Frequently Asked Questions
- What paperwork do I need?
- Here's our Registration page - we'd like you to register online if at all possible.
It'll show you the payment process too, either by check, credit card, or PayPal. You'll need to fill that out to get
registered for the event. Once at the track, you'll be asked to sign an insurance waiver, and then you're set to go. If
for some reason the online form isn't working and you want to mail in the form with a check, just print out the
registration page and fill it out by hand.
Here's our Tech Form, you'll be responsible for tech on your car. Check all the items on this list, and ensure your car is in good working order before coming to a track event. Bring the completed and signed sheet to the track with you. We may do a minor inspection at the track, but you (or your mechanic) are responsible for the major technical inspection. If you are a regular NCRC member attending 6+ track days with us in the last 2 years, you may do an Annual Tech, allowing you to avoid bringing in a tech form for each event and skip the driver's meeting. - What's the difference between NCRC and ARC?
- NCRC is the name under which we run open track and time trial events. This is where everyone from a complete
novice, to very
experienced drivers typically drive their street cars on the track. ARC is our Race Series, where licensed racers with
full race-equipped cars, race wheel to wheel. ARC races happen during one run group at an NCRC event, so if you're
signed up for weekend NCRC events you'll periodically see a race!
You can participate in a variety of activities at NCRC events, you can see them at here. - What does it cost, and how do I join or renew my membership?
- Event prices range from $99-$199 per day for members, $10 more for non-members, depending on the track, date,
etc. Annual club membership is $40 (good for a year from when you pay it), whether you're an open tracker or a racer.
You can choose whether to become a club member or pay an extra $10 per day when you register for each event - it doesn't
matter to us. Membership also entitles you to pay for reserved parking under the awning at Thunderhill.
There's no value in paying membership in advance if you're not signing up for an event, so just use our regular event registration page to join or renew your membership as you register for an event. But if you need to renew your club membership now, click here.
Anyone who's driven with us will be on our email list, but if for some reason you think you haven't been receiving mail from us, please send Dave a note and he'll check it out. Even if you haven't driven with us before, you're welcome to add your name to our mailing list at the bottom of the events page. - What is your Driving School?
- The NCRC Driving School is intended for a complete novice driver with no prior track days. The focus of the
school is on safety and learning the driving protocols more than driving technique. There are five track sessions
for the school, the same as for the other Open Track groups.
The school consists of three classroom sessions with two corresponding track exercises, followed by three additional open track sessions. The exercises are on driving the line and passing. There are no instructors in student cars; instructors are on track in their own cars helping with the exercises. We talk about driving techniques in the classroom sessions, but do not have specific on track exercises on braking, apexes, shifting, etc. - What kind of car do I need?
- Any car in good working order will function well on the track. We do require that cars be in good visual condition as well, and do not allow "project cars" with missing body panels, body damage, primer, etc. We do not allow SUV's or other vehicles that will not handle safely on a track, but certainly a well-maintained street car is acceptable. Check the car requirements for more details.
- What's the "Broomstick Test"?
- The Broomstick Test is used to see if your convertible's rollover protection has any chance of working. It's
easy to check at home, and you should be prepared to be checked by the stewards at the track:
- Put your helmet on and sit in the driver's seat of your car
- Lay one end of a stick on top of the windshield, and the other on top of the roll hoop or bar behind your seat
- The top of your helmet must be lower than the stick to pass the test - Will my car insurance cover track days?
- As a general rule, no.
Back in '01 we spoke with two underwriters in great detail (State Farm and Allstate) about insurance coverage. They said the bottom line is coverage exists "until the event gets competitive" (usually defined as "timed"). So, going to a NCRC event your insurance covered you, but the minute *you participate* in any competitive exercise (including our own Time Trial events), your coverage was waived - at least with Allstate and State Farm.
But since mid '02 there have been a growing number of examples where claims, even from driver education events, were not covered at all. Insurance policies have changed their wording from "at a timed event" to "on a racing surface", meaning that any activity on a track is excluded.
