Let's Go Tracking!

[Zfatuated]

Many of you have been hearing about "Track Days" or also frequently called DE or HPDE (High-Performance Driving Experience) or PDX (Performance Driving Experience). So you ask what the heck is this? Only the most fun you can have with your car and friends! :-)

If you love cars and driving and have always been curious to push your car and develop skills in a way that you can't do safely or legally on the street, you can drive your car on a racetrack, as fast and hard as you feel comfortable. How cool would that be?

Here's the deal, there are organizations, hosts if you will, who offer these track days at tracks all over the USA and Canada. Locate a track near you, visit their website and look for who the DE/HPDE/PDX hosts are. Email or give them a call and tell them you want to join the fun and they will explain the process.

This is not door to door racing, it is not timed, it is not competitive. "Classes" are based and ascended (or not...lol) purely upon your skill level and respect for your fellow drivers on the track. It is 100% pure fun and camaraderie with new friends who share your passion for driving. If later down the line you wish to go racing- either Time Trials or door-to-door, you can certainly explore what is involved with those both from a financial and equipment perspective.

"Tracking" is as much a social thing as it is a driving thing.

My friend David Ray runs Hooked On Driving and made a series of videos a few years ago which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Hookedo...?feature=watch. It just so happens these are filmed at two of my favorite tracks which are Thunderhill Raceway in Willows CA and my home track Reno-Fernley Raceway (best track in the US! lol). Scroll through the "Recent Uploads" and view all of them if you can to really get the flavor of what "Tracking" is all about.

Here's a great intro video:

I am a credentialed driving instructor with SCCA locally for the TT/CT/PDX events we have and over the years have also run my own cars in the Club Trails/Time Trials. It is tremendously fun and rewarding to help others gain tracking skills and see the exhausted smiles at the end of the day.

You can run pretty much any car in a DE event as long as it passes a Safety/Tech Inspection. Once you build up your skills and speed, you will discover why the Z/28 has many of the features that it has, enabling it to run hour after hour without brake fade or overheating. You will also discover first hand why it's not cams and headers that make you fast, it is brakes and suspension :-)

There are a handful of posters here who participate in DE and I hope you guys will chime in with your experiences and comments. If anyone would like to ask questions about track days, have at it and I'll be glad to answer if I can.

See you on track in 2014!

[rockrau]

A day at the track is almost as good as sex...but lasts longer! Very addictive!

[tylerio]

Amen! Great fun. I've done 5 track days in my SS Camaro. With better wheels/tires, some negative camber and some modest suspension improvements this car does damn well at the track. But a z/28? Man, that would leave everyone in the dust, including the Audi R8s, nissan GTRs, and Porsche 911s that I see at the track. No contest. And, it's street legal!

[AlohaBR]

Thank you for the post! Answered a lot of questions and looks like a BLAST!

[brt3]

I have raced with SCCA, on a limited basis years back, and have gotten to where I really just enjoy driving on-track with the right group of guys/gals. I don't have anything to prove to anyone, and I do NOT expect to be the next Andretti/Schumacher/Vettel. I just want to keep improving my skill set.

As a result I started researching HPDE groups and settled on Hooked On Driving. David Ray runs a great organization, and I've found they are quick to enforce the most important HPDE rule: locate and eradicate "That Guy". You know the one -- the one that thinks he's the best and fastest and who needs to prove it to everyone. You can see a video featuring "That Guy" by clicking HERE.

HOD is great about targeting these folks, talking to them, and either modifying their behavior or making it clear they're not welcome. Because of this policy I feel comfortable running with them, as there seem to be very few bozos at their events. The last thing you want at a track day is someone who's going to endanger other cars!

When Chevy announced the Z/28, it seemed like the perfect expression of everything I wanted in a track-day car (outside of curb weight). A total beast with very high limits and a wicked V-8 sound that can be flogged all day -- without worrying about overheated brakes, transmission, engine, or rear end. An absolute monster that should be a total joy on track; I can't wait to get mine and hope to run at least two-dozen track days in 2014.

Let's pray that many of the people who buy these cars will run them as Al Openheiser intended, as I really hope to see other Z/28s out on track! I'll be running mostly at Laguna Seca, Sears Point, and Thunderhill in the SF Bay Area.

