Track time at Nazareth Speedway

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Ok, so we had some real reservations about going to the track at Nazareth.  After all, road course don't have those nice hard walls to protect spectators.  We almost decided not to come and there had been an unfortunate rumor that the NASA had been cancelled.  Fortunately for us it wasn't!

It was in incredible event and we were sorry we couldn't do both days.  I think there were maybe 15 cars.  They did decide to cancel the races and focus on getting people to learn how to drive it, which probably worked out better.  We ended up with an incredible amount of track time.  Basically they put us into two groups and let us be on the track continuously.   We ended up putting over 300 miles on the car just on this little oval.  This track was perfect for fine tuning some driving techniques and we definitely concluded that it was worth changing the car set up for an oval:  we left ours set up for a road course and the guys who had changed their suspension settings were much faster.

Officials from NASA Tri State had indicated that this track drives like a road course.  We were, well, openly skeptical.  After all, this is a track that runs NASCAR Busch races and Indy cars.  After this test session, we have to agree.  Which makes it all the more amazing that the Indy guys can get around this track in an incredible 18 seconds.  (We did some timing and were doing 44-46 seconds).

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Everyone was very worried that there might be someone who hit the wall.   Sure enough, a little Miata wacked the wall while trying to play in front of Harry.   The picture is at the end of this series and the driver was OK and the car didn't really suffer that much damage.  Still, it was a reminder that this course is one to learn on - not a place to push the limits when it doesn't count.

The NASA guys (and Nazareth track officials for that matter) were incredible.  Very nice.  Helped us get a few pics at start-finish and shared their tips on the track.  This is really an incredible facility.  You can take pictures from the roof of the media building and the classroom is air conditioned!  We certainly intend to be back for this unbelievable track.

Below are links to a couple of the little videos.   The two ones of the Cobra going around the track are about 350KB each to download.   The other two are videos of going around the track from leaving the pit and then one of entering the pits.  Both of these are about 2.6MB.  Since Harry was working the camera (and there is no windshield), the car speed is pretty slow.   Still, you get an idea of what it looks like for the NASCAR guys on these short tracks.  We certainly have new respect for those oval guys!

Cobra on the Track

Cobra Running Strong

Leaving Pits (with Steve's BMW)

Entering the Pits at Nazareth