b91857

To all those with track time at Pocono.

If your club was going to rent the whole Pocono facility what configuration would you suggest that club run to ensure maxium fun and participation?

All three courses (N,S,E) at once with seperate run groups switching from one to another during the day?

Double infield course? Long course? Some other configuration?

Your suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Brian

Uncle Sam

Long course = big speed, really big speed. New Turns = least amount of guardrail to hit. Roval = awfully small for Vettes.

John Shiels

Long Course is my vote but PDA runs a few courses in one day and or double infield. Long Course always has a good turn out. Renting for one day or two? Who is flagging it? Weekend or weekday? I see modified C6Z pulling 170+ mph on the long course back straight and 165 down the front straight!

NASAblue

Havn't run the others, but the north course is my all time least favorite track. Actually, It's a must miss.....The road to the track is more fun.

John Shiels

why is that? What tracks do you like? I like some better than others but can't really say I don't like any as long as there's turns in it.

95jersey

I like the east the best and it seems to have some of the strongest turn out in PDA. It is smaller and not high speed, but the most "roadcourse" like and great corners to challenge the driver. My second vote would be double infield. 3rd vote would be SCCA course using chicane.

My least favorite is the south course with the north course a close second.

If it were my event...east course in the AM and double infield in the PM. What would be really cool is the east course and double infield backwards!

NASAblue

Well I'm going to stir the pot on this.

The bottom line for me is $$ and, to me, why would you spend $350 on a ho hum track that was basically put there to make the facility more revenue in between NASCAR events.

Great from experience:

VIR - full, grand
Watkins Glen
Summit point

Ones that look great but I havn't tried:

Mid Ohio
Thunderbolt
Road Atlanta

Tracks that are pretty good:

VIR south, North
Summit Jefferson


Though both about on the same level, I think that Summit Point's Jefferson is a better track than Pocono North, it's very technical has some elevation changes in turns. It also has 2 definable straights.

Pocono north was best described to me as a 1 mile throw away infield to get back to blasting down the 3rd turn of the tri oval and repeat. You just have to watch out for the dips in the pavement while blasting around the trioval.

Now I've had fun at Pocono North, but it's very much a beginner track and the fun could have been from the cast of chacters I was with and the local girly establishments. If the north course was $200 a weekend I would probably go, but for $350+ I would go elsewhere. Now if the $350 included some lap dances it would be a whole different ball of wax.

95jersey

We'll it depends on where you live. All the tracks you mentioned are great, but at least for me (and most people in metropolitian areas), they are LONG hauls. For me VIR is 8+ hours, WG 6 hours, Summit Point 3+ hours.

I like Pocono because living in the Philly area, I can drive up in the AM and be home just after dinner. No overnight stay, no 6 hour drive. No need to take 2 days off work. At any moment, I can look up the track schedule, see who is running and what course, take a day off work and head up and be home for late dinner. That is HUGE benefit. I can double my track days because of the convenience factor.

If I went to VIR, I would need to take off the day before, and the day after. Driving 8 hours your not going for one day, so that's a 2 day event, now your up to 4 days. I guess if you are retired and have no family, I'd be there as well. But taking 4 days to go to a track even for me is irresponsible at this point. So my one day Pocono trips (and soon Thunderbolt) are perfect for the family guy with an actual job.

If you want to make it interesting, do 2 courses in one day, but stay away from the South or North. If you do east and double, I would be there in a heartbeat? Need instructors? After 80+ track days, finally getting my certification with PDA in March.

John Shiels

So I hope you still run in red Matt as instructors can run in black but it looked slower than red since they changed the rules.

Steve L

We didn't change the rules in Black , Red and Black are the same only Black is only for instructors .

95jersey

Most of the time I will be a paying customer, hence running in red. The instructor thing is more of an educational pursuit at this point. If I do instruct, it may be only an event here or there.

Jim 47

what rules are you referring to??

I agree with your observations about the red group being slower, but that's because of the inverse relationship between sanity and speed.

Jim

John Shiels

My opinion was black was the faster group until all those that didn't instruct got booted to red. Then I think red was the faster group. Yea, Na? Since I didn't make an event last year at least getting it off the trailer I may have no clue.

How was the PDA party Steve? I was trying to go but couldn't driver / partner from Long Island. I had a big party the next day also at 12:00 noon, an 80th birthday party.

lbarnard

I have been on all the configurations at Pocono many times; the long track or the "Nascar" track is the ticket; this is a great Vette track; don't be fooled it is a great run and the garage is really nice if you have that available to you; the east course is not that good it was mainly for motorcycles; the "north and south are decent"; it's worth going if you can get the long config; enjoy and bring lot's of GAS! it is fast!

American Power

In a high Hp cars, Vette, Viper, etc... The Long course is the way to go. I love to stretch the legs on my Z. Hitting 170mph and slightly more is incredible. Make sure your brakes are good..

The north course isn't bad, I believe it's 1 staright and 1 bank turn then into the infield.

The long course is sick, I was doing 160mph on the front straight, tapping the brakes for an entry speed into the bank at about 115mph, then accelerating through the apex and out onto the rear straight at about 125-130. The back straight was fast. I was passing porsches that were 15-20 cars ahead of me 1/2 way down the straight. .. They must have been doing 145mph while I was a gust of wind passing them at 165-170mph


Ahhhh. I'm going through withdrwall........

hrtracer

It was mentioned above from NASA BLUE of a bad crash in the infield with the jersey barrier, i was there as well with the DelVal BMWCCA...

For my money to drive the long course in a Vette is a blast just from the sheer speed. I have instructed on all configurations and the long course is the worst for instructors, most of the time the students have more car then skill.

John Shiels

God Bless anyone who sits with a student with car capable of 150 MPH plus and you don't even know the mechanicals of the car either.

John Shiels

You run the banking hard NASCAR Turn 1 it is 125 MPH at the lowest mph. I have seen Earnhart pull 133 and he wasn't the fastest that day. I would guess some are near 140. They rarely show it on TV. I have only seen 3-4 cars maintain that through there but it is a rush. It is easier to do when running someone in close proximity. I liked the Tunnel Turn when it had a bump it slowed most people down way below 125 mph.

South is the smallest course but real tough on a car. It is high reving and braking continuously.

b91857

Well I see there is as many opinions as there are drivers. First to the gentleman who doesn't like Pocono and named some great other tracks that they would rather run on. I also enjoy the tracks you mentioned but we are talking about Pocono not the other tracks and I don't know where the $350 figure came from but we typically charge $175 for our Pocono events. We currently run events on the north course (twice) during the year and once on the south course and we are adding a fourth date where we will be taking the whole facility so we wanted to see what people would enjoy the most. Because our club welcomes all different type cars from full blown race cars to stock hondas and miatas I don't know how much fun the long course would be for a car that tops out at 110 mph. As a driver of a street Z06 and an instructor for many clubs (PCA, BMW, CART, etc.) I don't know how comfortable I'd be at 150+ in a non-caged car I was unfamilar with. But keep the suggestions coming. I may be in the minority in my feelings about the possible top speeds on the long course

Brian

John Shiels

North course is over 150 mph also. 140 or 165 in a non caged car your still in be trouble. That leaves South and East for less than 150 mph. The more new Z's out there the more that will get over 150 mph easier.