| cooleyjb | 08-31-2008 09:58 PM |
The track was coming up in a few places said another driver. The patched it and there was no on track issue with it grip wise, etc.
| mav1c | 09-01-2008 02:39 PM |
Yeah. Looks like once they get some grass to grow and get more curbing in, it'll be much better. I was going to try and get there this year, but I think I'll wait until next year.
Does anyone know what exactly happened to Pruett during practice on Thursday? Looks like he hit the end of the wall between the pits and the track. They mentioned they closed the track for repairs and "made some changes". Anyone know what they did? It does look like the end of that wall is in a very dangerous location. Right to the inside since of that very fast last turn.
Does anyone know what exactly happened to Pruett during practice on Thursday? Looks like he hit the end of the wall between the pits and the track. They mentioned they closed the track for repairs and "made some changes". Anyone know what they did? It does look like the end of that wall is in a very dangerous location. Right to the inside since of that very fast last turn.
| dunk | 09-01-2008 02:53 PM |
[QUOTE=mav1c;23537234]Yeah. Looks like once they get some grass to grow and get more curbing in, it'll be much better. I was going to try and get there this year, but I think I'll wait until next year.
Does anyone know what exactly happened to Pruett during practice on Thursday? Looks like he hit the end of the wall between the pits and the track. They mentioned they closed the track for repairs and "made some changes". Anyone know what they did? It does look like the end of that wall is in a very dangerous location since the tun right before it is very fast.[/QUOTE]
Not sure what happened, but they showed the remains of the car on Speed during the race. It looked pretty serious; they were saying it was the worst wreck in a DP car to date.
Duncan
Does anyone know what exactly happened to Pruett during practice on Thursday? Looks like he hit the end of the wall between the pits and the track. They mentioned they closed the track for repairs and "made some changes". Anyone know what they did? It does look like the end of that wall is in a very dangerous location since the tun right before it is very fast.[/QUOTE]
Not sure what happened, but they showed the remains of the car on Speed during the race. It looked pretty serious; they were saying it was the worst wreck in a DP car to date.
Duncan
| eatsrice | 09-01-2008 07:02 PM |
i'm pretty sure he hit that wall right there and split the car in half, i was there all weekend but not on thursday, but thats what i heard. I don't know that would probally hurt a little bit if its true.
| trailertravis13 | 09-01-2008 07:24 PM |
I was at the dust bowl yesterday for some of the races. The track seemed pretty nice and so did all the buildings and such. A lot of the dusty areas were seeded but its all in more dirt/sand than soil. On top of that they haven't gotten much rain in the area in the past 2-3 weeks so that didn't help the whole dust problem. At the same time it was nice to be able to have an idea if there was a crash on the complete other side of the track than where you were standing thanks to the massive dust cloud it would cause.
| TurboRX | 09-01-2008 08:32 PM |
I was there as well. They need more grandstands for an event like the Rolex series. They also would be well served by a "Jumbotron" type screen so that people in or near the grandstands can see whats going on elsewhere.
| IMPREZive 02 WRX | 09-01-2008 08:43 PM |
Last week there were no grandstands at all. It tough to compare a track that's been open less than two months to tracks that have been established for years. As more events come to the track and generate revenue it will help the track's development. They are also going to add lots of other things to the complex as well. Hotels, luxury suites, race shops, restaurants, etc.
One thing I didn't see was parking. Where did you guys park? I had a pit pass, so I parked in the paddock area next to the Ferrari trailers. :lol:
One thing I didn't see was parking. Where did you guys park? I had a pit pass, so I parked in the paddock area next to the Ferrari trailers. :lol:
| trailertravis13 | 09-01-2008 09:01 PM |
[quote=TurboRX;23540019]I was there as well. They need more grandstands for an event like the Rolex series. They also would be well served by a "Jumbotron" type screen so that people in or near the grandstands can see whats going on elsewhere.[/quote]
Yeah I agree completely. There were only 2 grandstands I think. The one kind of by the bridge then the one by the start finish line where I don't even think you could see the cars go by because the view was blocked by the pits. Hopefully they add some more before the next big event.
[quote=IMPREZive 02 WRX;23540131]Last week there were no grandstands at all. It tough to compare a track that's been open less than two months to tracks that have been established for years. As more events come to the track and generate revenue it will help the track's development. They are also going to add lots of other things to the complex as well. Hotels, luxury suites, race shops, restaurants, etc.
