New Racetracks Poppin Up All Over!

Started by MiniDave, February 06, 2023, 05:35:24 PM

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MiniDave

Last October I got to drive on the brandy new Ozarks International Racetrack which was hella fun, I've not driven a track with this many elevation changes, blind crests and whoop de doo's in ages. I was not driving in anger, just doing touring laps, but we weren't just parading around either.

TIL about a new track that's just opened about an hour south of me called Hedge Hollow Racetrack, near Adrian , MO. It also looks to be extremely fun and as close as it is it's easy enough to trip down there for an event. I hope to be able to take some laps around it soon too. Right now it's a private track but it will soon be hosting events for all the major vintage series like VSCDA and NASA.....

There are plenty of YouTube videos of Ozarks,but I haven't seen any for Hedge Hollow yet although I know a couple of the local clubs (like the Mustang, Corvette and Porsche clubs) have all supposedly run events there already.

Here's a good clip at Ozarks showing the elevation changes and corners.... 
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

cstudep

I used to do a lot of sky diving just south of Adrian, that's certainly not too far away.

Neat to see some tracks popping up closer around here. Always wanted to go take laps around one but never really knew anyone that was into it since there have never been many tracks around here that aren't dirt.

MiniDave

#2
I used to regularly take a group of MINI owners to Heartland Park for lapping days and we had a ball! Cost when we started doing it was really cheap - $60. It's now about $200 for the day but you'll get all the track time you can stand for that amount. We had as many as 10-12 cars go that day across the three classes....novice, intermediate and advanced. After my first event I always ran intermediate although it was the most crowded class. I would always start at the very back of the grid so I wasn't constantly watching my mirrors for the point-by for cars like the Vettes and Porsches that were so much faster, in a 20 min session I rarely got passed this way. By the time the session was over they were just catching up to me. In a classic Mini it would probably be a different situation.....the guys in the advanced classes were often driving race cars so I never went in that class.

I'm not sure what class I would want to run in my Classic Mini - intermediate was often full of guys who thought they were quick but in reality were simply rolling roadblocks whose egos wouldn't let another car pass them - usually 80's and 90's Mustang and Camaro owners who were faster down the straight but had no brakes and were shit in the corners, where my MINI was so much faster than them. If I did manage to get a point-by I would run off and leave them.

The 2010 up Mustangs and Camaros are a different story - they have huge HP AND great brakes and handling.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad