My NHMS pet peeve..

[WillM]

Will,

I was under the assumption that the cones were just abitrarily put there by NHMS. If we are putting them out there and have control over their position, then I would ask that we use half as many, and move them back so as to not suggest a line.

Thanks for considering it.........I will stop whining about it now.

That is exactly the case...NHMS puts the cones out before we get there. I would not call the placement arbitrary. That said, we move/remove them as necessary. Tommy & his crew at NHMS have always been great about giving us the freedom to move things around a bit. The entrance to the track @ pitout is gated and padlocked, usually until around the time of the driver meeting.

T1 & T2 have each changed a few times over the past few years. The area has become a bit more wide-open, with less grass, more pavement, and an additional tire wall. The removal of the grass effectively changed the configuration of all 3 corners (T1, T2a, T2b), As such, the cones are now required to define the racing surface.

IF anyone has any objection as to how the cones are placed during the event, please bring it to our attention at the event. Tell Sam (or chief of ops) or me (chief instructor). Both of us are usually quite busy during the day and often do not get out on track as often as we'd like, which means that we won't know about issues on-track unless someone tells us!

[savage217]

I 100% agree, move them back! better yet, get rid of them and lets run the oval! At the open track test day (Basically an scca test day) the cones were pushed back a lot. It was perfect. In the afternoon we got to run the oval as well

[Grippy]

What ever happend to adjusting your line to the track conditions? Why not try the low line?

[TroyV]

Nothing happened to it....and I think for the most part we all adjust to changing conditions.

I was just asking if we could move the cones. If the answer is no, then that'll be the end of it.

Have you hit cones down there? That's a trick question because I know the answer. There is no reason to be punting cones in a place where there is so much pavement.

[breakaway500]

Cone punting can get expensive...

[cuda6666]

I'm surprised more drivers don't experiment with the low line into 1. Instead of pussy footing around up high doing a trail braking dance with the cones, it makes more sense to come in low and brake straight. I always make up time this way when following a high liner into 1, and I'd be making a pass if I weren't concerned about the cardiac health of the pit out guy. Given that 2a is a throwaway corner, there's really no downside to taking the low line into 1.

[Mick]

I used to like the low line too, but since they changed the south chicane the high line seems to be quicker for me. Have you driven the new layout? (I haven't seen the SPBee Subie in a while)

[breakaway500]

What makes you think all the "high line" drivers have not experimented with the "low line"? Some cars/drivers just prefer the "high line".
I try all sorts of lines..and try them again if they work out for the better. All my cars have a different preference on track as to where they are comfortable. Blocking off the track surface with multitudes of cones for the sake of defining a line doesn't seem right to me. (except autocrossing.. )
Unless there is a dangerous obstical you should avoid hitting,like a hole or an edge to the track surface,or marking off unused entry/exits or configuration options,I see cones as nothing more than debris on track.

[nateh]

Mick, that was my feeling as well. But I haven't been sufficiently quantitative in my testing to say for sure.

Before all these changes, I had convinced myself through comparison testing that the lap times were the same for the two lines, at least in a Miata.

[nateh]

Mark, I agree totally: "Unless there is a dangerous obstacle you should avoid hitting, like a hole or an edge to the track surface, or marking off unused entry/exits or configuration options, I see cones as nothing more than debris on track."

[WillM]

I think Mick nailed it. The low line used to be the fast line. The new configuration has changed that, at least from my perspective. My guess is that Frank hasn't run NHMS after July of 2010.

I think one thing has become clear from this thread: some of us are fixated on cones. Bob Shake 'N Bake Brooks - please arrange for ice cream cones at the next BBQ. You could charge $10 each and make a bundle!

[betelgeuse]

I take the middle line into T1 , but I still think the cones should be moved back some.

I thought it was pretty good on the test/tune day except for the cone in the middle of turn 2b the whole afternoon.

Greg

[cuda6666]

I think Mick nailed it. The low line used to be the fast line. The new configuration has changed that, at least from my perspective. My guess is that Frank hasn't run NHMS after July of 2010.

I did run on the new configuration - and I was slow

[savage217]

Definitely agree with Mick. I take the high/middle line. The low line is definitely slower with the new configuration. Obviously we all adapt to where the cones are but why not make it more fun and faster by pushing them back? Who wants to go slower?

[6PAK72]

liz says she is easily distracted by bright colorful objects and thus the cones are a distraction to her ability to drive flatout.