ALMS@ Road America

[Corner5]

ALMS @ Road America Aug 19-22

Here's the schedule-

http://www.roadamerica.com/userfiles/file/2010%20Schedules/RRS%20Schedule%20as%20of%208-12-10.pdf

promotions for tickets-


SALVATION ARMY RACE TO FEED THE HUNGRY
Receive $10 off your daily admission ticket at the gate when making a $5 or more donation of non-perishable food.

SARGENTO CHEESE THURSDAY
Present three (3) empty 8 oz. packages of Sargento shredded or sliced cheese at the admission gate and receive a FREE Thursday ticket.

JOHNSONVILLE SAUSAGE FRIDAY
Present three (3) UPC labels from Johnsonville 3 lb. party pack sausage at the admission gate and get one FREE Friday ticket.

TIME WARNER CABLE—BUY ONE GET ONE
Purchase one daily ticket and receive the second same day ticket for FREE when you present your 2010 Time Warner Cable bill at the admission gate.

TOYOTA HYBRID SUNDAY
Arrive at the admission gate in a Toyota Hybrid Prius, Hybrid Camry or Hybrid Highlander and the DRIVER receives FREE admission. All passengers over the age of 12 must purchase an admission ticket.

AAA SHOW YOUR CARD & SAVE
Present your current AAA membership card at Road America and receive $5.00 off any event ticket. Excludes tickets already purchased and tickets with other promotions.

See you there.

[Methanolandbrats]

TOYOTA HYBRID SUNDAY
Arrive at the admission gate in a Toyota Hybrid Prius, Hybrid Camry or Hybrid Highlander and the DRIVER receives FREE admission. All passengers over the age of 12 must purchase an admission ticket.

WTF? How about my VW Diesel, I've been getting 40 mpg for 13 years, where's my free ticket? :mad: I think if you show up at the track with a hybrid they should charge ya double and kick you in the balls.

Might be worth going friday to see Dyson, the Vettes and the TDI demo derby :)

[Corner5]

WTF? How about my VW Diesel, I've been getting 40 mpg for 13 years, where's my free ticket? :mad: I think if you show up at the track with a hybrid they should charge ya double and kick you in the balls.

Might be worth going friday to see Dyson, the Vettes and the TDI demo derby :)

Yea, what gives? I tried to get into VW hospitality with my VW key, but no go. But there are other goodies from the VW booth to be had. Also check out the Patron bar.:cool:

[Methanolandbrats]

Yea, what gives? I tried to get into VW hospitality with my VW key, but no go. But there are other goodies from the VW booth to be had. Also check out the Patron bar.:cool:

That hostility tent is for TDI Cup "drivers" and guests. We walked in there last year, one of my friends walked up to the bar in the back and got a free beer, another one sat down on the simulator. Then a girl asked us what we were doing there. We explained we had 14 VWs between us, she did'nt care. Then a really huge guy threw us out :D

[NismoZ]

...and Patron GT3s and Star Mazda and USF2000...some pretty good races.:)

[NismoZ]

PS...check my pic of Conor Daly in the "Forward To The Past" thread. I'd like to see that again...on a FAST track! At The Kink maybe?:D

[Corner5]

That hostility tent is for TDI Cup "drivers" and guests. We walked in there last year, one of my friends walked up to the bar in the back and got a free beer, another one sat down on the simulator. Then a girl asked us what we were doing there. We explained we had 14 VWs between us, she did'nt care. Then a really huge guy threw us out :D

:laugh:

Last year ,they served free pancakes for anyone on Sunday morning. Too early.

[Methanolandbrats]

:laugh:

Last year ,they served free pancakes for anyone on Sunday morning. Too early.

Line for pancakes was too long, pancakes suck anyway. Much better to go up the hill for a schnitzleburger with kraut :thumbup: That food stand on the hill signals when they are ready by releasing a mighty cloud of smoke, sorta like the Vatican. :D

[Corner5]

Line for pancakes was too long, pancakes suck anyway. Much better to go up the hill for a schnitzleburger with kraut :thumbup: That food stand on the hill signals when they are ready by releasing a mighty cloud of smoke, sorta like the Vatican. :D

You mean "The GearBox" concession?

they also have sweet potato fries.:cool:

[Methanolandbrats]

You mean "The GearBox" concession?

they also have sweet potato fries.:cool:

The one on the hill between turns 5 and 6.

[Corner5]

The one on the hill between turns 5 and 6.

Oooh, fireman's hill on the right, I think its the Lions club.

[NismoZ]

Best race track food in the country. Concession stand hopping is a must on every visit. (Potty-hopping, too.)

[SteveH]

I miss RFG potatoes.

[Corner5]

I miss RFG potatoes.

ah yes, with cheese on top, great hangover food.
:cool:

[oddlycalm]

a schnitzleburger with kraut :thumbup: That food stand on the hill signals when they are ready by releasing a mighty cloud of smoke, sorta like the Vatican. :D
That Vatican should pay attention. Schnitzleburger and kraut might raise their cred some...

oc

[Corner5]

Went to the track thursday, wow, looks like it will be a good crowd.