One thing I didn't see was parking. Where did you guys park? I had a pit pass, so I parked in the paddock area next to the Ferrari trailers. :lol:[/quote]
With the cost of this project I have to hope that they had grandstands in the budget and aren't waiting for revenue to come in. I was under the impression that they just weren't prepared to host an event like the Rolex series but had to do it cause of contractual obligations.
I parked where I guess the parking lots will eventually be which looked like a recently cleared lot which they did a crappy job cleaning up. There were pieces of trees and stuff all over it. That also ticked me off a lot to come back to my car being completely covered in a thick layer of dust after spending all day Saturday cleaning it but oh well.
When this place is done it should be a pretty awesome venue but it still has quite a bit to go.
Yeah I agree completely. There were only 2 grandstands I think. The one kind of by the bridge then the one by the start finish line where I don't even think you could see the cars go by because the view was blocked by the pits. Hopefully they add some more before the next big event.
[quote=IMPREZive 02 WRX;23540131]Last week there were no grandstands at all. It tough to compare a track that's been open less than two months to tracks that have been established for years. As more events come to the track and generate revenue it will help the track's development. They are also going to add lots of other things to the complex as well. Hotels, luxury suites, race shops, restaurants, etc.
One thing I didn't see was parking. Where did you guys park? I had a pit pass, so I parked in the paddock area next to the Ferrari trailers. :lol:[/quote]
With the cost of this project I have to hope that they had grandstands in the budget and aren't waiting for revenue to come in. I was under the impression that they just weren't prepared to host an event like the Rolex series but had to do it cause of contractual obligations.
I parked where I guess the parking lots will eventually be which looked like a recently cleared lot which they did a crappy job cleaning up. There were pieces of trees and stuff all over it. That also ticked me off a lot to come back to my car being completely covered in a thick layer of dust after spending all day Saturday cleaning it but oh well.
When this place is done it should be a pretty awesome venue but it still has quite a bit to go.
| TurboRX | 09-01-2008 09:57 PM |
As a venue they still need to do some work, but I trust they are going to. They had a pretty darn good turn out for the Koni Challenge through to the Rolex race. I stayed till the end and had a blast, but they have alot of improvements to make in my opinion.
| Zephyr | 09-02-2008 09:25 AM |
What a wonderful event. The track is really starting to take shape. When I was down there in July for the first weekend of racing the track was good but now it is even better despite all the bad that people keep pointing out. This place is miles above Limerock as far as facilities are concerned.
The racing was a lot of fun to watch other then the Ferrari Challenge race, talk about boring. The Koni Challenge race was the highlight for me. Watching one of the Acura TSX take the right and left combo in front of the grand stands was amazing, so smooth and consistant and fast through there every lap. Overall there were far to many sessions of double yellow.
I can't wait to see how much more the track comes around as the season progresses and what next season will bring.
Z
The racing was a lot of fun to watch other then the Ferrari Challenge race, talk about boring. The Koni Challenge race was the highlight for me. Watching one of the Acura TSX take the right and left combo in front of the grand stands was amazing, so smooth and consistant and fast through there every lap. Overall there were far to many sessions of double yellow.
I can't wait to see how much more the track comes around as the season progresses and what next season will bring.
Z
| kfoote | 09-04-2008 01:27 PM |
From a Koni Challenge crew guy's point of view, here's my review:
The drivers in general liked the track layout, and thought it was fun to drive.
The dust is terrible, but that's only part of it. They absolutely 100% need to pave the paddock. Aside from it being horribly dusty and turning into a mud pit when it gets wet, it's not flat, and the 6-12" undulations make jacking up the car a sketchy proposition even with the floor tiles.
Why they (and Barber, for that matter) didn't make the area behind pit wall wider is beyond me. It would be a whole lot less congestes if they had made that area another 5-10 ft wider, which could be done simply by pushing the fence back. Getting equipment in and out of the pits between sessions was a cluster.
There were 3 sections of track resurfacing that took place Saturday night, and at least during the Koni race, the track did not break up.
