Virginia International Raceway Crashes

hazzazi

i was thinking to take my car to the track (i've never gone before).. but after these videos, and how easily each and everyone of them crashed.. i'm seriously having second thought, and most likely i'm not going anymore.

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i Don't Drive Fast, i just Fly Slow.

spearfish25

Don't deprive yourself of one of the most fun things you'll ever do!

Here's the issue. Any HPDE will tell you to drive at 7/10ths of the car's ability. These guys who are crashing have gone beyond the 7/10ths. It's easy to do, especially by the end of the track day. You'll feel comfortable, have another car that you've been wanting to be faster than all day, and you'll start to 'go for it'. These are the dangerous factors during an HPDE that will get you driving more than 7/10ths and have you end up in a spinout or against a wall. If you're cautious, stay at 7/10ths or below and just enjoy the day as an education and not a championship race, you'll get by A-OK.

I've done two track days. Both times there were a couple of spinouts and one guy met the wall. Here are two observations I've made:
1) If you take your car to the track in a dedicated trailer and/or have racing numbers and decals on it....you'll probably crash or break your car. These are definitely negative prognostic factors, likely because these guys drive at 9 or 10/10ths.
2) People in Vipers and Vettes will spin out more frequently. The people pushing 400-500hp seem to routinely get on the throttle too hard and lose control.

The HPDE track days were both excellent experiences and unbelievable fun. I have a much better feel for my car now, especially after the second day when the track was wet for half of the sessions. Just use these videos as reminders that you're not a race driver, the days aren't a competition, and if you get overzealous the walls will bite you .

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Sharif@Forged

This is like watching videos of people crashing on an interstate. Watch enough of them, and you'll think this stuff happens all the time.

Some people have a fascination with this, but we don't let that stop us from driving on the freeway, or driving on a racetrack. HPDE sessions are tightly controlled and regulated for beginners and novices, so again..its VERY unlikely that a beginning driver will stuff or destory their car. Self preservation and fear is a very effective tool at keeping everyone safe.

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FastJew

Had my first session today at Eagles Canyon Raceway. Awesome time and not one incident from a novice. Drive within your means and a little slower than you think you can and you will be fine. Novices should be focusing on driving the line and getting used to the workings and rules of driving on a track.

One more piece of advice: LEAVE YOUR STABILITY CONTROL ON!!! You will have plenty of time to learn your cars charicteristics at the limit once you get used to driving on a track.

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spearfish25

This is an important one. It was very helpful a number of times when I was getting used to a wet but drying track. Parts were super slick, others had great grip...and knowing which was which was challenging. By the end of the day we were joking about the 'little Japanese guys who kept us on the track' every time we saw the VDC light come on.

I do think I won't truly get the feeling of what the car is like or fully appreciate handling a corner with drift etcetera unless the VDC is off. However, there are better times to play with VDC off such as Auto-X.

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2013 Cadillac V-Wagon, RIP Z