Parking at the Ridge!

rick_bostrom

Onda Kattan Racing
We are currently sitting at somewhere around 160 1st entries so that would lead me to believe that is approximately the number of paddock spots that will be needed.

Needless to say, that is a LOT considering the amount of pavement available. My setup last year had about 100 individual pit accomodations plus however many would fit into the front row to be supported by big rigs. I think from what I learned last year that I can squeeze a few more spots out of the paddock but the front row is going to be critical. If you plan on parking a large trailer or semi in the front row I need to know how long your rig is and how many cars it will support. Front row is 570 feet long and 30 feet wide so ideally it would have rigs parked head to toe in the 10' strip at the back of the hot pits and about 57 cars parked in front of that. It never works out that perfectly, but remember that every 10x20 foot space wasted puts another one of our attendees on the dirt.

So, big rigs that intend to service multiple cars: Contact me ASAP and plan on good usage of the space if you want to get into this area! (IRDCparkingattendant@outlook.com)

For the rest of you planning to attend - there is no easy way to park this many racers quickly. The padock will be laid out very similar to last year so I will be posting a map here in the next few days so everyone can get an idea of what it will look like. Here are a few simple facts to keep in mind:

1) Only cars who are participating in the Test and Tune and those who serve in an official capacity will be parked before the track is cold on Friday afternoon! If you are not one of the EIGHTY (yes, I said 80!) who are confirmed to be participating in the Test and Tune, you will be lining up and waiting out of the way and off the paddock until that event is done before you will be parked. It will be hard enough to get all of them parked and unloaded in a way that doesn't cut into the track time that they have paid for, it is unfair to have rigs rolling in while they are trying to get from paddock to track and back again.

2) I will do my best to get the paddock marked out on Thursday and park whoever I can for the Test and Tune on Thursday afternoon/evening to minimize the complications of trying to get everyone situated on Friday morning. No matter what, the paddock needs to be marked and organized before anyone is parked or the whole thing will be un-doable. Be patient, we are volunteers who are doing this and all of the other things it takes to put on a race as a favor to you.

3) Parking will be first come, first served within the earlier listed restrictions. With the exception of a few large rigs that can only be handled in certain areas and some spots saved for officials that need to be near their duties, nobody has a reserved spot. When you roll up to whomever is controlling the paddock they will show you what is still available on a paddock map, you can choose where you want to go, and we will send you to an area parking volunteer who will park you next to the last person who pulled in as quickly and efficiently as possible. We need to minimize spot shopping and holding a spot for your friend as much as possible because as the paddock fills it becomes much harder to maneuver into the spots using the mandated 25' fire lanes that we must maintain. If you cannot possibly race without the support of another racer that you share parts, tools, etc with please make sure to talk to me about it. We don't want to make your life difficult or even less fun, we just want to fit as many people onto a limited amount of asphalt as quickly and painlessly as possible and then go racing.

4) About those 25' fire lanes - make sure they are preserved and you don't park in such a way that they are 24'-11". Fire marshal is one of the few guys who can bring the week-end to a standstill and can issue huge fines while he is at it. Make sure the lanes are 25' and if you are asked to move please do so immediately.

5) Street cars in the paddock - whatever fits inside the dimensions of your assigned paddock space is fine with me, but your street car is not to be parked on the pavement anywhere else. Not for the week-end, not for an hour. Period. We spent a lot of time tracking down people who were blocking someone's paddock spot, the fire lane, or official vehicles trying to do their work last year. This also applies to your friends and visitors - you are responsible for instructing them to park off the pavement and out of the way.

6) When your week-end is done and you want to leave, please be considerate of those who still have races left to run. Try to minimize blocking lanes and working your trailer out of it's spot while people are still trying to get to pre-grid.

It looks like there are going to be some fantastic races and a great turnout to end the 2013 ICSCC racing year. Lets help each other out and make this a fun end of year celebration of grassroots motorsports the Conference way.

Any questions that I can help with can also be addressed tot he e-mail I listed above.

Thanks - Rick
 
Rick you did a great job last year! Do you need any help marking this year? I am not testing but can arrive on Thur or early Fri to help if needed. Thanks for all your efforts.
 
