Hooked on Driving events (Midwest/Great Lakes)

[Random Asshole]

Hi guys,

I know it's a little late for posting Monday's event but you can check out upcoming events below. Plus, there are other HOD branches for the rest of you guys to check out.

Hooked on Driving is offering a smoking deal for July 2nd at Autobahn Country club in Joliet! Two entrants for the price of one. Find anyone whether it be a friend, family member, or even forum member to split the entry fee of $295.00. The ONLY catch is that the second entry will have to provide their own lunch. Food is great at this track, btw.

Hooked on Driving will be doing a completely unique format on July 2nd. Starting at 11:30am and going all the way to 8:30pm. Plus, they'lll be doing North track for half the day and South track for the other half. So you get to sleep in AND drive two tracks in one day for half the price!

When you sign up, just put the details of the second entry in the comments section at the bottom such as:
Driver name,
car make/model/color,
run group (a,b,or c),
Preferred car number

If you haven't run with HOD or have never been on the track, they are the Caddilac of track days. The extra couple bucks in difference between other companies is in the details and it shows with the hardware that people show up with. Novices welcome. In fact, some of corner carver members here are instructors. One on one coaching provided the entire day for A (beginner) group drivers, and by request of the rest of the groups B(intermediate), and C(advanced). Hooked on Driving provides a relaxed atmosphere where you get to have fun exploring the capabilities of your car in a safe and guided environment for drivers of all levels. Some serious hardware to check out that shows up to these things. I'll be coaching the B group drivers.

Helmet rentals available for $20.00

Other events coming up:

Gingerman Raceway
August 25 - Grab a Saturday at Gingerman Raceway
Saturday - August 25, 2012
Registration Fee: $195.00

Autobahn Country Club - Full Circuit
October 1 Autobahn Full Track - With National Corvette Museum
Monday - October 1, 2012
Registration Fee: $325.00

Contact/questions best directed to:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Phone: 779-475-0402

Just so this isn't a shameless plug I'll add some tech

Here's a video of me driving an ex-Miller Challenge car with a Cortex suspension setup at our "Corporate training" at Laguna Seca. Mind you this was "the boss's" car and my first time on the track outside of a video game so my goal was to bring it back in one piece. The guy telling me to "take it easy" is Eric (The head honcho of the Midwest HOD franchise and a great friend for getting his boss to let me take his ride out)



Oh and disclaimer on the "heel toe comment". What I meant was I don't really heel toe in my cooper since the throttle response is dog shit with the blower and I can't hear the exhaust through my helmet cause it's so quiet.

 

[mancha]

Wow. I really really wish it were closer to me. I'd be all over it.

 

[Random Asshole]

HOD is going to be running at Gingerman Raceway, Saturday, August 25th

"GingerMan Raceway is a private road-racing course situated on a 350-acre site. The original track is 1.88 miles long with the corner extension the track is now 2.14 miles, twisting left and right and up and down on the naturally rolling landscape. It simulates a country road, but without the risks to pedestrians and oncoming traffic and eliminates other hazards such as ditches, phone poles, trees and other objects." Courtesy of www.gingermanraceway.com

Gingerman Raceway, Ltd.
61414 County Rd 388
South Haven, MI 49090

$225 Registration Fee includes:
• Coaching
• Classroom briefings
• Lunch
• Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced groups
• Nearly two full hours on-track

Special discount for s197forum members: enter "HOD25" in the promo code section for $25 bucks off.

Hope to see you there!

http://www.hookedondriving.com/event-details/August_25_-_Grab_a_Saturday_at_Gingerman_Raceway

 

[Powered by Ford]

Thanks Carl! Just signed up! Used the discount code too! Sent you a reply to your PM.

 

[Powered by Ford]

Hey Carl your PM box is fully!

 

[Random Asshole]

woops. Sorry about that. Just made some room.

 

[Random Asshole]

*Late wrap up
It was nice meeting some of the forum members out there at Gingerman. (Gmitch, your car is ridiculous.) We had more track time than the participants could handle. Cars and/or drivers were starting to burn out by early afternoon. By the end of the day, we were basically opening the track to anyone who wanted to go out. Group C drivers got to check out doing the track backwards for a couple sessions. That was A LOT of fun. I've never had to look for an apex so far out my driver side window. The track was nice and fairly straight forward, but backwards was probably the most challenging track I've ever driven.

*Next event
Oct. 1st. Autobahn Country Club, Joliet. FULL TRACK (North and South combined, aka mini-Nurburgring)

We are working with National Corvette Museum on this event. Racing junkies will be getting a real treat. The National Corvette Museum has just confirmed the presence of a very special guest-Johnny O'Connell...three-time ALMS GT1 champion, 38 career ALMS wins, record eight Sebring 12-hour class victories, holds ALMS records for most starts (102), most podium finishes (80), most top-five finishes (93) and most top-10 finishes (100); first American driver to win 24 Hours of Le Mans four times.