Now the biggie: Track Safety
One of the guys on our team was at the front of the line of false grid with the car waiting to go out and saw the whole Pruett incident. Pruett started a slow, lazy spin through the kink that leads on to the front straight. This was flat in the DP cars at ~145 MPH, so it takes a while to slow down, and unfortunaltely the slow, lazy spin led him directly into the end of pit wall. The back half of the car stopped about 10 ft on the pit lane side from the wall, where the front half of the car went a long ways down pit lane. One of the Stevenson Pontiac crew guys was under the car when it took place, and thankfully was able to get out from under the car, and Pruett did not hit the car in pit lane. The front half of Pruett's car stopped ~100 yards from the end of pit wall. The car did exactly what it was designed to do and broke apart right where it was supposed to, all of which are good things. The track was shut down for the rest of the day.
What makes this worse is that a similar incident apparently happened about a week before.
Overnight, the pit in wall was extended 240', so now a car doing the same thind would nose into the armco rather than hit the end of pit wall. Kudos to the track for fixing the less than optimal initial design.
The drivers in general liked the track layout, and thought it was fun to drive.
The dust is terrible, but that's only part of it. They absolutely 100% need to pave the paddock. Aside from it being horribly dusty and turning into a mud pit when it gets wet, it's not flat, and the 6-12" undulations make jacking up the car a sketchy proposition even with the floor tiles.
Why they (and Barber, for that matter) didn't make the area behind pit wall wider is beyond me. It would be a whole lot less congestes if they had made that area another 5-10 ft wider, which could be done simply by pushing the fence back. Getting equipment in and out of the pits between sessions was a cluster.
There were 3 sections of track resurfacing that took place Saturday night, and at least during the Koni race, the track did not break up.
Now the biggie: Track Safety
One of the guys on our team was at the front of the line of false grid with the car waiting to go out and saw the whole Pruett incident. Pruett started a slow, lazy spin through the kink that leads on to the front straight. This was flat in the DP cars at ~145 MPH, so it takes a while to slow down, and unfortunaltely the slow, lazy spin led him directly into the end of pit wall. The back half of the car stopped about 10 ft on the pit lane side from the wall, where the front half of the car went a long ways down pit lane. One of the Stevenson Pontiac crew guys was under the car when it took place, and thankfully was able to get out from under the car, and Pruett did not hit the car in pit lane. The front half of Pruett's car stopped ~100 yards from the end of pit wall. The car did exactly what it was designed to do and broke apart right where it was supposed to, all of which are good things. The track was shut down for the rest of the day.
What makes this worse is that a similar incident apparently happened about a week before.
Overnight, the pit in wall was extended 240', so now a car doing the same thind would nose into the armco rather than hit the end of pit wall. Kudos to the track for fixing the less than optimal initial design.
| IMPREZive 02 WRX | 09-06-2008 02:14 PM |
No dust here today!
| REX8 | 09-30-2008 07:21 AM |
Just got back from Thunderbolt...
It's a fast track, but not as fast as you might think. I was able to run flat out from the start of the esses all the way to turn 1, that only put me at about 130 mph...which was about hitting the limiter in the top of 4th (I normally shifted into 5th).
The rest of the track was 3rd and 4th gear and a mix of fairly fast 4th gear turns and some mid-range 3rd gear corners. So it's not THAT fast, but flows well. Certainly on street tires, there would be no need to get into 5th gear for a lot of people in a lot of cars.
Fast lap was a 1:38.4 and normal laps were in the 1:39.X range. From what I gather, that's pretty respectable for a first day out in a pretty stock car....and to think, I didn't use 5th gear! ;)
Anyway, fun track, with a few "pucker turns" to keep things exciting. Many different opinions on lines which kept it interesting. Could certainly be wider in a few spots ...but that might take away a bit of the fun though
PCA FTW by the way: 5 45 minute sessions for $150. And David Donahue was in my run group!
It's a fast track, but not as fast as you might think. I was able to run flat out from the start of the esses all the way to turn 1, that only put me at about 130 mph...which was about hitting the limiter in the top of 4th (I normally shifted into 5th).
The rest of the track was 3rd and 4th gear and a mix of fairly fast 4th gear turns and some mid-range 3rd gear corners. So it's not THAT fast, but flows well. Certainly on street tires, there would be no need to get into 5th gear for a lot of people in a lot of cars.
