[Eric S]

Cool - I'm glad it worked out for everyone! I only wish I could have been there to enjoy it with you! Anyone who has been in the previous garage “classroom” at Mid Ohio knows how much it sucks; gaining access to the Tower is something that I’ve been negotiating with the track for 3 years, so I view it as a major step forward for DE students. To my knowledge, we were the first car club ever allowed to use the Tower.

From the reaction to my post it appears that some took the view that I was assuming people wouldn’t act like adults, and didn’t like the message. While there are a few who won’t, most will conduct themselves accordingly if made aware of the situation. No desire to be “principal”; just providing information as a PCA volunteer and fellow Dorki.

There is a tremendous amount of effort that goes into holding successful events of this size; much of it is behind the scenes – and all of it on a volunteer basis. DE Chair, Registrar, Cashier, Chief Instructor, Tech, and Registration all put in countless hours in advance of, during, and after each event. Perhaps a little more insight into my role would be helpful. As Potomac’s Track Coordinator I not only negotiate the schedule and all contract terms (insurance, event dates, ALS Ambulances, roll-back wreckers, corner workers, control, etc.) and event logistics (gate hours, trailer drops, track walks, fuel pumps, food concession, souvenir concession, etc.), but I sign my name for PCA Potomac on the contract. I’m sure anyone in this position would hope that participants would abide by the negotiated terms, as any resulting issues reflect negatively on both the club and the Coordinator. The trailer drop at Watkins Glen last year was a good example; the instructions were explicit (“please don’t show up before 6:30pm”), but people started arriving at 6:00. The gate wouldn’t allow people in early, so they queued up until they were blocking Highway 16, seriously jeopardizing the potential to let anyone in that evening or to ever be able to arrange it again. Fortunately, I was able to smooth things out with the track, and hopefully our “first” won’t be our “last”.

As you can see, Track Coordinator is an interesting and very active position. There are many ways to get involved, help out and even influence how things are run; everyone is encouraged to apply!

Sorry for the long post; after being fortunate enough to average 30 track days a year for the last 4 years, I am going through track withdrawals like you can’t believe… June can’t get here soon enough!