SCCA PDX Event at Gateway International Raceway

[mensaracefan]

I just got back from 4 hours of Road Course Driving Instruction at Gateway International Raceway. PDX is a series through SCCA.

What a blast. I was on track with a ton of Sports Cars, Vett's, Vipers, Miata's and more. My challenger and an Impala Wagon were the only heavy cars out there. We also got the most looks and comments. While this was my first event, My SRT8/6PD and I did ourselves proud. In one novice session, I led the group off and came close to lapping the field.

Our cars are heavy but handle much better than anyone expects, It was a great and safe way to learn the limits of the car and driver. On nearly every lap I crossed the finish line at 110+ mph. The brakes on our cars are incredible, I barely touched them, something I need to be more aggressive with. Driving at full throttle on the high bank oval turn is intense.

Best part is all laps are made with a very experienced instructor riding along, My instructor took me out twice in his BMW during the advanced sessions to show me how he runs with a lighter car.

Cost for the event was $165. Next events are Thursday afternoon Aug 6th and all day on Aug 26th. I will be back for both.

Only down side is cleaning all the brake dust off the wheels AGAIN! , small price though.

[Ron380]

Very nice! That is a KILLER price for a full-day PDX!! Those usually go for about $250. Glad to hear you're out there with your car, amazing how much fun it is, huh?

What mod's have you done to your car? If you want to get more serious with the track days, I've collected a bunch of good info. here:
Lx Road Course Preparation!

Enjoy!

[mensaracefan]

It was a blast, more than I hoped for.

My car is near stock, just a CAI, Predator 93 tune and sequential tail lights, Exhaust is next then probably sway bars and Pedders bushings, Over winter I will likely do a roll bar and a cam.

Thanks for the great link on racing. Any idea how much the lap timers cost? I saw a few at the PDX and would have really liked to see how much I improved each session, it seemed like several seconds per session.

[Plum Krazy]

I just got back from 4 hours of Road Course Driving Instruction at Gateway International Raceway. PDX is a series through SCCA.

What a blast. I was on track with a ton of Sports Cars, Vett's, Vipers, Miata's and more. My challenger and an Impala Wagon were the only heavy cars out there. We also got the most looks and comments. While this was my first event, My SRT8/6PD and I did ourselves proud. In one novice session, I led the group off and came close to lapping the field.

Our cars are heavy but handle much better than anyone expects, It was a great and safe way to learn the limits of the car and driver. On nearly every lap I crossed the finish line at 110+ mph. The brakes on our cars are incredible, I barely touched them, something I need to be more aggressive with. Driving at full throttle on the high bank oval turn is intense.

Best part is all laps are made with a very experienced instructor riding along, My instructor took me out twice in his BMW during the advanced sessions to show me how he runs with a lighter car.

Cost for the event was $165. Next events are Thursday afternoon Aug 6th and all day on Aug 26th. I will be back for both.

Only down side is cleaning all the brake dust off the wheels AGAIN! , small price though.

Wow!!! You're having all kinds of fun since Branson! Did you have your camera with you? If so, I'd love to see some pics of the event...