Starting second season, how to choose where to ride

DHak20

New Member
Last year was my first season going to the track and I got the bug pretty bad. The first Saturday at Pitt led to staying Sunday and 10 track days later I have new pick up and toy hauler along with a new ZX-6R.

I obviously spent a ton of money on my new hobby upfront but want to budget this year. I am choosing dates and tracks now hoping I can stick to to 7 weekends going Sat/Sun. I did Pitt 3-4 weekends last year and loved it, I also went to NJMP for a weekend (I hated it for the first 2 sessions but really warmed up to it). The differences between the two tracks was dramatic to say the least but I felt like going to NJ made me a better rider. The flat and off camber corners (along with the bumps) at NJ made Pitt feel like a roller coaster with tracks, my bike didn't slide around nearly as much or I didn't notice it.

I plan on going back to Pitt (4.5 hours) 4 times and NJ (6.5 hours) twice and was thinking about attending a track day with Evolve GT at Pocono raceway (4 hours) in June since it is the closest track to my house but I figured it would be flat similar to NJ making it redundant. Does anyone have input on Pocono? The new pavement at NJ makes me lean towards NJ but riding a new track....especially Pocono is intriguing.

The main point to the novel I just wrote was how do you pick dates/tracks? Do you go as many weekends as possible to tracks closer or do you prefer 3-4 weekends at 3-4 different tracks? VIR/Pitt/NJ/CMP. I want to progress as a rider and ride as much as possible but also want to try new tracks.
 

MK3Brent

Treebeard
Sounds exciting with the new truck and hauler.
If you ever come farther south, I'll happily show you around a few tracks at VIR, NCBIKE, CMP, etc..
 

DHak20

New Member
Sounds exciting with the new truck and hauler.
If you ever come farther south, I'll happily show you around a few tracks at VIR, NCBIKE, CMP, etc..
We tried the U-Haul/hotel thing and my wife was not a fan! Had to get the hauler or no track days for me. Having a supportive wife who lets me spend boat loads of money is key.
I will definitely be heading to VIR, NC and CMP in the future. This year looks like Pitt/NJ but we might do a trip to Carolina on the way to visiting family in FLA. We will definitely hit you up if we do!
 

bmart

Control Rider
Congrats on spending your kids inheritance. :)

I used to travel better than I do now, so now I stick to within 4 hours from home.

I'd recommend going to as many tracks as you are able. Enjoy it while you can! Take good notes not only about your riding technique and bike setup, but about the tracks and facilites. What you like and don't like so that you can alter what you need at each place, and determine where you want your $ and time to go.

As you get more days under your belt you may want to refine so that you can spend your hard earned cash at places you enjoy the most, and which can teach you the most. it is very easy to just go to a few places because they're the most fun. But the others have plenty to teach too. VIR Patriot and South come to mind.

Come say hi if we're at the same days! I stick to CMP, VIR, Road Atlanta, primarily.
 

rpm894

Member
This was basically my first full season too. I ended up doing around 32 days with N2. I set out thinking I would stay somewhat local; now I'll drive 12 hours to Barber without hesitation.

Constantly learning new tracks was actually very helpful in getting faster, and it was just fun. I don't think trying new tracks will hold you back at all. So if you are limited on the number of weekends you can do, consider getting out to at least some new tracks. The few extra hours in the car aren't much in the bigger picture.
 

DHak20

New Member
Congrats on spending your kids inheritance. :)

I used to travel better than I do now, so now I stick to within 4 hours from home.

I'd recommend going to as many tracks as you are able. Enjoy it while you can! Take good notes not only about your riding technique and bike setup, but about the tracks and facilites. What you like and don't like so that you can alter what you need at each place, and determine where you want your $ and time to go.

As you get more days under your belt you may want to refine so that you can spend your hard earned cash at places you enjoy the most, and which can teach you the most. it is very easy to just go to a few places because they're the most fun. But the others have plenty to teach too. VIR Patriot and South come to mind.

Come say hi if we're at the same days! I stick to CMP, VIR, Road Atlanta, primarily.
Thanks Brad! This was the kind of info I was looking for, especially little things like taking notes about facilities.
 

DHak20

New Member
This was basically my first full season too. I ended up doing around 32 days with N2. I set out thinking I would stay somewhat local; now I'll drive 12 hours to Barber without hesitation.

Constantly learning new tracks was actually very helpful in getting faster, and it was just fun. I don't think trying new tracks will hold you back at all. So if you are limited on the number of weekends you can do, consider getting out to at least some new tracks. The few extra hours in the car aren't much in the bigger picture.
If work allowed the time to go more than 6 hours I would with out hesitation. The fact I do not really have to take time off to go to Pitt makes that one a no brainer but getting to the track early enough to get set up for the morning means taking time off if I travel more than 4 hours. I can bookend a couple of weekends to go further but have been weighing the ROI hence the post. After seeing the responses I'm thinking maybe one long trip (over 6 hours), one medium (6 hours) and the rest local or as local as I can get. Thanks for the insight!
 
