new autox location in Burlington, NO GO for 2012

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:20 am

JamesShort wrote:

Wooo, that joke whizzed right over your head

.

I guess it did, never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer, only the biggest...

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:24 am

great news! I like the idea of promoting some community-type things, be it supporting the local FD/PD, band booster animal shelter etc etc. Having no overhead re:site rental cost would make it easy to donate a few hundred dollars and keep things going well with the neighbors at the site. I assume it's asphalt? In decent repair, or is it real rough like Lburg's concrete?

edit: is the railroad track elevated? What makes it a barrier? The GMap images don't show much

JamesShort · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:25 am

RodneyWright wrote:

JamesShort wrote:

Wooo, that joke whizzed right over your head

.

I guess it did, never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer, only the biggest...

I guess it's a joke about how at every site we run at, there is a Hardees very close by and James was just pointing it out in his gmap

.

JamesShort · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:26 am

Steven Carter wrote:

great news! I like the idea of promoting some community-type things, be it supporting the local FD/PD, band booster animal shelter etc etc. Having no overhead re:site rental cost would make it easy to donate a few hundred dollars and keep things going well with the neighbors at the site. I assume it's asphalt? In decent repair, or is it real rough like Lburg's concrete?

Asphalt, but due to the fact it was originally for trucks/tractors to load a train with missiles, it's apparently 1' thick asphalt so it's in pretty good shape for being 50+ years old.

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:39 am

JamesShort wrote:

Steven Carter wrote:

great news! I like the idea of promoting some community-type things, be it supporting the local FD/PD, band booster animal shelter etc etc. Having no overhead re:site rental cost would make it easy to donate a few hundred dollars and keep things going well with the neighbors at the site. I assume it's asphalt? In decent repair, or is it real rough like Lburg's concrete?

Asphalt, but due to the fact it was originally for trucks/tractors to load a train with missiles, it's apparently 1' thick asphalt so it's in pretty good shape for being 50+ years old.

Actually having us run there and use the site will help the asphalt last longer by keeping the grass/weeds down.

Win/Win baby!!!

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:40 am

Soooo...if we do the heavy lifting and clean up the site, is it ours/Buick club's to use exclusively for free, or will other groups get access as well? Certainly nothing against any one particular club/group, just trying to gauge how public and neighboring business perception will be if more than one group uses the site. If multiple groups do use it, one "bad actor" could potentially spoil it for the rest of us...

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:53 am

Street view shows a decrepit fence along North Graham Hopedale Road and nothing along Hwy70.

Dimensions are very roughly 560, 650, 675, 600 feet (west side, north side, east, south). The south side is along Hwy70. The old train track is below the diagonal. The diagonal is a bit over 900 feet. From looking at street view, there appears to be a center grass median with light poles -- perhaps the train track runs right in the middle of that?

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:54 am

GREAT!!!

Just for reference does anyone know how it compares with the Triad Park and Ride site across from the Greensboro Coliseum?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1720+West ... 3&t=h&z=17

I guess I could use Google Earth from home to get dimensions :lol:

I ran there Sunday. The site is small but very smooth with no gravel on the course. A nice "two laps around a 30 -45 mph loop course was 27 seconds for my car (should have been 26). Top speed was 55 - 60 with no real straight. If this site is bigger and the pavement is healthy then it sounds really good.

"Assuming" I can get from the paddock/grid to the course across the railroad tracks . . . :lol:

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:05 pm

DickRasmussen wrote:

GREAT!!!

Just for reference does anyone know how it compares with the Triad Park and Ride site across from the Greensboro Coliseum?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1720+West ... 3&t=h&z=17

I guess I could use Google Earth from home to get dimensions :lol:

I ran there Sunday. The site is small but very smooth with no gravel on the course. A nice "two laps around a 30 -45 mph loop course was 27 seconds for my car (should have been 26). Top speed was 55 - 60 with no real straight. If this site is bigger and the pavement is healthy then it sounds really good.

"Assuming" I can get from the paddock/grid to the course across the railroad tracks . . . :lol:

Left side
620x250
Right side
550x280

JamesShort · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:07 pm

Les estimated 6-7 acres on the upper triangle (where we'll drive) and 3-4 acres on the lower triangle (where we'll pit/grid).

JamesShort · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:12 pm

Dick, at both corners of the lot, the tracks are flush with the ground.

JamesShort · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:13 pm

Chuck Branscomb wrote:

Street view shows a decrepit fence along North Graham Hopedale Road and nothing along Hwy70.

Dimensions are very roughly 560, 650, 675, 600 feet (west side, north side, east, south). The south side is along Hwy70. The old train track is below the diagonal. The diagonal is a bit over 900 feet. From looking at street view, there appears to be a center grass median with light poles -- perhaps the train track runs right in the middle of that?

Yes the tracks are raised in the middle and are flush at the ends.

Cash Davidson · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:37 pm

MikeWhitney wrote:

Cool site. Unsolicited advice: That is a very "visible" location -- community management and crowd control should be a top priority. I think you'd want to consider things like having a meeting with town police prior to the event (invite them to come out and run!), maybe hand out flyers to surrounding local businesses (within sight or earshot) introducing the club, and maybe even do some kind of fundraiser at any events held here for a local non-profit (shelter or community development organization) to help keep the location viable. I would think that donating $2-5 per entrant to some feel-good organization might help.

Excellent points, Mike. I'll add some personal experience. I used to run with the SCCA MoHud region and we had a site in downtown Albany, NY. Being such a visable site, people were constantly stopping, spectating, asking questions, etc. To the point we had to assign crowd control as a worker station (someone with people skills) and designate a spectating area. On the upside, it was a huge recruiting tool for gaining new members. And yes we reminded the local police we'd be there before EVERY event. The only trouble we ever had was occasionally someone would park or abandon a car there over the weekend - but that's a course design problem. :lol:

JamesShort · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:40 pm

Cash Davidson wrote:

The only trouble we ever had was occasionally someone would park or abandon a car there over the weekend - but that's a course design problem. :lol:

We sold the old bus, so we can buy these:

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:03 pm

I do want to offer caution on the whole FREE thing. The owner may change his mind, so let's not get too carried away. If we have to pay, so be it. Let's get the first one out of the way and get a reality check and then press forward.

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new autox location in Burlington, NO GO for 2012

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