GoatAutomotive
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Georgetown, TX
- Car(s)
- 2017 VW GTI SE, DSG
Cinderella story from this past Wednesday, with photos and a happy ending. It’s worth a read if you have a few minutes. 
SCCA Track Night 3/15 filled up FAST in February, and I missed the cut off when I tried to register.
I was on standby, but there were ~15 people ahead of me on that roster for the Intermediate group.
I calculated a 1% chance I’d get to go on track, so I spent all my prep time the day before on camera gear, batteries, walkie, drinks, snacks, and emergency tools in case anyone had a trackside issue. No prep work to the car.
I knew I wouldn’t be driving, and I made peace with it. Instead, I would ham it up in the pits and make new friends, cheerlead for Jen (our car club founder and a loyal customer of mine), etc.
My first hour on site, I worked with the SCCA TNIA event hosts (pictured further down), and I learned there was ONE no-show for the intermediate group. One.
24 of 25 registrants showed.
And only ONE stand-by applicant showed. This effing guy.
At 3:45, against all hope and expectation, I got the green light to drive, and finished registering up in the clubhouse.
At 4pm, I’m down in the staging area, frantically pulling EVERYTHING out of Stormy like a ship taking in water.
At 4:10 they start to grid the intermediate group for the first session of the day.
I’m putting on my gloves, head sock and helmet in the car, while waiting to grid, and simultaneously trying not to s**t myself.
It’s been 8 years since my last HPDE. I felt rustier than the chassis of a Michigan pickup. Nerves like someone about to rob a bank.
~4:10-7:30pm…LOTS of fun and hilarity ensues.
It ain't all pretty or flattering, but it's unapologetically honest.
My first session was like two teenagers attempting sex for the first time...
Sloppy, confused, nervous, embarrassing, and poorly executed.
McLovin' gets it.
HHR has some special secrets and Easter eggs you get to discover as you drive each lap.
Mastering them ensures your best lap with the least amount of disruption to the car.
This is a huge component to the addiction of this track.
My second session was TRANSFORMATIVE. I hit my stride. Slow compared to more experienced drivers that day, but smoother and faster like I needed to be. And it was in FULL street car mode. Street tires, insufficient camber, street ceramic pads.
I was handing out point-bys like they were cupcakes at a church gathering, to blisteringly quick Miatas and one BMW M235i cruise missile, all of them packing a well-seasoned driver. But I also passed quite a few bigger, more powerful cars.
Stormy was a little underdog out there. I could feel that I was the only weak link in the chain [with my dusty track driving].
Gratefully it got better and better with each lap.
Dance Dance Revolution...
There was a limited edition Shelby Mustang Terlingua that was playing cat and mouse with me for several laps.
(ed. - I didn't know what this was either, but now I'll never forget)
His corner entry speeds were INSANE! Despite the handicap of a solid rear axle, his car never slipped or faltered. He could place it wherever he wanted on track.
I had to take every corner entry slow due to the street suspension and street tires, but my corner exit speeds in the straights were SAVAGE with the GTI’s turbo thrust and DSG trans.
I’d check my mirrors mid-corner and see a white Mustang with an invisible rope tied to my rear bumper, then it would disappear when I got on throttle and released the Kraken.
We did this dance for a full session and a half.
The Shelby owner found me in the pits at the end of the day and was very complimentary about the little white German egg.
Turns out he’s on Hoosier R6 racing tires wider than my back, and stickier than a political scandal. I felt much better about my driving after that.
His 10-point rollcage in the back looked like a jungle gym for my son.
6:30pm, last intermediate session of the day. Cue up Europe’s “the Final Countdown”:
My 3rd session was ZEN. I could balance the car on just two tires whenever I needed. I had my lines and my corner speed limits in the safe zone. I wasn’t nervous. I was enjoying myself. And somehow my street brake setup NEVER went soft or dull.
The Michelin PS4S tires were incredibly willing. They’d give a slight squeal to tell me if I was overcooking a corner, but they never let me down or sent me into a slide. Even when I made some sloppy transitions, or when HHR’s track surface tried to chuck the car skyward.
I kept watching the corner stations for the checkered flag indicating it was time to come in. I didn’t want it to end!!!
6:50pm…just like prom night, the fun was over far too soon. 
We rolled into the pits to the home-cooked aroma of freshly baked brake pads and chewed-up tires. Mmm
...like biscuits & gravy!
Your plus-sized author and his handsome new helmet. Easily distracted offspring in background...
Track hounds. Nothing humbles you like a mostly stock-Miata blowing past you on a quick lap...
No wrecks or crashes the whole day.
One Dodge Charger went off track and offered free lawn care service to HHR w/his front bumper. Bruised ego only.
To quote Ice Cube:
- Special acknowledgments required -
-Jennifer W. for turning me onto an affordable track series I didn’t know existed
-Ryan H. for diligently looking after my son yesterday during my runs. He kept wee-man safe and engaged while I was on track.
-Jeff H. for being the only other real VW present (team spirit!), and for shooting photos of my fat mug while I was staged in grid.
Jeff’s wise words & advice from a couple Sundays ago stayed with me during my 2nd & 3rd sessions.
-Tim G, for gifting me this beautiful helmet that’s Snell certified
-Rod & the crew at HHR, who for almost ~15 years have kept this wonderful track alive and strong
-SCCA Track Night team (Courtney & co), for working with my situation, and for being supportive to all the participants
(even when I got black flagged on my first two laps for a rookie mistake)
And since you’d expect no less from me…
Photo dump!!!
If you made if this far, THANK YOU for reading.
Texans and locals should come join us in 3 weeks at the 4/12 Track Night event.
https://www.tracknightinamerica.com/events?utf8=✓&all=true&origin=78626&within=100
Both Stormy and I will be better prepared (and we successfully registered last week).
