This page contains all the information you'll need, especially as a novice, to be ready for your track day. There are items you want to do a couple weeks in advance, a day or two before going to the track, during the event, and after you get home. Please read through these and make sure you're well prepared.
 

Prepare Your Car

Car Condition and Maintenance

In general, a well-maintained street car should be able to drive directly on to the track. Here are the specifics you need to check at least a month in advance of the track day. These are listed here because some of these items could take quite a while to get fixed.

Please note that if you're going to have an instructor in the car with you, it's good practice to provide the same safety equipment (harnesses, roll protection) for the passenger's seat as for the driver's seat. We don't want the instructor out there risking his life anymore than you are!

Other Useful Stuff to Bring

A timing device, if you want to monitor your lap times. If you're participating in our time trials, We are using the AMB timing system. We have hard-wired transponders for sale, and battery-powered transponders for rent at $25/day for time trials or races. We will also time your open track sessions for a small fee if you have or rent a transponder.
 

If you just want to track your own lap times, we recommend the HotLap timer system, produced by Longacre and available at many online vendors. We provide the transmitter half at the track. The HotLap receiver setup, p/n 21708 (about $200) is seen in the picture to the right.



A Week Before the Event

Technical Inspection

Within the few days before the event, you'll want to make the following final checks. The Northern California Racing Club requires you to tech your car in advance of the event. You may do this yourself, or have a mechanic do it for you. You need to print out, complete and sign the tech sheet, and bring it to the registration desk at the event, to verify the vehicle's critical components are in good condition and operate within known safe parameters. This tech sheet contains the minimum requirements for you and your car at the event. NCRC management reserves the right to perform random techs at the track, and will enforce technical violations until repairs are made. Assuming you also ran through the Early Preparation Process a few weeks ago, you should have already addressed everything on the tech sheet at this point. Use the tech sheet as a baseline of things to check, but don't consider it an all inclusive list of areas that can cause problems. Each car (make, model, year) has its own idiosyncrasies which can't be fully covered by a generic checklist. The tech should be performed prior to coming to the event (in case something needs repair), but not so far in advance as to allow things to wear or break before the event date.

Note that there's nothing particularly "race car" about this tech, it's all pretty standard maintenance stuff. You don't need racing seats and five-point harnesses, but they're certainly nice if you've got them. Your car will be under more than usual stress, and it should definitely be in good shape before you begin the day. 

If you would like to have another set of eyes to double check your car, you can request a tech at the event at the time you register (please send us an email in advance if you're wanting us to help with tech). We'll look at common items that fail or potential trouble spots - essentially the same list as the tech sheet. We offer this service as a courtesy but we don't vouch for our completeness or insure the competence of this tech. In other words, we'll look at your car but aren't experts, and stuff can still go wrong even though we checked it out. We have so many different makes, models, and years of cars at our events, it'd be nearly impossible to perform a tech equal to what your own personal mechanic can find. If you have any doubts about the safety or reliability of your machine, take it to a pro.

Other Useful Stuff to Bring

Other than verifying the car passes a technical inspection, there is plenty of other stuff you should bring to the track, including:

One of our members uses this Track Event Checklist to keep track of what he brings - you might take this and adapt it for your track days.

These events will wear you out physically. If you're new to this, that may be a surprise, but all the attendees will agree - you will be tired by the end of the day! So get a good rest the night before, and keep an eye on your liquid intake and general well-being while at the track. There will be enough track time, probably more than you want. So skip a session when you feel tired, and certainly pull into the pits if you feel tired on the track. You don't want to make a mistake on the track!



Day of the Event

Arrival

First, make sure you how to get to the track, and where the pits are. Arrival time should be after the gates open, but about an hour before the morning driver's meeting. Check the event page to see what time these are. You'll typically be stopped on the way through the gates, and asked to sign a waiver that restricts your rights on the track, and protects the track owners. Once through the gates, you'll want to find the pits, which is where you'll park for the day, and unload your stuff. None of the Northern California tracks are particularly tricky, and you should be able to ask anyone in the area how to get to the pits if you get lost. There's typically only one event going on at the track, so if you've got the right day, you'll find us (and yes, we've had folks show  up on the wrong day...).

Pit Area, Preparing your Car

Once you've found the pits, find a good place to park, probably along with the rest of the crowd that may be there. Typically we reserve a separate space for instructors from the drivers, so you might ask if you've got a good spot, before unloading everything. Once you're settled, the first order of business is to check on registration and the morning driver's meeting. Our registration should be open, and if there isn't a long waiting line, you probably want to get that done with right away. The driver's meeting is mandatory, and you'll find out what time it is once you register. If you've got time to spare, then start unloading and setting up your car.

