Re: Finding the driving club that's right for you
Yeah Ken, Pocono is like that. Since the tri-oval is broken up into three road courses, none of them use the real pit lane at all. On the North course, you actually stage on the front straight going backwards. Like all ovals trying to do double duty as road courses, its a compromise. But it is manageable, as long as you keep your participants under control. Sounds like this guy should've been taken off the track a lot sooner.
Looks like this was a PDA event. They are fun to run with because they are a more relaxed group, as compared to other groups who can get pretty restrictive. That can be a refreshing change for those of us who run with a bunch of clubs, but you have to know that going in. These guys aren't going to hold your hand and watch your every move. This isn't BMWCCA or PCA. We're all adults and this is a race track. When you're out there, you're on your own. Some people won't run with PDA because of that. But others swear by it and won't run with anyone else. The lesson here is, not all clubs are created equal. You have to get to know them and find the one that does things the way you like.
So sad though. But I can't imagine how anyone is going to get any insurance money out of this. As far as I knew, no normal street car insurance will cover anything that happens on a track. Not even an autocross. I'm terrified of my insurance company finding out that I'm even interested in motorsports, never mind racing my own car. I've never had any misconceptions about taking a car out on the track. I won't track a car unless I can consider it completely disposable. And I won't get behind the wheel of a student's car unless I know I can buy it. Not that track events are that dangerous, heck, we all joke about how its safer than driving on the street. But you have to be honest with yourself - you have no insurance. Unless you pay for special track day insurance, on the track you're entire investment is completely exposed. You have no hope of getting a penny for so much as a ding incurred on pit lane. I feel its very important to be aware of that going to these events because all our lives we take our car insurance for granted. We feel safe knowing its there. And I have to remind myself when I go to the track that its not. Am I wrong about this? I hope so. I hope these guys can recoup some of their losses. I'll be very interested to hear how it turns out.
-Gregg
All the tracks I can think of have armco that would prevent anyone who loses control on the track from reaching the staging area in pit lane.