Fast lap was a 1:38.4 and normal laps were in the 1:39.X range. From what I gather, that's pretty respectable for a first day out in a pretty stock car....and to think, I didn't use 5th gear! ;)
Anyway, fun track, with a few "pucker turns" to keep things exciting. Many different opinions on lines which kept it interesting. Could certainly be wider in a few spots ...but that might take away a bit of the fun though
PCA FTW by the way: 5 45 minute sessions for $150. And David Donahue was in my run group!
| Element Tuning | 09-30-2008 08:34 AM |
That's a lot of track time. I wasn't so lucky when I was there due to off track excursions, blown motors, etc.
Anyways here's a video:
[URL="http://www.elementtuning.com/Videos/FormulaX%20Time%20Attack%20NJ%20Champs.wmv"]http://www.elementtuning.com/Videos/FormulaX%20Time%20Attack%20NJ%20Champs.wmv[/URL]
Does PCA run with the chicane after turn 2 or without? I know Grand Am ran without and I would like to run once without it so I could actually compare times.
Thanks,
Phil
Anyways here's a video:
[URL="http://www.elementtuning.com/Videos/FormulaX%20Time%20Attack%20NJ%20Champs.wmv"]http://www.elementtuning.com/Videos/FormulaX%20Time%20Attack%20NJ%20Champs.wmv[/URL]
Does PCA run with the chicane after turn 2 or without? I know Grand Am ran without and I would like to run once without it so I could actually compare times.
Thanks,
Phil
| REX8 | 09-30-2008 08:46 AM |
[QUOTE=Element Tuning;23891562]That's a lot of track time. I wasn't so lucky when I was there due to off track excursions, blown motors, etc.
Anyways here's a video:
[URL="http://www.elementtuning.com/Videos/FormulaX%20Time%20Attack%20NJ%20Champs.wmv"]http://www.elementtuning.com/Videos/FormulaX%20Time%20Attack%20NJ%20Champs.wmv[/URL]
Does PCA run with the chicane after turn 2 or without? I know Grand Am ran without and I would like to run once without it so I could actually compare times.
Thanks,
Phil[/QUOTE]
Sorry to hear about the bad luck. As for the chicane, no, they don't run it. I'd probably be a good 5+ seconds (probably more) slower if they did...that's a really fast (and fun) part of the track.
:eek: at your video BTW. Looks like my laps, watching in fast forward.
Anyways here's a video:
[URL="http://www.elementtuning.com/Videos/FormulaX%20Time%20Attack%20NJ%20Champs.wmv"]http://www.elementtuning.com/Videos/FormulaX%20Time%20Attack%20NJ%20Champs.wmv[/URL]
Does PCA run with the chicane after turn 2 or without? I know Grand Am ran without and I would like to run once without it so I could actually compare times.
Thanks,
Phil[/QUOTE]
Sorry to hear about the bad luck. As for the chicane, no, they don't run it. I'd probably be a good 5+ seconds (probably more) slower if they did...that's a really fast (and fun) part of the track.
:eek: at your video BTW. Looks like my laps, watching in fast forward.
| IMPREZive 02 WRX | 09-30-2008 09:00 AM |
[quote=Element Tuning;23891562]Does PCA run with the chicane after turn 2 or without? I know Grand Am ran without and I would like to run once without it so I could actually compare times.[/quote]
I don't think they've ever sent a car through there. It's only used for the bikes.
I don't think they've ever sent a car through there. It's only used for the bikes.
| REX8 | 09-30-2008 09:13 AM |
[QUOTE=IMPREZive 02 WRX;23891711]I don't think they've ever sent a car through there. It's only used for the bikes.[/QUOTE]
Who's they?
Lots of groups run the chicane, including the time attack event in the video.
Who's they?
Lots of groups run the chicane, including the time attack event in the video.
| Element Tuning | 09-30-2008 10:39 AM |
[QUOTE=REX8;23891627]Sorry to hear about the bad luck. As for the chicane, no, they don't run it. I'd probably be a good 5+ seconds (probably more) slower if they did...that's a really fast (and fun) part of the track.
:eek: at your video BTW. Looks like my laps, watching in fast forward.[/QUOTE]
It's hard to say how much time is lost but it takes about 11 seconds from turn in to exit so I would think because of having to brake and then accelerate out it's a good 7-8 seconds loss...maybe?
This is a tough track to master and I really didn't have enough track time. The carousel and the turn just before it I need more time to experiment through there.