Cheers, car pals.
SCCA Track Night 3/15 filled up FAST in February, and I missed the cut off when I tried to register.
I was on standby, but there were ~15 people ahead of me on that roster for the Intermediate group.
I calculated a 1% chance I’d get to go on track, so I spent all my prep time the day before on camera gear, batteries, walkie, drinks, snacks, and emergency tools in case anyone had a trackside issue. No prep work to the car.
I knew I wouldn’t be driving, and I made peace with it. Instead, I would ham it up in the pits and make new friends, cheerlead for Jen (our car club founder and a loyal customer of mine), etc.
My first hour on site, I worked with the SCCA TNIA event hosts (pictured further down), and I learned there was ONE no-show for the intermediate group. One.
24 of 25 registrants showed.
And only ONE stand-by applicant showed. This effing guy.
At 3:45, against all hope and expectation, I got the green light to drive, and finished registering up in the clubhouse.
At 4pm, I’m down in the staging area, frantically pulling EVERYTHING out of Stormy like a ship taking in water.
At 4:10 they start to grid the intermediate group for the first session of the day.
I’m putting on my gloves, head sock and helmet in the car, while waiting to grid, and simultaneously trying not to s**t myself.
It’s been 8 years since my last HPDE. I felt rustier than the chassis of a Michigan pickup. Nerves like someone about to rob a bank.
~4:10-7:30pm…LOTS of fun and hilarity ensues.
It ain't all pretty or flattering, but it's unapologetically honest.
My first session was like two teenagers attempting sex for the first time...
Sloppy, confused, nervous, embarrassing, and poorly executed.
McLovin' gets it.HHR has some special secrets and Easter eggs you get to discover as you drive each lap.
Mastering them ensures your best lap with the least amount of disruption to the car.
This is a huge component to the addiction of this track.
My second session was TRANSFORMATIVE. I hit my stride. Slow compared to more experienced drivers that day, but smoother and faster like I needed to be. And it was in FULL street car mode. Street tires, insufficient camber, street ceramic pads.
I was handing out point-bys like they were cupcakes at a church gathering, to blisteringly quick Miatas and one BMW M235i cruise missile, all of them packing a well-seasoned driver. But I also passed quite a few bigger, more powerful cars.
Stormy was a little underdog out there. I could feel that I was the only weak link in the chain [with my dusty track driving].
Gratefully it got better and better with each lap.
Dance Dance Revolution...
There was a limited edition Shelby Mustang Terlingua that was playing cat and mouse with me for several laps.
(ed. - I didn't know what this was either, but now I'll never forget)
His corner entry speeds were INSANE! Despite the handicap of a solid rear axle, his car never slipped or faltered. He could place it wherever he wanted on track.
I had to take every corner entry slow due to the street suspension and street tires, but my corner exit speeds in the straights were SAVAGE with the GTI’s turbo thrust and DSG trans.
I’d check my mirrors mid-corner and see a white Mustang with an invisible rope tied to my rear bumper, then it would disappear when I got on throttle and released the Kraken.
We did this dance for a full session and a half.
The Shelby owner found me in the pits at the end of the day and was very complimentary about the little white German egg.
Turns out he’s on Hoosier R6 racing tires wider than my back, and stickier than a political scandal. I felt much better about my driving after that.
His 10-point rollcage in the back looked like a jungle gym for my son.
6:30pm, last intermediate session of the day. Cue up Europe’s “the Final Countdown”:
My 3rd session was ZEN. I could balance the car on just two tires whenever I needed. I had my lines and my corner speed limits in the safe zone. I wasn’t nervous. I was enjoying myself. And somehow my street brake setup NEVER went soft or dull.
The Michelin PS4S tires were incredibly willing. They’d give a slight squeal to tell me if I was overcooking a corner, but they never let me down or sent me into a slide. Even when I made some sloppy transitions, or when HHR’s track surface tried to chuck the car skyward.
I kept watching the corner stations for the checkered flag indicating it was time to come in. I didn’t want it to end!!!
6:50pm…just like prom night, the fun was over far too soon.
We rolled into the pits to the home-cooked aroma of freshly baked brake pads and chewed-up tires. Mmm
...like biscuits & gravy!Your plus-sized author and his handsome new helmet. Easily distracted offspring in background...
Track hounds. Nothing humbles you like a mostly stock-Miata blowing past you on a quick lap...
No wrecks or crashes the whole day.
One Dodge Charger went off track and offered free lawn care service to HHR w/his front bumper. Bruised ego only.
To quote Ice Cube:
- Special acknowledgments required -
-Jennifer W. for turning me onto an affordable track series I didn’t know existed
-Ryan H. for diligently looking after my son yesterday during my runs. He kept wee-man safe and engaged while I was on track.
-Jeff H. for being the only other real VW present (team spirit!), and for shooting photos of my fat mug while I was staged in grid.
Jeff’s wise words & advice from a couple Sundays ago stayed with me during my 2nd & 3rd sessions.
-Tim G, for gifting me this beautiful helmet that’s Snell certified
-Rod & the crew at HHR, who for almost ~15 years have kept this wonderful track alive and strong
-SCCA Track Night team (Courtney & co), for working with my situation, and for being supportive to all the participants
(even when I got black flagged on my first two laps for a rookie mistake)
And since you’d expect no less from me…
Photo dump!!!
If you made if this far, THANK YOU for reading.
Texans and locals should come join us in 3 weeks at the 4/12 Track Night event.
https://www.tracknightinamerica.com/events?utf8=✓&all=true&origin=78626&within=100
Both Stormy and I will be better prepared (and we successfully registered last week).
Cheers, car pals.
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