Colin started this thread back on November 2, 2012 upon the realization that NASA was moving into the Pacific Northwest. I just re-read every post and I must say some of the posts in hindsight are spot on while some seem silly here in early June. Just to clarify where I am at and where I have been, I joined IRDC in 2010 and continue to hold a Senior License. I have raced with both Conference and SCCA and now NASA. I personally choose to race as close to my home in Poulsbo, WA which is pretty much Pacific (still my favorite track) and The Ridge. I may make a trip to Portland or Mission, but limited funds, etc, etc. Since I will continue to run Conference events at Pacific and The Ridge when I can, I have an interest the experience those events provide. So, I do think it appropriate to provide some feedback to my fellow Conference members as to what my NASA experience has been.
Without going into talking much about numbers or classes, other than to say there were over 100 total entries each day at the just concluded event at The Ridge, I saw many familiar faces and a lot of ICSCC stickers. There were 2 race groups. My group A had about 18 cars with 5 Spec Miatas, 1 Honda Challenge car and the rest were Spec911, Pro44 (4 cars) and a few BMW's thrown in for good measure. One flying start. As I understand NASA, if the grid is huge, they utilize split starts rather than creating more run groups. And with 5 Miatas, Toto contingencies kicked in. My son and I received a total of $350 in Toyo Bucks. We have also received a total of $200 in Hawk rebates. The other race group had about the same number of cars. All the rest were HPDE and Time Trial entries. There was even a Drifting group. Only 2 cars, but both Pro Drifting caliber and a real kick to see especially going uphill through the ridge complex. So all in all, a total of 8 "run groups". 20 warmup, 20 qual and 30 race= 70 minutes per day for the W2W entrants. Observations:
1. I never saw a FCY other than the pace lap and there were a couple of on track incidents. Track stayed green with appropriate flags and a hot tow. Racers raced and appropriate safety flags were displayed. Conference would very likely have had a 3 or 4 lap FCY and SCCA would have thrown a black flag.
2. Schedule never got off by more than 5 minutes. With no public address system, race announcements were on FM radio. But, if the schedule says your racing at 11:55, you better be there. I heard the comment "professionally run" from 2 very prominent members of the Northwest racing community.
3. NASA caters to the HPDE enthusiast and provides exceptional instructing and after session debriefing. And they are actively recruiting more instructors. The W2W racer is merely the icing on their cake. And while that cake may only be a two layer cake, at this time, it is going to become bigger. I saw no evidence that NASA is not going to succeed in a very big way. They appear committed to their customer and several officials are looking at Seattle real estate.
4. They are high tech and utilizing social media in a big way. Results are posted immediately and available on-line.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my two NASA events. Lots of racing at my two favorite tracks and a very engaging group of NASA staff many of whom are relocating to the Northwest. I felt welcomed as I always have felt at a Conference event. Great people for sure. Not sure how to end this, but just to say I am hopeful those involved in the policy decisions of Conference will view NASA's presence as the opportunity to improve the race experience for all us addicts, regardless of how and with whom we wish to spend the funds and time available.
Cheers,
Bill
4.
Last year everyone we talked to thought it would be a hoot to make the trip to Laguna this summer. We are seriously thinking of going back, and would love to have a caravan with us.
