getfast

March 2-3 Virginia International Raceway- Full Course
May 16-17 Summit Point Raceway- Shenandoah Circuit
May 30-31 AutoBahn Country Club- South Course
June 19-21 New Jersey Motorsports Park- Thunderbolt
July 13-14 Summit Point Raceway- Main Circuit
Aug 27-28 Virginia International Raceway- Full Course
Sept 4-6 New Jersey Motorsports Park- Lightning
Sept 12-13 AutoBahn Country Club- South Course w/ evening Full course
Oct 3-4 Summit Point Raceway- Shenandoah Circuit
Nov 16-17 Virginia International Raceway- Full Course

Details & pre-reg @ http://www.trackdaze.com

The Wok

TrackDaze

ntinhri

why arent they on weekends

vbspec

Its cheaper to rent the track during the week. Groups like NASA have race groups run along with their HPDE and TT groups. More entrants help cover the higher cost weekend rates down so they are simialr to groups like Track Daze. Its all about the $$$'s

I've run with both and they are both great

getfast

They are. Both Shenandoah dates, both Jersey dates, and both Autobahn dates are on weekends. That's 60% of the season.

Summit-Main and VIR-Full are very difficult to get on weekends due to demand. For every group that gets a weekend there are 5 groups lined up who want a weekend.

TrackDaze is "the new kid on the block" - just over 2 years old now - and still in the process of working up the ladder to qualify for weekends everywhere.

The Wok

I prefer the schedule and smaller groups of TrackDaze but I feel like for a beginner (as a beginner) you get more out of the classroom portions with NASA - keep in mind I've only run with each group once.

getfast

This is true, it is cheaper to rent during the week, but not by much. All event costs other than track rental are exactly the same so the savings doesn't end up being a whole lot.

TrackDaze wants weekends everywhere regardless of extra rental costs, but can't always get them just because of supply and demand, and from being one of the newer groups putting on events. It's not like VIR or Summit called and said "how many weekends ya want?" - if/when they are offered, they are usually accepted.

PS- NJMP on weekends costs more to rent than VIR-Full on weekends, so TrackDaze will certainly spend the extra money when necessary.

getfast

That's certainly fair. NASA-MA's classroom guy, Dan Unkefer, is one of the best, if not THE best, in the business.

TrackDaze uses three different classroom instructors depending upon availability - Peter Krause (longtime racer/pro coach), Colin Jevens (NASA racer/BSR instructor), or James Packer (Grand-Am official/NASA racer.) All three are awesome for sure, but they each have their own communication styles. It's like in high school when you had some teachers you got along great with, and others not so much - there is a certain relationship based on personal opinion and perspective that makes it impossible for everyone to get the same information from the presentations, even though the same syllabus is being used. But in general you get out of the classroom what you put into it, with regard to mindset and involvement. Questions and discussions are ALWAYS encouraged for that reason.

The fact remains, however, that TrackDaze offers smaller run groups and more track time per dollar than many other organizations. Especially at the higher levels. For instance TrackDaze's HPDE3 level "Advanced" group and HPDE4 level "Instructor" group each got thirteen 30 minute track sessions - six and a half hours of track time to choose from - across two days at VIR last month!

And of course TrackDaze is always looking to improve, so suggestions are always welcome to info@trackdaze.com

The Wok

Colin was really good, we had a discussion on the side about the differences between the line being taught and the line being shown in the videos in class.

It just seemed to me as if NASA's "curriculum" was more in depth, as far as the powerpoint based things go, whereas TrackDaze relied more upon the individual instructors (this might be done on purpose?)

getfast

The PPT merely introduces the talking points. That's done by design, to create more of a discussion format than a lecture. And yeah, a lot of it depends upon the classroom instructor's ability to take those points and turn them into useful - and memorable - information.

Keep in mind also the varying experience levels in a given HPDE group, and the aforementioned differences of opinion and perspective. And the desire to not overload anyone (better to have 10 key points that people will remember 7 of, than 20 key points that people will remember 10 of.) Also the fact that the most important learning takes place in the car on the track with the right seat instructor.

Having done classroom more than a few times myself, I can tell you that it's a lot harder to teach "just enough but not too much and not too little" than it seems like it would be.

As for "in depth" - as I said, NASA-MA (and Unkefer specifically) are some of the best in the business.