[somdcroc]

Originally Posted by Lara

I did ; ) Just seeking others' input and tips/cautions. I understand there are few cars out there right now on the members' days, which helps.

Lara, my other region (First Settlers) had a spring HPDE at Dominion back in April. Almost everyone said they wanted to come back and had a great time as it is a very fun track. The track is more comparable to Shenandoah then to Summit Main because its got many more turns. Of course you have heard about the concrete walls on the North side but most get over that intimidation in just a few laps. The esses are fun but they change length and radius so can be thrilling if you didn't expect it. The pavement has some bumpy areas--as does the paddock. The curbing in many places is not the shape or height you want to get up on and use like you can at other tracks. It is now well marked though (black/red/white) and I'm sure they will modify change as times and funding allow.

The last time I went there as a spectator (in May) the grass was really coming in well but I am sure like other new tracks it will take a few years for it to fully come in up to the actual edge of the track. During our rain free weekend event we had cars go off track but because the area had rain for many days prior the off track areas were very muddy. The track safety team would actually hose down the cars (and the track surface) after a four off and by the second day the mud off track was dry although moist enough not to cause dust.

Our issues were many (small) but I know they have had many events since. We had problems with the paddock PA, the flagging, the air compressor, power in the building, and other minor issues. We used the main building for classrooms and registration but I'd prefer we use the trailer (not sure its moved to the paddock yet though). The main facility is great but its a further away from the paddock then most would like.

Of course--as described before because Dominion is a new track we had out-of-region, out-of-PCA folks attending (tourists!) that complicated some things.

If staying overnight the best hotel is the new Best Western Plus and then the Holiday Inn Express. I have been told to avoid the Quality Inn. There is a nice little Mexican restaurant and an Italian restaurant in town.

There are clubs that have used the track multiple times (NASA-MA, TrackDaze, Audi, Bertil Roos, etc.) and we (FSR) want to go back if we can get a good date next year. If you get a chance stick around and watch another event (oval track racing, music, etc.) or just hang out at their bar. Its a nice facility with good folks that are striving to perfect the road course. I'm not doing much track stuff this year but if I could I would like to go back before this season ends.

Scott

[Doc_S]

Lara,

Here's a link to a 360 degree video I did back in may.
https://youtu.be/rOtEiH_-p94

You can pan around the video and see all the curbing and "grass". Make sure you are playing the HD version.

I haven't been down there since. But I've been told they've painted the curbing. They've added quite a bit of curbing since last year. I'm not sure if they've added anything since may. Have fun down there.

Mark

[Fumes]

Originally Posted by Der ABT

Wait what's a drivers meeting

i think it's the thing you do before the out-corners in the am?

[Lara]

Originally Posted by Doc_S

Lara,

Here's a link to a 360 degree video I did back in may.
https://youtu.be/rOtEiH_-p94

What a cool video! Thanks for sharing.

[Dr K]

Doc_S - can you tell us more about the camera system? Cool!

[Doc_S]

Dr K,

The video was shot with a Samsung Gear 360. This was last years version as there is a 2017 Gear 360 with slightly better resolution. This camera is relatively inexpensive compared to the more professional 360 deg FOV cameras, >$6K. The camera I got was under $300. A quick note on processing the video. There's a Samsung software application that stitches together the two cameras to create a single video file. that application takes quite a bit of time to render the video. After that I used adobe premier to edit, add music, etc.

[Dr K]

Well, I have a reasonable quad-core processor (albeit old) and Adobe Premier. Will look into the Samsung because (1) that is so cool and (2) it would be excellent for race "incidents."