2011 points event 1, Sanford

ChrisSuich · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:21 pm

A few short and to the point comments without rehashing the obvious.

Liked the course. That was a fast 55ish second course. Thanks for that.

Music and volume can be easily be controlled by VP's. Someone need to let them know if it's too loud.

Wireless timer?? There is a new 1000' (or was it 500') spool of continuous red timer wire in the trailer just for the purpose of having finish far away from the bus.

JamesShort · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:23 pm

Ryan Holton wrote:

JamesShort wrote:

At least it drowned out that <ying ying ying ying ying ying ying> from that red CRX that was out there

.

I dare say my STS CRX is one of the quieter ones you will find. I just can't put up with that loud ass ricer sound in my advanced years :stick:

No doubt it is. It was a joke about the 'mice'

.

Chris, is Keith's car ok? What happened?

JenniferBedell · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:39 pm

JohnByers wrote:

1) Considering I'm crazy enough to drive to all the events from Wilmington, I left wilmington at 5 am, drew the two/four work/run and ran my last run @ 645. I had almost forgot the course by the time I ran :lol:

For days that are going to be really long, I know it would slow things down a little, but a 15-minute break for a course walk before the last two heats might be worth it. When everyone can run by 2:00, it's no big deal. When folks are just getting in the car at 5:00, the seven intervening hours since the course walk add a whole new challenge.

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:40 pm

ChrisSuich wrote:

Wireless timer?? There is a new 1000' (or was it 500') spool of continuous red timer wire in the trailer just for the purpose of having finish far away from the bus.

Hmmmmmm..............forgot about that but also makes the issue with seeing the timer worse.

ChrisSuich · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:49 pm

JamesShort wrote:

Ryan Holton wrote:

JamesShort wrote:

At least it drowned out that <ying ying ying ying ying ying ying> from that red CRX that was out there

.

I dare say my STS CRX is one of the quieter ones you will find. I just can't put up with that loud ass ricer sound in my advanced years :stick:

No doubt it is. It was a joke about the 'mice'

.

Chris, is Keith's car ok? What happened?

It will be. The right front brake hose got cut by rubbing on inside if rim. It failed during his run right at the turn-around. A better place to happen I suppose than other locations. :shock:

He has run these 15" rims before, but the brake hose wiggled in the grommet since last AutoX and allowed more hose between strut and caliper. Neither of us thought to check the clearance. Lesson learned. :oops:

Keith Strassel · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:15 pm

Kevin Allen wrote:

Yeah, I didn't like the music either. It wasn't bad music, and it wasn't that it was present, it was just too damn loud. I don't like having to yell at people all day to be heard, or having to say "what?" so much. Turn the volume down a little next time..

If it's too loud you're too old. :lol:

Seriously though, no problem, all you had to do was ask. I'll pay better attention to levels next time.

RobLupella wrote:

MarcusMcRae wrote:

JamesShort wrote:

7. Music playing on the speakers around the bus/grid and the pits is great (and you still get to hear Bernie's vette over it as well

).

I really hated the music. Just noise to add to the noise. If I want to hear music, I'll put on my headphones. It was really irritating having to hear that in the pits.

Thanks to everyone for a great day. It was long but still fun.

I agree with this. We were parked by the speaker. If I spent more time in the pits I would have kilt it. :thumbsdown:

Unfortunately this will most always be a problem for those pitted near the remote PA. If I can get on site early enough to put it where no one has parked yet, then in can be a "pit at you own risk" thing.
The remote speakers are loud and can be grating.
With this new PA I can control the mix to the transmitter independently from the bus mix. I'll really turn down any music feed to the transmitter from now on.

As for the event, I really enjoyed the 1.5 runs I was able to take. The course was fun and was easy to read at speed which was great for my short attention span and short term memory

Good Job!

I do agree thatwe should not have entry caps. It appears as if everyone's ideas and hard work to get new people out worked; and we can't turn them away. Unfortunately really long days for 4 mins or fun might just not appeal to those that aren't hooked yet. I know it took some convincing for me to think it was worth it. The social aspect was appealing.

Right now there is no way for people contemplating the club to communicate their experiences.
Could we open a Noob forum or something to get some feedback from non-members?
Of course I'm hoping that something like that would be a way for folks to offer constructive criticism... but we know how that can end up.

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2011 10:23 pm

Wow, 160+ drivers. I assume that was an all-time record for a typical THSCC autox? I was down in Atlanta the past week, and on Sunday, Jackie and I ran with the SCCA Atlanta club at Turner Field (wonderful course btw). They typically have around 170-180 drivers (used to be over 200) at each event, and they split the event into morning and afternoon sessions (you know ahead of time which session you'll be in, and they alternate with each event, by class, so it evens out through the year). If we continue with 160+ drivers and no caps, we will probably have to rethink how this is going to work (especially during hot/humid summer events) along with need for more volunteers to help admin it all.

