Discussion for Spring Event

[SuperG]

Folks, I would like to start a discussion regarding the Spring Get Together. Since several folks really liked MSR in January, I would love for the group to get acquainted with Texas World Speedway and would like the idea of spending a weekend at TWS together (College Station) where we stop every 25 minutes and BS and review the videos and the spinouts.

I bring this up because the experience many of us had at MSR was very good, however, I must say that if you were to experience TWS, you will be blown away.

MSR's cost for the day was $100, and the day began at noon and cars on the track about 1.5 hours later. Two Lead and Follows and 2-20 minute sessions were the order of the day on the 1.7 mile track. TWS is $250 for 2 days, with 2 Lead and Follows on Saturday followed by 3-25 minute sessions and 5-25 minute sessions on Sunday, with doors opening at 7:30am on a 2.9 mile track. The facilities include covered parking, electrical outlets, cafeteria, and driving instructors for those who want to be critiqued by a professional.

Here is a list of positives and negatives I can think of:

Positives:
We can get a discount for 12 drivers or more for $188 - That's less than MSR
TWS is a longer, faster track than MSR
They have facilities!
No cops to watch for
No oncoming traffic
No kitty cats!
Professional drivers to help if you want
WAY more track time (over 4 hours!!!)

Negatives:
Eventhough TWS is cheaper by the day/amount of track time, you will wear out your tires more, beat your brakes WAY more, eat WAY more gas.
We won't have time to drive crazy on public roads

The way I see a weekend at TWS is that many people have to spend money on a hotel anyway, plus breakfast, lunch and dinner. The added cost is $88-$150 (depending on discounts). I would suggest getting some used tires for the track...I got some SO3's for $100 and they lasted 2.5 weekends at TWS and 3 autocrosses.

Please chime in with your thoughts...

 

[SuperG]

By the way, there are 2 weekends we can look at- April 9-10 and May 7-8 (the 8th is Mother's Day), but I am waiting on confirmation for those dates from TWS.

 

[FordLover]

I agree, atho I've never been on TWS, I've seen some video of Sergio on the track, and it does make MSR look like a golf cart track... 250 is alot for me, but if 12 drivers could get locked in, 188 isn't so bad especially for a two day event. One question, are passengers allowed at all Gary?
-Martin

 

[blue92]

Spring Run

There's been this discussion about us doing TWS in this club (and Haslet I think that's the name of it in OKA) for the past two or so years. The major reason I think it hasn't happened yet is money. Some of us are living from paycheck to paycheck and what extra money we have we put into our SHOs just to keep them on the road. The cost for TMS isn't just the track fees there's hotel, food, entertainment, and beer. Add these all up and your talkin like close to $500. bucks for 2 days.

Don't get me wrong there's a bunch of fordbastards that want to do this, but I don't see 20 SHOs being able to make it. For an event like this we will have to invite at least 6 other car clubs to make the required miminum just like we did for MSR if you recall there were only 8 SHOs that participated at MSR. I for one invited from 5 other car clubs and Murphy invited from 2 just to get our miminum. 8 SHOs shoing up for a run is still a desent number to do a run we only had 13 for the winter run and 14 for the fall run and still had a blast.

As far as your list of negitves we all have to deal with those every time we crank up our cars and drive out of our driveways. Plus those negitives just make the runs more interesting to me.

If we are going to do this event we need to have a date and start hitting up all the other car clubs so to hit the miminum.

I for one will still promote the Spring run out of Austin the 3rd weekend of April. We just have too much fun in Austin to blow off the event.

Well that's just my 2¢.

 

[FordLover]

Hallet is the track in Oklahoma, where we tracked the cars for the oklahoma convention, good track too.

I know one of the major reasons I won't go back to MSR (anytime soon) is that i've been there, yea it's alot of fun, but for 100 bucks + helmet rental + gas up to Ft. Worth + hotel + food/entertainment + bla bla bla it's expensive for a one day trip and >2 hours of track time. I like the idea of a two day event, and of course we'd all like a track in our back yard, but college station is an hour from me, much different story than 4 hours from MSR.

If I have a choice between going to MSR once all year, or going to TWS once all year, I'd pick TWS every time.

 

[SuperG]

Well, that is the one advantage we have living in Houston...TWS is not quite 1.5 hours from me, although I will spend the weekend there at a hotel. Also, NO, there are no passengers allowed, except one of the professional drivers. However...you can donate your car to a driver who can take a passenger or a pro-driver will use his/her own car to take a passenger. For example, a driver named Kevin took my car for a spin with my wife as the passenger. Another driver took Janet in his Mustang GT. By the way, Janet said my car was better than the GT...

Here's my response posted on FordBastards:
Yup, it will be the 2.9 mile course. I have received confirmation on
dates for TWS, so this may become a moot point for this
event...April's dates have been eliminated, and May's event is the
6th and 7th, which is a Friday and Saturday. So people who have to
work on Friday would miss a day. However, if the interest is still
there, I am more than willing to take Friday off...

Concerning money...There is only one additional cost for a weekend at
TWS and that is an extra day at the track, or $88. Other than that,
the get-togethers and TWS have all the same expenses...hotel, food,
and beer. I live in Houston, so I have these expenses everytime we
get together in Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio.

Also, you guys are right, we will most likely have to invite other
car clubs, as we do for all of our get togethers.

And I hadn't thought about doing both TWS and the traditional Spring
Run...so I say, yeah...let's do both! Especially now that TWS must
be a separate event due to the timing and not a replacement...

 

[GotSho5390]

Yeah!!!!......... More track time. I'm in for two days. Better start looking for tires.

 

[blue92]

That's the plus with MSR though if there isn't a race scheduled for a weekend we can pick and choose our weekend we want to go. TWS tells ya what weekend you can have not the other way around and their weekends are limited.

 

[SuperG]

Don, that's right...MSR has more flexibility. If I lived up there I would definitely know the track inside and out! TWS has a lot more sponsored events...I am just glad they do open it to the general public because it is just such a dang great track!!

 

[Toolman]

Either way, I am bringing a car to the spring event, come **** or high water.