TraqGear

Heck with that, I'm racing in Feb with NASA. Come on guys, let's get this season started!

NaroEscape

Sorry, won't race NASA. I've heard and seen way too many overly aggressive driving incidents for my liking, with no real penalties for damaging other cars. Besides, my car does not fit into a class very well...

Maybe when my budget is bigger...

LVDell

Have to agree with Bob, but from a financial aspect. I inquired with the region chair for NASA and got a low-down on a typical weekend and for the costs I just didn't see the return I get with PCA. With NASA it seemed like VERY LITTLE track time and only 2 sprints....1 on Sat and 1 on Sun.

Typical weekend was:
Sat--> (1) 25min practice, (1) 15min qaulifying, (1)sprint
Sun--> (1) 15min "hardship" practice, (1) 15min qualifying, (1) sprint race.

No thanks. Although, I do like the idea that all the races (6 or 7 total) would be very close to me.

blakt out

I've heard a few times that the PCA actual run time was much shorter than NASA. The PCA 20 minutes starts when they grid you, you take 2 safety laps or so, and only get to run for about 12 minutes.

It's wild. As you know, I haven't done this myself, but I'm wanting the true situation too. So I've been asking around and compiled that NASA gave you more time. More events in our area, and that the races aren't mandatorily stopped if someone has an off. Anyone run both and can chime in here?

However, now the GTS Challenge is no more. Wonder what the situation will be for us now if we run in NASA.

Brian P

You should go to www.mylaps.com and look at the results rather than rely on what somebody else is telling you. The clock starts when the green flag drops (or is waved off), so it's after the safety laps. The clock ends when the car crosses start/finish under the checkered flag.

Generally, sprint races in PCA will range from 25-35 minutes in length. What is becoming increasingly common is 2 sprint races plus a 90 minute enduro.

Mylaps will also show you how many practice sessions each group had and how long they ran. If you do the enduro, you will likely get somewhere between 100-130 minutes of driving each day.

Most (all?) of the PCA races I have been to do not have a mandatory stoppage if somebody goes off the track. It depends on how badly they went off, and whether or not the track is blocked or unsafe. Some tracks (Road America) almost never have a stoppage whereas other tracks are more likely to have one.

blakt out

Wow. Great resource. Than you, Brian!

LVDell

Jared......

First off all, why would you NOT want to be under caution or red flagged if there was a car off? This is a safety situation and ALWAYS will take precedent over YOUR track time.

Second, as Brian said, it's when the Green drops and then when the checker drops, not when you grid. All three of my sprint races at CMP were between 30 and 34 minutes in RACING length. The typical sprint is 30 minutes and the typical enduro is 1.5 hrs.

Third, I had 3 practice sessions (25 min each), and a 3 practice start + 9 lap fun race on Day 1 of a 3-day event, Saturday I had a 20 min practice session, a qualifying session (25 min) and 2 sprint races, and then I had a warm up practice session, a qualifying, and 1.5 hr enduro race on Sunday.

I had the opportunity to have between 5.5 and 6 hours if I used all the time offered between practice, qualifying, and racing. With NASA, it appears I would get roughly 2 total hours (two short practices, two 15 min qualifying sessions, and two sprints). I have heard they try to set it up where you can pay for a "test and tune" day with the track the day before (Friday) but that is run like a DE, not racing practice and there is a HUGE difference.

Maybe some PCA race weekends offer less maybe some more than my example. I am just letting you know what I got at my last race at CMP in October.

And by the way, the GTS challenge is alive and well. I spent about an hour on the phone with Mid-Atlantic region director talking about it about 2 weeks ago. A quick checking of the website for NASA would show you the 2009 schedule. If you are interested in NASA as well I highly rec'd talking to the mid-atl director. Extremely nice guy and very patient. I hope to run with them soon, but I just can't justify it right now. PCA and member days are taking priority for me.

ps. Jared, back in post #87 I gave you the link to all the race results. Not only will you be able to see how many cars where in each class, but you will be able to see the total time of racing as well as how many laps they run. That will tell you how much racing was done. You can't do a lap while in the grid

Brian P

I agree that safety is paramount, but this is one of the big differences between DE and racing. In DE, if a car goes off, the session is black flagged while the car is towed in. In racing, the safety crew makes a judgment call.

For example, on a 4 mile track, if somebody gets stuck in the kitty litter on turn 1, we generally don't need to have a full course caution over the entire track to get them towed out. We almost certainly would not require a red flag.

Again, safety is paramount: both the safety worker's safety and ours. If a car is in the kitty litter because somebody dropped a lot of oil on a high speed turn, then yes, a red flag would probably be appropriate.

LVDell

Absolutely. Nice that we have much more options available in CR. And ever more discretion that the corner workers can use to size up the level of caution needed (local, full, etc).

TIM COSTA

[QUOTE=LVDell;6186898]
First off all, why would you NOT want to be under caution or red flagged if there was a car off? This is a safety situation and ALWAYS will take precedent over YOUR track time.

1)Of the nearly 40 PCA race weekends I've participated in I've only seen ONE red flag and I assure you it wasnt because someone "went off". All race sanctioning bodies do their best to keep the race moving. It is much more dangerous to try to stop a race in progress then it is to warn the drivers of any type of problem on or of the driving line. Having race control call for a red flag is by all means a last resort in most cases.

2) As far as track time in NASA VS PCA is concerned it boils down to "you get what you pay for". A NASA weekend will, on average, cost about half of a PCA weekend so you would expect to get half the track time. The main reason I like running with NASA is you get to race against a different group of drivers as well as different types of cars. All in all the whole NASA expierence is different.

3) HAS ANYONE HEARD ABOUT THE WEIGHTS FOR GTB YET

LVDell

Tim, are you misunderstanding me? I never said we go yellow or red if somebody goes off but rather pointed out what Brian addressed with respect to the complaint about safety laps if there is an off. My point was not that you should have them but rather to not complain that there is a yellow or red situation if somebody is off (and in a dangerous situation).

And I agree.....time to report on the GTB weights ASAP. Should be this coming week