No doubt this is a fun track and I love heading towards the bridge flat out and seeing how gutsy I'm feeling entering the front straight :lol:
:eek: at your video BTW. Looks like my laps, watching in fast forward.[/QUOTE]
It's hard to say how much time is lost but it takes about 11 seconds from turn in to exit so I would think because of having to brake and then accelerate out it's a good 7-8 seconds loss...maybe?
This is a tough track to master and I really didn't have enough track time. The carousel and the turn just before it I need more time to experiment through there.
No doubt this is a fun track and I love heading towards the bridge flat out and seeing how gutsy I'm feeling entering the front straight :lol:
| REX8 | 09-30-2008 10:55 AM |
[QUOTE=Element Tuning;23892667]It's hard to say how much time is lost but it takes about 11 seconds from turn in to exit so I would think because of having to brake and then accelerate out it's a good 7-8 seconds loss...maybe?
This is a tough track to master and I really didn't have enough track time. The carousel and the turn just before it I need more time to experiment through there.
No doubt this is a fun track and I love heading towards the bridge flat out and seeing how gutsy I'm feeling entering the front straight :lol:[/QUOTE]
I could see it being 7-8 seconds easily. Running it without it requires merely a stab on the brakes in the middle of 4th gear to get through 3...its a really fast corner. You can almost consider it a straight between 2 and 4.
This is a tough track to master and I really didn't have enough track time. The carousel and the turn just before it I need more time to experiment through there.
No doubt this is a fun track and I love heading towards the bridge flat out and seeing how gutsy I'm feeling entering the front straight :lol:[/QUOTE]
I could see it being 7-8 seconds easily. Running it without it requires merely a stab on the brakes in the middle of 4th gear to get through 3...its a really fast corner. You can almost consider it a straight between 2 and 4.
| REX8 | 09-30-2008 03:27 PM |
Looks like the PCA guys are saying 4-5 seconds a lap for a mildly prepped car.
Gonna have to run both ad find out!
Gonna have to run both ad find out!
| Element Tuning | 09-30-2008 10:59 PM |
[QUOTE=REX8;23897035]Looks like the PCA guys are saying 4-5 seconds a lap for a mildly prepped car.
Gonna have to run both ad find out![/QUOTE]
That's probably true with a modest HP car on DOT slicks. The Grand AM GS cars were qualifying in the 1:27 range and with the chicane I ran a 1:30 with R888 in the video. On this type of tire I normally run about 3-4 seconds quicker at VIR than the GS cars. I think with the R888 I can't keep my corner speed up like I could with Hankook slicks so I'm leaning more towards the 7 second range with R888 since my entry and corners speeds are relatively slow. With the Hankooks I would loose some time in the entry but I could then just go flat out accelerating through the chicane loosing less time.
I would also love to run without but it really is a challenging section so I actually enjoy it. I'm sure with more track time and less traffic I could get into the 1:27 range with the chicane but this track takes lots of time to dial in.
Great track...will be better when the grass grows in and the pits don't turn into a swamp.:lol:
Thanks,
Phil
Gonna have to run both ad find out![/QUOTE]
That's probably true with a modest HP car on DOT slicks. The Grand AM GS cars were qualifying in the 1:27 range and with the chicane I ran a 1:30 with R888 in the video. On this type of tire I normally run about 3-4 seconds quicker at VIR than the GS cars. I think with the R888 I can't keep my corner speed up like I could with Hankook slicks so I'm leaning more towards the 7 second range with R888 since my entry and corners speeds are relatively slow. With the Hankooks I would loose some time in the entry but I could then just go flat out accelerating through the chicane loosing less time.
I would also love to run without but it really is a challenging section so I actually enjoy it. I'm sure with more track time and less traffic I could get into the 1:27 range with the chicane but this track takes lots of time to dial in.
Great track...will be better when the grass grows in and the pits don't turn into a swamp.:lol:
Thanks,
Phil
| REX8 | 10-01-2008 08:17 AM |
[QUOTE=Element Tuning;23903123] and the pits don't turn into a swamp.:lol:
Thanks,
Phil[/QUOTE]
You can say that again....no big parking lot like Lightening...just puddled, sandy slop with access roads between. :unamused:
Thanks,
Phil[/QUOTE]
You can say that again....no big parking lot like Lightening...just puddled, sandy slop with access roads between. :unamused:
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