WGI National

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:17 pm
Ahhh...the "Nelsonring". Did my first SCCA race there in a roached-out Rabbit IT car, loved the place ever since. Insanely fast corners, maximum time spent with with right foot screwed all the way to the floor, friendly paddock & track management...and there is usually some interesting single-malt to be found in Worker Camping in the evenings (although you damn well better bring some yourownsef).

Trevor - I believe that Nelson Ledges was the first track in the US to use stacked tires as walls / safety barriers. Good thing...I've hit enough of the damn things, and ended up on top of the one outside the Carousel a few times (at least once in a ITB Scirocco...stuck a couple of sheet-metal screws in the fenders to keep them from flapping, and made the next session !).

That said, Summit Point is a more interesting "technical" track...teaches "consequence"...and the SRF competition there is t-o-u-g-h.

There is a lot to like about both SP and the Nelsonring.

Editorial comment about the double at the Glen: Drivers aren't always vocal enough about their preferences on the national race schedule. Make sure that your regional and divisional leadership know your desires for where national races are held. Decisions about double nationals aren't just up to the region holding a race...it must be approved by 75% of the other regions (all regions, not just "racing" regions) in the division. Drivers would be well-served to stick their noses into the politics of divisional scheduling.
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:44 pm
I'm not sure about the tire walls being first seen at Nelson. That's true if they used tire walls prior to about September, 1975. After the totally unnecessary Mark Donohue death in the catch fences at Austria that year, catch fences (which were used at virtually all GP tracks) were removed and replaced with tire barriers. The Glen had tire barriers deployed for the first time for the U.S, Grand Prix in October, 1975.

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:28 pm
John:
I meant no "offense" in my selection of SP over NL....did my first driver's school at NL, and have many fond memories from there, especially running the Longest Day.
Since you mentioned the carousel and tire wall, we were there one weekend in my IT days, and a guy with an RX7 went off and planted his car atop the tire wall there. If you recall, it was fairly tall. He was telling us that when he got out of the car and was standing on the wall, deciding how to get down, the tow truck pulled up, driver got out and yelled -"stay there, don't move"
The driver gets back in the truck comes out towards him - with a camera and says "smile".
Gotta love the vibe there!
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:51 pm
Bob Devol wrote:I'm not sure about the tire walls being first seen at Nelson. That's true if they used tire walls prior to about September, 1975.


From Marvin Grey's 2010 tribute on the passing of track manager John McGill ( http://www.motorsportsministries.com/jo ... world.html ):

John had friends, as many of us in racing, from all walks of life and all over the country. But John also touched the whole world of racing. In 1970, John and Grover Griggs invented the tire wall and first used it at Nelson Ledges. To this day it is used at race courses all around the globe as an inexpensive way to minimize driver injuries and car damage. The creation of the tire wall caused SCCA to honor John as the first winner of the yearly trophy that now bears his name for significant contributions to club racing

steve kramer wrote:Since you mentioned the carousel and tire wall, we were there one weekend in my IT days, and a guy with an RX7 went off and planted his car atop the tire wall there. If you recall, it was fairly tall.


Tall, and all those tires are filled with dead frogs and mosquito snot. One memory - coming to rest, post-impact, tilted driver's side up. All the aforementioned frog/mosquito goo, launched skyward, then returned to earth via my driver's side window, where I just happened to be sitting. Ah...the cherished memories of racing !

Hey look...they've even got an animated video thingy on their website ! -

http://www.nelsonledges.com/TFMap.aspx

Looks like Bob MacDonald's "Stuart Taylor" car thing in the video - Greg G, or Fick, or Bros Gills...can you confirm ?

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:50 pm
The biggest race in the NE rival to Sebrig, VIR and the sprints and instead we get Nelsons Ledge. Don't get me wrong I have raced a lot at nelsons and kind of like the place, dodging pot holes marked with orange cones and squishing frogs in the carousel. Heck I don't know why it is even in the NE its Ohio.

Lee if you haven't tried NJ then I would go there. With a bonus National we should have a 30+ car field.

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 9:53 am
But remember, the NEDiv SuperTour is going to be at Summit Point this year. And the DC Region is gearing up to make it quite the special event. I'll post more on this once more of the planning has happened.
Elizabeth Miller
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 10:09 am
Thanks for the history on the tire wall, John. That's pretty advanced thinking for the time. Too bad it didn't get through to the FIA, given their misguided installation of those heinous catch fences. Donohue's primary injury was a blow to the head from a catch fence post.

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 10:44 am
Jersey sucks. Only good thing is Atlantic City is only 45 minutes away.

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 10:32 pm
I was only at NJMP in it's first year to spectate. Why do you say it sucks Trevor?

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PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 8:51 am
I hate decreasing radius corners. The curbs suck, the town sucks. And I've cooked 3 motors there. Not fun. Plus the GA race last year it was a cool 111 degrees on raceday.
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