Track Night in America Returns

Brian in the NMS BMW at TNiA at CMP

One of the easiest ways for YOU to get on TRACK with YOUR car, is the Track Night in America (TNiA) program from the fine folks at the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA.) While I won't try to squeeze two acronyms into every sentence, I can tell you that this is a fun way to do a little driving on track without breaking the bank or taking up an entire weekend. 

The idea of these events is to give more drivers a good experience on track for the first time. To do that, you'll see TNiA events scheduled during the week in the late afternoon, so that you can maybe take half a day off work and drive on track with just a little bit of guidance. It's NOT racing, it's NOT competitive, it's 100% meant to be a fun introduction to driving on a track. 

In 150 events at 30 tracks across the country (well, ok, maybe not in Hawaii and Alaska) there is likely one near you. You can learn more about the SCCA and specifically TNiA at this link: TNiA CLICK ME

Atlanta Motorsports Park, Dawsonville, GA, March 16, April 13, June 8, July 6, August 24, September 21
Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, CA, May 14, June 18, September 10, November 12
Blackhawk Farms Raceway, South Beloit, IL, May 10, June 8, July 13, August 10, September 14
Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, MN, May 27*, September 2*  
Carolina Motorsports Park, Kershaw, SC, April 7, May 19, June 23, October 6
Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, NC, March 15, April 26, June 2, July 7, August 3
Dakota County Technical College, Rosemount, MN, May 6*, June 3*, June 24, July 22*, August 11*, September 16
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL, May 5, May 6, August 4, August 5
Dominion Raceway, Thornburg, VA, May 4, June 2, June 30, August 4, October 6
Eagles Canyon Raceway, Decatur, TX, March 22, May 10, September 13
GingerMan Raceway, South Haven, MI, May 19, June 16, August 11, September 15
Harris Hill Raceway, San Marcos, TX, March 16, April 13, May 4, June 8, September 14, October 12, November 2
Heartland Motorsports Park, Topeka, KS, April 28, May 20, June 16, July 21, August 18, September 20, October 13
High Plains Raceway, Deer Trail, CO, June 22, August 24
Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, CT, June 8, June 9, August 11, September 16
Memphis International Raceway, Millington, TN, TBD
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA, May 5, May 19*, June 21, July 22
MotorSport Ranch, Cresson, TX, April 12, June 7, October 11
Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, TN, April 27, July 28
Nelson Ledges Road Course, Garrettsville, OH, May 20, June 22, July 13, August 10
New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, NH, May 12, August 4
New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, NJ, April 27, May 25, June 22, July 20, August 17, September 21
NOLA Motorsports Park, Avondale, LA, April 7, October 13
Palm Beach International Raceway, Jupiter, FL, February 8, March 8, April 12, May 24, September 13, October 11, November 15
Palmer Motorsports Park, Ware, MA, June 16, September 8
Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, CO, July 29, September 15
Pittsburgh International Race Complex, Wampum, PA, April 26, May 10, June 1, June 29, July 27, August 26, September 20, October 12
Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, PA, April 21, May 17, June 14, July 7, August 10, September 15
Portland International Raceway, Portland, OR, April 15, May 3, May 27, July 5, August 2
Ridge Motorsports Park, Shelton, WA, April 28, May 26, June 14, July 12, August 8, September 20
Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, FL, April 1, June 16, October 27
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson, CT, April 19, May 5, May 24, June 30, July 11, July 26, August 9, August 30, September 22, October 12
Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows, CA, March 17, April 21, May 12, June 9, August 25, September 29
VIRginia International Raceway, Alton, VA, August 18, September 1

Interstate Driving

Over the holidays I had the joy of driving on various Interstate highways in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. To state the obvious, the word "Interstate" means "between the states." In the USA, it also means "I'm just gonna drive in the left lane because I want to," and "I'll just pass you on the right because I want to!" I really like driving, even long stretches on the highway. However, the lack of good driving out there can just about make me think that we need some more driver education in this country!

