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Help me get on the track...

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Old May 18, 2012 | 12:01 PM
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Help me get on the track...

I'm looking to run my 8 around a local track. I was hoping to get over to Oregon Park Raceway and start with the High Performance Driving class. But with my son starting college this fall, it's looking like my summer vacation (and money) plans won't revolve solely around me.

So, I'm thinking PIR is my next option. Do they have open days where any schmuck can drive? Do I want to join one of the clubs?

I'm not looking to be competitive or set any records, I just want to have a new experience and a few days of fun. Any help would be appreciated.

I'm not a complete noob to racing. Many years ago, I practically lived at Woodburn Drag Strip with my 340 4-speed Plymouth Duster. (It's a bad picture of my first love, but it's the only one I have.)
Attached Thumbnails Help me get on the track...-duster.jpg  
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Old May 18, 2012 | 12:15 PM
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Go to http://www.motorsportreg.com/ and look for ORP and PIR days for this summer

There is a Team Continental Drivers School on the 25th of this month I think....did one of there days at PIR a few years back and it is good bang for the buck..no membership needed

Some of the other events require a membership..Audi days are one of them. I think PCA will let you drive without a membership in there club..but you have to be an affiliate member from someplace I think. Turn 2 days are good..but you need to find out what you need for prerequisites....all the info is on Motorsports reg...you can call a lot of them for info
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Old May 18, 2012 | 02:53 PM
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PIR has Friday Night drag during the Summer and it is really inexpensive. It is a small flat fee and you can run as many times as you want.

Also there are several car clubs that have HDPE days at PIR. I have used Cascade Sport Car Club in the past. They are a great group to run with. I will run a couple times this year and will let you know when I go. You can either join the fun or come hangout and watch everyone have fun

http://www.cascadesportscarclub.org/

Last edited by pdxhak; May 18, 2012 at 02:59 PM.
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Old May 18, 2012 | 09:48 PM
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if looking to have fun and get better my best advice would be to search the area their are always roads out of the city where no 1 is at drive safe but fast. have fun and learn from experience once u feel safe take the speed up a little just takes practice but its free. remember remember whenever racing on public roads to never push urself to fast or to hard take it easy and keep things under control, stay safe.
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Old May 18, 2012 | 09:53 PM
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Find a local autocross club and o to that it will cost $20-$50 per day and you usually get your lunch too.
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Old May 18, 2012 | 09:54 PM
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Originally Posted by rx8_drifter
if looking to have fun and get better my best advice would be to search the area their are always roads out of the city where no 1 is at drive safe but fast. have fun and learn from experience once u feel safe take the speed up a little just takes practice but its free. remember remember whenever racing on public roads to never push urself to fast or to hard take it easy and keep things under control, stay safe.
You are not allowed to talk about street racing on this forum.
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Old May 18, 2012 | 10:10 PM
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Also driving fast on the streets will not give you credibility to a club
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Old May 18, 2012 | 10:45 PM
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Originally Posted by TANKERG
Also driving fast on the streets will not give you credibility to a club

Not to mention it is plain stupid.....

The only safe place to drive fast is on the track,,,,,driving on the street is too much of an uncontrolled environment
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Old May 18, 2012 | 11:14 PM
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Originally Posted by dannobre
Not to mention it is plain stupid.....

The only safe place to drive fast is on the track,,,,,driving on the street is too much of an uncontrolled environment
when u dont have a track or u dont have money for the track its the best way to get better just driving in general and getting to know ur car will help. im not saying to go out at drive as fast as u can im saying to go out to a place no cars go best time hear is 1 or 2 am out in the boonies and just feel the road find a good line. i like to scout the road first make sure no debree is in the road then take a drive. if u want to be even safer its best to take a freind and have him at the end of the pass making sure their are no cars coming.
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Old May 19, 2012 | 03:14 AM
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Originally Posted by dannobre
Go to http://www.motorsportreg.com/ and look for ORP and PIR days for this summer
Awesome, thanks!

Originally Posted by pdxhak
PIR has Friday Night drag during the Summer and it is really inexpensive. It is a small flat fee and you can run as many times as you want.

Also there are several car clubs that have HDPE days at PIR. I have used Cascade Sport Car Club in the past. They are a great group to run with. I will run a couple times this year and will let you know when I go. You can either join the fun or come hangout and watch everyone have fun

http://www.cascadesportscarclub.org/
Not interested in drag racing. After running that Duster up and down the track, the RX-8 is bound to be unwhelming.
I was actually thinking about joining Cascade. Perhaps I'll give them a call.

Originally Posted by rx8_drifter
my best advice would be to search the area their are always roads out of the city.
If that's your best advice, I'd hate to hear your lesser advice.

