Random Thoughts - Part III The Search for Spark (No Politics)

[86-75309]

Is BlackHawk Farms Raceway still in business? It's in the Beloit area.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by soundman98

one of my coworkers has a Focus RS--about a year ago, traded his Focus ST in for it. horsepower addict. takes it to the local 1/4 mile occasionally and then brags about all the cars he beats... on the way back from the job the other day, we started talking about how he'd like to take it to some race tracks.

so i started talking how with our location, all the tracks are 3-4 hours minimum away, so even a single saturday event is really a 2.5/3-day haul with 2 hotel stays, pre-planning, and at that distance, really need to trailer the car in/out in case something stupid breaks.

then i said "well, you know a lot of track guys say to never take a car to the track you can live without, just in case you wreck it, as regular insurance doesn't cover any track incidents"

and he goes silent...

That is how far 3 of the 4 tracks I go to tracks are and I do them in one day trips. It takes some preplanning and setup ahead of time. Usually load the car and stuff the night before. Up at about 3:30 am, leave town by 4, pull in around 7-7:30. On the way home I usually take it easy. Stop and actually sit down for a meal, even if it sitting on the tailgate of the truck. Typically get home around 10:30 or 11pm.

[Kiske]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

Where do they find the musical guests for Saturday Night Live? I couldn't find acts that shitty if I tried.

The artist's label pays SNL so they can preform on the show to tie in with their musical talent/guest's upcoming release or tour.

A music studio with an already established popular talent will not need to do this... which is why you don't have many 'big' artists on SNL.

There are a few exceptions to this such as Taylor Swift whom has been well received during past performances, and thus was invited back multiple times. But for the most part it is all to make money and promote up-and-comers.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

A friend of mine spent some time at a US Base in (I think) Kuwait during the Iraq War. He said the food was barely recognizable as such.

And yet, in the Navy, we always ate well. Wasn't five-star dining but we never went hungry unless it was on purpose.

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

And yet, in the Navy, we always ate well. Wasn't five-star dining but we never went hungry unless it was on purpose.

When my oldest son was in Afghanistan, when they went "hunting", they would be so far from anything that they would buy goats from the locals and butcher them. I think that is why he lost so much weight on that tour.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by cjd

Is Autobahn that far from you? There are scca hpde events there (hopefully we'll get some evenings for tracksprints too).

autobahn is about an hour-- thought it was further.

i was there once as part of a dodge dealer showcase day--the owner of the dodge dealer my brother works at has a house just off the track. my brother drove on the track in a challenger, i was passenger. follow the leader style format. was something like 4 laps on the smaller part of the main course. he was flagged the entire time for going too slow. and he was pushing about as hard as i'd ever dare in a new company-owned car. i actually had a better time on the moderate-speed go kart track--they were something like 40mph karts. even just watching the karts was more entertaining to me than the high speed track.

Originally Posted by 86-75309

Is BlackHawk Farms Raceway still in business? It's in the Beloit area.

they're still there, looks like about 2 hours away.

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

That is how far 3 of the 4 tracks I go to tracks are and I do them in one day trips. It takes some preplanning and setup ahead of time. Usually load the car and stuff the night before. Up at about 3:30 am, leave town by 4, pull in around 7-7:30. On the way home I usually take it easy. Stop and actually sit down for a meal, even if it sitting on the tailgate of the truck. Typically get home around 10:30 or 11pm.

so my biggest problem is that track time is a casual interest. i want to play with the car, and have a little fun, maybe improve my skills as a driver, but the main motivator is to get the car in a better controlled environment--the push is "to take it off the street and go to a track" as everyone parrots. i want somewhere that i can just race around cones at a relatively low speed, get a time, and see if i improved or fell back from my previous time. classes mean nothing, and i've got little interest in altering anything significant about the car. it will never be a track-specific car. and i'm really not interested in large format tracks-- if i get above 3rd gear, it's getting too serious for me.

being a casual interest is where everything falls off the rails.

i've talked to scca guy's and have literally been laughed away for desiring anything less than a fully striped, caged, and track prepped miata--i'm still somewhat sour on scca for it. many local scca clubs seem to require a full 2-day course for beginners last i looked as well. scca just keeps feeling like "go hardcore, or go cry to your mommy". i've got no interest in hardcore.

the struggle is finding something that i can casually do from time to time that just spits out a time. most seem interested in enrolling me in some sort of club/season/hierarchy/class warfare..

