Run what you brung?

I have signed up for my first Track Night in America at Gingerman Raceway next week and will be running it in my 2007 Ford Fusion (because that is what I currently own). I get that it isn’t the ideal choice for the track (3200 lb, 160 hp I-4) but at least it has the MT. Part of the inspiration for giving it a go is Mazdeuce’s thread on his 4 cylinder Accord build. This is heavier and has less potential but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun (I hope).

Very limited on prep but it does have Firestone Firehawk rubber (which did decent at a recent AutoX), a much thicker rear sway bar which made the car push much less, and a set of street/track pads will be installed this week to help minimize brake fade (I hope). It has 166K miles on it but maintenance is up to date including a flush with fresh DOT4 brake fluid.

I toured the track at the last event so I have at least seen it up close and have a feel for what I am getting myself into. I did notice that the vast majority of the drivers in the novice class were in the 20-30 age range with some pretty nice rides so the old fart in the Ford Fusion should stick out like a sore thumb.

Have others here gotten their feet wet at a Track Night in America event and if so, how was your experience? Any words of wisdom?

Its not a race, its about fun.

Listen to and talk with the instructors and your fellow drivers.

Line up near the back if you're worried about being "in the way" and work on finding the track at speed and have fun.

Check your mirrors often to ensure that faster cars can get by and point them by at the proper passing point(s).

On the out laps, note where the corner worker stations are and look at them each lap to ensure you get an idea of anything that might be happening down the track.

If things get too busy around you of if you need to let the car/driver cool a little, don't hesitate pull onto pit lane to let cars go by/cool off.

Novice groups get led around for the first few laps in their initial session and there are instructors available to ride with you if you need more help.

In reply to Stefan :

Great feedback - thank you!

No info about the track but as an old fart myself I like your car. Thought about getting one of those back when. They look good and I thought they would be fun with the four and mt and also have potential to be a fun sports sedan. I've always enjoyed driving low power cars with manuals ever since my MG Midget days. Any way good luck and have fun. 

The Fusion is not that bad of a car. It's not my pick but it's OK for what you're planning on doing.  On the track I can offer a couple of suggestions since I instruct there on a regular basis.  That track has a number of turns that require a late apex. Turns #3, #8, #10 come to mind. You must apex them late to very late. Also turn #1 is much faster then most people think. They over slow the car to set up for #2 when then don't really have to, just use all of the track on the exit of #1 and you'll be fine and have more then enough time to set up for #2.

Good luck and have fun!

TNIA is a little different that autocross.  It’s run a lot looser and you are responsible for teaching your own stuff.  

Remember, it’s about fun and bringing your car back in one piece.  No trophies for a HPDE, keep the red mist in check.

In reply to jimbbski :

Thanks for the input on the track. I'll play this out in my head a few times and see if I can remember it when I am on the track.

I would say don't worry at all about what type of car you are bringing just focus on having fun! I'd much rather share the track with someone aware of their surroundings in a slow car than someone oblivious to the other cars around them but in a fast car.

Regarding the track itself, put those autocross skills to work! what I call the 7-8-9 complex (they'll be the big fast sweeping s-curve corners out near the back of the track) are a prime spot that autocross drivers typically do well at. the whole time you are in those turns be chanting "look ahead look ahead look ahead"

Going through the double right that is 7-8 start looking ahead at where you want to apex (as Jim said it's very late) as soon as you have the car pointed towards the apex in 8 start looking for the exit of 9 (the big left hander) you'll darn near be looking out the drivers side window at first but that's ok. 

The further you can look ahead there, the smoother your line will be and the more speed you'll be able to carry.

Of particular note, don't focus quite as much on looking ahead if there are cars in front of you, drive your own line but leave a little mental capacity free to pay attention to their inputs and begin reacting if needed, plenty of folks run out of bravery midway through that section and lift off the throttle or tap the brakes abruptly which causes a spin.

Mostly, have fun!

I've instructed in a Camary hybrid before.  It ain't about the car, it's about the driver. I had him passing a CTS-V by the end of the day. Relax, listen to the instructor, and have fun!

Also pay attention to brake pedal feel. If they get soft at all, pit!  They can go downhill quicker than expected. 

I've instructed a few friends at their first track day @ TNiA.  It's a great environment to learn in, everyone is expecting you to be a novice out there by yourself, so just make sure to point by and you'll be fine.    If you have any friends in the advanced group, they can ride along with you and can help offer some suggestions.  Don't overthink it, drink lots of water and don't hold the wheel so tight that your hands hurt!

I'm personally not a fan of the relatively loose/unstructured format for a novice driver. But that's coming from a long-time instructor (former Chief Instructor) with BMW CCA, PCA, NASA, etc etc. who really buys into the need for skilled, in-car instruction.

My advice is to just be careful. Get out of the way of faster cars. Put some distance between yourself and any erratic/aggressive drivers; a bone-headed move on their part could take you out. Crucially, you need to avoid "driving someone else's line."

What I mean by that is: let's say you have someone in front of you who's an intermediate driver in a Lotus Elise on race tires. You won't be able to enter corners as fast if you're a novice driver in a Crown Vic on all-season tires. But you can easily get "sucked into his line" and find yourself entering a corner way faster than you should. Try to keep your head and run at your own pace.

Gingerman is hard on brakes. Fun track with decent sight lines and run off room so good for beginners.  Good advice given already.   Gingerman has run weekday evenings for years since at least 1997.  Having been there with complete track newbies and a complete mix of drivers and cars and rarely seeing much of any problems with the most relaxed format I don't see a SCCA program being an issue.  People tend to drive as far as self preservation in most cases and newer drivers are rarely a problem beyond not doing point bys or running off track due to early apexing.  It is usually the drivers with too fast a car for their capability or with enough experience that they over drive their ability.

