Gingerman Track Day May 24 (Chicago/Detroit)

[BB69]

All,
A friend I work with is organizing a track day at Gingerman May 24. The agreement has been signed, so we are going rain or shine. The goal is between 30-40 cars split into four groups. This will be mostly street cars, but there is already a group of dedicated race cars forming up. If that group gets large enough, they will be put into their own group with open passing. For everything else, please see the details below.

If you go, please send Dave an email and let him know where you saw this, so he knows who you are. Also, please post a quick note here. It would be great to meet some of the people here and see some PT cars. Right now, it doesn't look like my Camaro will be back together, but I will have my Vette and SRT4.

Ken





I have reserved Tuesday May 24th. Here is a schedule of the day:

7:00am Gate's Open
7:45am-8:15am Driver's Meeting (Discuss safety and rules)
8:30am- 5:30pm Track is open

Every 15 minutes a new group of cars will go onto the track. There will be 3-4 groups total with 10 cars or less in each group.
The cost will be between $75-$140 depending on the number of people attending.

Anyone who wants to attend must send me an email confirming they are going to attend. This is going to be on a first come first serve basis. I also need to know what type of car you will be driving and what sort of track experience you have if any. We are going to use this information to create the groups based on skill level and car performance. In addition I will need a $75 deposit by April 29th. If I do not receive your deposit by May 1st then you forfeit your place in line. The remaining amount will be due on Tuesday May 24th.



Send your deposit to:

David Hurlbert
7129 Belle Meade Ct
Ypsilanti, MI 48197

or paypal account:

[email protected]

Here is a list of some general rules and tips:

-Any car with seat belts is allowed, no trucks, SUV's, or motorcycles (convertibles must have rollbars).
-Snell 95 or newer helmet. (None will be available to rent) If you do not have a helmet ask around
-Have fresh oil in your car. Bring extra oil, coolant, and brake fluid.
-Have enough money for 2-3 tanks of gas. A gas station is about 2 miles from the track.
-Either bring food to eat or bring money to buy food. There is food available for purchase at the track along with several restaurants close by.
-The track will be open rain or shine. No refunds will be given if it rains.
-No passing will be allowed in the turns, and the driver in front of you must signal that you may pass. This is for everyone's safety.
-No riders will be allowed unless you are a certified driver, instructor, or club racer.

For more track information visit:

www.gingermanraceway.com

If any one has any questions feel free to call or email me. I have been to many track events at Gingerman and will hopefully be able to answer your questions.
Also feel free to invite anyone else who would like to drive, or spectate.

Thanks,
Dave

[CAMAROBOY69]

Wow finally a race in my area of the world! Thats next month too. Man I will really do whatever I can to get my car ready for that. Even if I cant compete with anyone, it has been a dream of mine to get my car onto a track. I will keep checking out all the information and get back with you. I almost didnt see this. I will send you a PM so we can discuss this.
I just checked the map and that track is just over an hour from my house!!! :D

[BB69]

Adam,
I just sent you a PM. I will give you a call. Most of the people coming are not hard core racers, just people that want to actually drive their cars in a safe environment. Don't worry about being beat, just worry about having some fun.

Ken

[Salt Racer]

People, take this opportunity. The price is very good, and lots of track time.

There's plenty of room to spin out - it's much safer than racing a kid in a lowered Honda on two-lane highway, and you don't have to worry about getting busted by police.

There's no decreasing radius turn if run in CW direction. Just be conservative on braking point before turn 11 (after 1378' straight) if you have a fast car, and the rest shouldn't be too tricky (my speculation based on track map).

[CAMAROBOY69]

You guys have until this friday the 29th to get Ken a $75 deposit. So far he said he has over 20 cars.
An entire track all to ourselves for the full day!!!! Come on guys this doesn't happen very often in the Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio area! Im going to start assembling my engine this week and I will hopefully have it running. More than likely I am putting my $75 deposit down on friday no matter what.

[Salt Racer]

Good luck Adam. Hope you'll make it. You'll have a BALL!

[Q ship]

Are the butterflies going yet?

Good luck Adam, I hope you have a blast! Full report due when you return!

Kind of sad that no one besides yourself and Ken from this site (in that area) signed up though. Hopefully your enthusiasm will be contagious!

[CAMAROBOY69]

Oh yeah man you know it. I get that butterfly gut feeling every so often whenever I think about driving on the track or when I look at the track map. This is probably going to be one of the best days of my life when it comes to car events.
The Power Tour and Woodward last year were mind blowing but this has always been a dream of mine to take an old muscle car onto the track.
Im sooo nervous and excited. I just want the car to make it out alive especially since im driving it there and hopefully back home.

Im working on the report right now. I bought extra batteries for the camcorder and a tripod that I am going to try to mount inside the car. My girlfriend borrowed her sisters camcorder for some external video coverage (of the car). I also have a camera ready too with at least 80 pics.
If it wasnt for this site this my dream wouldn't have ever happened.
Thanks for wishing me luck.

[Salt Racer]

...Kind of sad that no one besides yourself and Ken from this site (in that area) signed up though...

Yeah, it's a shame.

BTW, I saw the pic of your new ride. It's missing two doors. What's up with that? ;-)


Adam and Ken,
Be safe, and have fun!

