Thread: Road course discussion

haha..

I'm here guys (and gals if any other gals)

Welcome aboard. Just to get you up to speed, the location for the next convention will be (almost) solely determined by finding the right road course. We also need to have a drag strip within driving distance as well. There is effectively NO budget, so we want an arrive and drive type facility similar to Nelson or Roebling.

C

hmm.. I'll have to see what is near Gingerman for a drag strip (if anything) but I bet there is because as far as cost, that is going to be one of the best deals around much like roebling road was at the one convention you had. The nice thing about gingerman is it is a very 'safe' track with tons of run-off without things to hit and nearby south haven has nice places to eat, right by the lake, etc.

Speaking of which, how close by does the drag strip have to be? We drove right past a drag strip on the way to Grattan this past weekend (just slightly north of Kalamazoo so it would be a drive straight west of Gingerman by probably 30 to 40 miles but I'd have to double check on that!)

so yeah, 35 to 40 miles away depending on how you drive to get there from gingerman.. would that be acceptable or not? (found Martin Dragway in Martin, MI but do not know pricing or anything else about it since I'm not much of a drag person but happened to notice it just this past weekend!)

Welcome Chris (can we call you Chris?). ChrisCar is spot on and to elaborate on his statement regarding location, yes, the track location will determine the next convention location but we also need to keep in mind most of the convention attendees are into drag racing. The drag strip proximity is paramount.

Other track facility goals we discussed are...

East of the Mississippi and try to keep centrally located within that area.
Keep per person cost under $150. The average age of participants is young. Their budgets are usually limited which is why the pay as you go plan worked so damn well.
Try to keep w/in an hours drive of hotels, restaurants and other activities.

I think we can push the envelope on one or two of these criteria if the others fit perfectly. A discussion was also had regarding keeping the convention in Cleveland every year. It's a possibility but I think we would all rather have at least one or two other locations to cycle through...especially Rob's wife ;-)

I think the plan is to set-up a "Track Committee" thread so that you, ChrisCar (Chris), Blair, Hank, Nathan (wnwright) and myself can discuss in detail.

US 131 Motorsports Park | The Fastest Track in Michigan is the dragstrip I saw for those who know the drag strip stuff and want to check it out.

Gingerman, Grattan, and Waterford were all on my radar if people are willing to travel that far.

Yes, my name is Chris and I go by Chris... thanks guys

Oh, plenty of hotels very close to Gingerman in south haven (less than 15 minute drive away FWIW)

Here are some excellent sources to start from...

Track List with Map // RoadracingWorld.com

Road Courses

List of auto racing tracks in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

^ Grattan and Waterford are even farther but in the grand scheme of things, Grattan is really only an hour farther away than Gingerman and Waterford maybe only an hour longer from some directions...

Waterford Hills is great but not the safest track as far as things to hit but for the majority of the smaller b13s, b14s, g20s ,etc it should be great!


Anything in Michigan will open things up for Canadians if there is a Canadian following that is.