gefiltefish

Hey everyone. Since a lot of H-T'ers came to the ClubSi Gingerman event I organized, I thought I would give you a heads up on another Midwest track day event I am organizing. Here is the info:

I thought some of you would like to know that Milwaukee and Chicago regions of the SCCA will be hosting a High Performance Car Control Clinic (HPCCC) October 6th at Blackhawk Farms Raceway.

An HPCCC is designed for people of all experience levels to drive on track without the extra risk that comes in bumper to bumper club racing. The event is open to people of all skill levels. We will have several instructors available to help guide you through the course. The event is perfect for novices to get their car on track to have some fun. It also is great for autocrossers who want to feed their car some more speed or are thinking of transitioning into road racing. We also like to see several of the area workers come out and get to drive the track they normally only get to see from the timing tower or corner stations! Experienced racers are always welcome but we would like to stress that only street cars are allowed at this event. No IT, Honda Challenge, Showroom-Stock, Spec Miata, etc cars are allowed. It would be a great opportunity for some of the experienced racers to bring their street car out and possibly learn a little from it and apply it to their racing car.

This is the 2nd year that the local regions have teamed up for a HPCCC. In 2003, the organizers learned very much on are planning on a very successful 2004 event. The event is organized by Sam Karp, Dan Kimber, Greg Kutka and Jim Marinangel. Sam is the chief registrar of the event and has organized previous track days for car clubs along with being involved in Milwaukee Region's solo events. Dan is the Solo Chairman of Milwaukee region and will bring his experience on running one of the most successful solo programs in the nation to this event. Greg is Vice Chairman of Chicago Regions competition committee and also was an assistant race chairman at the 2004 SCCA June Sprints. Jim is a SCCA National Champion with many significant race wins in his name. He is also on the Chicago Region Competition Committee and will be the chief instructor of the event.

The event will run very easily. Entrants do not need to work (unless you want to volunteer!) and you get on track once an hour for 15 minutes. We are anticipating that each run group will get 6 heats of lapping through the day. Run groups are based mostly on past driving experience. We will keep people with no Blackhawk experience in separate groups than the people that have driven the track before. Your car type may have a small effect on how we group you, but again, it is mainly based on previous driving experience. There will be a passing area for people to pass if a car ahead of you is slowing you up.

There will be a one hour lunch break that will allow you to talk with other people, instructors, etc to get ready for the afternoon sessions. At the end of the event, there will be refreshments and another Q&A session on how you felt the day went.

Now onto some legal things:
-You must be 18 years old to enter the event. If you are 16 or 17 and are a licensed SCCA competitor, then you are also allowed. Please realize that simply having an SCCA membership does not mean that you are a licensed competitor.
-Everyone at the track must sign the waiver (including guests, workers, etc).
-Cars must pass a basic safety inspections. Similar to what is done at an autocross.
-Drivers must bring a SNELL approved helmet with either a M-90, SA-90 or newer rating.

Now for some more details:
-The event is limited to 100 entrants. There will be a waiting list if you do not get in on time.
-Entry fee is $100.00 for SCCA members and $150.00 for non-members. We will have member registration on site if you want to join then.
-Full refunds will be issued of you give more than one week notice prior to the event. Within a week of the event, you will get a refund minus a $25.00 late cancel fee.
-Discounts are available if you want to work the event. Please contact Jim Marinangel at jimm@mchenrysavings.com if you are interested in working the event.

For the information on registering, time tables and supplementary rules see:
http://www.scca-milwaukee.org/Solo/2004/hpcc.html

Sam Karp

emwavey

Sam,

Great work! Glad to see the SCCA getting involved in doing "track days". Hopefully your work will inspire other regions to do the same.

Kudos to you and the rest of the organizers.

gefiltefish

Thanks Dave. It is something new with SCCA. I am in the middle of 3 very large regions with two popular tracks nearby and I want to see these more often. These same regions put one on last year with minimal success. Mainly because they did not market it well. They marketed towards club racers which really do not get much out of an event like this. As an autocrosser in the area, I did not even know there was going on!! They simply did not "aim" for the right people.

I see this market dominated by area "competing" clubs like Midwest Council, PCA, BMCCA, etc. SCCA really needs something more than autocross to get the younger crowd involved. I am hoping these HPCCC's will do that.

JoeLee

I checked the entry .pdf ... what is up with the 85 mph speed limit?

emwavey

Sam,

I sent you an email. I'm interested in talking more with you and how you were able to put this together.

Again kudos to you!

emwavey

Hi Joe... Yeah I read that about 6 months ago when I started investigating into the whole "why doesn't the SCCA do track day events" thing.

When I read it, I saw it more as a approximate speed then as a speed limit... kind of like the suggestions made when designing autocross courses... 2nd gear 60 mph Some cars exceed that at times.

I also think this particular documentation may be a bit outdated, seeing as I have found no other evidence of the SCCA ever doing track days or "HPCCCs"

JMO though

gefiltefish

JoeLee-that is a speed limit that can be modified/lifted at any time. We like to keep the complete "newbies" at a low enough speed their first couple times out just to get them familiar with the track and what not.

From what I heard, at last years HPCCC, the speed limit was lifted/raised for the experienced drivers right away and the newbies got it lifted/raised after 2 sessions on track. One Z06 had no problem reaching speeds!

Dave-I got your e-mail and will reply shortly.

apexinghonda

Glad to see another region doing HPCCCs. They need to change the name of the program (they supposedly are). My region, the Alabama region put one on last May. I do a lot of DEs and think SCCA is missing the boat if they don't push this program more. I have requested to National that they change some of the rules to be more in line with other longstanding programs like BMWCCA and PCA from a operational and logistics standpoint. I have also asked that they get rid of the 85mph higher or lower rule. I think that puts the Operating steward in an awkward position.
I hope to goad them into a HPCCC seminar at national convention this year. They need it.
Barry H.

gefiltefish

FYI-there are still spots available so sign up before soon!