Track choice for beginner

[Monroetwin]

So, I am trying to choose between Mid-Ohio and NCM Motorsports Park for my free HPDE with NASA. Which track is more beginner friendly? I have some auto-x experience (several years ago) and zero track experience. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Opie]

Mid-O, better track, more fun easier to learn

[Qwimby1]

I haven't driven Mid-O in 20 years and I know there been some changes but I think I can still recommend it as a good introduction track with a lot of interesting wrinkles. Your instructor will show you how to deal with the special little challenges of the jump turn and madness. Be very cautious at 11 entering the carousel. The track surface drops away as you enter (or at least it used to) and you must get your braking done before you go over the lip or there's no stopping. I've seen more than one car in the tire wall there. The front straight begins at the center of the carousel. Every MPH you carry through there stays with you all the way down the straight. The track and facilities were always very well maintained when my group ran it.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Mid-Ohio is my track of choice, mainly due to being closest to me. I don't think it's a difficult track, but it does have quite a bit of elevation changes, blind corners and several tricky areas for a RWD car (particularly accelerating or braking areas with dips or plain downhill, like the dip at the end of the back straight or down the hill into Thunder Alley). On the other hand, these features are what makes it a fun track.
In addition, although it has quite a bit of safety around the track (runoffs, gravel, tire walls), some sections are pretty narrow and don't offer much room for error (Thunder Alley is the main one).
Finally, as it's being used for high downforce car racing some areas are super slick in the wet, necessitating a completely different line (otherwise you're not just slower, but your chance of spinning are much higher).

I'm not sure how NCM stacks up to Mid-Ohio, but it looks to be pretty flat and probably isn't used for a lot of racing so I would guess it would be more forgiving in those aspects. Edit: people that actually drove the NCM track chimed in on it, ignore my unfounded guesses here.

A friend suggests to me to start off in Nelson Ledges, which is again a simpler track, relatively flat and with good runoffs. But as it is twice as far away I opted to take the plunge with Mid-Ohio.

Finally, I also simrace, and running a track (particularly one with blind corners like Mid-Ohio) is very helpful in getting to know the layout of the turns. I use Assetto Corsa, which has a Toyota 86 out of the box and has a couple of mod Mid-Ohio tracks which are fairly close to the real one.

[BigTuna]

I drove NCM as my first track day last year, and Mid-Ohio was my second. They were both great but I found that I preferred Mid-Ohio. NCM has 23 corners, and some of them look similar, so it takes a bit more focus to remember what's coming next and prepare for it. The walls are also not very far away, so that also adds a bit more importance on staying focused. Mid-O has well defined sections that you can really focus on individually. It's also got a lot of runoff in some key areas, so not too much to worry about. Fortunately, it didn't rain while I was at Mid-O, because it's known for being an ice rink if its raining.

That being said, Putnam is the track I would recommend to everyone as a first event. Tons of runoff, very flowing, and no real technical sections. I know you said you've got a free day with NASA, so I'm not sure if that's an option.

Either way you'll have a great time. Honestly, if one is closer to you then that's the one I'd do.

[Monroetwin]

Thanks for all of the feedback! Much appreciated!

[Eric1855]

NCM is not very beginner friendly, IMO, it is a fun track but can be quite intimidating with minimal run off room, high speeds, and some blind corners. Even with driving it a bunch I never feel comfortable going 8/10 let alone 10/10 vs someplace like Putnam Park that is more beginner friendly.

[Monroetwin]

Just booked Mid-Ohio for 8/27/22 for the HPDE Intro course. Can’t wait!

[Cephas]

I've done a ton of laps at Mid-Ohio (though on two wheels), and I adore the place... when it's dry. Tip-toe if it's wet, and even take it easy in the morning sessions as the dew can make some sections shockingly slick.

Also big +1 for Putnam Park, that's where I cut my teeth and it's both extremely beginner friendly, and REALLY challenging to link up a perfect lap.