Was alot of fun seeing all the cars run the track. This is by far the best event of the year, and I look forward to it each time.

I'm sure some of ya'll will recognize the yellow Type R. Not sure when Mike will be able to post up the videos, but I'm sure he will soon. Car had an axle problem the whole event from what I gathered, and was making an increasing chatter noise as the night went on. Cars in good shape still, just ended the night early.

Shots with Nikon D40 and kit lense. Not great, but its my first camera. No post processing other than chops and resizing.

Enjoy!

 

 

Glad to see mike out there...I wish I could have signed up in time for this event

 

Oh, that's cool. I've never heard of that After Dark event.

What's the track configuration?
Is this event normally in August, or about that time of the year?

I'll be looking for it next year. That looks really fun.

 

Thanks Alex for posting. I did not realize that you made a post already.

I had the opportunity to run Texas Motorspeedway Roval this past August 9th. It is a once a year opportunity to do it, so I did. I had fun. Driving at night time is almost the same except you really have to use reference points on where to turn in. I think I did well. The suspension felt a tad soft.

Video: 314MB @ 10 minutes video length http://www.texas-racing.com/Jared/TDETMS8908.wmv - RIGHT CLICK SAVE AS

Highlights:

a) my lap times were 1:46s (for reference purposes), well modified C6 Z06 with hoosiers, 1:43s - considering there are ginormous straights and they do this track more often than I
b) mildly modified C6 Z06 and I were putting down similiar times
c) Hawk Blue's were really eating up my front rotors, got to see them glow!
d) fighting the G forces as you are going around the bank. You really have to put a death grip on the wheel, otherwise, you are going straight for an upper wall. (new found respect for NASCAR drivers although I still do not like it)

Downs:

a) broke the same axle as I did at Expo 8 - VIR - caused a huge vibration around T2 and T9, some of you may notice I was not driving as competitive in the last night session (not that it matters anyway since it was an HPDE)
b) did not have an instructor, although my lines were okay (I thought), maybe I could have more improved lines.

The Track

 

Cool pics! Thanks for sharing!

Always wanted to run one of these night events @ TMS... Ive always heard that the track is notoriously hard on the brakes, and I think the glowing rotors is a good testament to that!
TDE ftw!

 

asdfja;slfj

hot

 

very nice pictures. thank you for sharing.

 

Thanks for the complements on the pictures. A 18-200 lens would have helped out alot, but next year I hope to be taking video from inside my car and not sitting from behind the pit wall.

I haven't been around the track full speed, but there is a pretty nasty bump around the bottom of Nascar T4 that can get you if your not careful. Other than that as long as you take it easy and aren't overly hard in the turns you can pretty much take any line you want on the oval portions.

Mike, you mentioned the suspension was a tad soft. What are you running right now?

 

=

so hot.

 

good video..i love how you all nailed the cones at the tri-oval
get'em out the way

how often do they do this event?..would love to make it next year.

 

This event happens typically every August. I nailed the first batch of cones because a Porsche Cayman decked em, then a Carrera 4S, then I had no choice. I was going to set myself up for a pass as I was exiting the cones but the Cayman 4S slowed down for it.

The 2nd time I was exiting the cones, somebody left a cone right in my line.

What part of the country are you in? Are you in SC or in/near TX?

 

I'm in South Carolina...i know its a drive, but its some thing diff. and night time driving is another plus.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by migs &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">This event happens typically every August. I nailed the first batch of cones because a Porsche Cayman decked em, then a Carrera 4S, then I had no choice. I was going to set myself up for a pass as I was exiting the cones but the Cayman 4S slowed down for it.

The 2nd time I was exiting the cones, somebody left a cone right in my line.

What part of the country are you in? Are you in SC or in/near TX?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Looks like Kiwi's splitter held up nicely though.

 

Cool pics (I'm even in one)! I was kicking myself for not driving but my car is just not ready yet. We were hanging out with a customer with the yellow EG, just next to the yellow ITR.

 

very nice pics. I was able to flag the course one day over there at TWS and it was a blast. Now that I finally have my bent wheel replaced, I'll be over there driving finally pretty soon.

 

Wow, i'm honored that you took a pic of my yellow hatch! Thanks for the great pic! It was a great event, and it was sure nice to meet Mike as well. Good times. Now we need some people to start running with us in TX region NASA Time Trials!!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crxtc76 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Wow, i'm honored that you took a pic of my yellow hatch! Thanks for the great pic! It was a great event, and it was sure nice to meet Mike as well. Good times. Now we need some people to start running with us in TX region NASA Time Trials!!! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Car looked good. How was it handling?

How do you go about getting into the Time Trials? I'd definitely be interested in that.

 

Thanks! It wasn't doing too bad. I have some suspension work that still needs to be done, but every event it keeps getting better.

They have a 4-level HPDE class, and then you go into TT. It's just a matter of showing up, and proving that you can manage traffic and flags safely on a track. Then you get signed off to run in the TT run group. It's like HPDE with a trophy to win at the end of the season... Good stuff! We have a great group of guys that are in the TX region, and we ALWAYS have a great time! NASA's last event for the '08 season will be at Eagles Canyon the weekend of Oct 11-12th. PM me if you have any questions about running TT or with NASA in general.

BTW, Eagles Canyon is getting repaved in mid-august, so the surface will be like brand new all over again...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crxtc76 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">BTW, Eagles Canyon is getting repaved in mid-august, so the surface will be like brand new all over again...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Isnt it a new track to begin with? Why the new repave?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crxtc76 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks! It wasn't doing too bad. I have some suspension work that still needs to be done, but every event it keeps getting better.

They have a 4-level HPDE class, and then you go into TT. It's just a matter of showing up, and proving that you can manage traffic and flags safely on a track. Then you get signed off to run in the TT run group. It's like HPDE with a trophy to win at the end of the season... Good stuff! We have a great group of guys that are in the TX region, and we ALWAYS have a great time! NASA's last event for the '08 season will be at Eagles Canyon the weekend of Oct 11-12th. PM me if you have any questions about running TT or with NASA in general.

BTW, Eagles Canyon is getting repaved in mid-august, so the surface will be like brand new all over again...</TD></TR></TABLE>

You have PM then

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by migs &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Isnt it a new track to begin with? Why the new repave?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I heard its been having alot of problems since opening, especially with how the runoff areas are setup. Didn't think the track had any major problems like needing a repave though.