[Zfatuated]

Originally Posted by brt3

I don't have anything to prove to anyone, and I do NOT expect to be the next Andretti/Schumacher/Vettel. I just want to keep improving my skill set.

As a result I started researching HPDE groups and settled on Hooked On Driving. David Ray runs a great organization, and I've found they are quick to enforce the most important HPDE rule: locate and eradicate "That Guy". You know the one -- the one that thinks he's the best and fastest and who needs to prove it to everyone. You can see a video featuring "That Guy" by clicking HERE.

I really hope to see other Z/28s out on track! I'll be running mostly at Laguna Seca, Sears Point, and Thunderhill in the SF Bay Area.

Wow! What an awesome post. And a link to the "famous" FLATOUT video as a bonus! I'll look forward to meeting you this year :-)

[CHMSC]

Lmao at that video "that guy"

[90503]

Originally Posted by CHMSC

Lmao at that video "that guy"

lol....they should show that video at all the session critique meetings...


Z and brt3....Congrats to you guys on your decision to get the Z/28....Best of luck, and maybe we'll cross paths (no pun intended) one of these days....

You guys will be out there enjoying these cars while 99.999% will just gripe about the price...and have probably never tracked a car before at all....lol....

[CHMSC]

Originally Posted by 90503

lol....they should show that video at all the session critique meetings...


Z and brt3....Congrats to you guys on your decision to get the Z/28....Best of luck, and maybe we'll cross paths (no pun intended) one of these days....

You guys will be out there enjoying these cars while 99.999% will just gripe about the price...and have probably never tracked a car before at all....lol....

Reminds of the guy in the Porsche in front of me the last time I was at the track. After I got by him 6 laps later I ran 12 seconds quicker a lap. he truly didn't understand how much he was holding people up until I told him how much faster of a lap I ran once I got by him.

[Zfatuated]

Originally Posted by CHMSC

Reminds of the guy in the Porsche in front of me the last time I was at the track. After I got by him 6 laps later I ran 12 seconds quicker a lap. he truly didn't understand how much he was holding people up until I told him how much faster of a lap I ran once I got by him.

Lol! It's all about cooperation and communication. A friendly chat after the run (as you did) or in the download session (if you have them) is always good.

I always encourage my students to be snitches and tattle-tales when they see someone not being cooperative or not following the rules It's in everyone's best interests.

Human nature to believe your shiny new (insert car here) combined with your innate Vettel-like driving skills will cause you to naturally be faster than everyone else Track days are very humbling for some people in additional to being educational and fun.

[CHMSC]

Originally Posted by Zfatuated

Lol! It's all about cooperation and communication. A friendly chat after the run (as you did) or in the download session (if you have them) is always good.

I always encourage my students to be snitches and tattle-tales when they see someone not being cooperative or not following the rules It's in everyone's best interests.

Human nature to believe your shiny new (insert car here) combined with your innate Vettel-like driving skills will cause you to naturally be faster than everyone else Track days are very humbling for some people in additional to being educational and fun.

We spoke in the download meeting and after. I think he thought because he was driving a turbo Porsche that nothing was faster than him lol

I politely informed him he needed to work on his lines because they were horrible lmao

I didn't see him the the rest of the day since I grided ahead of him after that session.

[90503]

Originally Posted by CHMSC

We spoke in the download meeting and after. I think he thought because he was driving a turbo Porsche that nothing was faster than him lol

I politely informed him he needed to work on his lines because they were horrible lmao

I didn't see him the the rest of the day since I grided ahead of him after that session.

They always tell me they never knew anybody was behind them because they never check their mirrors, or they don't give a point by because they don't want to back off the throttle.....

[ssmike]

I love the line in the "That Guy" video when the instructor tells him that it looked like he was leading a Conga line! Lmao! I participated in an HPDE for the first time last year at the Camaro5 sponsored day at Gingerman. I learned a lot about the limits of my Camaro but more about my driving skills than anything! After that day I decided to do more track days but had no time or money left for the year so this coming season I'll try to do 2 or 3, if not more! It was the most fun I have EVER had in a motor vehicle! I'm prepping my Camaro with better brakes and suspension mods over the winter and can't wait to get out there and participate!

[JOHNSONROD]

i had a guy almost this bad at putnam park one time. not quite this bad though,
https://video.search.yahoo.com/play;...yfp-t-900&tt=b