New Track Junkies

[ken o]

For all the new track junkies born at the PCA TT AT MSR there are other way to get your fix.
- Apex Driving Academy: Great instructors, structured program, about 2.5 hours of seat time in one day
- ECR:Open days once a month, instructors, some classroom, 2.5 hours of seat time in one day
- BMW CCA DE: Great instructors, structured program, about 2 hours of seat time in one day, usually a two day event (strict convertible rules)
- PCA DE: Great instructors, structured program, about 2 hours of seat time in one day, usually a two day event (not sure on rules)
- The Drivers Edge: Great instructors, structured program, about 2 hours of seat time in one day, two day event

Please update if I got the info wrong, it is pre coffee typing.

[POS Racing]

Not that you can put a price on being a Track Junkie.

But what is one looking at as far as $$$ for entry fees for the above?

[altiain]

For all the new track junkies born at the PCA TT AT MSR there are other ways to get your fix.

Great info. I updated it with links and a couple of additional organizations. Maybe we ought to make this a sticky?

• Apex Driving Academy: Great instructors, structured program, about 2.0 hours of seat time in one day. Typically 10-12 events per year. Single day events. HPDE only. Based at MotorSport Ranch in Cresson. $185-225 per event depending on run group.
  
  
• Eagles Canyon Track Days: Open track days roughly once a month, instructors, some classroom, 2.5 hours of seat time in one day. HPDE only. Based at Eagles Canyon Raceway in Slidell. $150 if you register more than a week in advance, $185 trackside day of the event.
  
  
• Lone Star Region BMWCCA: Great instructors, structured program, about 2 hours of seat time in one day, usually a two day event. Both HPDE and club racing. Strict convertible rules. Run at MSRC, ECR, ??? $295 for non-solo students, $200 for BMWCCA solo students and a single day solo is $150.
  
  
• Maverick Region PCA: Great instructors, structured program, about 2 hours of seat time in one day, usually a two day event (not sure on rules). Both HPDE and club racing. Run at MSRC, ECR, ??? $265 for two day events, $215 for SOLO only 1 day.
  
  
• The Drivers Edge: Great instructors, structured program, about 2 hours of seat time in one day, two day events. HPDE only. Run at MSRC, MSRH, ECR, TWS, H2R, TMS, and Hallett. $275-295 per weekend depending on run group.
  
  
• National Auto Sports Association (NASA) Texas: Great instructors, structured program, about 1.5-2 hours of seat time in one day, two day events. HPDE, TT (time trials), and club racing. Run at MSRC, MSRH, ECR, TWS, H2R, NOLA, and Hallett. Pricing depends on track, run group, and 1 or 2 day registration.
  
  
• Velocity Adventures: Great instructors, structured program, about 2.0 hours of seat time in one day. Single day events. In the summer they run compressed, half day events with 2 hours seat time. HPDE only. Based at Harris Hill Road near San Marcos. $180 per event.
  
  
• TWS Performance Driving School: Great instructors, structured program, about 1.5-2 hours of seat time in one day, one and two day events. HPDE only. Based at Texas World Speedway in College Station. One day (online reg.) - $210, Two day (online) - $295, One day (walkup reg.) - $265, Two day (walkup) - $350.
  
  
• Hallett High Speed Touring Series: No instruction, low entry fees, 1 & 2 day events. HPDE and club racing. Advanced drivers only. Based at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Hallett, OK. $95 per day, plus annual $50 membership fee.
  
  
• Texas Time Trials: Some instruction available, low entry fees, half day events set up on temporary courses at Mineral Wells Airfield. TT only. Make sure your camera is running if you want your lap time to count. $45 per event.

[Nails]

Cheaper than your PCA TT on a per minute basis.

Since I'm not an instructor yet, nor member at a track, I still pay for my track time.

Apex runs about 225 for Novice, 215 for Int, and 185 for advanced.

I like their instructors and use of FM radio at MSR alot. I sign up with them when they offer the 3.1 and last time I went back in May, I got 4 30 minute sessions, gave NC Eunos my fifth session and didn't use the 6th due to wanting to avoid rush hour traffic home. This event was a Monday. That was more than normal seat time due to low turnout so Int and Adv groups were combined for afternoon sessions.

The Drivers edge runs 300 for the weekend. I tried using them before but they fill up too fast and are very strict about letting people (even with experience) skip up to yellow group w/o being checked out. I wasted a day sitting around waiting for a check ride and subsequent call that never came. This combined with their no refunds policy and their wishy washy "maybe we'll run the 3.1 if we get enough people" means I will likely never try them again.

Eagles Canyon open track days are the cheapest in the region. 150 for 4 25 minute sessions. Great people and tends to have more exotics and muscle cars due to the 2000' straight. Last 3 years they hosted a toy run that gets you a hour and a half seat time for 50 bucks and a toy. They don't advertise it due to its huge popularity.

That's about it for our local venues. Feel like I am forgetting something.

Oh yeah NASA.
They do 2 day events as well at about 300 for both days plus an annual sign up fee of 45.
I never had instruction from them so can't comment there. They seem to be the popular venue for advanced drivers looking to move up to open passing. They have a wide array of classification for Time Trials too like autocross.
They were out at ECR last weekend and I'll probably be going to their next event at Texas World Speedway in November for my last track time of 2011, not counting the toy run.