Surprised how many people are here already. Camping is half full and campers are trickling in. Lots of fans already staked out their viewing areas. Paddock is full and vendors are in place.

I'm off to the races. :D

[NismoZ]

Now THAT was a great race! Jonny Cocker has to pit for fuel, gives up P-1then needs to grab about 6 secs. per lap to regain the lead and DOES it out of Thunder Valley toward T-14 on the final lap! Wow. Graf was probably sputtering on low fuel, but...Wow. Good stuff. Mueller/Hand/BMW win GT...I guess Bobby likes Dirk again?:D And RA, what a great road course!:thumbup:

[nissan gtp]

:thumbup: great race, and decent TV coverage (unlike the mid-ohio "show" :mad:)

[oddlycalm]

:thumbup: great race, and decent TV coverage
I would have watched regardless because it's Road America but this time around I felt well rewarded. :thumbup:

oc

[Fio1]

:thumbup: great race, and decent TV coverage (unlike the mid-ohio "show" :mad:)

I know, wtf was the Mid Ohio deal about? :saywhat:

I'm glad Jonny Cocker won it! I tried to get him a drive with the Grand-Am team I was working for in late 2004 & 2005. At the time he won the Brit Porsche Cup series on a family run budget. I knew he had the talent, and while everyone was looking at young German Porsche drivers, I thought going this rout would be interesting. Besides, he spoke English! The team needed money and he didn't have any. As they say the cream rises to the top....

[Corner5]

I know, wtf was the Mid Ohio deal about? :saywhat:

I'm glad Jonny Cocker won it! I tried to get him a drive with the Grand-Am team I was working for in late 2004 & 2005. At the time he won the Brit Porsche Cup series on a family run budget. I knew he had the talent, and while everyone was looking at young German Porsche drivers, I thought going this rout would be interesting. Besides, he spoke English! The team needed money and he didn't have any. As they say the cream rises to the top....

What a great crowd(best I've seen in a while) and great race! Here's a good article-

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/autoracing/101275364.html

Also this from Scott A.-


"Atherton also confirmed that despite the date switch from May to September, the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca round will remain as a six-hour event. Negotiations are also underway with both Road America and Mosport to extend the length of those races."

http://dlstatic.speedtv.com/imageserve/01dheelcL3aXw/623x.jpg

[cameraman]

Too bad Utah didn't make the schedule but even Scott Atherton has standards when it comes to attendance. MMP would have killed to get the turnout the IRL got at Sonoma last weekend:shakehead

[Andrew Longman]

Too bad Utah didn't make the schedule but even Scott Atherton has standards when it comes to attendance. MMP would have killed to get the turnout the IRL got at Sonoma last weekend:shakehead

Help me understand. Did that park ever make sense? Middle of nowhere. No shade. Hot.

[Don Quixote]

Help me understand. Did that park ever make sense? Middle of nowhere. No shade. Hot. But it's a dry heat. :D

[cameraman]

I've become rather disappointed with it. There is no shade unless you are in a grandstand and it can be very hot. But there is also no room, the grass is only 10 or 20 feet wide surrounding the track. A general admission ticket is pretty much not a whole lot of fun.

One really annoying thing is the podium, it is on the trackside of the main pits and the crowd can't see any of it. You can't see the pitstops, the start or the finish as there is no crowd access opposite or above the pits. At least the grandstands have roofs, the folks at Sonoma would have probably liked that.

It isn't in the middle of nowhere really, beyond Salt Lake being in the middle of nowhere, but if you live in Salt Lake City itself, some place like the Avenues, it takes about 25 minutes to drive to the track early on a race day. I'd say very few road courses have that many people living that close.

I'm not sure why but the layout also does not do much for me either. You can see a very large percentage of the track from any given point, far more than places with those big green leafy things but much of what you can see is a mile away so yeah you can see it but they are teeny little things in the distance. You can see it but you can't really tell what is happening. Is out of sight totally better? I don't know.

I guess the biggest thing is it lacks soul and a history and isn't good for picnicking.

[Steve99]

Help me understand. Did that park ever make sense? Middle of nowhere. No shade. Hot.
As a vanity project so that rich guys had a place to drive their sports car collections, it may have made sense, but changing mid-project to a professional circuit never made much sense.



I'm not sure why but the layout also does not do much for me either.
If I was lapping in my high-end street car, the layout would probably be a blast. Doesn't make for good professional racing though IMHO.

[oddlycalm]

I guess the biggest thing is it lacks soul and a history and isn't good for picnicking.
I haven't been there so I'm just judging from TV, but it seems like they had a lot of land and felt compelled to use all of it. More is better. To me the track has around 8 turns too many considering there are no elevation changes and it's easy to lose reference of which track section they are. The straight may also be too much of a good thing.

You're right about the picnicking. Not necessary for club track rentals but if you want spectators to show up you have to make the facility spectator friendly.

Seems like they could set up some GA spectating areas around the track. Laguna Seca and Sonoma don't have a lot of shade either but there are plenty of GA spectating opportunities. The location seems fine with a good sized population along the Wasatch front.

My friend in the local Porsche club loves it but he doesn't attend races. Few of the people that attend track days do.

oc