JackOlsen

It's been a few years, but AROSC was pretty good when I ran with them. Low-cost and not too much ego. It's not as fast as most race groups.

996TWINS

Check out this list of track days with various groups here in CA. POC and PCA events are not listed, otherwise pretty complete.

http://www.bratten.org/TrackDays/index.html New 2012 schedule soon to be posted.

Check out the fine print with the clubs if you want to run in the open passing group. Some require a 5 or 6 point harness, rollbar/cage, etc. Others let you run what you brung, such as Speed Ventures, Extreme Speed, Open Track Racing, and NCRC.

gvtesse

Fairly complete list. Looks like that site is only missing 3-5 of the clubs in the current list.

Thanks.

huangover

poc is a great place to learn. you dont have to race, i did their time trial series all of 2011. really good instructors available. you should definitely check them out.

gvtesse

Anyone hear of these guys before http://www.citytechsf.com/track/?

Martin S.

Jack writes, "The only downside is that everyone has to advance at the same pace and it's a long time before they let you drive at Big Willow, which is Southern California's best track (in this driver's opinion)."

This was true in the past, but no more. POC requires the novice with no previous experience, to drive three one (1) day Performance Driving Schools(PDS) and attend One (1) Performance Driving Series one (1) day school. Assuming the driver gets a sign off at all four days, a PDS license will be earned.

With PDS License in hand, the driver can register as a student for the next POC Time Trial. Do two (2) two (2) day driving events with a POC Instructor, and get a sign off by their instructor each day, the student is eligible for a POC Time Trial License.

For the adventurous, and strongly motivated, do six (6) Time Trial weekends and you can apply for POC Cup Racing Clinic. You need two Cup Racing Clinics successfully completed to earn your Cup Racing License. There are two Cup Racing Clinics a year.

So with proper planning, one can be driving POC TT events in 6 months....

As has been said elsewhere, the quality of the drivers you drive with should be a strong consideration. I recommend picking a Club that offers the event venues you want, and stick with that Club. Learn the drivers...of course John Gordon and I are prejudiced, we drive with the POC. John also does PCA and NASA.

And finally, consider the Bozo factor...you don't want to drive with any Bozos. For you youngsters, Bozos are clowns...they belong in a circus, not at the track with you. At POC we have a "No Contact" policy. If you seriously damage your car, or have contact with another car, your are on a 13 month probation. Screw up again in that 13 months probation period, you go to a 13 month suspension status. We try very hard to identify the Bozo drivers and encourage them to shape up, or else, find another sport.

In racing we (POC) have a "Racing room" policy. That means that you must yield room to an overtaking driver. Once the overtaking driver breaks the plane of your rear bumper, you must co-exist with him. No blocking moves at this point, no pinching him off in the corner. We take this policy very seriously. YOu can get a 13/13 for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Cayman_Sense

I would also recommend driving with POC. I found their instructors to be top notch and learned more from them in one weekend than I did with another (huge) organization over a few months. Maybe I just got a good instructor my first time out.

Krokodil

Maybe you did.

Cheers,

eric523

really made me chuckle Martin

I'm a fan of the POC as well. Great organization, instruction, and crowd. Driver's with proper experience could get the schooling waived and have a check out ride by an instructor to receive the licensing necessary.

Martin S.

...am I??? Boy I hope not.....

996TWINS

I went to my first POC event at the Triple Crown Weekend. Submitted information from previous track events I attended, and got setup with an instructor for a check out ride for the PDS group. The head PDS instructor at the end of the day signed me off for my license.

Great people, cars, instructors, and POC staff. No egos or attitudes.

Plan to run in the PDS 2012 season.

jamm

+100 on POC....great group, fun tracks, and a great schedule for next year. While the "DE" side of what goes on in the POC is exemplary {you advance at your own pace with incredible coaching and body of knowledge included with membership}, if your plan is to go racing eventually, there's no better place to be in SoCal. Our last event at WSIR had over 100 drivers, amazing machines, and I still had almost 2 hours of track time on Satruday as a junior member(all with an instructor...amazing)

Here's the 2012 calendar...hope to see you out there.


January 28 & 29 Streets of Willow - PDS #1 & 2.
February 11 & 12 Willow Springs Raceway - TT & Cup Race #1 & 2
February 25 & 26 Streets of Willow - PDS Drivers Clinic #1 Sat. & PDS #3 Sun.
March 9, 10 & 11 Spring Mountain Raceway - Pahrump, Nevada, Cup Races & TT #3 & 4, Racers Clinic #1
March 24 & 25 Pomona Fairplex - PDS #4 & 5
April 14 & 15 Chuckawalla Valley Raceway, Desert Center, CA, Cup Races & TT #5 & 6 - DOUBLE POINTS EVENT
May 5 & 6 Willow Springs Raceway -Triple Crown Event - All Club Cup Races & TT # 7 & 8, PDS Exhibition
May 19 & 20 Streets of Willow - PDS #6 & 7
June 1, 2 & 3 Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, "Tribute to LeMans" 4-hour ENDURO/Cup Race/TT#9, PDS Exhibition Sunday Only
July 28 & 29 Pomona Fairplex - PDS #8 & 9
August 24, 25 & 26 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, "POC" Charity Fundraiser, Cup Race / TT #10 & 11
September 8 & 9 Streets of Willow - PDS Drivers Clinic, #2 Sat. & PDS #10 Sun.
September 29 & 30 Auto Club Speedway, Fontana - Cup Races / TT #12 & 13
October 13 & 14 Auto Club Speedway -- PDS #11 & 12 & Time Trial #14 & 15, Infield Road Course
October 27 & 28 Infineon Raceway, Cup Races #14 & 15 - DOUBLE POINTS EVENT with PRC & NASA
December 1 & 2 Willow Springs Raceway - Cup Races/ TT #16 & 17, Racer Clinic #2