Night Autocross?

My buddy in Florida just did this last night. He was kind enough to film it.

http://youtu.be/pugxC0I0TtE

That's a pretty cool idea.

It was a cool event. Didn't get home till 2:55 :( but it was worth it to avoid the 95 degree heat...

They did a really big one here in Wash. D.C region last month I think. Seemed like people liked it and they may do more. Then again, it's at FedEx Field (where the Redskins play) so I imagine there was a TON of lighting in that parking lot.

We do one around Halloween here every year. We use plastic milk jugs w/a little sand for weight and a glow stick to mark the path. We try to have each side lighted a different color so you know if you're in the lane. And only parking lights allowed, no supplemental lighting.

It was a whole new experience running at night. You can only see the gates directly in front of you so it really takes some adjustment. I didn't realize quite how far ahead on course I normally look.

The hardest part by far was working the course. Each cone had a small glow stick bracelet resting on top. These "halo's" were all that you could see while working the course. When ever a vehicle hit a cone it was a mad scramble trying to locate the cone on the runway with a flashlight. The run groups took longer then normal because only one vehicle could run at a time.

I was surprised how fast people were still able to go in the dark. I feel I was probably only about a second slower then I would have been in the daytime. There were several great battles going on and the top 25% of the drivers were within about 1.5 seconds of each other. I ended up second in class and 8th overall in pax.

Overall it was a cool experience, that was a success all the way around. I am sure we will do another one in the future

wlkelley3 wrote: We do one around Halloween here every year. We use plastic milk jugs w/a little sand for weight and a glow stick to mark the path. We try to have each side lighted a different color so you know if you're in the lane. And only parking lights allowed, no supplemental lighting.

I like this idea!

In Vegas we have night autocross during the summer. It's hard to see anything and whenever I went I didn't enjoy it much.

As a SSS the thought of course workers running around in the dark and no head lighted cars makes my skin itch. So much catastrophe waiting to happen :-/

When I was in college the Charlotte SCCA would put on their "24 hours of LeMall" autocross. The parking lot was fairly well lit so it wasn't too hard to see the course at night. They ran from noon Saturday to noon Sunday and changed the course at midnight. To trophy you had to run both courses and work the course for both sessions. Good times.

All course workers had a chemlight on a lanyard. Also everyone stayed well off the side of the course. After a cone was knocked down the start was held until "a course green" was called in by the corner where the cone was hit.

The cars all had headlights on. Several competitors also had KC lights strapped to the front of their cars

The Phoenix autocross guys use the skidpad at the Bonduraunt school and have night events there thanks to Bondurant school's generosity and awesomeness. I haven't been to one but it looks pretty cool and its not hot as hell.

I am conflicted. Seems cool, and weird. I certainly understand the logic behind it.

in before Chris and trucke ... since I haven't run with them for a few yrs, I'm sure both/either can add to this

the local (unaffiliated) club has been doing a night a-x for umpteen yrs …. started out a LONG time ago as a test-n-tune … eventually became so popular they made a series out of it …

and being a test-n-tune the course would stay the same all season … the series decided to continue that … so as the season progresses you "should" get quicker and quicker … or you could still use it for testing purposes

each yr a new layout, that lasts the entire season … lot a fun

A non-SCCA group runs one here occasionally. I'm tempted.

In reply to Jerry:

Details. Would love to try it.

wlkelley3 wrote: We do one around Halloween here every year. We use plastic milk jugs w/a little sand for weight and a glow stick to mark the path. We try to have each side lighted a different color so you know if you're in the lane. And only parking lights allowed, no supplemental lighting.

It is my favorite event all season. Unfortunately I am going to miss it this year.

It takes a little getting use to but the way it is setup it is really easy to follow and see.

Yep, HSCC has one site/venue and it's only available on Wednesday night. We usually run a 6 or 7 event series but this year we have 10 dates. The course usually stays the same for the series but his year we reversed it for the second 1/2 of the season. First car is off at 7 and we are usually packed up by 10:30. Last event we had 82 drivers and got 5 runs each on a mid 30 second course. We've had over 100 drivers on several occasions and we're always packed up well before midnight.

For an event that started as a test n tune for the weekend, it has been an amazing transformation to a full series. We are incredibly thankful to the WNC Ag Center for allowing us to do this year after year.

chrispy wrote: Yep, HSCC has one site/venue and it's only available on Wednesday night. We usually run a 6 or 7 event series but this year we have 10 dates. The course usually stays the same for the series but his year we reversed it for the second 1/2 of the season. First car is off at 7 and we are usually packed up by 10:30. Last event we had 82 drivers and got 5 runs each on a mid 30 second course. We've had over 100 drivers on several occasions and we're always packed up well before midnight. For an event that started as a test n tune for the weekend, it has been an amazing transformation to a full series. We are incredibly thankful to the WNC Ag Center for allowing us to do this year after year.

Started in 1991. It was never a test-n-tune, but actually started out as an autocross venue. You get your course walk in daylight, then drive it after dark. BIG difference in perspective. Forces you to learn the course VERY quickly.

FUN! FUN! FUN!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs4ZsX2JIew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4_qTbAmSTQ

good to know that … I had been told (when I started with HSCC 10-11 yrs ago) that it had started as a t-n-t … that's the info I've been spreading around … I'll stop doing that

20 years ago, in Orlando, Martin Sport Car Club did an AX that carried from day into night and the results were interesting. The fastest night run was a BIG truck with a massive amount of wattage on the light bar. The slowest night run was a formula V with a flashlight taped to the bodywork.
Tim, JG and company may remember the event...

Central Carolinas Region SCCA used to run a 24 hour autocross (noon to noon). First three (3) runs were for points. It got goofy from there. You would have only 2 or 3 cars running at 3:00am. Okay, sometimes none. You would be lucky to have one course worker then too. Things would pick-up after 8:00am.

If you have a chance to autocross at night, jump at the chance, just to say you did it.

This sounds like fun!

beans wrote: In reply to Jerry: Details. Would love to try it.

I don't have many, but Miami Valley Sports Car Club runs one or a few a year at Kil Kare Raceway, where we race. Their last one was a few weeks ago, on a Saturday night, and they let us use the course for our Sunday daytime event. Of course there was plenty of cross-over people coming back for the Sunday event.

I've thought about this but never had a chance to try it.