In my fantasy world, I'd name it a country that rhymes with "Germany," the drivers all seem to follow the rules, and only get in the left lane to pass. On top of that, some of the stretches of highway in my fantasy world would also have no speed limits! Yeah, there's no way that could possibly work, but a guy can dream can't he?

Closer to home, I've observed that in the many places I've lived that the local drivers may not be the best, but I must say that where I live now probably has the WORST drivers on this particular planet. I'm being generous here, because the drivers on the local roads are quite likely the worst in the solar system, but I haven't personally observed the drivers on Uranus, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. At our house we joke that the stop signs and the center lines on the roads are only "guidelines" and not anything to worry about too much. 

The drivers are so bad, that once in a while I'll observe another driver at a 4 way stop that has also picked up on this fact, and even if we both get to the stop signs at the same time, we'll both just sit and wait for the other guy to go, just to be safe. Heck, even if the other guy clearly gets to a 4 way stop ahead of me, the smart driver in the other car sometimes will of course be assuming that I'M the bad driver about to blow through the stop sign, so even Mr.-I-Got-Here-First will wait on ME! The nerve of some people! 

On the Interstate or around your local town, I think we're all looking for the "other guy" to be predictable, obey the rules of the road, and just maybe be courteous. Say you're driving on a narrow 2 lane residential road and a parked car sticks out into traffic. Under the rules I was taught in Drivers Education, it would be my job to stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear before I would even DREAM about crossing the center line to keep moving on down the road. It kind of makes sense, but around where I live, you better assume that no one is slowing down for anything, so the oncoming cars just hop into my lane all the time. Even a bus did it to me last night. My quick calculation of the laws of physics told me that even if I SHOULN'T move out of the way of a big bus in MY LANE, it might be practical to get out of the way. Something about large four wheels busses in motion tending to remain in motion, or something like that. 

Hey, we're all on the same planet, so let's drive safely out there, OK?

NMS 2022 Schedule Update

The Purple Miata Races Again!

The NMS-South AND NMS-North drivers have announced that they will combine to be in the same race this year, at the 24 Hours of Lemons race in April at Carolina Motorsports Park. In addition to racing on Saturday and Sunday, one very unique thing about this race is the Friday night Block Party in Camden SC, where all the competitors will drive their cars into downtown to generally hang out and trash talk about the upcoming racing over the next two days. Oh it's a party, make no mistake about this! If you live anywhere near Camden SC, we recommend you check it out! More info at the official 24 Hours of Lemons website: LEMONS CMP

I'm really looking forward to this opportunity to drive in Lemons for only the 2nd time, this go round in the Bunch of Idiots Miata. Team manager Brian Nixon states that it is likely that the car will run, will having charged radio batteries, and unlike my first Lemons Race, just might NOT have a fuel leak and fumes that I still claim did NOT make me drive faster!

Our schedule for the weekend looks like this: 

FRIDAY: Cars get tech inspection, and then there will be some time to practice on track. That should be a good thing for me, since I haven't been in this particular car, while the rest of the team are very experienced in Miatas. In the evening, the cars head for Camden and parade into town, park downtown, and then enjoy the Block Party. 

SATURDAY: 9AM Drivers meeting, just a reminder to drive safe mostly. At 9:30AM the cars go to grid, and at some point get on track to warm up for the running start at 10AM. Racing this first day goes from 10AM-6PM. Each team will be planning their pit stops for fuel and driver changes, and hopefully keeping the car on track as much as possible. 

SUNDAY: At CMP there's usually a quiet hour on Sunday, so racing will run from 9AM-11AM, then a quiet hour, and racing again from noon to 4:30PM. That two hour stint on Sunday morning usually works great for a Miata that can run 2 hours on one tank of gas. 

As you might have noticed, this race is NOT 24 hours straight, but the Lemons folks keep the 24 Hours name just for the heck of it. That's only one small part of the wacky sense of humor that surrounds these events, right along with funny themed cars, hilarious driver penalties for any infringements on track, and that the prize money to the class winners is always paid in boxes of nickels. The Bunch of Idiots have experienced this first hand, when their Dodge Coronet took 1st Place in Class C at CMP a few years ago, and sure enough they walked away with $600 in nickels!