BMW CCA L.A. 2-Day HPDE @ Spring Mountain, Dec. 28-29 2013

[USCTrojanMan29]

Originally Posted by aus

Where's everyone staying??

Dad's house in Summerlin. If you want nice....Red Rock Casino and JW Marriot in Summerlin are the best bets. If you want more affordable then South Point, the Silverton, or the Suncoast are good options.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by OC3

I understood what you said.

I see you are have a little doubt… so let me give you MY first experience with CCA…

I attended my FIRST CCA event last August. I had attended MANY (10 or so) track events that previous year and a half, ranging from Speed District, to Extreme Speed, to Speed Ventures (all of which I was in advanced and one of top 5 drivers on the track). I had heard from other sources that CCA HPDEs were shitty because they 'had' to drive your car and they wouldn't let you go all out. I was skeptical signing up for my first event but it was fairly inexpensive and I decided to give it a shot (and I wanted to become a member anyways).

I ended up signing up in the 'Beginner' class. I headed to Fontana not knowing what to expect. I arrived early in the morning and saw a HOST of incredible cars, ranging from old e30s to new e92s. I completed registration and our first orientation. I proceeded to watch the advance and intermediate groups before I final lined up. My instructor happened to be a small asian guy named 'Eddie.' He walked up to my driver seat, looked in, saw my bucket seats were fixed and instantly said "this probably won't work.' Me, being 6'4" said ok and I got to go out with him in my driver seat.

The first session I went, no shit, 25%. I wanted to prove that I knew the lines, knew how to handle a car, and prove I'm not an asshole. I also didn't want to do anything that would make Eddie angry at me. Eddie was talking the whole time about the course and what not, all while EVERY single car passed me in the group. I returned to the garages and went into my orientation group where I remained silent for the duration of the discussion (which their discussions are actually SUPER informative even in beginner). After everyone had left I approached the gentleman in charge (forget his name, rather large of jolly fellow). I asked him if I could drive a little 'harder.' He asked who my instructor was and I told him. He cracked a smile and said 'Eddie is insane, just drive.' I later found out Eddie has been driving professionally for around 20 years and has won numerous competitions and is referred to as one of the best instructors CCA has.

I proceeded to head back to my car for the second session with Eddie. I looked over and told him that I hadn't really been pushing the car and I will go considerably faster. We entered the track and I immediately slammed the throttle (to get the tires a little warmer) and let all 430 ponies (at the wheels) loose. I raced around the infield at Fontana for 20 straight minutes without Eddie saying a single word. I pulled back into the garages and he was clapping and congratulating me. I asked why he hadn't said anything for 20 minutes straight and he responded "I didn't need to. You needed to consecrate. I have only done this maybe twice in my career, but I am putting you in the A+ group right away so go into their meeting room."

I then proceeded to sheepishly walk into the A+ group where I was introduced and people asked "Was that your blue car with the wing? Great driving!" The two main instructors (Dwight and Joe) were SUPER friendly and knowledgable. The A+ group classroom session was basically 20 minutes of pure breaking down of each corner, analyzing apex, camber, width, everything. All of the drivers were super friendly and knowledgable as well. Not only that, but when you are in the A+ group you have 'indirect' training. Basically you are working on advanced racing techniques, such as drafting, side by side racing, brake diving, and other exercises. You are putting trust in another driver while honing your own skills. I had never experienced anything like it.

Bottom line is, I hate when people talk about how CCA events are too strict or whatever. I learned 239487x more from just doing an UNTIMED infield event at Fontana than all my other track days combined.

I promise anyone who attends the event will LOVE it and want to come back for more. To those who have got this far thanks for reading, haha. It wasn't meant to be a bragging story, rather how excited and SURPRISED I was with how I enjoyed my time. I hope I have given a 'first timers' view into how CCA runs things. Very organized, thought-out, and SAFE. I will try and make it out to Spring Mountain but not sure if the family plans will get in the way!

-Mike

[aus]

Originally Posted by USCTrojanMan29

Dad's house in Summerlin. If you want nice....Red Rock Casino and JW Marriot in Summerlin are the best bets. If you want more affordable then South Point, the Silverton, or the Suncoast are good options.

Isn't Vegas like 45 minutes away? Are there places out in Parhump?

.

[USCTrojanMan29]

Originally Posted by aus

Isn't Vegas like 45 minutes away? Are there places out in Parhump?

.

Yeah, about 40-45 minutes. There's a Best Western and the Pahrump Nugget near the track in Pahrump.

[Longboarder]

I think I'm going to sign up for this. I've never had any driving instruction so I know I can learn a lot from an experience like this.

Just need to decide which car to take...

[The HACK]

The track is on the Vegas side of Pahrump. Last time I went I stayed at the MGM Signature, made it there in 45 minutes...but some of the "freeway" there are 2 lanes, so I got stuck behind some slow moving morning commute traffic. Weekend should be no problem.

