March 2012 - Road Atlanta double national

kruck

kruck

Well-known member
March 16-18, Road atlanta double national! Been to this each of the last two years and love it. Arguably my favorite track, run by a great region, and really an all-around great event. The only thing it's been missing is the huge car counts. If the car is ready to go, I'm planning on being there again. Not real thrilled to see that SRF has been stuck in with E/F/H/GTL again, but that's been the grouping I've experienced there every year, and they've given a split start (with Prod out front) each time.

Registration is up here!
Supps are here!
Schedule is here!

So who else is planning on going?
 
It's tentatively on my schedule right now Kevin. The only thing that may keep me from it is if the schoolteacher that still sleeps with me is adamant about doing something (like a cruise) on her spring break the following week.

Still working on that...Greg? You going to be out of the snow drifts by then?
 
I can't help but chuckle when I read "The only thing it's been missing is the huge car counts. "

Only the June Sprints, WG Double & the Cat National had a larger single day car count outside SEDiv than the Road Atlanta 2011 Double National. Overall, it had the 5th highest entries for a SCCA weekend in 2011. ( Sebring Double-585, WG Double- 515, VIR Double-470, June Sprints-389, Road Atlanta Double- 384.)

However, the prod car count was low and that is why the Region continues to group SRF in with prod. Only 5 EP, 6 FP & 4 HP showed. I look at it as easy points for those who want/need them. And it's a chance to escape the frozen north. By March, we are in full spring here in Atlanta.

Atlanta Region has worked with Road Atlanta this year to insure that the test day groups will be a little smaller. The paddock will open Wednesday evening at 5 PM as will registration (Closes at 7PM). Once registered, you can go through express tech at registration. We will be doing annuals in the paddock Wednesday evening and all day Thursday. Just sign up at tech and we'll come to you.

And Jay, the Atlanta airport has great deals to fly to the Islands. Leave your rig at the track and pick it up on the way home.
 
FP Racer":y7hxinmp said:
I can't help but chuckle when I read "The only thing it's been missing is the huge car counts. "

However, the prod car count was low and that is why the Region continues to group SRF in with prod. Only 5 EP, 6 FP & 4 HP showed.
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The statement was made, as a Prod racer, in reference to the Prod group. I'd venture to say that the reason the Prod count remains low is because it continues to be grouped with SRF. At the Mid Ohio national, between the 2010 and 2011 events, we made the decision to move SRF out of the Prod/GTL run group. The Prod/GTL cars increased by 60%, and the SRF's increased by 50%. Running with SRF doesn't bother me personally a whole lot, but I know to a vast, overwhelming amount of Prod/GTL drivers, it most certainly does. I bet the same can be said about the SRF drivers feelings on being with us.
 
Jim,
I think Kevin's comment was directed at the prod community i.e. a lack of Prod cars and was not meant to be a reflection of the region or the event.

Jay,
I'm still 50-50 about being able to make it down for the event due to my work schedule.
So far, the weather has been cooperating and the glacier has receded from in front of my trailer. :)

To all the locals,
It's been over twenty years since I've been to Road Atlanta (flagged the 1991 Runoffs) and my memory is a bit fuzzy but what is the best route to get to the track coming from the I75 southbound?
 
FP Racer":3nvt79w8 said:
However, the prod car count was low and that is why the Region continues to group SRF in with prod.
Click to expand...

However, the Region continues to group SRF in with prod, and that is why the prod car count was low.

Fixed that for you.
 
Greg Gauper":buglzok2 said:
Jim,
I think Kevin's comment was directed at the prod community i.e. a lack of Prod cars and was not meant to be a reflection of the region or the event.

Jay,
I'm still 50-50 about being able to make it down for the event due to my work schedule.
So far, the weather has been cooperating and the glacier has receded from in front of my trailer. :)

To all the locals,
It's been over twenty years since I've been to Road Atlanta (flagged the 1991 Runoffs) and my memory is a bit fuzzy but what is the best route to get to the track coming from the I75 southbound?
Click to expand...

In my experience and humble opinion, as long as you approach early in the day (not rush hour) the best route while towing a trailer is straight on down to the 285 beltway and back up 85. Any reduced mileage by taking a back route is more than offset by stoplights, small town speed zones, etc.

Just my opinion.
 
I can think of two easy ways to get SRF out of the prod run group. The first is to have too many prod cars entered to keep SRF in the group. The other is to have too many SRF entered to keep prod in the group.