This is going to be our biggest and last event for the year, so book up as soon as you can! Link here


Carl

 

[Department Of Boost]

Great event! The HOD crew did a wonderful job.

I need a track focused car though. I had fun driving my 07’ but it was just too hard to keep cool (it didn’t help it was 95deg out!), the Nitto NT05’s weren’t enough tire and the car could have used more spring in it (because it weighs as much as a truck!). I’m hoping to have a track car by spring (or next week, I’m not picky).

Too bad the most exciting/challenging driving of the entire weekend was on the way home. I lost both right side trailer tires (24’ enclosed) at 80mph, while going around a curve……while talking on the phone. That was a pucker moment to say the least. Looked cool though. There were so many sparks coming off of the non rotating (and now “D” shaped rims) it looked like the trailer was re-entering the earths atmosphere. That took a while to get sorted out and cleaned up. Good thing I had a 2.5ton jack with me. And my tuner, Paul from Paul’s High Performance was nice enough to come bail me out (it was late Sat night). He had someone drop him off so he could drive my car back to his shop and I could tow the trailer which was short enough tires to “haul” safely.

Again thanks to the HOD crew, and it was good talking with you Carl. Looking forward to more events next year with a track focused car.

And talk Eric into some Grattan dates, that place is a complete riot!

 

[Department Of Boost]

Managed to pull a little good video out of what was shot. My friend Matt (Powered by Ford) had the camera on his car most of the day.

Car worked pretty good considering that EVERYTHING was untested. Its too bad it was so hot out (94 deg). I had to manage temps the entire time. MY IAT's were in the 165-175deg range and water temps in the 220-240deg range. Spinning a Kenne Bell at its max RPM is not a fantastic setup for road courses, no matter how much cooler you have.

I had to keep the throttle under 50%, didn't rev it past 5250 much at all and "coasted" down most of the straight parts. I had to run the water pumps/fans the entire time between sessions in the pits. And to add insult to injury race fuel (I was running it because of the IAT's) ended up costing me $3.70/lap!

I also handicapped myself a bit by running the NT05's at 38psi (cold) so they wouldn't chunk up on me. With that much pressure they were moving around quite a bit. It was fun, but not the fastest way around.

A NA car or one that spins the blower a lot slower (and therefore cooler) would have been more fun to drive. I ran my friends NA 3v S197 late in the day and despite being quite a bit slower it was more fun to drive. Coasting down the straights to keep temps down doesn't do much for your rhythm.

Had a great time though. Not a bad first track day (in a car). I need to add a dedicated track car to the stable if I'm going to do this regularly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Pfekx4sXI

 

[Powered by Ford]

Managed to pull a little good video out of what was shot. My friend Matt (Powered by Ford) had the camera on his car most of the day.

Way to make me sound like a camera hog lol. Totally did not mean to! I'll have my own gopro for the next event

 

[Department Of Boost]

Way to make me sound like a camera hog lol. Totally did not mean to! I'll have my own gopro for the next event

Camera thief!

 

[Random Asshole]

Yikes about the trailer, Gmitch! Glad things worked out for you.

I wish I could have given you more pointers around the track but it felt like we were lugging the car through the corners since we had to lift so early from the those crazy IATs. The funny thing was you were still moving along pretty darn well even though you had to lift 100 yards before the braking zones. It also didn't help that you've done so many laps on your bike.

And it's a shame you guys didn't mention anything about cameras around the drivers lounge/tent. One of our instructors had two new HDhero2s he picked up at SEMA sitting in his car you could have gotten for cheaper than you could find without it being stolen. I told him to have one sitting out on display, but oh well.

I'm getting word of more surprises showing up to the Oct. 1st event, but they are still in the negotiating process. This is looking to be a big day for us and should be a ton of fun. For anyone who's on the fence about tracking their car, doesn't have the car ready, or whatever should stop by Autobahn on Oct. 1st if you happen to have the day off and come hang out. I'm pretty sure you'd only have to pay track admission to get into the festivities. We will also be doing ride alongs in instructor cars for no charge. There's an instructor with an '09 z06 on Hoosier R6s that's just a hoot to go around in.


Carl

 

[Department Of Boost]

Yikes about the trailer, Gmitch! Glad things worked out for you.

I wish I could have given you more pointers around the track but it felt like we were lugging the car through the corners since we had to lift so early from the those crazy IATs. The funny thing was you were still moving along pretty darn well even though you had to lift 100 yards before the braking zones. It also didn't help that you've done so many laps on your bike.