Of course, staying in Vegas also means TEMPTATION for some shenanigans the day before, as in some of us got sh*tfaced and had to ride in a high center of gravity car. Let's just say a few of the crew had to sit in the garage for extended time to recover.

[aus]

Originally Posted by The HACK

The track is on the Vegas side of Pahrump. Last time I went I stayed at the MGM Signature, made it there in 45 minutes...but some of the "freeway" there are 2 lanes, so I got stuck behind some slow moving morning commute traffic. Weekend should be no problem.

Of course, staying in Vegas also means TEMPTATION for some shenanigans the day before, as in some of us got sh*tfaced and had to ride in a high center of gravity car. Let's just say a few of the crew had to sit in the garage for extended time to recover.

Will it be the usual 8 AM drivers meeting? Is there gas close to the track?

It's always temping to stay in Vegas over the Best Western- the Nugget is fully booked now.

[Longboarder]

^ ^ ^ ^ good question about gas. Also, is there anything better than 91 octane available?

And are there other services at the track like air? How about tire repair?

Just checking to see what I need to bring. I'd like to just show up with my M3 in daily driver configuration with no spare wheels/tires, no jack, no tools, no air compressor or anything like that.

Thanks.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by aus

Will it be the usual 8 AM drivers meeting? Is there gas close to the track?

It's always temping to stay in Vegas over the Best Western- the Nugget is fully booked now.

There are gas stations in Pahrump about 5-10 minutes away from the track.

Right now, the driver's meeting is tentatively scheduled for 8:00 am, but due to the limited daylight available to us, I'm going to work with the chapter CIs to see if we should move the entire schedule up 30 minutes. An email blast should go out next week with a rough schedule and a reminder to tech your vehicles.

[USCTrojanMan29]

Pahrump is a small town that has all the facilities (gas stations, tire shops, restaurants, etc) you'll need for your car unlike the nothing around Buttonwillow and Chuckwalla.

[USCTrojanMan29]

Originally Posted by The HACK

There are gas stations in Pahrump about 5-10 minutes away from the track.

Right now, the driver's meeting is tentatively scheduled for 8:00 am, but due to the limited daylight available to us, I'm going to work with the chapter CIs to see if we should move the entire schedule up 30 minutes. An email blast should go out next week with a rough schedule and a reminder to tech your vehicles.

Yeah, it starts getting dark in the Vegas area around 4:30pm so maybe moving up the driver's meeting makes sense so we can as much track time as possible.

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by USCTrojanMan29

Pahrump is a small town that has all the facilities (gas stations, tire shops, restaurants, etc) you'll need for your car unlike the nothing around Buttonwillow and Chuckwalla.

Ok cool. Good to know in case of a flat or something.

I signed up with my M3. But maybe I switch it out for my P-car...not sure yet.

[aus]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Ok cool. Good to know in case of a flat or something.

I signed up with my M3. But maybe I switch it out for my P-car...not sure yet.

Make sure your Tech form matchs the car you bring!!

.

[USCTrojanMan29]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Ok cool. Good to know in case of a flat or something.

I signed up with my M3. But maybe I switch it out for my P-car...not sure yet.

Bring the P-car...there will only be a few of us with P-cars out there. This is the first DE track event that I'm taking my RS out to.

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by aus

Make sure your Tech form matchs the car you bring!!

haha that would be pretty stupid...but probably something I'd do

Originally Posted by USCTrojanMan29

Bring the P-car...there will only be a few of us with P-cars out there. This is the first DE track event that I'm taking my RS out to.

Yeah I saw the driver's list. Lots of BMWs and it's a BMW CCA event so I feel somewhat compelled to bring the M3. The Porsche is faster but I think I'd learn more with the M3.

[aus]

Just going to leave this here. I didn't want to link the site directly since it's pretty NWS.

http://www.businessinsider.com/insid...rothel-2013-10

This has NOTHING to do with the CCA, but just noticed the city it's in.

.

[USCTrojanMan29]

Originally Posted by aus

Just going to leave this here. I didn't want to link the site directly since it's pretty NWS.

http://www.businessinsider.com/insid...rothel-2013-10

This has NOTHING to do with the CCA, but just noticed the city it's in.

.

Another benefit of Spring Mountain, you can go get that happy ending after a great track day. Good luck getting that at Buttonwillow, Chuckwalla, or even Laguna Seca....only in Nevada (outside of Clark County).

[admranger]

There is gas at the track, but I don't know if it'll be open during the school. However, since there's a tunnel you can enter/leave the track any time you aren't on track or in the classroom. There's a Shell station on the right side of the road about 10 minutes or less from the track. Easy peasy.

[aus]

Is there a name for this track configuration so we can search for youtube vids? Thx

.

[The HACK]

[USCTrojanMan29]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Are we doing the 3.1 mile or the 3.4 mile configuration?

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by USCTrojanMan29

Are we doing the 3.1 mile or the 3.4 mile configuration?

I wrangled the 3.4. ADMranger suggested that the 3.4 might be a more fun config, and the track was okay with us changing it to 3.4 with no charge.