[BB69]

Things left for me to do:

1. Finish repairing the radiator core support
2. Mount new electric fans to core support
3. Wire up new fans
4. Remove broken bolt from alt mount and replace
5. Install radiator and support and fans
6. Put front bumper and associated supports back in
7. Bleed brakes
8. Inspect all fluid levels
9. Clean car (not just cosmetically, but so I can spot any leaks)
10. Install new 3 point seatbelts (have them already)
11. Pack tools


I have lot to do in the coming days. On the side, I am part of a racing team at our university. This weekend was our first race at Waterford here in Michigan. We are racing a Neon in the Showroom Stock category. We finished the car the morning of the race, so we had no practive time. The driver is our professor. The weekend went OK until the last race. After making his first pass, the prof took the next set of turns too fast and ended up on his roof. Thanks to the safety equipment, including a great rollcage, he was fine. The car will be repaired in time for the next race June 4-5. In fact, we went and bought a donor car last night. Overall, I think it was a good experience. It will make people in the club, and the driver, realize that racing is serious and each person needs to make sure they performing within their limits.

Pics here.

http://home.comcast.net/~grulich69/w...e-skip-15.html

Warning: they are large pics (about 1.5M each)

[Q ship]

Ken, do your preperations mean that you are taking the Camaro instead of the SRT? Either one would be fun, but get pics if you get the Camaro out there! Glad your prof is ok, that first picture (upside down) makes me cringe!

Adam, hope everything is still going well for you. Sounds like you will have plenty to document your day, thanks-it's all I've got right now!

BTW, I saw the pic of your new ride. It's missing two doors. What's up with that? ;-)

That just makes it less likely that people will mistake it for a taxi!!

Hey, is Mark getting out to Willow this weekend?

[BB69]

Brian,
I am taking the Vette. I was never planning on taking the SRT. My buddy just put that down for reasons unknown to me. At one point I was trying to convince the wife to go and bring the SRT. However, seeing as how the SRT is a daily driver, I think it's better not to beat on it too bad.

Ken

[Salt Racer]

Hijack!

...Hey, is Mark getting out to Willow this weekend?

I don't know. We were planning to be there, but he said he wants to make absolutely sure that his car's ready for track duty earlier this week. Then I saw his post at CC.com saying his car will debut this weekend. Maybe he managed to get the car ready.

[MarkM66]

Adam, sounds like you have your bases covered.

Good Luck!

[68BNUT]

Hey Adam when your on the track, a word of advice REMEMBER TO BREATH! hahahaha Dont worry im sure youll do fine and like the other post says just remember to have FUN! And take tons of pics cause I am big time jealous!.

[Q ship]

Hi Ken, I missed the fact that you had a Vette also (I hate you now, BTW ). I know what you mean about the daily driver, repairs get a lot more urgent when you have to have it for Monday morning.

Katz, we need to keep an eye on that guy, eh? :rolleyes5

[BB69]

Brian,
For some reason I haven't thought of the Vette as PT, but I think it fits the bill. I am lucky to have a wife that understands. Of course, after last night when a piece of metal fell on my finger and I filled the garage with some colorful language, her patience with cars is slightly diminished. So is the feeling in my finger.

Based on the amount of work I have left to do, I may have to put the SRT into action. I still have the put the radiator back in and wire up the fans, plus a few other small items. Again, work is getting in the way of my personal life.

Ken

[CAMAROBOY69]

Sorry to hear about the finger Ken. I took a good chunk out of my left pointer finger this weekend. Good luck working on the Vette tonight if you still plan on bringing it.

I think I am ready for this tomorrow. I have everything on my list done. All I need to do now is mount the camera in the car. The only bad thing is my brakes still suck bad. I think my brake booster is bad. It is the only thing I have not replaced. Also the fan doesnt kick on like it should so I will be running the manual over ride switch and have to keep an eye on the temp. Kinda sucks but oh well better than no fan at all. On the track I will just leave it on.

[68protouring454]

guys i hope all went well with the track day, please share pics and video, i cannot wait
jake

[BB69]

Overall, the day was a great success. I, however, was only able to make 2 runs before my starter blew up. I replaced the starter, only to run into problems with the ignition. The engine was only running on 6. Replacing plugs didn't help, and swapping wires didn't seem to work either. I think the high heat and RPM may have damaged the cap or the HEI internals. I want to believe that, because I hope there was no internal damage. I will be doing a compression check in the near future to confirm.

Adam did very well, but I will let him give the details. I don't even have the pics and video I took downloaded from the camera yet. I was up until 1:30AM both Sunday and Monday to get the car to the point it was at. I had to leave the house at 4:45AM Tuesday to get to the track, so needless to say, I did not do much last night.

It was all worth it though. My first two runs were great. I went off once, in turn 3 because I was seeing how far in I could brake. I got a little too eager and locked up the fronts. I could have recovered, but I wasn't thinking. Instead, I safely went off straight by a few feet and then turned back on. No harm, no foul. The Hawk pads were amazing. The brakes just got stronger as the laps piled on. Now I need to get the fuel injection and distributorless ignition put on the Vette.

Ken