Capital Driving Club Discussion Forum

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July 12th Results

Course was designed by both Ted J. and Larry C.

I really enjoyed the event. We got lucky that the weather wasn't as hot or rainy.

Let us know if you all like this event/location. This lot is one of our more expensive lots, and we are considering if it's worth it. Should we delete this location next year and do one more Winchester/Harry Grove?

On one side, the location is good for those in the Woodbridge/Manassas area and not as far as Winchester or Frederick. On another side, there's a lot of light poles that make it harder for course design. On another side it has real bathrooms. On another side, the club can barely pay for the lot. On still another side, if we break our ties with the lot, we may not be able to get it back, which might be bad if we lose another site for other reasons (so to ensure we have locations, we might want to keep it).

Thoughts??? We also like feedback from our participants/members.

Ed

I thought the course was really fun and I enjoy the location. I'm not a fan of Harry grove and the condition of the lot makes it less a appealing. How much longer is Harry grove going to be drivable?

Congrats to Jay on the win!

Well designed course for the lot. Good use of space. Liked how it was open enough to give choice of line. Didnt like the stop box though.

If the lot is expensive, i would be just as happy with replacing it with another winchester or waldorf event.

Organizers, thanks for all the hard work.

I liked the course - you could really get some good speed through the slalom and on the final out and back. The sweepers allowed good choice of line and were challenging to get right so you were well set up for the next element. There were some interesting tradeoffs to think about on each sweeper. It seemed like a good use of available space.

The only thing that seemed bad was that the double-back portion was at the end of the course, which put more responsibility on the course workers to red flag a problem. Having it closer to the beginning would give you more control at timing to wait until the first car clears.

I like the lot in that it's relatively flat and fairly good size, has pretty good pavement conditions, and has bathrooms. Another thing is that it's nice having parking, grid, and observation area so close together - in that regard it's probably the most convenient of any of the lots we've used.

I can see the case for keeping the lot on the schedule at one event a year, just for insurance against losing some other venue. That's about all it's good for. It's cramped and kind of dangerous because of the proximity of light poles. Course design was fine, but what can you do?

Not my most treasured autox experience. Aside from making mistakes in the turnaround element, I got lost on the way there and lost again driving home. (Bizarre road numbering conventions down there Prince William way.)

Jim

I'll go on record as saying we should keep this lot. Frederick is beginning to resemble the lunar surface and I can't imagine they will repave it anytime soon. It's a matter of time before we simply can't use it. Having one or two events each season at Woodbridge keeps it available as an option. The poles are certainly a downside and limit the course design, but is it really worse then Harry Grove?

Couple comments. First, congrats to Jay on the win.
Second, I like the lot for several reasons - 8 miles from house, bathrooms, good asphalt, good viewing, good proximity to pits. Also the No.VA thing is nice for us VA guys so we don't have to do the long drive elsewhere at least once a year...
Third, I'd gladly run this place over Frederick. In fact, my car won't step foot on Frederick. Although I've run that lot more than any other lot over the past 15 years I absolutely hate it! I ran Jay & Denise's car last year once, but other than that I won't run a big car on it.
Fourth, I really enjoyed the layout. Loved the 6 cone slalom and the optional direction turnaround (I ran each way and think clockwise was faster). Although counterclockwise was more of a fan favorite when I drifted the whole thing on my 3rd run coming in hot...
Fifth, sure there are lots of poles, but its a nice square lot so I think there are course layout options that can be run. More so than the figure 8s at Frederick.
Sixth, had I known lot cost was a factor I too would have run a 2nd slot.
Finally, if it has to go I think more Winchester or Waldorf events would be my choice for replacement.

Keep it as an option. I too prefer it to Harry Grove. One reason you might not get as many people showing to this location is that the club is heavily biased to MD locations. If you ran in Hoodbrige more, you might get people showing up more regularly from the area. Has anyone talked to Osbourn Park lately? Can we add that back?


Also, great course. Really used the lot to it's potential. Loved it.

Hey everyone.

My $0.02: I liked the location and see potential in the course. There are a lot of light posts however, and I recall seeing 3 close calls with the posts. Besides that - huge perks that I saw were real bathrooms, plenty of parking, close access to gas stations and multiple possible course layouts.

I've been attending CDC events for roughly a year. So far IMO, the best lots have been Waldorf and Winchester. I like the Federick lot... however the condition of the road/track is so bad now. At our last event there, I personally had more mental focus on avoiding pot holes rather than looking 2/3 gates ahead.

Thanks for hosting these events. Side note: I'm loving the $10 off a second heat.

Oops I screwed up my index during registration. I'm running 200 TW tires so I should be a 1.02 like Jim Harris.

On the lot, I actually really like the Woodbridge lot, like others have mentioned its significantly better than the Frederick lot. I'm not sure how much "life" Frederick has unless they repave it, and even then its still the smallest and most constricting of the lots. If it takes signing up for a second slot at Woodbridge to keep the lot "affordable" I'm open to that as well. I actually regret not doing it this past weekend. The course layouts at Woodbridge are typically fun, with this weekend's course being the best one yet.

I'd prefer more Winchester or Waldorf events if possible, but at the least I really enjoy having one or two trips to Woodbridge each season. I wouldn't be upset if you added more, and I'd be willing to sign up for a double slot to help with covering the costs.

I'll chime in, though I have not made a lot of CDC events this year. I like Frederick, though the pavement is getting rough, the course is always a fun one, despite the size of the lot. I have skipped the VA venues this year, mainly cause Winchester is just too far for the length of the courses, and Woodbridge is a little to tight and slow for my tastes, also mad traffic when leaving heading back to MD. I missed the first Waldorf this year, but I plan to attend all of the ones at the end of the season. I would love if CDC could find some larger and faster lots. Adding Waldorf is a great step, but I wonder if there are other venues which can produce a 55-65 second course with some challenging elements around the area?

I loved this course! It's my favorite so far that I've been to. I realize it's an expensive venue, but I definitely wish we came here more often. The only thing I disliked about the course (and maybe it was more an issue with my driving style) was the curve at the end (with the timing). It was very difficult to judge the speed to come into it and resulted in plenty of DNFs due to drivers hitting one or more of the cones after the timer.

Keep up the great work and thanks for a great season so far!

Yes...what did happen to Osbourne Park? That was another VA venue that wasn't bad.

Also, if cost is a concern and the club can accommodate a few more cars we can all probably do a better job of spreading the word around to other autocrossers from other clubs for the next event here...or all buy 2nd slots.

For those that didn't make the trek to Hylton, it really is a lot that I think has potential. Here is a video of last week's layout, which was the most fun I've had on a little course in quite some time. Bigger than Frederick, way better asphalt than Bowie. Only real concern was the cross-over timing, but only had a couple minor issues with that all day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CWdNlTiwCs

Also, maybe we can charge for ride alongs for extra club $. The girl in my car I think was an autocross groupie and was catching rides all day from everyone.

DriftSS wrote:Yes...what did happen to Osbourne Park? That was another VA venue that wasn't bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CWdNlTiwCs

Also, maybe we can charge for ride alongs for extra club $. The girl in my car I think was an autocross groupie and was catching rides all day from everyone.

We lost the lot at Osbourn Park when the Principal no longer wanted us there. I think Hylton is actually bigger and there are no bathrooms available at Osbourn Park.

Watching the video, it looks like the person with the camera was standing by a red chair. Someone left a folding red chair, was that yours? If so, I have it.

Ed

Since it's the only one I don't have to drive over an hour to get to, I dig it.

-scheherazade