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View Poll Results: Motorsport Country Clubs Membership (Yes, No, Maybe?)
Yes I am a current member (please post experiences and club) 4 12.12%
Maybe I may join one; am thinking about it. (why) 9 27.27%
No I would not join one. 8 24.24%
I do attend Club/HPDE/Manufacturer's driving schools. 16 48.48%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 33. You may not vote on this poll

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      03-27-2010, 08:23 PM   #1
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An alternative to Golf Anyone? Motorsport Country Clubs an enthusiast's alternative?

I've been eyeing these recent articles on Motorsport Resorts which have been springing up around the country and this recent article in Car & Driver caught my eye a few weeks ago. Seems like a great place and an alternative to those of us who can swing a driver pass 400yrds! LOL I mean who wants to be like Tiger nowadays...opps let me hold on that one before I hear from the peanut gallery! LOL

Anyway I wonder with the cars we love and drive how many of you actually belong to one of these or plan to join one in the near future? Or who would join one if they could and had the means and extra funds? Seems to me that the initiation costs may be the holdback here for some of them. But if I could find a nice one near me at a decent price to make it cost effective to use...I'd be there at least twice a month! Instead of at the driving range trying to be like Tiger! Oppss there i go again! LOL

So check these out...who would join or have pulled the trigger already? Is this the new wave of recreational motorsport in 2010 and beyond?

http://www.autobahncountryclub.net/P...%20Article.pdf

http://www.autobahncountryclub.net/P...%20Article.pdf

http://www.autobahncountryclub.net/P...%20Article.pdf

http://www.autobahncountryclub.net/p...deo_photos.htm

http://motorsportranch.com/membership.cfm
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      03-27-2010, 08:38 PM   #2
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no just member of a golf club
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      03-27-2010, 08:42 PM   #3
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Autobahn Country Club is near me. Great track but the membership i think is $25k a year? Might have gone up..

Anyways, local clubs rent the place out all the time to run DE days. I will be at that track next month with Windy City BMW. Excited.
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      03-28-2010, 01:32 AM   #4
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I'd love to be a member of one of those clubs (not a golf guy at all), but unless I find out king I'm related to a Saudi prince (unlikely being of Spanish/British descent), that's not going to happen on this life . I have to say I'd probably enjoy it more on a motorcycle than a car. The good news is there isn't one anywhere close where I live, so I'm not missing anything .
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      03-28-2010, 02:00 AM   #5
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I've been thinking about joining ACC for awhile now. I know its expensive but the luxury of being able to drop everything and put any of my cars on the track at a moments notice is all that matters.

It's a great facility and its a 4 mile track and the setup changes from time to time so you won't get bored.

They're building a hotel style resort thing there with condos and pools etc. I really can't resist
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      03-28-2010, 02:37 AM   #6
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I used to live just down the road from the MotorSport Ranch. Pretty neat facility. Never drivin on it though. However, my brother-in-law has. Said it was a great experience. Wish I lived closer now.
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      03-28-2010, 04:51 AM   #7
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I'm a member at NJ Motorsports Park's Drivers Club. It's one of the best things I ever did for myself!

I joined almost a year before the track opened. I remember taking a tour in a pickup truck and seeing stakes in the ground which marked where the tracks were going to be built.

I got a sweetheart deal - $5,000 initiation. It's up to $15,000 now, and still worth it. As part of the membership, you also get VIP access to all of the track's paid events - Grand-Am, AMA, ARCA, etc. Track days are $165, and include breakfast and lunch. Dues are $2,400 per year. They have at least 30 member days per year, and reciprocity with 4 other tracks. Does it cost more than just going to open track days? Yes, probably. On the other hand, nobody that belongs to a country club justifies the expense by the cost per round of golf. It's the same deal with the racetrack clubs.

Between CCA events and NJMP member days, I spent 17 days on track last year. I'll have to back it off a little this year - I've got 2 college tuitions and a wedding to pay for this year. My tire and brake pad budget is a little smaller than last year!
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      03-28-2010, 03:06 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elp_jc View Post
I'd love to be a member of one of those clubs (not a golf guy at all), but unless I find out king I'm related to a Saudi prince (unlikely being of Spanish/British descent), that's not going to happen on this life . I have to say I'd probably enjoy it more on a motorcycle than a car. The good news is there isn't one anywhere close where I live, so I'm not missing anything .
Isn't Motorsport ranch outside of Dallas/Ft Worth? How far is that from El Paso? I am moving to Texas next month to San Antonio and by way of Mapquest its 270 miles to the track/resort from SA. I'd do that for a weekend a month maybe. Initiation (one time) seems to be reasonable $3700 and low monthly...what you'd pay for a few tanks of gas it seems.

