Junior1 Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 Hey guys, new to NASA, however I have run my past track days in the Intermediate Grouping. 3 days @ Summit Point (Main) and recently (Aug 22) ran the South configuration @ Monticello. I am actually planning on attending the Monticello HPDE on 9/20 so I am looking to attend the NASA event on 9/17 to get a jump. My question: Since HPDE 1 and HPDE 2 spots are filled for this event, would it be wise to sign up for HPDE 3 even though it would be my first NASA event? The car is basically street stock CTS-V with minor reliability mods and performance tune... Thanks for the help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbow Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 Contact the registrar for the region. I'm guessing no because HPDE 3 is usually pass anywhere with a point by and if you aren't used to the folks that run regularly it could be a little unsafe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior1 Posted September 8, 2010 Author Share Posted September 8, 2010 Contact the registrar for the region. I'm guessing no because HPDE 3 is usually pass anywhere with a point by and if you aren't used to the folks that run regularly it could be a little unsafe. Thanks, that's what I was figuring. We use point by's too, but I'd like to be familiar with the guys running as well Maybe WGI will work better... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron95 Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 I was in the same boat as you - unmodified street car - first time with NASA - experience at other HPDE organizations. I emailed the National and Regional director, and was told I could register for either HPDE-2 or HPDE-3. Since I know Monticello well, I signed up for HPDE-3. I have another thread on this - search for Monticello. It seems that every region is different and the Northeast region seems to be much more controlled - it seems that HPDE-3 is passing by point-by only in the Northeast and is not run together with HPDE-4. So, I'd say you'd be pretty safe signing in for HPDE-3. If you do, I'll see you at Monticello on the 17th. We'll be the two newbies at HPDE-3. Monticello has 3 huge straights (one is 3/4 of a mile long) plus a short straight - passing is not a problem with proper point-bys. The other track days I did there, passing was only allowed in the 4 straights even in the Advanced group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron95 Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Just an update for future readers. I signed up for HPDE-3, and ran at that group. It was the right placement for my skill level, and was very enjoyable. Confirmation of placement was based on a very short "interview" of driver experience. A couple of guys on my run group were black flagged, and I assume moved to HPDE-2. Overall, HPDE-3 at NASA seems to be very comparable to SCDA Intermediate run groups, but SCDA tends to attract faster/higher horsepower cars - e.g. there seems to be more GT3s, 911 Turbos, F430s, E92s running on SCDA. But that could be just coincidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.