The best advice is to read your policy carefully, and check with your insurance company for specific information as necessary. The above is just what NCRC was told in 2001-02, which may not correspond to your policy. We also suggest looking into "umbrella" insurance policies to cover you from a broad set of potential situations you might run into with your car, not just an on-track collision. - What about "Track Day Insurance" carriers?
- There are two that we are aware of. WSIB Motorsports Insurance
will cover non-race drivers (i.e. in our school or open track groups) at NCRC events. Their focus is on an annual insurance
policy, not individual events.
Lockton Affinity
will provide individual event coverage for our Driving School, Solo, and Point-By groups, but not the Open group or any
timed car (TT or Race). Contact either company directly for a quote.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not drive in a group where the insurance policy does not cover you. - Can I share a ride, or bring two cars?
- Two drivers may of course use the same car and register independently for two different run groups. Equally,
one driver may bring multiple cars, and run them in the same run group for different sessions.
NCRC discourages sharing a car among drivers with one run group registration, and does not support two drivers sharing a run group simply to split the cost and sessions two ways. In no case may a "Combo" registration (discounted payment for multiple run group registration) be shared among drivers.
Sharing a registration is allowable under one specific circumstance, and that is if your mechanic needs to run a session or two for purposes of evaluating the car, and drives it as a replacement for the paid driver's sessions. We call this "test-driving". The primary and alternate driver must be qualified to run in the same run group, so please designate the run group level of the least experienced driver. Any alternate driver must sign the appropriate track release forms. Please send a note to Dave to confirm a test-drive request during registration. - Can I have a passenger?
- You may have a passenger for one or two track sessions, assuming you're not in the Driving School, a "Green" group (we sometimes have a Solo group with green wristbands for folks with very few track days) or in the Race group. Come to the registration desk to get a passenger wristband. Anyone on track must be 16 years or older, and wear a helmet. From 16 to 18 years of age, the passenger must have a parent or guardian at the track and sign a special release. If your passenger is an instructor, he may ride all day.
- How do you handle cancellation and refunds?
- From the time we receive your event payment until 7 days before the start of the event (when the gates open),
a cancellation will cost you a $49 administration fee and the remainder of the event fee will be refunded. If you cancel
within 7 days (168 hours) of the event, you will not receive any refund, and no credits are given. NCRC reserves the right
to cancel an event due to issues beyond our control (driver registrations, weather, safety issues, track related issues).
On multi-day events, the cancellation deadline is 7 days before the first day of the event, regardless of which day(s) you actually registered for.
Up to 72 hours before the event, your event fee is transferable to another driver, so if you do need to cancel, and have a friend that would like to take your spot (assuming we have room in his run-group), then you may transfer your registration fee to him, and a $15 administrative fee will be charged. Please let us know of this change before the event. - I have a credit with you, how do I use it?
- We have no automatic system to use credits. You can either pay for an entry as normal,
then send us a note and ask us to reimburse the credit amount, or you can contact us up front via
email and we'll work out the math so you can just pay the correct amount to begin with.
Credits with NCRC are good for two years from the day got them, so you should have plenty of time to use them, but you do need to let us know when you want to use a credit balance. - Can I camp overnight at the track?
- It depends on the track:
- At Thunderhill, we typically do not pay the extra fee to rent the paddock, but campers may use the area just outside the gates
- At Laguna Seca you should contact the track, they do provide camping but not in the paddock
- At Buttonwillow you can typically camp inside the paddock
- Check with Sears Point directly on their policy - Are there sound limits at the track?
- Buttonwillow has no sound limit, Thunderhill is 103db, Infineon is 103db, and Laguna Seca is 92db.
- How does your wait list work?
- Our events do tend to fill up quite early, especially in the Driving School and Solo groups. We maintain a wait list
for folks that register after a group is full, and put people in the event on a first-come-first-serve basis if we get a
cancellation from the group.
We require registration and payment in advance to be placed on the wait list. You may cancel from this wait list at any time and receive full refund; simply send us an email request. But if we get you in to the event, and then you cancel after that, you will be subject to the same administrative fees as described in our cancellation policy. Of course if a spot never opens up, you'll get a full refund, typically a day or two after the event. - How do you define your run groups?
