Slipstream - June 2003

Drivers Education at Other Tracks
by Keith Olcha
Last month I reported on the Club Race held in College Station at
Texas World Speedway (TWS). Many of you have commented that
either you would like to drive at another racetrack other than
Motorsports Ranch (MSR) or some of you have missed events at MSR
because they fill up fast and you did not make the lottery for the green
and blue run groups. Drivers education has five run groups- green, blue,
you get a hotel reservation promptly as College Station can have a
shortage of hotel rooms during A&M events. Of course another venue
is the Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Oklahoma 40 miles from Tulsa.
Hallett is different yet from TWS or MSR. It is challenging and
relatively safe with lots of run off and minimal Armco.
. . .it’s a learning curve and there’s no
substitute for track time . . .
yellow, white, and red. Green are pure novices who often have 0,0,0-
which means zero days of drivers- education track experience, zero days
of experience at the track the event is being held at, and zero days driving
within Zone 5 or Maverick Region in other events such as autocross,
time trials, or professional schools (Panoz), etc. Red group drivers are
instructors who have extensive familiarity with the track, many days of
driving their cars on track, and driving with Maverick and Zone 5, etc.
The colored run groups in between have drivers displaying varying levels
of experience combined with varying levels of car speed so they are
placed between the two boundary groups. It’s a learning curve and there
is no substitute for seat time. The green and the blue run groups fill up
fast and that’s where the over-subscription happens. So how can you get
more experience, and/or vary your experience?
This track map of Hallett can’t show you it’s dramatic elevation changes.
Photo by Kevin Hardison
Keith Olcha on the main straight setting up for the all
important Turn 1 of TWS in College Station.
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I’d suggest attending a drivers education down at TWS in College
Station. Not only is the track completely different from MSR, there is
usually a large group of Mavericks that come down for the weekend as
drivers, instructors, or workers of some sort. It is quite common for
12-15 Mavericks to be there for a DE weekend. Check out the track at
Lone Star’s website- www.lsrpca.com. MSR is considered a more
technical track than TWS, and it is a lot shorter at 1.7 miles versus TWS’s
2.9 miles. TWS has higher speeds, but still takes about 30-35 seconds
longer to lap on average for any given car. It has more elevation changes
and is more of a 3rd-4th-5th gear track versus 2nd-3rd-4th for MSR.
I try to get down to TWS four times per year- once for the Club Race and
3 other times spread out over the year as an instructor. Just make sure
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