Seriously, it becomes a matter of attempting to equally split the track time available with the total number of entries. In 2011, the prod group with SRF had 26 cars, the SM group had 38, the ground pounders had 36, the big Formula group had 37 cars, the Touring,/ SS group had 31 cars, the small Formula group had 29 cars & the Pro IT enduo had 30 cars. So question is where does SRF go or where does prod go. Sure, if you gave each their own group, there might be more entries but six run groups in March is about all the day can stand. Road Atlanta is now one of those tracks where you have to plan on having several full course yellows because of the gravel traps. And it has always been a track that takes extra time for clean up primarily due to the long pull back to the pits from turn 6 & 7.

With the split start and 25 second delay for the second group to start, most of the prod cars will never see the SRF's. The fastest EP and FP time was 1:38 while the fastest SRF time was 1:41. Fastest cars in each class will not see the other.

I knew what Kevin meant but couldn't help but point out that this is still one the biggest SCCA races of the year. And, even though it was a post on the SM forum, another good laugh was someone chiding another driver for entering Atlanta rather than the Texas World Double that same weekend.
 
Jim, I agree there isn't any better way to combine groups but I think the problem with combining groups doesn't lie with the fast cars from either group. It's when the fast cars from one group start catching the slower cars of the other group. I suspect this would happen in two or three laps at Rd Atlanta.
 
I'll go away now. Apparently, I offended someone with my numbers and received a personal message saying I was misleading everyone by saying how many total entries SEDiv races were getting. Of course, I assume everyone realizes that 4 or of 5 of the races I mentioned were double nationals and had approx 1/2 half the total each day.

Ya'll have fun and I'll see those of you who come visit us this year.

See ya!

P.S. My private message was from a Steward! Oh and by the way, the Atlanta National had 196 entries on day one and that was exceeded only by the June Sprints, WG day one, Cat National, Sebring day one ( SEDiv) & VIR day one (again SEDiv). So, Road Atlanta had the 6th best single day entry for 2011.
 
Yeah Jim, you better be careful, you wouldn't want to be known as someone who actually knows or is friends with actual competitors. Just another example of why many on this board consider the relationship between racer and official to be adversarial.
 
Well, how numbers are portrayed can be misleading. showing a double events "grand total" is like stating the totals for Saturday and then adding the totals for Sunday for a single. Add in test days, and the numbers get HUGE!

This is a great race, the people are fantastic, and I'm going again this year (not in Prod, sorry) unless someone wants to haul my 914 down gratis????? Anyone? Buehler? Buehler?

Personally, I consider the Atlanta double to be one of the premier races, at a premier track.

I just hope it (and other "premier" events) survive when the "Majors" move into the neighborhood.
 
kruck":3qs3xetp said:
FP Racer":3qs3xetp said:
I can't help but chuckle when I read "The only thing it's been missing is the huge car counts. "

However, the prod car count was low and that is why the Region continues to group SRF in with prod. Only 5 EP, 6 FP & 4 HP showed.
Click to expand...
The statement was made, as a Prod racer, in reference to the Prod group. I'd venture to say that the reason the Prod count remains low is because it continues to be grouped with SRF.
Click to expand...
15 SRF's entered, and only one EP/FP/HP/GTL. Still 3.5 weeks away, so maybe it'll get better, but at this point even I'm questioning signing up. Driving ten hours to race against one other car doesn't sound like much fun. Which sucks, because I really love this event. Anyone else out there waiting to sign up?
 
Fred and I are planning on going. I'm hoping that my new motor will be in working condition. The dyno will tell the story here in a week or so.
 
I'm still leaning towards trying to make it to this event. I just checked and the last time I was there was in 2007! :shock: I didn't realize it had been that long, I was running in something called G Production :wink: back then.
 
I think lots of Prod guys should show up, and we can have a "Prod St. Patty's Day Party" at my RV Saturday night. :mrgreen:


(That's basically just drinking beer and hanging out, but you gotta have something green on.) :lol:
 
Kevin, I will probably bring the EP car since my new project is rejecting my request for its' debut. Sorry, but I will probably race you just like I did at the Glen. 8)
 
Sam Moore":18tomztk said:
Kevin, I will probably bring the EP car since my new project is rejecting my request for its' debut. Sorry, but I will probably race you just like I did at the Glen. 8)
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Giving me massive tows around the track so I can set a new FP track record? Sounds like a plan! It's probably what I'd need anyway to touch Ken's record he set last year. 88-o
 
can't make it since I'm running the Mitty and they probably would croak if I took the Honda even though it runs Texas Antique plates. Fun driving it to car shows by the way.
 
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