BTW, they use motorsportreg.com to handle registration and payment, and it was quick and easy. Also, the prior discussion about driver's meetings, etc, was interesting since they hold no driver's meeting. We were discussing that on Sunday and trying to remember if they had them in the recent past but couldn't. They have a strong novice education program however including a "novice taxi" car, so I assume they indoctrinate novices well.

Maria Winslow · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:03 am

Gwen Baake wrote:

JamesShort wrote:

Just wondering, does anyone know all the people who were taking pictures? I saw at least 3 people out there with half decent DSLRs with some nice glass (guy with the 300mm L glass

).

I think Maria Winslow knows the guy with the OMG lens.

Yes, those guys are high school friends of mine. If you're my friend on FB, you've seen pictures, otherwise, you suck.

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

My take on the items that matter to me:

1) Let's wait an event or two to see if the increased attendance continues. The next event is at Laurinburg, and I doubt we'll draw as many walk-ups. In the meantime, let's plan courses with large fields in mind.

2) I never want to suffer through another T&S shift at Sanford when there's a 25 second overlap. With 4 cars on course, the radio chatter is indecipherable, and it's generally hard to keep up with things.

3) For big fields - two grid workers - one for 2-driver cars and one for the rest. Just give each a clipboard and a copy of the entry list, and they can use hand signals, mirrors, little flags, flare guns or a second pair of radios to coordinate things.

4) No cars parked in the grass in the bus / grid area during the heats. If the grass is really dry like yesterday, then not afterwards either. (I've only seen one case of a car setting the grass on fire at our events, and let's keep it that way) There should be room for A/X VPs or event chairs to park a couple of cars on the pavement near the bus if that's needed.

5) Music in the pits. I sort of liked it, and sort of didn't. I thought it was too loud. but unlike Lupella, I wasn't wearing a kilt, so I couldn't do anything about it. Regarding content, why no "Little Deuce Coupe", "She's So Fine, My 409" or "Deadman's Curve"?

6) I enjoyed the course. It seems that since I moved up to ABS, there's been a dearth of pivot turns with fast approaches. It's like our course designers collectively said "$^@&#$&!! If we can't make Art cord another brand new R-comp on his first run, then let's just put some wiggles out there and call it done."

Maria Winslow · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:24 am

As per number four, I was so busy yesterday that if I hadn't parked next to the bus, I would never have had a bathroom break. I know from last year that this will get easier through the season... but I vote for the third potty to be near the bus! Just being realistic here...

Arthur McDonald wrote:

My take on the items that matter to me:

1) Let's wait an event or two to see if the increased attendance continues. The next event is at Laurinburg, and I doubt we'll draw as many walk-ups. In the meantime, let's plan courses with large fields in mind.

2) I never want to suffer through another T&S shift at Sanford when there's a 25 second overlap. With 4 cars on course, the radio chatter is indecipherable, and it's generally hard to keep up with things.

3) For big fields - two grid workers - one for 2-driver cars and one for the rest. Just give each a clipboard and a copy of the entry list, and they can use hand signals, mirrors, little flags, flare guns or a second pair of radios to coordinate things.

4) No cars parked in the grass in the bus / grid area during the heats. If the grass is really dry like yesterday, then not afterwards either. (I've only seen one case of a car setting the grass on fire at our events, and let's keep it that way) There should be room for A/X VPs or event chairs to park a couple of cars on the pavement near the bus if that's needed.

5) Music in the pits. I sort of liked it, and sort of didn't. I thought it was too loud. but unlike Lupella, I wasn't wearing a kilt, so I couldn't do anything about it. Regarding content, why no "Little Deuce Coupe", "She's So Fine, My 409" or "Deadman's Curve"?

6) I enjoyed the course. It seems that since I moved up to ABS, there's been a dearth of pivot turns with fast approaches. It's like our course designers collectively said
"$^@&#$&!! If we can't make Art cord another brand new R-comp on his first run, then let's just put some wiggles out there and call it done."

Graham Jagger · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:53 am **Posts:** 1718

First off thanks to Liz and Kevin and the rest of you who put on the events. I know how painful it is, especially if it is a long day. I think you guys/gals did just fine. I enjoyed it. It really did run quite smooth overall. At least from a spectator view point.

Well this was my first event in like 3 years or something. Holy Crap! I was at the site almost 12 hours! Had a 2 hour work shift easily and waited 10 hours to run. I figured you all did that to pay me back for suggesting 1/2 day events and paying people to work my shift... :lol:

I'll bet some of you are now thinking that may not be so bad... My offer still stands to pay anyones entry fee to do my work shift.

Seriously that is just too much. I'll bet many of those Novices who ran 3rd and 4th heat won't be so quick to come back if they think this is how it normally goes. So don't worry about entry caps so much. I'll bet this was a fluke. Weather, proximity to Raleigh, start of season, etc... Next event is Laurinburg. If not for the Novice school I'll be surprised if you can't get 100 people down there. Cost for travel, the site condition, etc. is going to change things. Danville will get a decent turnout because there is a club up there that will jump in on our events.

