Laps for Charity I at TMS- May 24

2 month notice should be enough for anyone interested to make plans.
In the past, we've met up at the parking lot in the red circle in the pic below at about 7:30 and head inside the track at 8:00, get in line and do our laps. There will be plenty of time for anyone to do more laps if interested.

If anyone wants to meet up earlier at the front of the track for a photoshoot, I'm sure it can be arranged.

http://speedway2.timberlakepublishing.com/content.asp?contentid=501

Laps for Charity II will be on Sept 20.

gosh i really wish i could go but a 12 hr drive and tryen to save money without renting a hotel, long trip for me

hopefully I can take some time from recruiting to go do this. Or I can try and convince my NCOs that I can go as part fun, part work...hmmmmmm...

I know I whined plenty about wanting to go for so long...now that I have been once I wanna go back even worse...CURSES!

I hope to be there.

TBat,

Fly in and crash at my place... Then we can head up and I'm sure someone will let you drive a car.

You'd be more than welcome to take the G around...

I guess I'll have to see how the money looks in September ...

I'm waiting until closer to time.

I'm still wanting to see if we can get this going up in Indy. I just have to find the right contacts.

Don't know if I'll be going. I just found out you have to be 21 to drive the track...

Another year just to take a controlled lap...

4get that then... i have 3years then ....

It's been 18 for the past couple of years.

Next year we'll meet at my place since I'll be about 20 mins from the track

you movin again Herc?

Yep. Lookin like in May of 09. The base I'm at now is closing in Oct of 09. I'll be going to Fort Worth.

Damn it. You barely had time to get settled into the new place than BAM! Gotta move again.

Here's looking forward to Laps for Charity Sept '09!

It has? Man, why did they have to change it now? Not cool.

I think they never updated the site to reflect the changes. It should still be 18.

I E-Mailed them, and will let y'all know when I get a response. Just out of curiosity, do you guys do the car club session it mentions?

Naw, just go in the evening when things aren't so busy.

We drive around the track at night, under the lights.

It is 18, I still have the rules flyer they handed out last year.

Truth. 100%.

Sweet. Thanks Arc.

Question: For those of you that spend the night, and drive home in the morning, where would you recommend staying?

In 09 I'll have tents set , mattresses on the floor, couches...

WHAT A DUDE!...I'm gonna have to plan on making that one!

Seriously though there are plenty of hotels nearby in several directions...I stayed two nights at the Microtel a couple exits south of the track.

Sounds like 09 could be a very good year...and the guys are right, lapping under the lights was awesome...especially right before closeout

i might be able to make it this september... but i will not be doing what tim did too far away and not enough time to be off work so i will be flying in. anyone have a spare room and a car i can drive haha...

Hey, just wanted to say, they E-Mailed me back and confirmed is is 18+.

I plan on being there.

Oh Man I wish i could go to this, maybe if i save my pennies for next year , i just looked at the map, and I live about a minute from interstate 35 and i drive it everyday way up here in MN, it would be a straight shot down, post lots of pics and such, when yall get back

hey snowrider maybe we can ride down 2geather
im right on the way as well i want to go but i cant afford to

Start saving for the Sept event, or for next year when we all get to meet up at Herc's house.

Yea, if you guys go together, you could cut costs in half.

I shopped for bargain hotels and got most for under $80 a night. The two nights in Texas were less since Microtel has very good rates.
I spent about $300 in gas round trip (of course that will be higher now) throw in food and I did the whole smash for less than $800.

Acefighter is right tho, if you had someone to split the rooms with it would be a big cost saver...you canget a room for two just as cheap as one.

maybe next year. we can all get plans. wow u had 800 in this trip, thats my supercharger, or wheels, or even a fbody setup

Yeah, but the smile that was left on T-bats face when he had his pic taken in Victory Lane after his first 3 laps segment, then hauling butt around the track at over 100mph for his last 3 lap segment, was all priceless.

maybe i will 4get a hotel and sleep in a tent for the night??

or you get a whole bunch (8-10) and it will cost you about 5 bucks each for a room.

....not that ive ever done such a thing

10 ppl in one room, i woulda stayed in the car way more room lol

lol ya me and some friends went up to the Dells and it was about 15 or so of us and the room(condo) thing was BIG!!! LOL the total for a 1 night stay was about 50 a person for like a normal 800 for the stay....lol now THAT was some crunching....hahaha

Bobby is right, I have considered doing the Richard Petty Driving Experience which for 8 laps would have been $700. So this way I got 9 laps altogether and did the whole trip for precious little more than that. Plus I cant begin to put a price on how cool it was to meet up with such a great buch of people both in Kentucky and Texas. I almost wish I lined up some other meets on the way home but I was bit time crunched.
I plan to have someone there next time that can actually shoot some good video so I can have some tangible rememberance of the experience. I do have still pics and some in car stuff that Slick shot...but I wanted some stuff of my car roaring by...it will not soon be forgotten.