Originally Posted by wrightcomputing
Find a local autocross club and o to that it will cost $20-$50 per day and you usually get your lunch too.
I plan on doing autocross. Actually thought about putting that in my original post, but figured I'd leave that for another time.
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Old May 19, 2012 | 06:50 AM
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Originally Posted by rx8_drifter
when u dont have a track or u dont have money for the track its the best way to get better just driving in general and getting to know ur car will help. im not saying to go out at drive as fast as u can im saying to go out to a place no cars go best time hear is 1 or 2 am out in the boonies and just feel the road find a good line. i like to scout the road first make sure no debree is in the road then take a drive. if u want to be even safer its best to take a freind and have him at the end of the pass making sure their are no cars coming.
So much fail and sad pathetic fail at that. 1st, you sound like a 13 yr old. Like don't be so lazy here, use real words, lik u no..no shrthnd nd sum captls? 2nd, beyond the obvious, you can easily kill/injure doing what you describe...how dumb is that(?)...a: it doesn't get any dumber. If you think track driving is expensive, try paying for ride to the hospital for yourself or a court trial for willful negligence or manslaughter.
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Old May 19, 2012 | 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Wingznut
Not interested in drag racing. After running that Duster up and down the track, the RX-8 is bound to be unwhelming.
I was actually thinking about joining Cascade. Perhaps I'll give them a call.
If you do not have a lot of track experience then they will have you do a class the night before. It lasts a couple of hours and they over the safety and the lines on the track. They provide a deli sandwich, chips and a drink as well. The have four run groups from beginner to advanced. There will be two 20 minute morning sessions, lunch, and then 2 afternoon sessions. Lunch is a good time to go off track to fill up the tank and grab a quick bite.
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Old May 19, 2012 | 11:41 AM
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Forgot to mention congrats on your son starting college
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Old May 19, 2012 | 11:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Spin9k
So much fail and sad pathetic fail at that. 1st, you sound like a 13 yr old. Like don't be so lazy here, use real words, lik u no..no shrthnd nd sum captls? 2nd, beyond the obvious, you can easily kill/injure doing what you describe...how dumb is that(?)...a: it doesn't get any dumber. If you think track driving is expensive, try paying for ride to the hospital for yourself or a court trial for willful negligence or manslaughter.
it ok ur entitled to ur opinion i was just saying what worked for me and what got me faster now when i do go to the track i almost always post the fastest time
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Old May 19, 2012 | 01:27 PM
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Originally Posted by rx8_drifter
it ok ur entitled to ur opinion i was just saying what worked for me and what got me faster now when i do go to the track i almost always post the fastest time
Go away ...............
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Old May 19, 2012 | 02:48 PM
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Originally Posted by pdxhak
If you do not have a lot of track experience then they will have you do a class the night before. It lasts a couple of hours and they over the safety and the lines on the track. They provide a deli sandwich, chips and a drink as well. The have four run groups from beginner to advanced. There will be two 20 minute morning sessions, lunch, and then 2 afternoon sessions. Lunch is a good time to go off track to fill up the tank and grab a quick bite.
That pretty much sounds exactly like what I am looking for.

Originally Posted by pdxhak
Forgot to mention congrats on your son starting college
Thanks! Looks like he's deciding to go to UofO, so it's really exciting for us. We're very proud of him.

Originally Posted by rx8_drifter
it ok ur entitled to ur opinion i was just saying what worked for me and what got me faster now when i do go to the track i almost always post the fastest time
What I am looking for is information on how to get integrated into the track culture. So far, you have provided no help in this regard. If I were to say that I've never driven fast and unsafe on public roads, that would be a lie. But that was when I was much younger and stupider. When I was immature, I didn't fully realize the risks (both to me and to others). Like you, I told myself what I was doing was so safe. But like dannobre said, it's an unpredictable environment. I hope that you will understand that someday before anyone gets hurt. (And perhaps understand that people will take you more seriously if you make even the slightest attempt at spelling and punctuation.)
Originally Posted by dannobre
Go away ...............
Gotta agree with dannobre here. You aren't helping anyone.
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Old May 19, 2012 | 03:07 PM
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their are several mazda days at thunder hill race park in willows ca this summer think like 5 its $230 or at least that's what it was last year you get lots of track time track is a hour from redding ca check out their site thunderhillraceway. don't want to argue with anyone so im out of this form, btw i dont give a **** about being grammatically correct im not applying for a job here just trying to help out a fellow 8 driver. hopefully this is helpful, there track is very fun 15 turn 2 mile track
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Old May 19, 2012 | 05:18 PM
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I forgot to mention you will have an instructor scheduled to ride with you all four sessions. However if he/she thinks you are good enough to be on your own then they will let you drive by yourself for one or both afternoon sessions. If you do not have a helmet then you can rent one for $10.
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Old May 19, 2012 | 05:25 PM
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Originally Posted by rx8_drifter
their are several mazda days at thunder hill race park in willows ca this summer think like 5 its $230 or at least that's what it was last year you get lots of track time track is a hour from redding ca check out their site thunderhillraceway. don't want to argue with anyone so im out of this form, btw i dont give a **** about being grammatically correct im not applying for a job here just trying to help out a fellow 8 driver. hopefully this is helpful, there track is very fun 15 turn 2 mile track
Much better info...now a few periods would help
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