Thanks for the kind words Sherm - truth is it was a ton of work last year but at least I had a lot of the preliminary work already done for this year. In spite of a packed paddock last year, all but two people were nothing but patient and helpful over the entire week-end. A great example of Conference people working together under challenging circumstances.

On to this year - here is the PRELIMINARY paddock map so people can get an idea of what we are working with. First entries are sitting just below 180, and this paddock arrangement holds 165 if it is filled perfectly which we all know it will not be. We wedge a few more in some nooks and crannies but if everybody shows up at LEAST 15 cars will be paddocking on the dirt. I'm open to suggestions if someone has a great idea that I have overlooked. Working on a couple experimental modifications to see if they fit more.

Anyway - here you go Ridge Paddock September 2013 R5a.png
 
Last edited:
Where do you park 42 PRO3 cars?!?!?! Huge grid this weekend.


Thanks in advance to all who are helping, and rick last year you did a great job.
 
Im getting some help from some big teams in Pro3 who will running a bunch of cars out of big rigs at the front. Grip Racing and Gerald Lowe are currently running 12 cars out of the 150 feet of space. If I had to break the front row into individual 20x30 spots to park individual cars next to their support trailer it would actually cost us 32 spaces in the paddock!

Anyone who can support multiple cars from a single support trailer is encouraged to do so and will get my help in finding a good spot. That is our best bet to get everybody on the pavement.

Thanks
 
Rick, is there still only one entry into the track? Just wondering about getting the volunteers in, if there's a big line-up of cars and trailers waiting to enter Saturday morning.
 
To the best of my knowledge, still just one entrance.

Race chair Jason is working with Joe Manke - if you have concerns make sure and contact Jason so we can work on a solution!

Thanks Bonnie, and to all of our dedicated volunteers as well.
 
I don't think I have ever been to The Ridge when I was not paddocked in the dirt. Its good dirt (Glacial Moraine and sea bed) It drains well and comes off your tires easily. Quit crying about how important your personal paddock space is and share some room.....make some new friends.
Does anyone remember Westwood? Eight feet wide and two cars long and that was all you got. Oh Yeah, if you wanted your car to sit level your jack stands had to be at diferent heights only there wasn't room between you and your neighbor's car to run the jack handle. And yes folks, it was still good times. It can be done, it just takes the understanding that the other guy needs a little room too. Consider the crowding as part of a sucessfull weekend. It is a good problem to have.

Bill Murray "O5"
(For the 40th consecutive year).
 
Yeah, Thunderhill used to be gravel with one portable toilet...even worse amenities than Mission. Look at it now!
 
With any luck by the Spring Enduro there will be more paved paddock space.
But with Rick's plan and plenty of enforcement it came together. There were some cancellations due to the weather forecasts too that helped parking.
Several turn marshals commented on how IRDC was the most organized for paddock space. I guess the others don't have a plan. We had a couple complaints but they shut up when they were offered the job of paddock assignment and enforcement. Kudos to Rick for once again showing us his Tetris skills.
And thanks to Fred Wright for knowing who to call on Saturday morning to secure a 20 x 30 party tent with walls that stood up to the 25mph wind that day. It was set up in time for an early lunch.
 
The tent was wonderful. Just to be able to get out of the elements for a few minutes was heaven.
As Steward Terry said, the conditions were "epic".

This was the first time in 10 years that I had to change into dry clothes 1/2 way through the day. Yup, soaked through 2 jackets and 4 layers under that. HOLY CRAP! Thanks to Mark Higinbotham for letting me use his dryer in his rig to get the worst of the wet dry. (the wine and fireplace was an unexpected bonus....)

IRDC does a wonderful job of taking care of us all, but next year I hope we don't need the tent.
 
Lynne, it was the least I could do, especially after I had just spent only 30 minutes in your Turn Station as an observer during the Novice Race and I couldn't believe the conditions you and all the workers were enduring so the racers could be on track! I can't express my gratitude to ALL the workers that faithfully and generously give of their time and talents all through out the season to make Conference the impressive professional organization it is. My "Hat"...er Helmet..is off to all the people who make Conference such an enjoyable family to be a part of!!!
 
Back
Top