[cupertinosteve]

(please only comment about the event - hopefully the shift s3ctor crew will find this to be an easy place to collect feedback)


First and foremost ... Thanks to Ryan and the Shift-S3ctor crew full putting a great, safe and fun event.

I was only there on Saturday, so my feedback only pertains to what I saw that day. You couldn't have asked for better weather or a nicer runway. The dust took a while to run off, but by the end of the day there were some clear running lines.

Just a few comments:
#1 - It was harder for the outside car to make the turn and line up with inside car if the inside car decides to get to speed sooner than you when you've straighten out. I found myself drifting the turn trying to get square with the inside car (turning and accelerating on the dusty, painted lines causes traction issues). The other problem is that you are really running up into the other car and it feels like you're jumping the gun when you're really trying to make it even.

#2 - Towards the end of the day, I heard more people started to complain about starting up, moving down the line 2-3 cars lengths and then turning off the engine. This would go on for about 30-40 minutes until it was your turn. At the end of the day, myself and others just parked ourselves inline and waited for the line to move ahead about 20 car lengths before we move the line down. No issues here, but those of us in the back of the line felt it was more efficient than just sitting in the car and not watching the cars go by.


A couple recommendations:
- Regarding #1 - it should be the outside car's job to get to speed and the inside car to stay square with the outside car. This is a simple rule of courtesy that should be stated in the driver's meeting. I think it will also allow for more of the races to have even starts.

- Regarding #2 - Do what baseball does …
"You're at bat" - line the cars up straight on the runway - like the trona event.
"You're on deck" - you're close to the starting cars - when those cars take off you can let them get lined up and ready to go
"You're in the hole" - you are staged right behind the cars that are "on deck"

The cars can line up and stack on the access way. The only cars responsible for moving are those next in line to get "in the hole". The rest of the cars can stay, shutdown, cool off or whatever.

I think this will allow you to make more runs per hours and allow people to find match ups faster.

- In the Paddocks - perhaps consider staging areas by horsepower that way its easier to find people to match up with. The place is small enough that "crews" can move between cars and most larger "crews" were sponsors and had their own space anyways.

- Last recommendation - on the access way you can be 3 cars wide. The first two cars width should be used for matching up. If there are two cars there that are side by side, they are matched. If there is no one to the right of the main line, then he's free for a match up. This will leave the 3rd line of cars to be used as an access way for the Shift S3ctor staff - i've seen them run through to get stuff to the staging areas.


I want to make sure that this is taken as positive feedback. I'm very satisfied with the event, I would love to see it even better the next time.

(count me in as one of the first to pre-register for it).

cupertinosteve

[skinrock]

Completely agree with #1. This was my first time, so I was already nervous with getting used to rolling starts, but I rarely had an even launch. The turn made it really hard to gauge, but I think they set it up as best as they could - I think it was more on the drivers to adjust.

[skinrock]

After getting home and reading through this again, I wanted to say I agree with the "paddocks" area idea. But I know a lot of people are with other friends or people they know, and they tend to hang out in groups, so that may not be a widely accepted solution. Plus, people will always sandbag no matter what.

I guess you just have to play it by ear. I had 3 people in my range asking to race, but I never found them again, so almost all of my runs were paired up at the line.

It was a great track, though. And it was good meeting you.

[Sick335]

1. Hard to line up for clean 50+mph roll ons
2. Please better food options next time... At least a taco truck or a little food tent with cold sandwiches, pizza, and maybe some healthy stuff?

[ZooyorQ]

I agree with everything but the paddock categorization by hp. There are always little pods of people who come together but are not in the same brackets. All the other recommendations are solid in my opinion.

I have racing harnesses and a triple disk.. found it very annoying having to drive down there, and leave my car running (its loud and I'm sure it anoyed others as well).. while strapped in etc.. just to move 5 feet every 5 minutes.. I also ran solo more times than not simply because I would drive down by myself in hopes of finding competition only to have someone who already has a race lined up line up next to me then flag me forward when its our time.. indicating they didn't want to race me.

I also agree with the inside vs outside lane.. as a turbo car I prefered the outside lane and when I was outside lane racing someone I always told them to follow my lead as it was easier for them as opposed to me following their lead... the outside lane also gave me a little more runway if I wanted to ride the brakes a little and build boost.

I was at the trona event as a spectator and found this event to be significantly more organized, keep up the good work Shift-S3ctor and I'll see you at the next event!