[cjd]

Originally Posted by soundman98

the struggle is finding something that i can casually do from time to time that just spits out a time. most seem interested in enrolling me in some sort of club/season/hierarchy/class warfare..

Assuming we're able to get time on the schedule, you might find the TrackSprint events TSSCC puts on close enough - solo time trial sprint style runs, only ~3/4 of the track. Timed, but no lapping and cars should never be in proximity. You can still mess stuff up but I've never gone out of 4th gear... so even speeds are a bit more controlled (certainly slower than the highways around here are at times). Fewer minutes of seat time per $ vs a HPDE by a long shot, but also a reasonable bit less $. It's designed to work for most street cars much like autocross. Or not.

[weederr33]

Originally Posted by 86-75309

Is BlackHawk Farms Raceway still in business? It's in the Beloit area.

Jenny I've got your number
I need to make you mine
Jenny don't change your number

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

A friend of mine spent some time at a US Base in (I think) Kuwait during the Iraq War. He said the food was barely recognizable as such.

I would say that is pretty accurate, even when you're in Garrison.

[spcmafia]

@ichitaka05 Update on PS5s, starting at 9 a.m. PST/ 12 p.m. ES, Walmart will have a restock on PS5s. I believe this is for Walmart+ members which is $12 a month. Do not get the trial version as it won't be eligible for PS5 purchases.
Few tips; be on time. Queue before 9/12 PST/EST and smash that F5 button or refresh on your phone. Have your card details ready and email on hand.

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by spcmafia

@ichitaka05 Update on PS5s, starting at 9 a.m. PST/ 12 p.m. ES, Walmart will have a restock on PS5s. I believe this is for Walmart+ members which is $10 a month.

Yeah, I got the notification on that info. My wife’s cousin’s husband’s cousin (idk wtf would that called lol) gonna take care of it now. I just pay him. So hopefully he can get this one lol

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by ichitaka05

Yeah, I got the notification on that info. My wife’s cousin’s husband’s cousin (idk wtf would that called lol) gonna take care of it now. I just pay him. So hopefully he can get this one lol

I know a guy who knows a guy lol. Good, techradar does a pretty good job too on sending notifications. But by far, hotstock app is very accurate.

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by spcmafia

I know a guy who knows a guy lol. Good, techradar does a pretty good job too on sending notifications. But by far, hotstock app is very accurate.

I did download the HotStock to get the updates!

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by soundman98

so my biggest problem is that track time is a casual interest. i want to play with the car, and have a little fun, maybe improve my skills as a driver, but the main motivator is to get the car in a better controlled environment--the push is "to take it off the street and go to a track" as everyone parrots. i want somewhere that i can just race around cones at a relatively low speed, get a time, and see if i improved or fell back from my previous time. classes mean nothing, and i've got little interest in altering anything significant about the car. it will never be a track-specific car. and i'm really not interested in large format tracks-- if i get above 3rd gear, it's getting too serious for me.

being a casual interest is where everything falls off the rails.

i've talked to scca guy's and have literally been laughed away for desiring anything less than a fully striped, caged, and track prepped miata--i'm still somewhat sour on scca for it. many local scca clubs seem to require a full 2-day course for beginners last i looked as well. scca just keeps feeling like "go hardcore, or go cry to your mommy". i've got no interest in hardcore.

the struggle is finding something that i can casually do from time to time that just spits out a time. most seem interested in enrolling me in some sort of club/season/hierarchy/class warfare..

Maybe check out a skidpad day. They are usually pretty lax and you can just screw around in a controlled environment. There is this autox group about 4 hours south of me. They do their events on a huge go kart track. For like 60 bucks you can do one of their practice days and drive as much as you want, they basically want you to keep it to 3 lap stints due to it being one car at a time but it is a ton of fun. Its a put it in second and leave it there track. Some of the SCCA guys can be pretty stuck up and off putting. I feel pretty lucky to have meet a lot of good people over the years.

https://ssccmedford.org/Track.html