Hey can anyone give me an idea of a place around the Washington DC (VA, MD, WV) area the would rent out their track for use by some of the Mid-A members..? I know you can Rent MIR and I am looking into that for next year, any other suggestions?

Thanks

 

Whats MIR? And if you're talking Road Course... the fact that you have a roadster should be cause for concern... some tracks (like Virginia International) will only allow a certain few convertibles on track.

Oh yeah... and its expensive as heck... why not join us? (we've done all the hard stuff)

 

Stacy,

MIR is Maryland International Raceway. It is a ¼ mile drag strip.
I do drive a convertible, and I know there are a number of restrictions on a road course. BUT if necessary I am looking into installing a Rollbar w/ harness and possibly even a removable Roll Cage (still in development). I personally am interested in racing on both ¼ miles and tracks but my question is where can I rent them for a group.
The cost for renting MIR for a day during the week is between $800 – 1200. This I can handle. Anything much more and it would require the group getting together and putting down a decent deposit.

I was only thinking of this because right now at the 1/4 tracks there are so many people that at most you can only get 4-5 runs in an entire day. I was thinking if we had a smaller group (say less then 20 at the 1/4 mile) we could get a lot more runs in. I was also thinking that if we got a road course, maybe it would be a good experience for a lot of us. But maybe that is a lot more complicated with liabilities etc.

Your group sounds pretty cool. I will check it out when I am out of the office. this might be a good trip for the group to make down your way for a weekend of racing and meeting other Z guys/gals. Thanks, it even has some schools which I am particularly interested in looking into with all of this power I need to know how to best control it

Thanks again,

Brent

 

Closest track to DC is Summit Point, which is 75 miles west of DC between Charleston, WV and Winchester, VA. It's going to cost you several thousand dollars, and I think it's pretty rare for Bill Scott to rent out the track for open track days to random people due to liability issues. Your best bet is to get with an established organization that already runs a high-performance driving education format and start from there.

 

John,

I think we spoke before about me trying to get some type of driving school with my convertible. I am now looking into putting a roll cage in the car (due to increased HP) and would be very interested in taking my car on the track.

As for renting Summit Point, that is pretty heavy duty, but if the price was somewhat decent I would be up for it. I am sure I could get certain people to put in for that.

Thanks John. Appreciate your input. I am putting a together day at MIR also, if you would be interested in joining the Mid-A group in March...

Regards,
Brent

 

The cost to rent Summit Point is somewhere in the $2500-$5000 a day range minimum. That would be for a weekday rental and would only allow something like 3 cars on the track at a time. If it is your first time on the track, you would also have to arrange for instructors.

My advice is to sign up with one of the established groups or for a FATT. You will learn more and have more fun for less money and less hassle.

-Rob

 

Thanks Rob, I think that is the prevailing thought here... I guess I will need to put he rollbars in first and then sign up for some classes...

Thanks.

 

In the meantime, come out to our event at VIR in February or April and see what all the fuss is about! We'll hook you up with a ride or two

 

Man, this sounds pretty cool. But I do not think I could possibly get my car up to your specs by February, but I might be able to make the April event. I am just starting to look into the rollbar and harness specs. I figure it will take a couple of months to find a place familiar with the specs and the ability to build me a removable cage. Plus my car will be in the shop for the rest of the year getting the rest of my engine and interior mods completed.

Thanks,

Brent

 

So you are looking for Road course or any type of track? I am a little confused here?

The advantage of going with TZC is it is a Z club, so there will be additional Z's there, even though it is open to all makes.

 

Marty,

I was initially looking for any type of racing tracks that I could rent for a day of fun for the Mid-A group. I already know of MIR for a drag strip and was interested in knowing if you could rent a proper Road Course for private use. From what I can tell this is not a feasible option (cost and liability being the biggest issues).

At this point I am going to rent MIR sometime in March for those that are interested in trying their hand at the quarter mile and some tuning time.

Personally I would LOVE to take some driving courses and also get my Z on a proper track, but have been finding a lot of issues in getting a convertible up to spec without having to put in a permanent/fixed rollcage and harness bar. So to date I have not pursued the Road Racing options. However in the last few months with the engine work I have been doing and rebuild I am planning I will try to bring the car to some type of racing spec and hope to get out on the field a few times in ‘06 along with some driving courses.

Sorry for the confusion. Like I said I was interested in both types of tracks, but it is now apparent the Road Course is not something that will be easy for me to set up.

Thanks and Regards,

Brent

 

If you're going to do a roll bar, you need to stop by and chat with no other than Mitch Piper. He's located out in Manassas and by far is the best cage builder in the area (if not the Mid-Atlantic region). If you state your requirements, he should have no problem accomodating them.

 

John,

If you could PM me his contact information. I definitely need it to be removable... and meet IHRA and SCCA regulations if possible.

Thanks,

Brent

 

I am interested in a removable roll bar too. If you get any info please let me know.