(Pictured Above: members Tania M, Brad N, Kerwin W and Cory B tearing it up in the lower esses).
Even though I have experience in Drag Racing and AutoCross, I didn’t start track driving (HPDE & Time Trials) until early 2014. Ever since I did, a lot of the conversation had been centered around what tracks you would drive if ever given the opportunity. Laguna Seca, Nordschliefe, Lime Rock, Brand’s Hatch… are often tracks that come to mind and then of course there’s Road Atlanta. Many of us have a list of things we hope to some day see, do, complete, or experience at least once in our lifetimes, often nicknamed “the bucket list.”
As Motorsports enthusiasts, we often add driving at XYZ race track, “you know where the ‘big boys’ run,” to our lists. Whether it be from watching our favorite racers and teams tackle the tracks of our dreams or from our own experiences of taking a “virtual lap” around the course in our favorite video games, these tracks have a special spot in our hearts. This year a few GTM members got a chance to check an item off their bucket lists by tackling one of the most iconic and difficult tracks on the east coast: ROAD ATLANTA! – with the help of Chin Track Days who hosted the event.
The Tow – GTM caravan
From most of our homes, Road Atlanta was a cool 9.5 to 11.0 hours away, without stops – which is impossible, save for Eric M who is stubborn and will try anyway. Each of us took the day off Friday and Monday for traveling to/from the track. I was up at 4:30am Friday morning in order to get a jump start on this epic road trip/tow. Taking a road trip for 10 hours is one thing, doing it while towing another car behind you is something else entirely. Thankfully, I met up with Eric M. and Kerwin W. along the way which made the tow that much more… bearable. We met at a WalMart in Woodstock, VA for some essentials (DEF fluid and walkie-talkies) around 8:00am and then we officially hit the road.
Towing 10 hours on a nice beautiful day is a chore and a challenge in itself, but towing through a nor’easter (storm) along the Blue Ridge mountains in VA was it’s own special kind of hell. At one point along route 77 conditions were so bad that we couldn’t see 5 feet in front of us. with a 5,000# load behind you, that’s frightening. After many stops, fog, rain, wind, and detours, we arrived in Braselton, GA around 4:30pm. Just 12 hours from the time I awoke and started the day. Erin K. and John R., often referred to as “the Common Laws” arrived about 2 hours later by way of infamous I-95. Tania M., who flew in from TX, and Cory B., who recently moved to Charleston, SC from Annapolis rounded out our crew for the weekend.
First Impressions are Lasting Impressions
Road Atlanta sits along a two lane road a few miles from Rt-85. If you aren’t paying attention you could easily miss the main gate which is almost hidden by some curbing and “mall parking lot style” islands with trees. However, we found it, and we turned in, and the first thing you are greeted with: the infamous Road Atlanta bridge and “mountain” known as Turn 11. Watching videos and playing video games cannot prepare you for the sheer beauty and terror of this corner.
Facing turn 11 head-on from the main gate (above), it almost looks like a 90 degree cliff straight down. Having not even driven the track yet, I was already nervous and intimidated by the sheer size and scale. Even getting into the paddock you have to drive parallel to turn 11, meaning you are driving up hill staring at the sky with your car and trailer behind you. I sure hope you have everything secured. After you climb the mountain, and follow the road to the race paddock (unfortunately the support paddock was closed for construction) you are smack in the middle of the infield along the straight between turns 12 and 1.
Eric M., Kerwin W., and I pulled in, parked, and snapped a few photos. After that we unloaded our cars and headed over to the Chin trailer to register and tech our cars. Getting all of this done Friday night instead of Saturday morning really helps with the morning routine. Ready for the track the next day, and knowing that the Common Laws were still at least an hour out, we elected to go to dinner. After dinner we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.
Driving the track – Driving with Chin
Now its time for the main event. It’s Saturday morning and the sun is shining, albeit on the other side of the clouds that blanketed the area, the birds are chirping. Coffee and bad hotel eggs have been consumed, we are at the track and ready to roll! But wait a minute, before we could go out we had to sit through the driver’s meeting. Chin is a very well organized group to run with. They have done enough track events to have their routines down to a science. The morning meeting was no exception. A man stood on a small step ladder next to some swag in the center of the crowd and proceeded to dictate to us the various pieces of information we needed, or at least he felt we needed. After a while though (40 minutes, roughly) the useful information had ended and the meeting turned into a cyclical regurgitation of the same pieces of information. However, this eventually came to an end and we were released.
Chin’s schedule allows for a ton of track time, and included in your typical run group sessions is a dedicated warm up session in the morning and a happy hour in the evening (1 hour open track time, passing anywhere with a point-by) for all participants. Unlike other clubs that may run orientation laps, the Chin warm up session is a full on, at speed, run session lasting 30 minutes. The difference is the entire session is under a full course yellow, meaning no passing. So you can go out and follow the car in front of you or drive your own pace. If you get stuck behind someone slower you just pit in and wait for more space or faster traffic. Once you are warmed up and feel like you know where you are going, you can come in or stay out for the rest of the session, your choice. Seeing as we had never been there before, we all elected to stay out for the entire session.
