jgerken

I was just wondering if any of you had participated in NASA events and what your experiences were.

M758

I like them although I have not done a NASA DE in years. I just race with them now.

mitch236

I have run with NASA in the SE (known locally as PDC) and think they are a well run outfit. You should have a similar experience although I don't know where BFE is.

trumperZ06

Bimmerforums.com had asked this same question a couple of months ago on their "track-auto-cross & drag race " section.

I instruct for NASA S E and responded to their request for info and concerns. Y'all might want to look up that thread for unbiased information!

The consensus for those who attended seemed to be...

" very satisfied " with the event!

APKhaos

I race with NASA in the Virginia region. The events are well managed and tend to run like a well-oiled machine. Can't comment on their DE specifically, but their Competition License School was outstanding. Probably the most valuable day I've had at the track - ever.

JPhillips-998

I have run one race, putnam, with NASA and thought that it was a well run weekend. The only downside I see is that there is less track time than the pca events. Basically it is 3 sessions a day, 30 min practice, 15 min. qualify and 45 min race.

JoelG

I instruct for NASA-VA. The only thing I would add to all the comments already posted is that NASA weekends are a little bit like a three ring circus since there is a DE and a race combined. This might not be a good environment for a first timer. If you are starting to get bored with DEs you would probably find it a lot of fun since you can watch the races when you are not busy with your own track time or classroom.

joel

Jeff Curtis

I work for NASA Va. (Soon to undergo a name change to NASA Mid-Atlantic) as Asst. Chief Instructor and am often at NASA SE and Ohio/Indiana events, in all cases I see things being run well, but there are always improvements to be made.

We are a fast learning outfit, trial and error sometimes dictates what will work, and what won't, but we don't bash our heads trying the same thing, again and again, if it doesn't.

I am an avid PCA'er and was Chairman for DE events for my local region for 3 years, while attending several other PCA region's events...I gotta say, while there is a difference in the type cars that attend (being that PCA events bring LOTS of Porsches) the DE side of the event isn't much different.

Our Instructors are amongst the best in the business, as they are taken from BMWCCA, Car Guys and of course, PCA organizations...and we have bred a plethora of our own from the NASA organization as well. I consistently see the same Instructors from event to event and we continue to receive rave reviews regarding our program.

We are setup similar to other organizations where an Instructor is assigned two Students for the weekend, and sign-offs are on a per case basis, depending on how the Student is progressing. We have brought up more "drivers" than you could shake a stick at, many become Instructor cadidates, some stay "professional Students" and others go on to race.

It really is exciting between sessions to see the action afforded by race group practice, qualifying and certain - the race itself. I'll have to say that's what seemed to captivate my attention when I wasn't Instructing on track...entertainment in true form.

The best advice I can offer is try us out, if there's things you don't like, let us know how we could improve...if you're having the time of your life (as I often do) let us know that as well!

a4944

I attended my first NASA event this last weekend at VIR. I ran in HPDE3. I had a great time. They have passing anywhere on the track in HPDE3 (advanced) with a point by. It worked out very well. It added a whole new elemnt of being able to pass or be passed in braking zones and turns. They treat advanced students as advanced students. The HPDE1 and HPDE2 (beginner and intermediate) had passing only on the straights.

Good
* Great for advanced drivers, no trains since there is passing anywhere
* Some fun racing to watch
* Variety of cars
* Food and drink Saturday after the event
* Classroom instruction

Bad
* 2+ hours between runs. They had 8 run groups (4 race, 4 HPDE).
* Pace car on first lap caused trains in lower groups (had friends in those groups)

The passing rules in advanced has sold me on NASA. I think other organizations may be slightly better for beginners. Other organizations have more run sessions and less time between them. The NASA event day is very long. You do have the racing to watch though which is a plus.

Mark

P.S. For you racers, check out my sig. Could I race in super cup by going back to stock chip? I have most of the safety equipment already. I don't have a tow vehicle yet. It's something I would eventually like to try.

Jeff Curtis

Mark, if you have a CAGE, a kill switch and a fire bottle mounted in the car...sounds like you're good to go. They don't check for chips that I know of...and I would imagine that some Turbo 944 cars are running a chip, not certain on that.

BUT, being that you are running a chip, and you put it out to the whole world...if it is against the rules, simple as that, if you race...take it out!

If you were watching the races, you saw us hamming it up in the Toyota WSRs...there were three of us and a Diasio dicing it up.

it was one VERY hot, humid and exciting weekend.

ryoji

You can find the super cup rule below:

http://www.44cup.com/homepage.html