So in a nutshell, you guys paid 75 for Sunday at MSR and had the equivalent seat time to one session out of the usual four per single track day. At ECR open day, the cheapest, one session comes to 37.50 and at MSR, the highest, one session is 56.25.

Edit: altiains info above is very good but biased since he is an instructor. He is a good instructor but he can't say anything bad since he works for alot of these people. Some outfits have better instructors than others but it's a crap shoot. Apex seems to have knowledgeable friendly instructors though in my experience. I had a bad one at ECR once though. Also you do not get even an hour and a half of seat time with Velocity Adventures. You're lucky to get 80 minutes which is damn short for such a long drive to Harris Hill. HH also has no corner stations which could be scary in case of fires.

[jrj512]

Too rich for my blood. I'll just have Rob make me some model of the tracks and run a Hot Wheels, instead.

[ken o]

If you are experienced (no instructors or flag workers) ECR members can take you out on member days for $150 or MSR members can take you out for $20 per 20 minute session. They are ok with frequent visits as long as it is not abused.

[p4R4d0x]

As one of the aforementioned newborn track junkies: thanks a lot for this thread, I second the 'sticky' recommendation.

[Rob®]

Too rich for my blood. I'll just have Rob make me some model of the tracks and run a Hot Wheels, instead.

And who says I'm cheap?!

Seriously though, as someone "new" to the area that has been out of the track loop in general for quite a long time, thanks for starting this thread!

[ken o]

Thanks for filling it in Iain.

Ok Cherries, let's get to the track.

[GregW]

I went to miatas at hallett and then the pca TT last weekend.... AWESOME!!! I want more! Can't get enough!!

Thanks for the great info!

[OZMDD]

I'll do it again, once or twice a year, but $100/weekend is my entry fee limit. I have no doubt that the value-for-money is great with some of those groups. I'm not sure my car or my body is up for 2.5 hours of track time.

Correction.... Track days are the best thing ever invented!!

[altiain]

Guys, can we please keep the "my motorsport is better than your motorsport" shit out of this thread? Start another thread if you need somewhere to have a pissing contest.

This thread is intended to provide info on the organizations that run HPDEs in this area. Thank you.

[OZMDD]

Man, you go out and run a faster lap than these guys and they get all uppity!

[SirHustlerEsq]

NASA gives you room to grow, you get to watch awesome racing all day, and they feed you. No one else can beat that.

Also, check the Texas Miata Challenge too. We could use more people...or we'll keep running OTDs with just the 6 of us.

[cwemyss]

Funny... I was just about to go looking for EXACTLY this information.

Huge thanks!!!

[altiain]

Edit: altiains info above is very good but biased since he is an instructor. He is a good instructor...

Why thank you!

...but he can't say anything bad since he works for alot of these people. Some outfits have better instructors than others but it's a crap shoot. Apex seems to have knowledgeable friendly instructors though in my experience.

Thankfully there really aren't any "bad" organizers in the area. In the twelve years I’ve been running track events, I’ve never felt at the end of the day (or weekend) that I got a crappy deal for my money.

Instructors are human beings – some are more motivated than others. I get personal satisfaction out of helping people become better drivers, but I won’t lie to you – some instructors are just there to do the bare minimum and get free track time in return. Those are the ones to avoid. Thankfully they tend to be the exception more than the rule.

Sometimes you will have a personality conflict with your instructor or you’ll pull one of the lazy ones. Always feel free to speak to the Chief Instructor and request a different instructor if you feel like you’re not “clicking” with your instructor or they aren’t helping you achieve your on-track goals. At the end of the day, you are the customer – it’s your money, and you should get the most out of it.

Also, keep in mind that different organizations have different focus at their events. Apex and Velocity pride themselves on offering smaller run groups (less traffic, fewer “trains”), quality instruction, and an HPDE (not TT or racing) focus. ECR and Hallett’s HST program focus on offering you the most track time for your dollar with a minimum of frills. NASA is a racing organization, and as such their program is skewed towards “moving up the ladder” to the time trial or club racing programs. BMWCCA and PCA are obviously focused towards their respective brands (although they’re friendly towards others), and also supporting their club racing programs.

[Nails]

I found the old post here where I had a bad instructor. He was the chief instructor too.

snip

Finally, the stand-in track master, Keith, said he'd ride with me. Now Keith's a nice guy and very knowledgable but his communication was sometimes confusing and his grabbing my wheel at times was a bit unnerving. So after the second heat I asked him if he'd point out the line in two specific areas I had trouble with. Instead he drove my car with the following group and showed me. Then it became clear and I did just fine on the third so I was cleared to solo on the fourth heat. WooHoo!

snip

Ah the good ole' novice days when street tires and Hawk street pads were good enough.
Anyway, I'm going to ECR on the 4th and will be playing rabbit for a bunch of those bad ass high hp cars instead of back marker.

[cwemyss]

I was putting together a Google Calendar just for my own use, and figured that'd be helpful. Tailchaser agreed, and now its at the top of the page, next to the autocross calendar.

I definitely don't have everything on it yet... I used altiain's links to get things started. If you know of anything I'm missing, PM me a link. I can't find good calendars for Hallet or Harris Hill.

[Nails]

Well there was Apex today at MSR and there is an invitation only at ECR this Friday for starters.


Edit: Just looked at it and it looks like you have a lot of stuff already on it. Great job cwemyss, thank you!

[OZMDD]

Anyone know the convertible/hardtop rules for Apex?