part of the track, then me opening the gap on the infield twisty course. Then I let him by me on the bowl, to see what he'd be able to do in front. Same thing. On the Nascar portion, he'd open up a few car lenghts, then I'd reel him in during the infield.

When we got done, we both went right up to each other with an 'Awesome session! Nice job!'

So - get your asses out there. Stop talking about how you want to track, want to AutoX, etc... and just do it. You won't regret it!

I'll post pics in a few days. I borrowed a camera from a corner worker, and filled their memory card. They're going to send me a CD soon.

 

Gary, Was John ( JFO ) there ?? He was geting the car modded and I spoke with him on Sat. He put in a roll bar! ??

 

John was with the other group on the South Course. It was a little different setup. They required rollbars for convertibles, but it was basically unlimited track time provided the maximun number of cars on the track wasn't exceeded. He could probably explain it better.

 

Great write up Gary!!! Glad you went and had a great time! I did AutoX this year for the first time and loved it!!

For anyone who wants some track time with their car Fall Colors sounds like a great opportunity!!!

 

Ok - Here's a few pics. I'm not liking the new album interface, so I'll do a few here and figure the rest out elsewhere.

In the pits, here's the GT2. The guys wife had a 911 Turbo. Nice garage they must have.

I had an hour off while my group was on the corners. Since I was in the afternoon working group, I went out to corner 5 and snapped some shots. The GT2 seemed to be passing someone on every lap (there's a suprise).

Here he is stalking some prey... and some more prey

Later on, I was working corner 2, and got a few shots while actually working the corner. Here is MiniF1: and an Integra that was fully built for racing:

When I got home, I wiped a little part of the rim just to get an idea of how much brake dust I got from the day. I'd say it was significant.

 

Gary, Don't forget to check your pads after all that braking. I've seen people at the track use up a brand new set from one day on the track, and that's even on the back!!! Also you should flush your brake fluid, I'll bet you cooked it and it will be all dark and nasty now. You should pick up some Motul fluid for that.

 

Thanks for the advice Paul,

Both the pads and fluid were changed about 2 weeks before the track. Axxis Ulitmate pads all the way around and SuperBlue 200 fluid. Upon visual inspection after the day things looked fine, and they still feel fine.

 

Thx for the pictures Gary. There are some more posted on http://lvmoc.net/ in the gallery section.

This was my first track experience and I had a blast. I had a great instructor who helped me improved considerably over the course of the day.

All in all it was a great event and well worth the money.

I didn't get passed all day either although I did pull into the pits when I saw Gary riding my bumper!!

 

It was great to see the S2000's out there. Thanks for coming and I enjoyed giving you a venue with a rollbar requirement to have some fun on the track.

Hope to see more of you next year. I will get the word out to those who were there this year as soon as Pocono confirms our dates for 2005.

Thanks again and I hope everyone had a good time. I think I saw more than a few smiles during the day.

Jeff Jury
Motorsports Director
Del-Val Miata Club

 

Jeff,

I'll say it publicly. The organization, timing, and overall coordination of the day was near flawless from a participant perspective. (NEAR flawless because of that black flag I received in session 2 ) Considering that tech didn't happen on Sunday due to weather, it was an absolute accomplishment that you and the team were able to get us back on schedule with minimal shifting of activities.

It was a pleasure to participate in such an event, and I look forward to doing it again. I only wished I had originally signed up for both days.

I was absolutely smiling, particularly after that last session with Matt(?) in the 350Z. That session was absolutely awesome.

ps - I'll have more photos when I get the CD from Corey, whose camera I borrowed while at turn 5.