Portland Raceway or Thunderhill

I live most of the time in a spot just about the mid-point between these two racetracks. I want to start participating in track events to get some miles in my car and some experience driving it at speed.

Can anyone who does this at PIR or Thunderhill tell me what car club(s) are the ones to join for those locations and any other pertinent info based on their experience.

Has anyone run at both tracks and tell me their preference?

I would appreciate your feedback.

Mike
 
Mike, NorCal the Northern California Region Shelby Club, races a lot and uses the Thunderhill race track a few times a year. They are a great bunch of people and are avid racers. Maybe some time in the future we can go down there together.

http://www.norcal-saac.org/
 
Thanks Richard, that is helpful feedback - just what I am looking for.

Anytime you are running through the Medford area, let me know - I am about 30 minutes out in the sticks form there. You might take the 97 though and That isn't too far away either.

Where in ID are you?

Mike
 
I'm in Coeur d'Alene. Do you ever get up this way? If so drop by. Lynn Miner is also up here north of Spokane.

Did anyone take pictures of Dennis Olthoffs car back at RA with any of the skins off. It would be interesting to see how his car is set up. I heard he ripped up the old cars.
 

Dutton

Lifetime Supporter
Mike,

Portland is an excellent track to learn racing skills; it's wide, smooth, nearly flat and (for the most part) forgiving if one gets in a bit over ones head. Because it's so flat (total variation in height is ~10 feet), I didn't find it to be as interesting as Seattle or Thunderhill (or Laguna or Sears), but you'll definitely be challenged to nail every turn on the same lap. Because it's so flat, you could pop in stiffer springs and lower the ride height for more speed in the twisties...

As for who, the Portland area Alfa or Shelby clubs would be my first phone calls. Also worth noting is that PIR is in Portland (as opposed to some tracks that are miles and miles away from civilization) so there's something for everyone should she have other interests when you're at the track. Not to mention that there's plenty of great beer in the Portland area.

The last time I saw Thunderhill was the first weekend it was open when I was working turns for the race; I've never raced there but have worked turns for 20 years, and raced open wheel for 5 of those years also. It impressed me as being more technical than PIR and has a TON of runoff. I understand it's been enlarged and improved over the years -on and off track- so that's worth factoring in. The location is a bit remote. Like Richard noted, the Shelby club would be a good contact.

If you're headed for Portland and looking for another 40 on the grid, drop me a note!

T.
 
I'm in Coeur d'Alene. Do you ever get up this way? If so drop by. Lynn Miner is also up here north of Spokane.

Did anyone take pictures of Dennis Olthoffs car back at RA with any of the skins off. It would be interesting to see how his car is set up. I heard he ripped up the old cars.

You live in a very beautiful area (but I didn't have to tell you that). I do have friends I haven't seen in a while in Spokane. One of the schools I went to is in Walla X2 so I am familiar with the area (we used to head to ID for the lower legal age limit at the time). If we do make it up there I will definitely drop you a line. Thanks!

Unfortunately, I didn't see Dennis's car unbuttoned. I did see it rip around though. You can contact Dennis direct and I bet he would tell you..
 
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Mike,

Portland is an excellent track to learn racing skills; it's wide, smooth, nearly flat and (for the most part) forgiving if one gets in a bit over ones head. Because it's so flat (total variation in height is ~10 feet), I didn't find it to be as interesting as Seattle or Thunderhill (or Laguna or Sears), but you'll definitely be challenged to nail every turn on the same lap. Because it's so flat, you could pop in stiffer springs and lower the ride height for more speed in the twisties...

As for who, the Portland area Alfa or Shelby clubs would be my first phone calls. Also worth noting is that PIR is in Portland (as opposed to some tracks that are miles and miles away from civilization) so there's something for everyone should she have other interests when you're at the track. Not to mention that there's plenty of great beer in the Portland area.

The last time I saw Thunderhill was the first weekend it was open when I was working turns for the race; I've never raced there but have worked turns for 20 years, and raced open wheel for 5 of those years also. It impressed me as being more technical than PIR and has a TON of runoff. I understand it's been enlarged and improved over the years -on and off track- so that's worth factoring in. The location is a bit remote. Like Richard noted, the Shelby club would be a good contact.

