[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by partlowr

My only question would be if this is your daily driver can you really afford to risk wadding it up? Do you rely on this car to get you to and from your job? My many years of road racing superbikes has taught me if something can go wrong it most likely will and lots of shit happens on a racetrack that are completely out of your control...even the best and most careful drivers in the world are not going to avoid being rear-ended by the guy behind you that has brake failure, or the two guys that wad it up 100 ft ahead of you and one of their wheels become unattached and suddenly end up in your front seat. If you do not have alternative transportation I would suggest limiting your track use with this car.

Very good points. And I saw an on track incident in the open group on turn 15 on Saturday. (Turn 15 at Thunderhill is best taken at 7/10s or less IMO--put a wheel off there and you'll find the pit wall--and I never run hard at that point on the track--everywhere else there's lots off runoff room and track out room as well.) Some on this forum either had or seen similar things on track.

On the other hand, if it's a well run organization, with good flaggers, safety minded, and strict, I personally feel a bit safer on track than off, especially if I consider the drive to and from the track on the interstate. Now that scares the **** out of me. I've seen cars break their suspensions, spin, and fly off the road into the bushes at 85 MPH right in front of me (had the skills to avoid it--but OMG). My wife was forced off the road by a jacked up pickup truck on the way back from a track day. People drive 85+ in the rain inches from your bumper. And lastly, coming home from one last summer I had someone blow a red light and almost t-bone me.

The thing is, any kind off driving is a risk. While things happen on track they also happen off (as noted above). True, not always at 100 MPH+ speeds, but for the most part you have focused and attentive people who are actually trying to drive at the track. Someone does something stupid and they're black flagged and reeled in or if serious enough they're out. I can't say the same for 95% of people on the road these days (I wish I had a black and a meatball flag for daily use). Yes, things can happen like two cars getting in a tangle in front of you on the track, but then again, it can happen off the track as well. Texting, cell phones, inattentive driving, aggressive driving, poor driving skills, etc. It's scary on the road.

If you plan on really pushing, and running 9/10s or something, then get a track car. If you get hooked consider a track car. If you want to see if you like the track, find a good safe outfit and have a go or two. See what you think about safety and risk.

Originally Posted by Erhan

Depends on the club. Some clubs have more strict rules than others. For Seattle area, BMWCCA and PCA runs very safe events. I've heard Audi club is a little bit more loose.

Let me give you an example, if you spin twice in day (not session) in BMWCCA or PCA event, you're out. We always have corner workers with SCCA experience in every single corner. If you drive in an aggressive way, do stupid things, not drive on school line, etc, they see you immediately and you get black flagged. I've witnessed them noticing not properly latched hood. They're good!

I hear good things about HOD. BMWCCA gets great marks--car control clinic they run is a great way to start too. And in my "solo" session with NCRC (beginner level, 1 up from their "driving school") there are download sessions. Safety is enforced: someone who was running a bit to close in front of me was immediately blacked flagged. I'm going to give HOD a try the next time, but so far with NCRC there's been no tolerance for anything unsafe.

Originally Posted by aestheticstorm

This is my only vehicle. From what I've read, there's different types of track events. I plan on just sticking to open track with point-bys for now. Seems pretty safe to me. Am I wrong?

See my comments above.