Early call to arms ... er ... hands.

[Dan Chambers]

Hi everyone:

I know the QDE is a still a few weeks off, but I want to start the idea of voluteering early.

The A-X team really wants to encourage morning and evening volunteers for throwing the track in the AM and loading the trailer at the end of the day on Sunday, July 25th.

The more hands we have, the sooner we'll "go hot" Sunday morning, so please consider coming down a bit earlier than usual to help out. And, since we'll have paid corner workers, a little help in the AM or PM is all the work you'll need to do for a full day of driving.

We now have a 'punch-list' of tasks that need to be completed, so there's no standing around trying to figure out what to do next. Just come on down, give a little help, and enjoy a whole lot of seat time. (From the sounds of it, Gary has designed a really great track again!) .... I hope Carl and Martin have new tires!

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

[Mike]

Dano, I'll be there Sunday morning to help throw cones and if asked smooth out leftover AX kinks.

[Dan Chambers]

Great, Mike!

Thanks for making the commitment. We're always grateful for a little extra help from the participants.

I must say, we've missed the driving, and the smack-talk, of the AM crew this spring. I've always enjoyed the driving and the competition of you, Dan A., Curt A., Lewis, and the other characters in your class.

The weekend of 7/24-25 will really be fun, and with no big track events until Spring Mountain in the fall, I'm sure it will bring out some drivers we haven't seen a lot of at the Q this year.

One bit of news, at the meeting with the Stadium people last month, we were asked by the man in charge of maintenance and repairs what areas of the parking lot pavement need improvement/repairs. The guys from the SCCA and BMW clubs agreed with us on several areas that need patching. So with some hope, we'll have some of the bigger 'obsticles' fixed for our track designs

I'll have the coffee ready. See you then!

[gulf911]

You make that coffee and a Krispy Kreme and I'll do what I can to get there early also!

[kary]

Dan C,

Do you think we can create a DE track that is not so abusive on the cars, specifically the swale? I stopped doing stadium DE's because the swales were placed at high speed sections of the track that bent one of my wheels. Can we avoid this?

[Mike]

Kary what does Drinky Winky have in the red bag?
Your avatar carries her/his altered self very well.
Certainly the QDE track designers
would never want for it to remain dissatisfied.

I'm a big fan of fast 2nd gear turns of 90 degrees or less.
Dano your QDE track a year and half ago before the CFoS DE was fun.

[Gary Burch]

The swale crossing is a big issue at the Q. We have been trying to do it in a safe and stable manner. Unfortunately, it has gotten worse and the lot has some pavement issues. The track adjusts to the pavement and for this QDE I think we will avoid The swale altogether

Hope to see you there.

[kary]

Mike, not sure what is in the bag actually, nor do I care as I did not post the avatar.

I agree with your assessment and preferences about turns though!

[kary]

Gary, thanks for the reply. I know for my years of designing and laying out tracks the stadium parking lot can be a real PIA. I have seen some DE tracks that had high speed turning that were done on the swale closest to the trolley and the swale nearest to the inner fence (toward the opposite end) were used along a straight high speed section without much of an aproach angle. Both yield huge hits in their own ways to the car (wheels and suspension) that do not provide much in the way of longevity to car parts. I apprecaite your response and concern about avoiding such issues. I know many I have spoken to have the same concerns as I do.

Thanks!

[Dan Chambers]

Kary:

Gary is right. Our biggest challange has been the swale crossings at the faster events, like QDE's. I've noticed you haven't really been to too many events since Gary and I started A-X's. I wanted to point out one very important design concept Carl Scragg enlightened us to, that you may have missed in the last year and a half's absence.

Low angle, slow-approach crossings have been the rule since early 2003. If you review our designs, and if you had the fortune of driving our recent events, you'd have seen a tight chicane before the crossings, and usually an approach angle not exceeding 30-degrees. These two factors, we've found, greatly reduce the abuses the swale have caused in the past. (Note: We have been using the same course design for the PDS, but that is a course, and a program, managed by the CDI's. I personally don't like the crossings at the PDS course and encourage my students to come to almost a complete stop prior to the crossings, but that's another matter.)

There have been some grumblings about the courses being too tight or too slow in the last year and a half. The reason the course is slow ... obviously .... is to prevent damage and abuse at the swale crossings, and reduce speeds at high-risk, and statistically high-incedent areas of the parking lot. Fortunately, we haven't heard a lot of complaints and grumblings about damage to cars caused by fast swale crossings; nor excessive flat-spotting of tires due to big spins. With the newer approach to design, damage issues appear to be a mute point.

So, I think it's safe to say our QDE courses will incorporate very cautious swale crossings, or as Gary eluded to, none at all. I strongly encourage you to come out and enjoy the day. It will be a great weekend of driving.

[Dan Chambers]

Dan A:

I'll be sure to have the coffee there, hot and plentiful. As for the Krispy Kremes .... if you show-up early enough, you just might be in for a surprise Bring your cone-throwing gloves.

See you there.