I went to my first track day at Carolina Motorsports Park at the end of last May and it was a blast. Unfortunately, I was the only true novice there so even though I have some autoX experience, I still felt completely outmatched. I spun once in my first session, but as the day continued I began cornering much faster.

Things I learned:
1) My evo is much faster than I am as a driver
2) My evo has about 5x more grip than I thought was possible (I found this out when the instructor drove for a few laps. ...he got out saying "...this thing is fast")
3) I have a lot to learn about track driving
4) I've got the itch

Thanks to Vincent (my roommate) for taking pictures and helping with car prep!

Now on the pictures...

EDIT: Here are some pics of the car without the bright tape New JDP Lip

tech




spin











some of the other cars there...




this guy was the fastest on the track that day










Vincent still had his camera out when we were driving home, and we actually saw flames coming out while she was driving.



She figured it out in time to stop and get out, and a trucker stopped to help her calm things down

 

A lot of nice cars there, glad you had fun!

 

Looks like you had a fun run. Pretty crazy how you manage to get a shot of a car on fire and the lady running.

 

Looks awesome

 

looks like you had an awesome time

 

newbie question.... why did you tape up the headlights?

 

to prevent rockchips?...

 

if ever something bad happens, like crashing/hitting or getting hit by another vehicle, the headlight wont be everywhere, little pieces is hard to clean/find...

i would like to take one of these classes, im thinking about skip barber?

 

Thanks for the pictures!

PS - Does anybody even use 56k anymore?

 

This is correct. I probably didn't need to because it was on a Thursday, and the track wasn't packed with cars so flying stones weren't big problems.

Also, I didn't tape my bumper because it was already chipped like crazy when I bought it a year ago.

 

It was sweet!!! I can't wait to go back.

It is definitely hard on your car, and your brakes especially, but my pads and fluid are in good shape so everything worked well... little to no fade on hawk hps pads

 

hopefully not, but you know how some people like to hold on to old technology ... like the 8-track

 

looking good. I'm sure you can get your time to be one of the fastest with a few more runs and experience.

~Chug

 

had to check your profile when you said 8 track.... there are only a few people around who remember that thing.

wow, all that open room, weekday track sessions look nice.

was the porsche in the first pic draining water off his air conditioner? or does he own that track?

 

Congrats on getting the itch!

I went last month for my first track day with instructor... my feedback matches yours exactly! Made me love the evo even more. Simply amazed at how much grip it had.

Best of luck!