The PA in the pits so people can hear announcements is great. You could even do the drivers meeting as a "virtual one' if you had speakers in pit and near the course. Forget the music on the PA system. It was loud and annoying. We all have cars with radios and/or ipods etc.. Except maybe the shifter kart...

The overlap was the obvious killer on time. Having slid the whole course down and having the crossover enter closer to the turnaround. That might have left close the same course but better overlap. Just a guess.

The course was fun and not too bad to follow or read at speed. I'm rusty and missed the double gate on my first run. I'm sure I wasn't looking far enough ahead. I worked at what was labeled Station #3. Down at the turnaround. There were a lot of novices who messed that up and DNF'd it. They were trying to use the entry cones as the turnaround instead of the next set that were the actual turnaround. When coming up the course. On the left side where the slalom ended with 2 gates to stay left before making the big right across the runway to shoot down to the turnaround. That screwed up a lot of people, not just novices. We saw a lot DNF that because they continued to slalom when they should have stayed out. Not a criticism of the course. Just some didn't know where they were screwing up and did the same mistake repeatedly. If you DNF on run group 2. That is most likely where.

Not seeing the timer and requiring yet another position to hand out times is more overhead. That includes creating 2 grid worker jobs. Even more overhead. All well and good when you have a ton of bodies. Since that is a fluke. I'd say fix the system. Including that wireless we paid so much for.

I'm rusty, driving a Miata is interesting, kinda cramped in there, light and nimble, quick steering, no power, no ABS. Should be a fun season. Hopefully I'll make 3 or 4 events.

Btw, Talked to Dustin and checked out the new bus. Looks like a solid improvement for safety for the driver and the club. Good deal.

Graham

JamesShort · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:23 am

Arthur McDonald wrote:

1) Let's wait an event or two to see if the increased attendance continues. The next event is at Laurinburg, and I doubt we'll draw as many walk-ups. In the meantime, let's plan courses with large fields in mind.

I agree with this. We will not hit the cap at Lburg and the next event is Danville. Let's just play it by ear till that event and see how it works out. We should just make sure the overlap is definitely reasonable at Danville in the event we have large turnout.

Quote:

2) I never want to suffer through another T&S shift at Sanford when there's a 25 second overlap. With 4 cars on course, the radio chatter is indecipherable, and it's generally hard to keep up with things.

Thanks for this comment. While the drivers and other support staff were just wanting smaller and smaller overlap, we didn't consider T&S in this regard. This is why I think we need to standardize radio communication <Class> <Number> <Cone call or DNF>. This will hopefully help with repeat communication as people tend to jump the gun as they say things into the radio and hence the first part of the call is cut off. The class is generally not as important as the number and cone call. Even if the number is cut off, T&S can probably figure out who is on course (not that they should need to), but obviously the most important piece of data is the "plus 1" or DNF. Most of the time when I hear T&S ask for a repeat communication is when the caller says "plus 1 on ST 44" and the "plus 1" was cut off due to speaking as soon as the button was pressed on the radio.

JamesShort · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:32 am

Hmmmm, I found the course to be pretty simple. I was actually really surprised to see the number of DNFs. Kevin drew a good course map. I do agree that the turnaround was busy with cones. There were effectively two gates, one after the other that were just 'drive though the middle of us' and then the turn around. One of those gates could have been taken away and the course would be the same and hopefully reduced confusion.

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:34 am

JamesShort wrote:

Thanks for this comment. While the drivers and other support staff were just wanting smaller and smaller overlap, we didn't consider T&S in this regard. This is why I think we need to standardize radio communication <Class> <Number> <Cone call or DNF>. This will hopefully help with repeat communication as people tend to jump the gun as they say things into the radio and hence the first part of the call is cut off. The class is generally not as important as the number and cone call. Even if the number is cut off, T&S can probably figure out who is on course (not that they should need to), but obviously the most important piece of data is the "plus 1" or DNF. Most of the time when I hear T&S ask for a repeat communication is when the caller says "plus 1 on ST 44" and the "plus 1" was cut off due to speaking as soon as the button was pressed on the radio.

FWIW, at the Atlanta SCCA events, they have "corner captains" who are trusted club members that head up each worker station and manage the radio. This might be a good idea to adopt for our club as opposed to just giving the radio to whoever gets there first, etc. If we have experienced people using the radios, the T&S job will be much easier and more accurate. It would be the corner captain's job to review with any novices the cone rules, where to stand, how to mange themselves while working, etc, also.

Stephen Westerfield · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:49 am

JamesShort wrote:

The class is generally not as important as the number and cone call. Even if the number is cut off, T&S can probably figure out who is on course (not that they should need to), but obviously the most important piece of data is the "plus 1" or DNF.

I'm going to disagree on that one, we really need the class AND number along with the penalty. I'd rather not leave that for T&S to just figure out. This weekend, every single run, BSP 63 and ESP 63 ran one after the other. Without them getting the class right on calls, we wouldn't have had a clue.

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