The main point to the novel I just wrote was how do you pick dates/tracks?

I just schedule all the N2, PRE, my own club and YCRS school dates on my calendar and then go to whatever I can afford with reference to time and money. I’m not rich nor have unusual amounts of time off but by scheduling everything, opportunities materialize that otherwise may go undiscovered. I only look for EvolveGT dates if my calendar is hitting a dry spell.

I also plug in all the MotoAmerica race dates. It worked out last year (twice) I rode the track the week before a MA race. That’s undeniably satisfying, much like being a kid and sneaking big blasts of whipped cream out of the spray can.
 

DHak20

New Member
I just schedule all the N2, PRE, my own club and YCRS school dates on my calendar and then go to whatever I can afford with reference to time and money. I’m not rich nor have unusual amounts of time off but by scheduling everything, opportunities materialize that otherwise may go undiscovered. I only look for EvolveGT dates if my calendar is hitting a dry spell.

I also plug in all the MotoAmerica race dates. It worked out last year (twice) I rode the track the week before a MA race. That’s undeniably satisfying, much like being a kid and sneaking big blasts of whipped cream out of the spray can.
I have a spreadsheet going with dates, travel time, gas, etc. (I'm a Ops guy). Once I figure out my last 1-2 dates I will enter into my outlook calendar and not so patiently wait for spring. N2 is where it is at for sure, I always hit it off with the people in the paddock next to me. and have learned so much regarding how to travel, set-up as well as the on track stuff. It is a little more sink or swim at Evolve but I have had nothing but positive experiences with them. With out learning the ropes with N2 it would have been a little harder to hit the ground running at their events.
 

GeorgeB

GeorgeB
Control Rider
Like someone said Pocono FUSA was fun back in the day but not many run it anymore. Other Pocono tracks are ok but it is pavement inside a oval. I live 45 minutes from Pocono but I drive to all the other tracks
 

DZ_714

Control Rider
Last year was my first season going to the track and I got the bug pretty bad. The first Saturday at Pitt led to staying Sunday and 10 track days later I have new pick up and toy hauler along with a new ZX-6R.

I obviously spent a ton of money on my new hobby upfront but want to budget this year. I am choosing dates and tracks now hoping I can stick to to 7 weekends going Sat/Sun. I did Pitt 3-4 weekends last year and loved it, I also went to NJMP for a weekend (I hated it for the first 2 sessions but really warmed up to it). The differences between the two tracks was dramatic to say the least but I felt like going to NJ made me a better rider. The flat and off camber corners (along with the bumps) at NJ made Pitt feel like a roller coaster with tracks, my bike didn't slide around nearly as much or I didn't notice it.

I plan on going back to Pitt (4.5 hours) 4 times and NJ (6.5 hours) twice and was thinking about attending a track day with Evolve GT at Pocono raceway (4 hours) in June since it is the closest track to my house but I figured it would be flat similar to NJ making it redundant. Does anyone have input on Pocono? The new pavement at NJ makes me lean towards NJ but riding a new track....especially Pocono is intriguing.

The main point to the novel I just wrote was how do you pick dates/tracks? Do you go as many weekends as possible to tracks closer or do you prefer 3-4 weekends at 3-4 different tracks? VIR/Pitt/NJ/CMP. I want to progress as a rider and ride as much as possible but also want to try new tracks.
Yep, full on addiction just many of us...

Anyways, this is just my personal take on it so take it with a grain of salt. I'm in no way claiming that this is "the correct opinion" by any means.

I mostly ride the tracks that are within ~5 hrs of me. They also happen to make up a big portion of the N2 schedule as well as CCS race events in my region (summit, NJMP, Pitt, Ncbike). So those are my most frequented tracks. That's a nice little track/race bubble to be in. Those 4 tracks in particular have enough variety among them to teach a lot. It's more than enough variety to learn to go "fast" in my opinion. Usually, when I get faster on one of them, it translates to the next. Most likely because I'm working on a skill and I just carry that over to the next track. So really, if you know how to go "fast", you can take those skills to any track and be up to a decent pace within minutes. Just a matter of learning the layout and picking reference points. (Obviously, the more reps on a track, the faster you'll be on it, but you get my point).

I do go further away (Nelson ledges, Roebling, VIR, CMP, etc..) when the occasion calls for it. It's definitely fun to try new tracks. But I'll only take the 8+ hr trips a couple times a year. I'd rather save the $$ for more seat time at tracks I actually race at than spend more $$ to go further but get out there less frequently as a result. If money and time were no object, I would be going to ALL of THEM.
 
Top