And it's a shame you guys didn't mention anything about cameras around the drivers lounge/tent. One of our instructors had two new HDhero2s he picked up at SEMA sitting in his car you could have gotten for cheaper than you could find without it being stolen. I told him to have one sitting out on display, but oh well.

I'm getting word of more surprises showing up to the Oct. 1st event, but they are still in the negotiating process. This is looking to be a big day for us and should be a ton of fun. For anyone who's on the fence about tracking their car, doesn't have the car ready, or whatever should stop by Autobahn on Oct. 1st if you happen to have the day off and come hang out. I'm pretty sure you'd only have to pay track admission to get into the festivities. We will also be doing ride alongs in instructor cars for no charge. There's an instructor with an '09 z06 on Hoosier R6s that's just a hoot to go around in.


Carl

Once I figured out that I needed to run more fuel in the tank the car stopped sputtering mid corner which made things a lot more enjoyable. I still had to "coast" down the straight stuff and lift real early though. That was frustrating, tough to get in a rhythm when you have to do that. Not the end of the world though, I still had fun and got a chance to see how my suspension/tire combo worked. Next season it will be a non issue. I'll be running a LOT bigger blower at lower blower speeds and have even more cooler in the car. IAT's won't be an issue.

I was just giving Matt a hard time about the GoPro's. I brought two of them with us but we hardly used them all day.

I would like to have gone to Autobahn but I'll be in Texas doing this:

http://www.riflesonly.com/


Could be worse, beats workin!

We'll see you guys next season.

 

[PLee]

Hey Jason- that was your first track time w/ the new suspension... granted you couldn't push the car too hard, but how do you like it compared to your older Ford Racing set up?

 

[Department Of Boost]

Hey Jason- that was your first track time w/ the new suspension... granted you couldn't push the car too hard, but how do you like it compared to your older Ford Racing set up?

There is no comparison. Two completely different cars.

 

[Powered by Ford]

There is no comparison. Two completely different cars.

LOL beat me too it. I guess a comparison would be my new Tokico setup compared to the FRPP one you used to have? Well I know we gave a C6 Gran Sport a hell of time with my bolt-on GT.

Can't wait for another HOD event - I am not however going to be taking a vacation on training how to be Rambo!

But I am unavailable for the closing HOD Midwest event for this year.

However - I am greatly looking forward to attending a few next year! I showed so video to my Dad and he got all excited and will be coming out to one next year too (2012 Mustang GT, bone stock).

 

[PLee]

Hahaha... Jason as Rambo? Yup, I can see it!

I would really enjoy some seat time in both of your cars- just to drive them around the block once or twice to see how they feel. I'm beginning to dislike my car's handling very much, but would like to have something to compare it to...

 

[Napoleon85]

I'm definitely interested in coming out for a few of these next year. I'm in SW Ohio, so not too far from the events you're talking about. Well you update this thread or start a new one for next year?

 

[Random Asshole]

I'm definitely interested in coming out for a few of these next year. I'm in SW Ohio, so not too far from the events you're talking about. Well you update this thread or start a new one for next year?

Yes. I will update this thread.


Update for Oct. 1st
We have 2 spots left for B (intermediate group). Whether or not you think you are an Advanced driver should not stop you from signing up if you are interested. This is a HUGE track with tons of passing zones and plenty of run off room that should accommodate drivers of any level running at the same time. I'll be head coach of the B group with presentations between sessions to get you up to speed on driver etiquette, the driving line, etc.

Looks like we are going to have a full house. As mentioned earlier, this is a joint venture with the National Corvette Museum and they are bringing some special guests. Pro driver John O' Connel had to back out due to a scheduling conflict. But, Tony Gaples will be there from Black Dog Speed Shop/Black Dog Racing Team.



Granted this is a Ford enthusiast based site, but engineers from GM will be talking shop with presentations on the side along with some Q and A sessions, including the mastermind of the ZR1 Corvette, Tom Wallace.

The National Corvette Museum will also be offering ride alongs in some nice cars with the proceeds going to charity. My understanding is that the idea is to go around with a hot shoe (probably Tony Gaples) for a lap or two to benefit a charity.

All in all, it looks to be an action packed day even if you are not participating. If you have the day off, stop by the Autobahn in Joliet, IL and check out some serious hardware running around and hobnob with some of the who's who of the industry.

PROMO CODE: HOD25 for $25 bucks off for first time entries still good!

Feel free to PM me questions.

Regards,

Carl

 

[SoundGuyDave]

Absolutely! There are a few spots open in the Advanced Group (Group C) as well, and yours truly will be the Group C Team Leader, so come on out, this is going to be epic fun!