I’m about to sign up in the advanced group.  You will probably be in a meeting for my first session but after that you are welcome to ride along.

Where are you coming from, I’ll be coming from GR.

Look for the Blue 92 5.slow mustang.

In reply to akylekoz :

Coming up from near Fort Wayne, IN. I will stop over and say hey when I get a chance.

LanEvo said:

I'm personally not a fan of the relatively loose/unstructured format for a novice driver. But that's coming from a long-time instructor (former Chief Instructor) with BMW CCA, PCA, NASA, etc etc. who really buys into the need for skilled, in-car instruction.

My advice is to just be careful. Get out of the way of faster cars. Put some distance between yourself and any erratic/aggressive drivers; a bone-headed move on their part could take you out. Crucially, you need to avoid "driving someone else's line."

What I mean by that is: let's say you have someone in front of you who's an intermediate driver in a Lotus Elise on race tires. You won't be able to enter corners as fast if you're a novice driver in a Crown Vic on all-season tires. But you can easily get "sucked into his line" and find yourself entering a corner way faster than you should. Try to keep your head and run at your own pace.

I hope you just misspoke when you said get out of the way of faster cars. 

Especially to a group of novice drivers. That is bad advice. Faster drivers will find their way around slower drivers, they’d appreciate a point by. But steady as you go!  

By that I mean don’t try to “move over” because that may be the direction he’s going by you.  If you hold your line and point by the overtaking driver can judge for himself if that’s the way to pass ( or wait) at least he knows you are aware of him and will act accordingly. 

If the overtaking driver is being pointed in a direction there isn’t room, he can wait for a safer place or for more room. Then file away the Red Honda is a REAL novice use caution.  

But if the red Honda tries to move over to get out of the way the faster driver may have already committed. 

In short hold your line and point by. 

I found gingerman to be a bit difficult in a slower car. There wasn't a lot of room in places where high horsepower people could create room. Then again, not sure how much passing you'll be doing at a TNIA event.

In reply to frenchyd :

Good advice, even if you don't know what a line is or where the line is.  In the novice group just watch your mirrors and don't assume that you know what anyone will do, only pass with a point by. 

In reply to frenchyd :

I did not misspeak. In my experience, novices tend to get thrown off their game when they have someone riding their bumper and filling their mirrors. Let the faster guys go by so you can shift your focus back to your own driving.

Nobody said anything about moving off line. The whole message behind my post was: drive your own line at your own pace.

Your car sounds like it is well prepared to hit the track. I did my first lapping in my 2004 Subaru Legacy Wagon 5mt with similar preparation (similar brake pads, fresh brake fluid, same tires), I had a blast learning the track and learning how the car behaved at speed. Stay safe and predictable, be aware of what is ahead and behind you and don't try to go to fast while you are learning the track. There will be lots of fast cars going slow and slow cars going fast (the opposite is also true).

Have fun!

Adam

Be safe and have fun.

Lot's of good feedback and I appreciate it. I was able to find some in car footage from Gingerman last night on YouTube and they were demonstrating the racing line. Of course this was in a faster car but the general view and insight I feel was quite helpful.

A question regarding point bys: Is it typically done "out the window", and if so, do you reach up and point right if you only have room on the right hand side to pass?

Based on watching the novice class last month, it seemed that most of the "off the track" events were pretty benign at Gingerman due to generous run offs and they were most frequently used by the high horsepower american muscle cars. It looked like they could be a handful and a tough introduction to track events.

In reply to fusion66 :

They will cover point by procedures in your meeting, I'm not going to say what others go by as it may be different.

Grattan only has one passing zone for beginners and always on the same side, Gingerman will probably allow two areas.

Oh, and I signed up this morning so I'll see you there.

I attended a BMWCCA driver school there in 2000, several Lemons races and a track day since then so I'm fairly familiar with the track.  Print out a track map for in between session chats, it's hard to remember turn numbers and helps clarify discussions. 

akylekoz said:

In reply to fusion66 :

I attended a BMWCCA driver school there in 2000, several Lemons races and a track day since then so I'm fairly familiar with the track.  Print out a track map for in between session chats, it's hard to remember turn numbers and helps clarify discussions. 

On a slightly complicated course, I like to print a track map and tape it to the steering wheel or center console, even in an endurance car.  Gives you a quick reference as to what area you're on.  I don't know anything about Gingerman, though, so I don't know if it's necessary there.

I'd say a low powered car that you're familiar with is a GREAT choice for your first track experience.  

People (especially rookies) way overthink the boy racer racecar prep stuff and plenty of people end up driving really fast cars really slowly.  Having a car that rewards your good driving with some momentum, and doesn't have incredibly high limits that hide all of your mistakes with massive sticky rubber and huge brakes is a great way to learn.  You'll end up more in tune with how the car needs to be driven, and it's fun to finally put a few corners together the right way.  

Fresh pads and fluids and you should have a blast.  Gingerman is a great track for learning.  It's not as daunting with lots of runoff, yet it still has a good bit of technical sections that really reward driving the correct line.  

Have fun!  

LanEvo said:

In reply to frenchyd :

I did not misspeak. In my experience, novices tend to get thrown off their game when they have someone riding their bumper and filling their mirrors. Let the faster guys go by so you can shift your focus back to your own driving.

Nobody said anything about moving off line. The whole message behind my post was: drive your own line at your own pace.

Exactly !! Novice drivers tend to “move over” rather than Point by.   I understood what you meant, but a Novice could have misinterpreted your, “Get out of the way”