Check it out!
http://motorsportranch.com/

PS what's the M3 driving like in Texas?
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      03-28-2010, 04:05 PM   #9
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I am a member at Lime Rock.

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      03-28-2010, 04:12 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by midlifecrisis View Post
I'm a member at NJ Motorsports Park's Drivers Club. It's one of the best things I ever did for myself!

I joined almost a year before the track opened. I remember taking a tour in a pickup truck and seeing stakes in the ground which marked where the tracks were going to be built.

I got a sweetheart deal - $5,000 initiation. It's up to $15,000 now, and still worth it. As part of the membership, you also get VIP access to all of the track's paid events - Grand-Am, AMA, ARCA, etc. Track days are $165, and include breakfast and lunch. Dues are $2,400 per year. They have at least 30 member days per year, and reciprocity with 4 other tracks. Does it cost more than just going to open track days? Yes, probably. On the other hand, nobody that belongs to a country club justifies the expense by the cost per round of golf. It's the same deal with the racetrack clubs.

Between CCA events and NJMP member days, I spent 17 days on track last year. I'll have to back it off a little this year - I've got 2 college tuitions and a wedding to pay for this year. My tire and brake pad budget is a little smaller than last year!
That's a GREAT midlife crisis deal... cheaper than a girlfriend and DEFINITELY cheaper than getting caught with a girlfriend.

Are the member only days during the mid-week only? And how does the reciprocity work?
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      03-28-2010, 04:24 PM   #11
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I'm an associate member of the "The Club at Lime Rock"
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      03-28-2010, 04:38 PM   #12
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I would join one in a heartbeat. I also read the Car and Driver article. The observation about members' track manners struck me as huge. You hear all the time how track experiences are ruined by that 'one guy.'

Lots of upside, but at a heavy price.
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      03-28-2010, 05:05 PM   #13
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I do not think they are cost effective, plus not near by. HPDE and other open track events fit my schedule okay.
Besides, my golf course is only 4 miles away.
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      03-28-2010, 07:59 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aus View Post
That's a GREAT midlife crisis deal... cheaper than a girlfriend and DEFINITELY cheaper than getting caught with a girlfriend.

Are the member only days during the mid-week only? And how does the reciprocity work?
They're a mix of weekends and weekdays- they're posted on the track's website - www.njmp.com under "info for members". They also sent the other clubs' member calendars to us. I haven't tried the other tracks yet, but I suppose we just reserve a spot by calling the track - just like making a tee time. The closest to me is VIR, and it's about an 8 hour drive. I'm not likely to use this benefit that often, but maybe every once in a while. I've met VIR members at NJMP, so its not unheard of.

As for being cheaper than a girlfriend, I was shocked when I added all the bills from 17 track days last year. Some of that was expensive hotels at CCA events, but it cost me as much as a country club would have. I've tried to get my wife interested, but no luck. She won't even get in the passenger seat and take a ride on the track with me!
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      03-28-2010, 10:47 PM   #15
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When I was tracking a lot a few years ago, I got bored of the same track pretty quickly and ended up doing track days all over the state and adjacent states. To me paying a bunch of money to one track doesn't make sense. Yes some of them have recpirocal agreements, but sounds too much like dealing with time shares. Don't know much about them, but I doubt you can just drive the track anytime you want as someone above suggested. Tracks are often rented out to other groups. As well, driving a track without corner workers and paramedics on standby is simply not safe in my opinion...Now, perhaps these countryclubs keep these staff on duty all day every day, but I doubt it.
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      04-04-2010, 07:30 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jesal@Project 808 View Post
Autobahn Country Club is near me. Great track but the membership i think is $25k a year? Might have gone up..

Anyways, local clubs rent the place out all the time to run DE days. I will be at that track next month with Windy City BMW. Excited.
I am a member there. You only have to pay that kind of amount money for the initial membership it is much cheaper for every year after.
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      04-04-2010, 11:10 PM   #17
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MSR Cresson, DFW area, and Harris Hill Road, between Austin and San Antonio, have a reciprocal membership agreement, join one and your treated as a member at the other.

I'm a H2R member, it's worth it if you spend enough time there or race and need a place to test.
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      04-05-2010, 08:43 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by midlifecrisis View Post
As for being cheaper than a girlfriend, I was shocked when I added all the bills from 17 track days last year. Some of that was expensive hotels at CCA events, but it cost me as much as a country club would have.
I did the math on my tracking costs with the E92 M3: ~$1000/day. That includes DE fees, fuel, tires, pads, rotors, fluids, hotel. So that was about $20k for the year for me...
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