Pulling out of the pits and onto turn 2 and turn 3, it finally felt real.
I had to take some time to think about what driving the track was like and what it meant to me before I could put “pen to paper” so to speak. I mean, I have driven countless hours and thousands of laps around Road Atlanta, in video games. But no matter how many virtual races and hot laps I’ve run, nothing could prepare me for the experience of driving the track – this track – in real life.
For one, the elevation changes are huge! – Everyone knows about the hill under the bridge but what the racing games never get right is the elevation changes that occur from turns 1 through 5. turn 1 you are climbing, turns 2 and 3 you are at the peak and come roaring downhill in a left hand sweeper, you reach the valley at the start of the esses and climb again to the fast paced left-hander of turn 5. It’s like a roller coaster. Also, braking for turn 3 and braking for turn 5 are a challenge as there is very little straight road to do so, so you either have to suck it up buttercup and just #sendit or you have to scrub off speed way too early. I opted for the latter most of the time… and that’s more so because the track is intimidating and extremely hard on even the most seasoned driver.
Many of us all agree that Shenandoah Circuit at Summit Point is a difficult track and is hard on a driver, especially a new driver to the sport. Well, I am here to tell you that Road Atlanta is just as daunting and difficult for the driver, but in a different way. Where Shenandoah kills you with turns after turns after turns, Road Atlanta kills you psychologically. You have to mentally prepare yourself for each action you make, and with the limited run off space there is virtually zero margin for error at the limit. I wasn’t able to get to 10/10ths or even 9/10ths of my ability like I can at VIR or Shenandoah, because one false move and you are in the wall #concretedoesntgive. Sadly one of our very own had to find this out the hard way. The driver is okay and the car is fixable but it was certainly a scary moment for us all there! – Top Tip: You must respect this track!
Driving with Chin is like driving with any other club, except they are extremely focused and deliberate in everything that they do. And given this is their home track, we were certainly guests at their party, unlike other events where we may take over sometimes. I give respect to Chin admins for how they put on an event. Every club has their pluses and their minuses but overall it was a great and enjoyable experience for all involved. I would run with Chin again.
Driving around the in-field
The funny thing is, driving on track is one experience, but driving around the paddock is another experience entirely, specifically the in-field. During some downtime for our run group a couple of us took a tour of the facility and drove around taking pictures of the others on track. To put it simply, driving the in-field at Road Atlanta is similar to driving through a state park. You can get to just about anywhere on track and see any turn or section you could possibly want, but you certainly can’t walk it. The same hills and elevation changes on track are felt around the in-field. To get to part of the in-field you actually drive under the track through a tunnel, pretty cool!
Dinners, Shenanigans, and Random Musings
It obviously wouldn’t be a GTM road trip without some shenanigans. To start off the weekend we rolled out the new “Points!” game, much in the same vein as the Harry Potter house points game but crossed with “Who’s Line is it Anyway?” – It was a huge success, to the point (Ha!) that we rolled it out to the rest of the club upon our return. During the weekend we also had dinner at a Japanese steak house (Erin caught the shrimp!), and a chipotle-esque mexican place. The group helped member Brad N. celebrate his 37th birthday, this time without Hooters and embarrassment (although there was a saddle involved). And I can’t forget the fact that we all, well except for John R. who shall have perpetual negative points in the game from now on, dressed up for Halloween!
Good Times, Bad Times
Throughout the weekend the GTM group had a lot of fun, but more importantly than that, we all were promoted to the next run group during our checkout rides. Remember earlier I mentioned that Chin is very deliberate in how they run an event, well promoting drivers is very serious business. Half of our group that went are actually coaches and instructors with a number of different clubs, one of which has even instructed with Chin before. However, Chin’s rules are very simple: if you have never been to a track before, you start out provisional solo, no matter your experience. So that’s what happened. Each of us (save for one) started as a provisional solo driver and we had a scheduled check out ride for a session later in the day.
You read that correctly, a “scheduled check out ride.” – And after the check out rides we had to take an electronic flag test. From what I could see, there weren’t any exceptions to this system or process. However, at the end of Saturday all of us had been moved up to the next run group, except Erin K. who was moved up on Sunday. Great job team! – We showed we know how to drive and that we can learn a new track quickly.
“Save it, save it, save it, save it!!!” yells Kerwin W as a novice Miata driver spins like a top down the front straight… during the rain. However, it wasn’t all good times, as GTM suffered a few set backs as well. One member had a mishap with the wall at turn 2/3 as mentioned earlier. However, that driver is fine, albeit a little shaken up, and the car is being rebuilt as we speak. We also had a number of mechanical failures that prematurely ended a couple sessions early. At the end of the weekend though we all came out on top and were able to get ourselves and our cars home safely, no small feat with this sport.
Overall, the trip was a blast with great people, as always, and minimal scrapes and bruises – and if you want to see more, be sure to logon and check out all the pictures via the Vault from this event.
Until next time my friends, keep the rubber side down!
More photos available in the Vault!