We all get into routines for preparing our cars, and it can be very simple for some folks, and complicated for others. Here's a summary of some items you might do to prepare:

Registration

Our registration process is pretty quick, but you must register at the track, or you won't be driving. Bring your tech sheet, filled out, to the registration table. We'll check you in, correct any outstanding paperwork problems, give you a lanyard and badge with a schedule, passing zone descriptions, and a track map, and give you a wristband that will let you get on the track. You and any passengers will also be required to sign an NCRC insurance waiver at this point.

Driver's Meeting

The driver's meeting is a mandatory meeting for all drivers. You can register after the driver's meeting if you're running late, but you MUST be at the driver's meeting. We'll run through the logistics of the day, discuss safety and rules, have a talk on the flags, talk about passing zones and the different run groups. You'll also meet the NCRC officers, the Track Steward, and other folks coordinating the event. The schedule will have 2, 3 or 4 run groups, heading out to the track at alternating times throughout the day. You need to know which run group you're in, because that determines exactly when you're on the track. After the driver's meeting, we'll connect any students with their instructors for the day. Keep in mind your group may not be heading directly to the track after the driver's meeting (see your schedule) so it's likely you still have time to set up your car or complete your registration process.

Driving the Track

This is what you're here for! Typically, you should be ready to enter the track about 5 minutes before the schedule shows. The run group will be announced in advance over the PA system, and when you're ready, get in your car, with helmet on, harnesses belted, ready to drive. If you've got instruction, make sure you've got the instructor with you. Head down to the "hot pits" area, where folks will line up, waiting for the Track Steward to feed you onto the track. As you pull up and stop next to the steward, he'll ask you (and any passengers) to show your wristband before you enter the track. Drive your first lap as a warm-up lap, the yellow "no passing" flag will be out. After that, you're up to speed.

Keep an eye on the flaggers and obey all the rules that pertain to your group, and certainly any flags that are shown. Pull into the pits if you feel tired or lose concentration - you don't want to make a mistake on the track!

Down Time

Have a good time, and be safe! That's the main point, of course, and it probably goes without saying. Other things to keep in mind are getting to the run group download meetings, keep yourself hydrated, and especially if you're new to tracking, to keep an eye on how your brain is working. It's very easy to get mentally worn out, and to find yourself making small mistakes on the track. If you find you're missing braking zones or turns, putting a wheel or two off the track, or losing your concentration - come in for a break! These signs are your advance warning that you need some rest, and you want to do it before something worse happens. Skip a session if you feel particularly worn out, there's plenty of track time.

Run Group Download Meetings

After each run group comes in off the track, we hold a "download meeting," usually in the same location as the driver's meeting. We'll have a Run Group Lead, one of us organizers, coordinating this meeting. This should be treated as mandatory in the morning, and optional in the afternoon. Within about 5 minutes after exiting the track, please come to this meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to meet the folks you're on the track with, discuss issues (point-by's and passing are common themes) and clear up any questions about rules that may have been missed. We can also discuss technical issues such as lines through turns, etc. This is also your opportunity to discuss changing run groups with the run group lead if you feel you're in the wrong group.

End of the Day

Hopefully you'll end the day with no damage to the car, and all you need to do is pack up and head home. Please leave your pit spot free of any trash, as these are our "home" and we need to maintain a good relationship with the tracks. If you do have a car problem during the day, you'll want to call a tow service quickly so you can get working on getting your car out of the track facility. They'll lock up after about 6:00pm, and you need to have the car out. Tow trucks are very familiar (unfortunately) with the tracks, and should know where the track and pits are. We will have a tow truck run by the track, and that's used only to get cars off the track surface itself, and bring them back to the pits.

Drive carefully on the way home. You'll be used to driving very fast, but the speed limits haven't changed. Typically tracks have a touchy relationship with their neighbors, and we don't want to cause the track some local trouble by speeding down the community roads.

After the Event

There will be a certain amount of maintenance required after each event. Listed below are some common items you will probably need to address.

Cleaning up the Car

The car is likely to be a mess after a track event, especially if you had any spins off-track. A good car wash, and vacuuming of the interior will help, and will give you an opportunity to examine the body of the car. You'll have a lot of brake dust on your wheels, which should be removed quickly, and if it gets wet (e.g. it was raining at the event) should be removed immediately. Do not get brake dust wet and then leave it on the wheels, or it will eat into the surface of the wheel. Bug & Tar Remover is great stuff for removing rubber, goo from racer/duct tape, and other markings from the car. Shoe polish can usually be removed from windows with Windex, but you may also need to use a razor blade.

Car Maintenance

Some mechanical service is typically required as well. You should accelerate your oil change schedule (the hotter your engine runs, the sooner the oil degrades), possibly changing it after each event. The brakes should be bled after an event, and the rotors and pads checked for wear and cracks. Check your wheels and suspension for bolt tightness, stress cracks or other damage. Check your wheel bearings as well. Check your tires for wear, and reset pressure back to normal street pressures.