This page contains all the information you’ll need, to be ready for your track day. There are items you want to do a couple weeks in advance, a day or two before going to the track, during the event, and after you get home. Please read through these and make sure you’re well prepared.
A Week or Two Before the Event
Technical Inspection
In general, a well-maintained street car should be able to drive directly on to the track. But it is important to review your car’s condition before each event, and we do this by requiring you to do a tech inspection and make any necessary repairs to the car before the event. A Car Prep Checklist is available to help you decide what needs to be inspected. You may do the inspection yourself or have a mechanic do it for you. Please inspect the car at least a week before the event, because some of these items could take quite a while to get fixed.
Cars must have numbers displayed on both sides, 8″ tall. Painter’s tape or white shoe polish can be used for the numbers, or better yet, vinyl or magnetic numbers from a local sign shop or online.
Other Useful Stuff to Bring
There is plenty of other stuff you should bring to the track, including:
Depending on weather, a jacket, sunscreen, etc.
Cooler with plenty of water
Cell phone and AAA card
Cash or credit for gas at the track. You’ll likely run through more than a tank of gas at the track, and you should keep it on the full side, anyway.
Racer/painter’s tape to cover your glass headlights and fog lights, front bumpers or other areas you want to protect from rock chips
Log book and pencil
Tire pressure gauge
Small tool kit, Latex or Mechanix gloves
Engine oil, brake fluid, water, or anything else your car tends to use up
A timing device, if you want to monitor your lap times. If you’re participating in our ARC Racing Series or our Chrono Series, we are using the AMB timing system. We have transponders for rent or you may use your own.
One of our members uses this Track Event Checklist to keep track of what he brings – you might take this and adapt it for your track days.
These events will wear you out physically. If you’re new to this, that may be a surprise, but all the attendees will agree – you will be tired by the end of the day! So get a good rest the night before, and keep an eye on your water intake and general well-being while at the track. There will be enough track time, probably more than you want. So skip a session if you feel tired, and certainly pull into the pits if you feel tired on the track. You don’t want to make a mistake on the track!
Day of the Event
Arrival
First, make sure you how to get to the track, and where the pits are. Arrival time should be after the gates open, but about an hour before the morning driver’s meeting. Check the schedule that you will receive via email two weeks prior to the event see what time these are. You’ll typically be stopped on the way through the gates, and asked to sign a waiver that restricts your rights on the track, and protects NCRC and the track owners. Once through the gates, you’ll want to find the pits, which is where you’ll park for the day, and unload your stuff. None of the Northern California tracks are particularly tricky, and you should be able to ask anyone in the area how to get to the pits if you get lost. There’s typically only one event going on at the track, so if you’ve got the right day, you’ll find us (and yes, we’ve had folks show up on the wrong day…).
Pit Area, Preparing your Car
Once you’ve found the pits, find a good place to park, probably along with the rest of the crowd that may already be there. Typically we reserve a separate space for instructors from the drivers, so you might ask if you’ve got a good spot before unloading everything.
We all get into routines for preparing our cars, and it can be very simple for some folks, and complicated for others. Here’s a summary of some items you might do to prepare:
- Put numbers on your car windows or doors
- Change wheels/tires from street to track, and adjust your tire pressures
- Mask off your headlights, turn signals, maybe even the whole nose and fender edges, to protect them from rock chips
- Remove everything loose from the inside of your car. This includes radar detectors, cell phones, handheld cameras, tool kits, everything from the trunk, etc. Loose cloth items (jackets, hats, etc) in a closed trunk are fine.
- Close your sunroof, or lower your convertible top
- Get out your helmet, shoes, gloves
Registration
Normally your registration has been completed in advance of the track day, and you should have received a confirmation email. If you would like to register at the track (assuming there is space), or have questions about the event, feel free to ask them at the registration desk.
Driver’s Meeting – NEW FOR 2020 Season
The driver’s meeting is a mandatory meeting for all Open Track drivers; you will not get a track pass or registration wristband to allow you on the track without attending the driver’s meeting. We’ll run through the logistics of the day, discuss safety and rules, have a talk on the flags, talk about passing zones and the different run groups. The schedule will have different run groups heading out to the track at alternating times throughout the day, corresponding to the color of your wristband.
Driving school students do not have a separate driver’s meeting in the schedule. Instead they have a series of classroom sessions inter-mixed with on-track sessions throughout the day.
ARC racers have a separate race meeting in the late morning. Racers do not need to attend the morning driver’s meeting.
Driving the Track
This is what you’re here for! You should be ready about 5 minutes before the schedule shows. NCRC always runs per the published schedule. Your run group will not be announced in advance over the PA system. 5 minutes before your sessions, you should head down to the hot pits with helmet on and harnesses belted – ready to drive. If you’ve got instruction, make sure you’ve got the instructor with you! You’ll line up in the hot pits and wait for the Track Steward to feed you onto the track. You’ll be asked to show your wristband and will need your track pass on your window, to get on to the track. Drive your first lap as a warm-up lap to get your tires, engine, and brain warmed up. After that, you’re up to speed.
Keep an eye on the flaggers and obey all the rules that pertain to your group, and certainly any flags that are shown. Pull into the pits if you feel tired or lose concentration – you don’t want to make a mistake on the track!
Down Time
Have a good time, and be safe! That’s the main point, of course, and it probably goes without saying. But while you’re not on the track, remember get to any scheduled run group download meetings or classrooms, keeping yourself fed and hydrated, and especially if you’re new to tracking, to keeping an eye on how your brain is working. It’s very easy to get mentally worn out, and to find yourself making small mistakes on the track. If you find you’re missing braking zones or turns, putting a wheel or two off the track, or losing your concentration – come in for a break! These signs are your advance warning that you need some rest, and you want to do it before something worse happens. Skip a session if you feel particularly worn out, there’s plenty of track time.
End of the Day
Hopefully you’ll end the day with no damage to the car, and all you need to do is pack up and head home. Please leave your pit spot free of any trash, as these are our “home” and we need to maintain a good relationship with the tracks. If you do have a car problem during the day, you’ll want to call a tow service quickly so you can get working on getting your car out of the track facility. We will have a tow truck run by the track, and that’s used only to get cars off the track surface itself.
Drive carefully on the way home. You’ll be used to driving very fast, but the speed limits haven’t changed. Typically tracks have a touchy relationship with their neighbors, and we don’t want to cause the track some local trouble by speeding down the community roads.
After the Event
Cleaning up the Car
The car is likely to be a mess after a track event, especially if you had any spins off-track. A good car wash, and vacuuming of the interior will help, and will give you an opportunity to examine the body of the car. You’ll have a lot of brake dust on your wheels, which should be removed quickly. Bug & Tar Remover is great stuff for removing rubber, goo from racer/duct tape, and other markings from the car. Shoe polish can usually be removed from windows with Windex, but you may also need to use a razor blade.
Car Maintenance
Some mechanical service is typically required as well. You should accelerate your oil change schedule (the hotter your engine runs, the sooner the oil degrades), possibly changing it after each event. The brakes should be bled after an event, and the rotors and pads checked for wear and cracks. Check your wheels and suspension for bolt tightness, stress cracks or other damage. Check your wheel bearings as well. Check your tires for wear, and reset pressure back to normal street pressures.
