Dr911

So, after almost an entire year away from my home track, I finally drove VIR full last weekend again.
Amazing how many of the nuances I'd lost during the time away.
Took me 3 sessions to get back to my previous average lap times.

I have several friends who have taken the approach of "Master your home track before venturing afar."
There are some folks, myself included, who have broadened our track horizons widely.
Consequently, obvi, missing the oppty to master the home turf.

Would be interested to hear what folks here are doing.

Meaning:
What are the pros/cons of staying close, mastering your home turf especially if it is a challenging and technical course?
What are the pros/cons of venturing farther out (apart from the toll on your wallet, soul, family life, and tow rig)?

Also:
Please be honest, how much of the joy of long trips is actually a wanderlust? Or an escape?
It's ok if that's what it is. You're prob not alone.
Just please be honest.

Thanks in adv.

fatbillybob

Prior to 2014 I thought talent won races because the playing field was relatively level. I went to my 1st SCCA Runoffs where the top teams had stacks of the new hoo hoo 7 tires. The rest of us chief cooks and bottle washers could only pay full retail for 6's and were lucky to have a new set to qualify and another to race and a several season's old set rains...just in case. Fast forward to 2017 Runoffs and guys in my class did not like their qualy times so they brought out their back up cars! Please tell me how you compete with that? What I learned is you either come to enjoy the sport and take the surprise occasional win or spend cubic dollars on amateur racing for a plastic trophy and title of national champion that maybe 1 of the next 1000 people you meet will appreciate the significance of that lofty achievement.

I take an approach to have as much fun as I can. I have raced 22 tracks most just qualifying and racing. I should make 25 by then end of the year. I have absolutely mastered nothing but I have had a blast. Racing all those tracks made me a better faster racer and taught me to evaluate tracks quickly. I come back to my home tracks faster with better race craft and if I ever groove my home tracks I would be faster still. But there is always someone faster, and 2nd is still the 1st loser. I'll take it more seriously when the scouts from Ferrari come asking for me.

Thundermoose

My home track was TWS. I had thousands of laps there and I learned a ton. I can't say I ever mastered it but I did have the NASA TT3 record when it closed.

In 2016, I traveled to WGI for Nationals and fell in love with that track even though it is 1600 miles from my door.

In 2017, I made a road trip to VIR and tacked on WGI while I was there. Whereas I struggled in 2016 to find speed at WGI, in 2017 I was able to pick up VIR quickly and go ahead and set a new PR at WGI.

Later that year I went to NOLA which I only drove a few times before and reset the NASA TT3 record by more than 2 seconds. My experience at different tracks helped.

I am moving this year from Texas to Louisiana. I decided to move my car to VIR and run with NASA Mid Atlantic. On the way to drop off my car, I was able to do 1 day with Chin at RA. I drive an E46 M3. My goal was to get to 1:32.x expecting that I had 2 days to get there. I had to settle for 1:35.x as I only ran Saturday. But I felt very comfortable on track almost immediately except for 12 scares the bejeesus out of me.

I enjoy driving and learning new tracks. I think the more new tracks you learn (once you've learned the basics of car control) help you to become a faster driver and broadens your way of thinking and experimenting.

I was lucky to have TWS. The track looked like something out of the Walking Dead but it was fast and flowing and good place to learn to drive fast. For the last 2 years I was a member at MSR Houston but I rarely drove the track. Just to shake the car down. The track itself was meh. There was probably more to eke out of it but I never felt as if driving it more was going to make me a better driver. So I think it also depends on what your home track is.

VIR will become my home track this year. I can't imagine ever mastering that track and certainly not in 1 year. But I will be extremely focused since my time is so limited.

You folks on the east coast have some really great tracks!

Veloce Raptor

My view is that the more tracks you drive, the quicker you'll pick up pace at new ones...and the better you'll be at your home track.

And I miss TWS something awful

TXE36

I felt that way about MSRH too, but then something clicked and I enjoy it now more than ever - and I discovered this before TWS closed. I know MSRH has made me a better driver.

And what happened to TWS is a real bummer - what a freaking waste.

-Mike

GeoJoe

Road Atlanta is my home town track... just two exits up I-85. Even so, after a few days there I need to venture up to AMP or over to Barber for some variety, A roadtrip to Roebling is a good change, laps under the lights at Charlotte is epic and the one time I drove 5+ hours to the Corvette Museum track was completely worth every hour / mile / dollar spent. The 23 turns there made learning other tracks seem almost simple.

Then coming back to RA seems like hanging out with an old familiar friend again. One that hits hard and bites back if you let it in your chase for personal best lap times.

DTMiller

I'm a big fan of going to different tracks both for the diversity and because I learn new things and bring chunks of that home with me. I think I would get tired of running only one track (although I am fascinated by the drive Jack Olsen has) but there is a certain warm familiarity of going home to Summit .

docwyte

I used to go out of state but then I had my son (2nd child) and I just can't take the time away. Unlike living in New England, things are FAR away here. Besides my local track of HPR and PMP, Hastings is a7 hour drive and Miller is an 8 hour drive. Both those places mean leaving on Friday and coming back on Monday. So missing a long weekend with the kids and having to take a day off work.

I do have a trailer now, so at least I'm no longer risking breaking down out of state and being stuck there but I've never left the state since I bought the trailer! Hopefully when my son gets a bit older I can leave my home tracks to go out of state again...

Slakker

My slant is a little different. I really enjoy taking different cars, or different configurations/setups of the same car to my home track. When I first began, I thought racing was my ultimate aspiration. But the more I raced, the more I realized that I just love messing with cars and racing is a fun way to see the effects of my changes.

I also have kids that are a top priority in my life so when they graduate in 5 years, I do plan on venturing out to the big name tracks more. But for now, I'm content spending my time at Hallett and MSR-Cresson 3.1. Both of which I think are an absolute blast.

LuigiVampa

First track I ever drove on was Lime Rock Park. I remember going for a ride with my instructor and he did a 1:05 and I was like "I'm never going to get that fast." It was like being on a roller coaster and I was hooked.

Fast forward ten years and I still love LRP and am now down to 57.7 and looking to do better this year! Technically, I love driving WGI more but somehow LRP is more special to me.

When stressed, I close my eyes and drive the track mentally. Never fails to calm me down.

sbelles

Probably doesn't work as well for the other people on the track.

LuigiVampa

Ha ha! Yeah, that came out a little wrong.

This is my helmet when I am trying to chill out and drive using the force.

DTMiller

Never ends badly.

JackOlsen

I club raced and time trialed on most of the west-coast tracks until my kids were born. Then I pulled back to just my home track and improving my lap time there. I thought I'd get bored with it, but it's been nine years now and I still love it. Before too long, I'll expand out again. But until then, I think there's a kind of inner wanderlust you can experience locally, if that makes any sense.

Mr. Turtles

I love our home track at Tremblant but part of the fun of travelling to new tracks is taking yourself outside your comfort zone and meeting new people who are crazy about their cars. Getting south during the winter helps to extend the season so I'll be heading to VIR and Road Atlanta to start the season. We are pretty spoiled in the (North) Northeast with so many great tracks close by - Tremblant, Mosport, Calabogie, WGI, Lime Rock.