- There is no consensus on group names across clubs, and even if you did match up the group
names, there can be a big difference between an "advanced driver" in one club versus another. Our Open group has a reputation
for being harder to get in to, and faster than many other club's advanced groups, for example. Our nomenclature is described
at this link.
Once you're a member in a certain group (Solo or Point-By), you may request to be moved up a group only at an event. To do this, you should find an instructor at the event, and ask him for a ride-along to check you out for the next group. This ride-along should be done in the group you want to move up into. The instructor will approve the move, if it makes sense. Please understand we try to tightly control group memberships to avoid having anyone over-extend himself. The instructor has the final say in this decision. - How much does it cost to rent a track?
- We often get asked what it costs to put on a track event. Well, here's the answer - it's not cheap!
We've posted a page here showing typical track costs in California, and encourage everyone to make intelligent judgments as to the cost of events versus the services rendered. We think NCRC has picked the "sweet spot" in this department. - Do you rent helmets or cars?
- NCRC does not rent helmets. We may have a spare helmet at the track, so feel free to ask us, but you don't
want to count on it. Thunderhill and Buttonwillow do have helmets for rent, and there is a vendor that is often at Laguna
renting helmets, but you should try to borrow one from a friend and bring it yourself if possible. Helmets must be SA-00
or SA M-00 or newer, and be full face helmets (no "shortie" motorcycle helmets allowed).
We do not rent cars either, but there are companies that do rent cars and have them available at the track for you. Some of them are listed on our Friends of NCRC page. - How can I learn more about open track driving?
- There's nothing like getting out on the track and doing it. Autocross is great experience for track driving,
as are karting and motorcycle events. Get an instructor periodically, to help you clean up your bad habits.
For reading, go through our own track logistics pages. We've spent considerable time trying to get everything in one place that you'll need to know.
Here are some other online resources:
The Navigator, by Dave Farnsworth, good reading on how to avoid that track "incident".
BMW CCA Golden Gate Chapter, Driving School presentation, by Jim Grinstead.
Nor Cal Shelby Club Open Track Handbooks, wonderful write-ups of all the turns, lines and tricks to our local tracks.
Spend some time reading over the flag descriptions. You'll definitely need to know these.
Here are some books you might find useful:
Secrets of Solo 1 and Solo 2, Henry Watts. Great intro to autox'ing and driving big tracks. Basic concepts covered, etiquette, and gives checklists for car prep and stuff you'll need at the track. A good read for beginners, and you can purchase it directly off our site.
Porsche High-Performance Driving Handbook, Vic Elford. One of the greatest Porsche drivers ever and gives insight into how to drive these cars (911->914->928->917), some atypical concepts are discussed (like off road driving, how to handle pot-holes, etc). Competition driving, braking, cornering, acceleration, etc are covered. Each chapter begins with one of his racing stories, which flows into the lesson. An intermediate driving book... unfortunately it's very Porsche centric and might not carry over well into other types of cars. Most of the book centers on 911/read-engine type cars, though other types are discussed.
High Performance Driving, Bob Bondurant with John Blakemore. Good stuff on how to drive a track. Acceleration, braking, late/early apex, shifting, etc. Nothing radically different in this book that other driving books. An easy read, good pictures, and conveys the point. I'd say it's the basic level of driving/racing training.
Drive to Win - The Essential Guide to Race Driving, Carroll Smith. One of Smith's series of good books, he writes with an easy style, and has great knowledge. This book could easily be named "Zen and the Art of Race Driving" - there's a fair bit on the "people" side of racing, as well as the technical stuff.
Going Faster, the Skip Barber Racing School. A very comprehensive book covering all aspects of racing and driving, from car control to finding the line to car setup to driving in competition. Its theory and physics are explained in a very readable and entertaining format. Interspersed within the text are various anecdotes from several successful drivers. "I've read a lot of the classics also mentioned above on this web page ("How to Make Your Car Handle", the " ____ to Win" Carroll Smith series, etc...), and if I only had one book on driving this would be it." Amazon.com has several sample pages online. - What if my question wasn't in this FAQ?
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