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Archive With the 1999 SAAC Open Track season behind us, I thought it might be a good idea to take a look at the year in review - similar to what the enthusiast magazines do with Motorsports, but with a different twist. Since Open Track events are intended to be fun non-competitive events, it would not be possible or appropriate to write about individual drivers, points earned, or driver & manufacturers championships. However, it would be prudent & insightful to write about the events themselves & how they are run. Depending upon whose event it is, & whatever history or logic they have used to organize the event, plus restrictions that may be imposed on the track, each event is unique in its nature. Having been to all of the events at various times in the past, I was familiar with them & their differences. However, having the opportunity this past year to go to five events at five different tracks put on by the National club, & three Regional clubs, gave me the special fortune of experiencing them all in the same time frame to compare differences. What follows is a description of each event, how it was run, & some suggestions from a participants viewpoint (mine). Since every person has different preferences, having this knowledge might help one make a decision as to what event they might like to attend that matches their personal style. It might also provide some ideas for the various clubs to utilize in how they run their events. We can all learn from sharing others ideas. Nationals at Michigan Speedway After watching the big boys run the oval at Michigan for 20+ years, I was chomping at the bit to run on it myself, even if we could only use 1/2 the oval compared to other superspeedways such as Charlotte, Atlanta, & Pocono which use a majority of the oval. None the less, this was still an exciting time, even if I was taking it easy trying to sort out a new engine & tire combination. The Nationals are put on by a cadre of National officials, primarily located in the Northeast. They also draw upon others by a method I’m not sure of. I think they should use more local representation that knows the area & the track better (typically). This was only employed once in any of the events I have been to & that was in Sears Point, probably due to the travel distance involved for the East Coasters. Because of this, & the large nature of a National event, it is hard to tell who is involved with putting on the event. At the front line (registration), there are volunteers who, while commendable in their desire to help, often cannot address many questions asked of them & can’t really direct them to someone who does know. Inside the track area, you can find familiar National members, but there are a number of others that assist that you cannot tell who they are or their authority as there is no distinction since they wore no identifying clothes. Several years ago, & again brought up by our experiences this year, my wife had the suggestion that all event officials wear some kind of common identifying garb. A unique color T-shirt with the event logo & words something to the effect of "Event Official" would help out significantly. Since the Nationals draw many people from around the country to whatever track is hosting it for that year, most participants are not well acquainted with the traffic flow in the paddock, pre-grid & entry/exit to/from the track. I have often felt that in the driver’s meeting, they should have a white board with a schematic of the track. Then in the driver’s meetings, they could point to the area on the track, draw flow paths, etc., rather than just pointing in the area of the general direction & trying to verbally describe what to do. Every professional driver’s school I have attended employs the white board method mentioned. Even though they usually (but not always include a track layout with traffic flow, it is astonishing how many participants do not study the info well enough or at all. Consequently, you have people going somewhere in a direction they are not supposed to. I think this suggestion would also help significantly. Another addition that would be helpful is a low speed adult’s session. The Nationals are honorable in that they have a Kid’s session. The first three sessions of each day are traditionally solo sessions, with no riders allowed. They used to allow riders in any session. The last session of the day allows riders (optional), but they also must have approved helmets & run at full pace for several reasons. First, there are still many solo drivers, & by this time of the day they have gained confidence & experience in the track, their vehicle, & their skills. Secondly, even those with riders are usually going full out to impress (read scare) their passengers, this even though it is typically mentioned in the driver’s meeting that the passenger seat travels at a speed 30 mph faster than the driver’s seat so that there is no need to push to impress – they’re getting one heck of a ride as it is! With this structure, there are no provisions for those passengers that even would squeal when you take an off ramp in a brisk fashion. Having a session with the same restriction as that for kids, under 55 mph & no helmets required, would help expose spouses as to why they put up with the long hours & countless (please) dollars in preparation for these events. That or allow adult passengers with kids, which they currently prohibit, as I found out rudely this year. They also usually have a high-speed helmeted Ladies session, but without passengers if I remember correctly, which does not help first timers, & some of the ladies have some significant experience, which can severely intimidate beginners. Overall, the intent of the sessions could benefit from some review. Run groups are identified by an event specific sticker on the windshield designating the group by a letter from A to D (or E). Race gas is available at every track the Nationals are held, since they are at professional tracks. Motor City Region The Motor City Region is the most prolific region in putting on open track events that I know of. From humble beginnings, it has evolved into four events per year that are put on at two different tracks in the state, near each east/west edge of the state. Due to track scheduling two of the four events are held on weekdays (Mondays), so vacation time use is required for most of us. Three of the events are held at Waterford Hills Road Race Course, a local circuit that is part of the Oakland County Sportsman’s Club in far north suburban Detroit. It is a 1.5 mile course that is very challenging, narrow, & minimal safe run-off area, deserving of more respect than allows for all-out fun time for us amateurs. The first event at this track & for the season by MCR is a driver’s school that is the "Go" portion of the annual Show & Go event that started prior to the first National convention. In the driver’s school, an instructor is assigned to each driver for each session. The instructors are not professionals, but are made up of those with significant Waterford experience, either racing in the Waterford club events, vintage races there, or just a lot of SAAC-MCR experience at Waterford. The two fall events, event numbers 3 & 4 for the MCR