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NASA's HypeRfest @ Summit Point, WV Article/Photos By: David Hess (click for profile)
We walked around quite a bit, and finally made our way to the paddock area. I didn't realize there was a car-show too.
http://www.pbase.com/emwavey/nasa_hyperfest_070503
- More of Dave's photos __________________________________________________________________
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| If you have any questions feel free to email me, or post your question on the NERDS_racing yahoo group. | ||||||||||||
After
catching up with Gayle, we both went to the
Then we saw
some ride-alongs. Folks basically signed up for a ride with an
instructor, only they weren't driving the type of cars you'd expect to
see on a road course, they were driving old, beat-up, but well
maintained, cop cars. The instructors were local track gurus at BSR, who
also instruct FATTs (Friday at the Track). It was weird to see some
folks not wearing helmets, and this made me wonder why. I later
found out that the "Ride Alongs" and the HyperDrivers were
kept under certain speeds. For safety reasons, drivers who behaved
badly were pulled into the pits for a good spanking. (Edited:
7/11/03 after learning more about HypeRfest's safety requirements)
They
also had a drifting school. Here students had the chance to practice
drifting between turns 4 and 9. This area is often referred to as the
"carousel". It's the slowest part of the track yet the
most entertaining to watch. Whether the driver was good or not, didn't
matter, but the guys who knew what they were doing definitely received
lots of praise from the crowd. Look for some on-track video to show up.
One guy, who was obviously no stranger to drifting, was being followed
by a camera man in an IS 300 wagon.
Even
before we arrived at the paddock area, we were treated to some really
excellent eye-candy. A couple cars of note, were a 350-Z and an MR-S.
Both were tastefully modified with excellent aftermarket wheels (some
just look right for a particular car), and the MR-S had a slight ground
effects kit and a hard top. I'm a sucker for coupes and seeing the MR-S
with a hard top just tickled my fancy.
Once
in the paddock area, we saw a couple Ferraris, and in direct contrast we
noticed the popular rice competition cars. This was like an accident
that you couldn't help but look at. Here a few contestants are given
spray paint, duct tape, stickers, and card board, to
"rice-out" junkers. I talked to the guy who was later declared
the winner. He was sporting a checkered flag hair-do, and had some
interestingly funny modifications to his ricer. A roof, mounted stereo,
"NOS" integrated into the rear seat, a huge card-board wing,
etc, etc. I snapped a few pictures of him and his car. Hopefully I'll
have them up in a couple days.
Gayle and
I also had the opportunity to talk to one of the Honda Challenge drivers
competing in group 4, one of the slowest groups. He was driving a well
prepared Honda CRX Si, basically the car was preped to ITA rules. Sorry
I don't recall his name. Since we wanted to see how this guy would
do, we stuck around, and sweated the bright sun a bit longer. "Our
guy" it turns out qualified at the top of group 4 (H4) and even
out-qualified some of the group one (H1) drivers. I think he finished
somewhere around 6th overall. Group one winner (also the overall winner)
drove a CRX with one of those engine swap deals. Apparently (H1)
allows engine swaps and is proving popular with the "import
scene".
We
packed up after that race, which was definitely the high point for me.
Watching some well prepared cars driven by competent drivers was
definitely a thrill. Turn nine was my favorite turn to watch. Cars
seemed to float around the turn. Even though all the cars in the Honda
challenge were front-drive, the cars looked to be over-steering through
that turn. I think what makes it more exciting for me is knowing what
it's like in a car on this track. Having both driven a car and riding
along in a car a few weeks prior, definitely helped me gain an almost
omni-present vantage point.
I certainly
understand the gaining popularity of NASA. Seeing the smiles and hearing
the conversations of the guys who just got back from either a ride along
or a "HypeR drive", made it all-the-more clear that this
organization has the right idea about gaining membership. I also
understand why the 
As
many of you know, I am an SCCA member and on the Board of Directors for
the South Jersey Region. I am not bashing the SCCA, but rather merely
pointing out where the SCCA could improve. Even if the SCCA does
nothing, NASA is still providing an excellent service to not only the
SCCA, but also the community at large. Nothing helps a driver more then
knowing and flirting with his limits and the car's. Who knows, some of
these Hyper-fest drivers, might make their way into Solo 2 or even club
racing.
Special
thanks to Gayle for braving the sun, and sticking around to watch the
end of the Honda Challenge Race.