As a lot of you know I've been autocrossing my truck (non-competitively) for the last two years or so. I've always wanted to race on a full road course, but the cost and availability of open track days kinda of put me off. That is until this summer when SCCA started holding what they call 'Track Night in America' at a bunch of tracks including the one nearest to me, PIR. Basically you only pay $150 and get three 20 minutes sessions. You don't need to take any driving classes or have an instructor, just get in your vehicle and drive.
A little background info on my truck, it's '97 S10 SS with ZQ8 suspension. It's got a 2/3 drop, tall ball joints, and Spohn UCAs. The rest of the suspension is basically stock, although I've replaced all the steering components and most of the bushings in the suspension. I have C5 brakes up front and Blazer discs out back. Tires are 200TW Dunlop ZII SS, 245/45-17 all around.
My first session was kind of a bust. Since it was many people's first time ever on a track they were just cruising around it. There was also no passing allowed on this session so I was stuck behind all of them. I could have pitted in and let them get ahead, but I just decided to stick it out and get to learn the driving line.
The second session is where the fun started. I was the third one out, and the two cars in front of me just blasted off. I was able to pick up the pace this time and it was much more enjoyable. It took me no time at all to get comfortable on the track and get in a good 'zone'. I ended up lapping a Miata which is where I started this video.
On the last session, I did get a few open laps to myself but frequently came up on traffic. I passed a lot of cars and let two go by me. One of which was a Scion FRS which was slightly modified. The owner autocrosses it at SCCA events. He was a little bit faster on the straightaways but we were pretty even in the corners. Here's a few laps of me trying to keep up with him:
Overall the track night was 100% worth it. I had more fun than I ever have had during an AutoX. AutoX is like short bursts of fun, but track racing is an hour's worth of fun. I likely be doing more next year, possibly on different tracks. My truck held up all of the abuse great. About the only issue I ran into is I may have overheated the front brake rotors in the second session. I was slowing down early and not giving it much pressure, but after a few laps the brakes were pulsating a little. On the last session I went deeper before hitting the brakes and used them harder and probably half the time I was before. I think the problem is because I cheaped out on the pads and rotors, they're like the eBay specials lol. I was slowing down from just over 100mph. The truck handled great for being mostly stock. It just goes to show you don't have to dump a ton of money into your suspension to make it handle well.
A little background info on my truck, it's '97 S10 SS with ZQ8 suspension. It's got a 2/3 drop, tall ball joints, and Spohn UCAs. The rest of the suspension is basically stock, although I've replaced all the steering components and most of the bushings in the suspension. I have C5 brakes up front and Blazer discs out back. Tires are 200TW Dunlop ZII SS, 245/45-17 all around.
My first session was kind of a bust. Since it was many people's first time ever on a track they were just cruising around it. There was also no passing allowed on this session so I was stuck behind all of them. I could have pitted in and let them get ahead, but I just decided to stick it out and get to learn the driving line.
The second session is where the fun started. I was the third one out, and the two cars in front of me just blasted off. I was able to pick up the pace this time and it was much more enjoyable. It took me no time at all to get comfortable on the track and get in a good 'zone'. I ended up lapping a Miata which is where I started this video.
On the last session, I did get a few open laps to myself but frequently came up on traffic. I passed a lot of cars and let two go by me. One of which was a Scion FRS which was slightly modified. The owner autocrosses it at SCCA events. He was a little bit faster on the straightaways but we were pretty even in the corners. Here's a few laps of me trying to keep up with him:
Overall the track night was 100% worth it. I had more fun than I ever have had during an AutoX. AutoX is like short bursts of fun, but track racing is an hour's worth of fun. I likely be doing more next year, possibly on different tracks. My truck held up all of the abuse great. About the only issue I ran into is I may have overheated the front brake rotors in the second session. I was slowing down early and not giving it much pressure, but after a few laps the brakes were pulsating a little. On the last session I went deeper before hitting the brakes and used them harder and probably half the time I was before. I think the problem is because I cheaped out on the pads and rotors, they're like the eBay specials lol. I was slowing down from just over 100mph. The truck handled great for being mostly stock. It just goes to show you don't have to dump a ton of money into your suspension to make it handle well.