season, are more traditional open tracks. The other event is held at Gingerman Raceway, a relatively new circuit on the Western part of the state only about six miles from Lake Michigan & about 180 miles from Detroit. Due to its proximity, it draws nearly as many participants from other states (mainly Illinois) than from Michigan. It is a challenging 1.9 mile course, but it also has many fun & fast portions. Its biggest feature is that it is a very open track with plenty of run-off in most areas. All Open Track events are structured as a working event, meaning that participants have to also help out in the running of the event, usually involving manning the corners or pit lane. All assignments place multiple people at each site, & include flags & radios to communicate situations. This is a great way for someone to get the feel for how it is to be a track worker & experience how it is from the other side. The downside is if you happen to be in Group B, which I typically am, you work the entire morning with no track time. To make up for this, all the sessions are squeezed into the afternoon, often every other session. This makes for a less than favorable situation for both machine & driver, as insufficient time for cooling & repair work is provided. This often may mean skipping a session if the car is still too hot, or repairs not completed, which is a driver’s option. Also, both tracks often due not utilize PA’s for these events, so it’s not always clear what session is next, even if they are both small events from both a physical layout & participation standpoints. Surprisingly, or not, these events seem to attract a preponderance of late model Mustangs – typically heavily modified, which accounts for about 50% of the participants (much higher than other regions), the rest being Brands G, C, H, T, etc. As such, they really push the track hard. Also surprisingly, these events draw hardly any vintage stock, with usually only one or two (if any) real (Ford powered) Shelby’s in the field. This is quite different from the Nationals or the other regions. Also unique to the Shelby clubs as far as I know, is that they allow non-Ford vehicle participation. This trend started a number of years ago when the future of events were in jeopardy due to low turn-out, as the interest in the club was waning & some former open track participants had graduated to vintage racing. MCR too could gain from the event official designation & whiteboard, but less critical than other regions due to the smaller participation & intimate venue. The only passengers allowed at any of the traditional MCR open track events are "instructors". Run groups are identified by colored sports markers similar to shoe polish, in colors from Red, Yellow, Green, White, roughly correlating similarly to the A to D groups of other Shelby clubs. Numbers are also designated the same way & are assigned sequentially by the event organizers, whether you have race numbers already on your car or not, even though they ask for it on the registration form – doesn’t seem to matter. The Yellow looks like a lime green, very similar in appearance to the Green, which can cause confusion, which has resulted in the addition of a "Y" before the number at some events. All are added to windows, often hard to remove, but at the same time disappearing in rain. Overall, an alternative would be worth consideration. No race gas is available at any of the MCR events. Food concessions are available at some of the events, & others are "catered" by club members. Ohio Region The only event this region holds is at the world famous 2.4-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, approximately 130 miles south of Detroit. This event has only been going on since 1995, but due to its attraction as a well known race course attracts many cars from neighboring states, such as Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana & others. A fair share of vintage Ford & Shelby automobiles such as original Cobras, GT350’s & 500’s, GT40’s, & even the Daytona Super Coupe show up! Due to track scheduling, this event runs on a Friday, so vacation time use is also required here. The event occurs in mid August, the same weekend as the Woodward Dream Cruise, & the NASCAR race at Michigan Speedway, making for creative & hectic weekend plans for those trying to catch all three (it can be done!). This event only allows "instructors" in any of the sessions. They also have a Ladies session, as well a Touring session, during lunch. Any "riders" must be at least 18 years of age per Track rules. They utilize professional corner workers, but the club handles the tech & running of the event. The President & his wife are the two hardest workers of the event, being involved in most aspects of it. I often feel sorry for them as they don’t get a chance to get on the track as a participant, but that doesn’t seem to bother them. A use of a white board in the drivers meeting would be very helpful at this event, as two way traffic is required when someone is coming off the track while someone is heading to the false grid. I have also seen people entering the hot grid directly by completely bypassing the false grid, causing confusion on the false grid. A worker at the entrance to the false grid to direct traffic when cars are coming off the track would help, as well as one at the head of false grid to manage the "cutters". Run groups are identified by generic letter sticker on the windshield designating the group by a letter from A to D (or E). A separate event specific Tech sticker is also used to denote successful inspection. Race gas is available at this event. Food concessions are also available. Northwoods Region The Northwoods Region holds one event per year at the famed 4-mile long Road America track in Wisconsin, now occurring in mid-September of the year. Their event started in the same year as the first Nationals. The Northwoods crew is a diehard open track bunch. They have serious cars & experience. This year I saw cars from as far away as Iowa, Colorado, & Oklahoma. A good number of vintage cars always show up, often heavily modified, but many stock as well. The Northwoods bunch is a little more laid back & lenient than other regions. Passengers can be in any session with use of an approved helmet. Age doesn’t seem to matter as I was able to take my nine year old daughter on a session, even if she couldn’t see over the dash on the dive down into Turn 5 & she had to boost herself to see, like on a rollercoaster drop. The white board & event official designation could also help out here. Run groups are identified by an event specific sticker on the windshield designating the group by a letter from A to D (or E), also incorporating a Tech inspection completion denotation. Race gas is available, as well as concessions (both souvenirs & food). As you can see, there is a difference in how the events are run & the make up of the participants. Hopefully this summary can accomplish two things: 1) let you determine what event suits your personal style & philosophy (riders, non Ford vehicles, vintage participation vs. late model, etc), & 2) provide feedback to the clubs from ideas & practice from others to help them improve their events, if they so choose.
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