I was the only unboosted GP in attendance but my night got real lift when I let Arcx take my car around for turn and when she came back to the infield she got out and looked at me and said "I'll never call this car slow again"

The springs and fat tires made the car stick like glue even at high speed (but killed my back on the way home)...so be it, I wouldnt change a thing. I may not be able to go as fast next time but it wont make it any less fun.
Maybe next time I'll have a GMPP kit, my P-log on and maybe a downpipe...with set of fat white letter tires, the T-Bat will look right at home on the hi-bank.

Nice plans for it.

How fast do you get to go? I didn't realize until a couple weeks ago you have a pace car in front of you.

on my last turn (right before closedown) I think the pace car driver just wanted to go home. He took off haulin butt and I was chasing as hard as I dared. There was only one other car behind me and I never looked back. I was doing 90 in the corners, coming off hard and peaking somewhere about 102-105 down the back straight before Ihad to lift for the next corner. The pace car never got out of my sight but if I could have accelerated harder I could have closed the gap faster...but then its more on your brakes to slow for the next turn.
Part of me wanted to push harder but I kept telling myself "you gotta drive this thing back home" so I didnt want to take a chance on busting it up. 90 to 105mph might not sound all that impressive but believe me a lap goes away pretty darn quick at those speeds. I gained a whole new respect for NASCAR drivers. 180mph and full of traffic would have been a mighty hairy ride.

When you get full complement of cars on a turn you'll probably only see around 85-95mph, but even those speeds on the high banks is an awful lot of fun.

Any idea what kind of a pace car it was?

Having to chase him sounds like a lot of fun.

Tbat, slow down for banked curves? Come on! You hit the high groove and never let off.

bold words spoken until ones sees that wall sailing by mere feet away from your fender...all the while with images flashing in your mind of NASCAR stockers crumpling and spinning after a bout with concrete...but you are welcome to try

The pace car that night was an Impala SS...and given the way he was going around turns I have a feeling the suspension wasnt stock. Then again the guys in the 3/4ton Chevy trucks with the light bars who "police" the field in case some impatient idiot decides to pass, are cruising along the wall, poised to run downhill and shove any rule breaker to the infield apron.

Yeah, that wall can be a little intimidating at times...

I can't wait to get the G out there and see what it can do. It already performs equally or better than my GP did after I did all the upgrades on the suspension.


I also bought a camera mount for the car and just recently upgraded my camera, so I can get better vids than last time.

Just put me at the rear of the pack again.

I have suspension .. issues. Right now.

More than likely, my car will not be making an appearance. I might not be making an appearance.

Unless someone wants to mail me a big fat check.

Yeah, that poor suspension has seen better days. We'll get it back in propper working order though.


Meanwhile, you're more than welcome/invited to ride up with me if you'd like.

we might be able to fix you up with some new struts/springs by next year...thinking about going with some MOnroe quick struts for mine. So I may have some slightly used KYBs before long.

I've got springs, that's no problem. Slightly used Eibach Gen2s for 50 bucks.

I was pining for some AGX's, but they're so expensive. My GT had GR-2s, but I never really got an accurate feel for them, because the springs on that car were shot, so it still boinged more than it should have. The road we lived on was one big pothole for the majority of that car's time with us, so the suspension never had a chance.

The suspension issues I have right now are a little more urgent. :| The alignment is way out of whack, the entire front end creaks and pops and snaps, wobbles, and supposedly both hubs are shot. Tie rods, I dunno, I've always thought it needed new ones. It's pretty bad.

I think it irritates Slick a little though, as as problematic as it is, it .. self-heals. The alignment is so far gone that the hubs being bad all negates itself and my tires are still wearing normally, lol. It drives like crap though. And I have no money until I get that fancypants econo-check. And then all the money will be gone, because hubs are expensive. *sigh*

Anyway. It's not safe to be on that track in my car as it is now, no way. And I dunno if it'll be fixed before then.

On the bright side, it rocks to have so many people demodding and offering me their stuff. If I don't have everything worked out before then Tbat, I'll definitely take you up on that. I'll add it all to the pile 'o stuff that I have no money to install.