There are so many variables that go into making a successful track weekend: making sure your vehicle(s) are in tip-top shape, your personal health is up-to-par; trailer and tow rig are in good working order, student enthusiasm, last minute work projects on Friday afternoon, impending weather conditions… all great reasons for NOT going to the track.
“Right Seat Time” — Photo courtesy of the friendly folks at ABI Photography
I was faced with the perfect storm for all of these variables to come into alignment for this years annual National Corvette Gathering at the National Corvette Museum (NCM) in Bowling Green, Kentucky. For those unfamiliar with NCM, it is less than 5 miles from the assembly line exit door of the Corvette Factory and is the official factory test track for both production cars and GTLM’s alike. The track has been influenced by some legendary GM names like: Andy Pilgrim and John Heinricy. Much like learning to play tennis, NCM is a easy to pick up, but difficult to master. It has a rhythm – arguably its 3+ tracks in 1 – unlike anything else you’ve probably driven. It’s not designed to be a road racing circuit like WGI or Mid-O, it’s a factory test-track and therefore earns a different kind of respect.
So let’s set the stage for the weekend… Both the Terrible Toad (TT) and The Gus (GTI) were at New German Performance under intensive care for some exhaust/heat related issues which were not able to be fixed until after the event. My co-driver Tania M was stranded in Houston due to Hurricane Harvey. I had already engaged my students via email for the weekend and was looking forward to working with them. And more importantly, GTM member and veteran coach Pat Sullivan is the co-CI for NCM. If you know Pat, you know the level of performance he expects from his coaches. So that left me with a 700 mile drive and plenty of time to put things into perspective.
I packed up the least amount of items I think I’ve ever taken to a track weekend in my diesel Grand Cherokee and set out to see what kinds of MPG it could muster on its first unladen long distance trip with it’s new Tune (ECU). By now, most of you are probably saying something more colorful than “why the heck didn’t you just ‘come up with a reason not to go’ ?!?” — and admittedly around mile marker 550 I did start to wonder why I was schlepping all the way out to KY without a car to just coach.
Now, you’re probably saying “dummy, you should have stayed home!” (it was your wife’s birthday weekend, after all) — so, why did I continue?
My reasoning (or lack thereof) comes from an event two weeks earlier: I was filling in for Chris Liou (HOD) as Chief Instructor at their summer VIR event. Outnumbered – faced with 6 instructors and 15 students in the novice group – we rolled up our sleeves and got creative on how to handle the situation. A special thanks to GTM members: Mike C, John R and Brad N for showing the tenacity necessary to make this event a success. Without you guys we wouldn’t have made it. The effort that these folks and others who came to our rescue that weekend is why I couldn’t leave the NCM team a man down. Summing it up in one word “dependability.” As coaches we have to remain consistent and dependable.
That got me thinking about the current state of coaches (at least in the Mid-Atlantic). You see a lot of familiar faces at each event and it feels “weird” when you don’t see them as regularly as before… Coaches come and go, interests and budgets ebb and flow, family situations change, but at the end of the day, if the available population of coaches shrinks up this sport will inevitably go on life support. I relate this in the same way as AutoCross has been dying in the DMV for the last 5 years. Not entirely for lack of participants as events are packed, but a lot can be said for “new age parking lots” and businesses being open 7 days a week – it’s an issue of availability – but you can see how you can metaphorically equate those “parking lots” to coaches, right?
Playing devil’s advocate, I often wonder if the new techniques for getting coaches out of the right seat aren’t more centered around the lack of available coaches than the danger/risk of being in the right seat — or maybe it’s a combination of the two. I’ve heard people make the argument that HPDE is suffering or in decline, but i’d like to think it’s just the opposite. What we have is an over-saturation of the market. There are so many organizations running events now (and more coming online each year) that you have smaller gatherings but more frequent events. The one facet that remains the same is the “instructor corps” — time and commitments being what they are, there are only so many available bodies on any given weekend and we are always looking for more help.
Meanwhile, back at NCM: I took the extra time I had available to work with some fantastic drivers and advanced students — remember to take every opportunity you can to jump into the right seat, as there is always a chance to see things from a new perspective. I don’t always get the chance to work with Corvettes so I viewed this as an experience to get more intimate with these very capable vehicles.
There could be worse things… Special thanks to my student Matt Williams for letting me get behind the wheel of his AMG-63 Black Series. #germanmuscle for the win.
I could probably go on preaching, but simply put … I love this sport, I’m 110% invested. Coaches would not do what we do, be it for: the sacrifice, stresses, risk, physical exhaustion, etc., that is required every weekend if we didn’t love what we do. Challenge yourself and never stop learning. I have to admit, even without a ride of my own, there was never a point where I was bored during the weekend and I look forward to returning to NCM.
If you’re interested in becoming a Coach (Instructor Candidate) please reach out to myself or Mike C as we head up another season-long training program for HOD (outside of the new Motorsport Safety Foundation (MSF) courses.) We are looking for new recruits for the class of 2018.
A special congratulations to our class of 2017 as they near graduation.
Great Work: Sam H, Bruce S and John R!
More photos available in the Vault!
