Worth A Tow Race Planner: Vol 9, Late Winter 2015

Here are some worthwhile options for getting your diet of track time in.

 

 

Track: Blackhawk Farms Raceway

 

 

Location: South Beloit, Illinois

 

Dates: April 30-May 1, 2015

 

Host: Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association

 

Format: Vintage driver school

 

Backstory: Learning to drive a race car is pretty much learning to drive a race car – it takes a lot of seat time and many years to master it. So, the focus in licensing schools is on safety and procedures, with lots of practice driving at speed. If you are interested in vintage racing, this is a great way to check it out and, anyway, why not get your license in the kind of car you plan to drive? Blackhawk Farms is a nice track to learn on, too.

 

Special features: VSCDA can hook you up with a rental race car

 

More information:

 

 

Track: Lime Rock Park

 

 

Location: Lakeville, CT

 

Dates: May 1-2, 2015

 

Event: Spring Sprints

 

Host: Vintage Sports Car Club of America

 

Format: Club Race

 

More information

 

 

Track: Circuit of The Americas

 

 

Location: Elroy, TX

 

Dates: April 24-26, 2015

 

Host: Speedventures

 

Format: Track Day plus Cadillac Challenge

 

More information: http://www.speedventures.com/events/eventdetail.aspx?id=514

 

 

Track: Buttonwillow Raceway Park

 

 

Location: Buttonwillow, CA

 

Dates: Most weekdays (M-Th)

 

Event: Semi-exclusive track rental

 

Host: Buttonwillow Raceway Park

 

Backstory: early in the season, many racers want to do a test day to ensure that a new car or new parts work properly. It is also a good chance to shake off the cobwebs and get in the groove. Buttonwillow will rent you their track on a semi-exclusive basis for an entire day for $675 — about the price of a track day. You get to run one car and one driver (extra drivers are a nominal additional fee). There may be one or two other teams testing on that same day, so you don’t have to deal with much, if any, traffic. If you and the other team(s) running agree on a single configuration, you pretty much can run as long as you want. If you and the other team want different configurations, each configuration is open for 30 minutes and then the layout switches.  The advantages of this over a track day are several, but include the fact that you really aren’t confined to a run group, so you can do five laps, come in, look at data, make adjustments and go right back out again and again. You could also test performance over long runs (1-2 hours) if you need to. You have the option to practice pit stops. You don’t have to worry whether that newbie in the MP4/12C actually remembers to check his mirrors. Etc.

 

More information:

(661) 764-5333

 

 

Track: Sebring International Raceway

 

 

Location: Sebring, FL

 

Dates: May 1-3, 2015

 

Event: Spring Sebring

 

Host: NASA Florida

 

Format: Club racing, plus HPDE, TT, driver licensing evaluation and test & tune

 

Click here for more information.