04MT_JAC

Has anyone taken their 8 to summit point in VW and is it worth the $200+ entrance fee.
Right now i go to capitol raceway every friday which is fun, but not as much since i only beat people off the tree but not at the 1/4 mile

FD3SDriver

I've "raced" against several RX-8's on the Shenandoah in my MINI before.

Striker-7

iTrader: (3)

This is the ultimate definition of 'synchronicity'! The Lightning Yellow RX-8 gridded with the Minis is mine, with Bill "Wankelbolt" Stuart instructing.

I'll have to assume you're talking about FATT, and for a day of running hard on road courses, yes, it is good "bang for the buck".

FD3SDriver

Not quite sure i understand what you mean. I did put raced in quotes in my original post; since these are HPDE events. (High Performance Driving Event) I never mentioned points being giving out or a winner. Just was trying to state that i've seen plenty of RX-8's out on the track before, and i'm sure more owners would chime in.

For the OP; that event was run with TrackDaze. One of the better organizations IMO, and you get PLENTY of seat time, esp. if you run both days of the event.

Striker-7

iTrader: (3)

Relax, I meant nothing serious by it. This is the first time I'd seen someone else post a shot with my car in it, and yes, it was the TrackDaze HPDE event on Shenandoah Course, May 2009 I think. That was my first exposure to the 'Shen, my third track weekend, and my first DE signoff for solo. Good times!

04MT, the wide majority of road courses will not allow an uncertified driver to just drive up and engage in wheel-to-wheel racing. NASA has HPDE, as F3DS stated above, which is their training program for aspiring road racers. SCCA has a similar program, but by most accounts it isn't as "street friendly" as NASA's course. DE is not racing, there is passing, but the key here is the car being passed must signal you first, aka "the point-by". Where the pass is allowed basically defines the HPDE group you run in; 1 and 2 usually on longest straightaways, 3 gets additional straights, 4 is passing anywhere *with the point-by*. Experience dictates the group you run in.

If road racing is the ultimate goal, go with NASA. The Speed:Sport:Life "Racer Boy" articles on Time Attack and Performance Touring give you an idea of what you'll be looking at in a realistic manner, but you might want to check out the SCCA's "Pro Solo" events. As Rob Krider describes it, it is Drag Racing With Corners.

The perfect event is coming up at Virginia International Raceway in three weeks time. You can participate in a "one off" HPDE called HyperDrive for $50, to get a taste of what NASA's program is all about, jump in to HPDE-1, or just hang out at the Grassroot Motorsports Ultimate Track Car Challenge and see what Time Trials is all about. Check out the NASA Mid-Atlantic registration page for further information.

Good luck, and ask away!

04MT_JAC

thanks for the info about the VA track the hyperdrive seems more reasonable i just want to try something to get my feet wet and $50 is a smaller barrier to entry than the over $200 for the summit point

Bigbacon

iTrader: (4)

check out emraracing.org, they do event as summit point and if you are a first timer you get 100 dollars off the cost which make it really reasonable. I think I paid like 175 (135 if I didn't want the transponder) bucks total for a day on the track with them. Look for the Time Trail schedule.

You can rent a transponder also for like another 40 dollars which I would highly recommend so you can get accurate lap times.