If you're headed for Portland and looking for another 40 on the grid, drop me a note!

T.

I have family in Salem/Hillsboro area, so I would be tempted to start there (combine a visit). One thing Thunderhill has going for it is better overall weather during the year, so it might be PIR for summer months and Thunderhill in the spring/fall. Hmmm...

Shelby clubs it is!

Thanks crossle43.
 
Mike contact Don Newman a close friend of mine and the President of the Cascade Cobras Car Club

Cascade Cobras


We have several club members that enjoy track play and welcome all car enthusiast. We have GT40's and Cobra's and even a world record Daytona Replica excuse me I mean Type 65 Salt Flat record holder in our club. We don't care if you have an original as long as you enthusiasm real :thumbsup:

Here is a new track in Oregon I have yet got to see


Oregon Raceway Park | Grass valley, Oregon | The Future of Racing in the Pacific Northwest
 
If you run PIR I highly recommend you run with the Lotus club, Club Lotus Northwest

They put on two track days a year, the Friday's before Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. The only caveat is they typically do not run a novice session. They usually run intermediate, advanced, and race car groups. Unless it is raining there is usually a very nice selection of cars that show up. On Labor Day weekend, PIR also hosts the all British field meet and SOVERN runs vintage races (Sat, Sun, Mon). A great weekend if you have the time.

Also, do run Thunderhill. Great track. Not sure who is the best to run with but there are a lot of track days being run.

Once you have some track miles under your belt, make sure you plan a trip to Laguna Seca. If you live on the west coast and track or race a car, it should be on your bucket list.

Ted
 
Hi Mike,
Just wanted to put in my $.02 regarding Thunderhill and the groups that run there. Below are a few of the groups that operate in the Norcal area besides the Norcal Shelby Club that I normally run with. I have run with all of them and although each have their strong points, they are all good groups to run with. I believe that I would prefer NASA if you are new to open track as they do spend a fair amount of time counceling new drivers without sucking the fun out of the experience. The nice thing is that as you can see from the schedules, you really can put together quite a few track days if you are so inclined. I also wouldn't take Sears Point (Infineon) off of your list as it really isn't that much further of a drive from Medford and is very much a track worth driving.
In my opinion, Thunderhill is a great track, especially for those new to the track or are sorting out a car. I would not call it particularly technical but it is a good club type track that gives you ample space to make mistakes without often making you pay for them with injury to either you or the car. It has some fun blind corners and some off camber corners that keep you focused though. There are also a couple corners that drop away pretty dramatically that are pretty entertaining. All in all worth spending the time and money. If you are looking for elevation changes as well as a much more technical track, again I suggest Sears Point. You can also find that on the schedules attached.

If you come down to either track drop me a PM as there is a good chance I will be there. If not driving, working on a car or just hanging out.


http://www.nasaproracing.com/norcal/events/2009calendar.htm

Green Flag Driving Association main page

..:: Hooked On Driving ::..
 
Mike,
I would recommend driving both to see what you enjoy most. As Ted said the Lotus Club (clnw.org) has track days at PIR before Memorial Day and Labor Day. Cascade Sports Car Club and Grand Prix Imports are also good track days. PIR has 2 fast straights, but no elevation change. Thunderhill has several high speed sweepers and lots of elevation, but avoid mid summer-it's HOT.
 
Another track that should be very worthy of your consideration, especially considering your location, is the Reno-Fernley Raceway. I recently staged a two-day track event there for the Pantera club, and everybody who participated said that it was by far the best track we had run on (in the past we ran the outside road course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and also the Spring Mountain track in Pahrump, NV).

Scott Griffith is sort of the spiritual driving instructor guru for the Nor-Cal Shelby club, and I 'adopted' him to fulfill that same role for the Pantera club. He has written some *fantastic* and very detailed open track primers; one of them deals with the sport generally, while the others give detailed turn-by-turn tips for successfully negotiating the various Nor-Cal tracks. They can be found here:

Open Track Primers

I view his primers as must-reading for first-timers at Laguna Seca, Sears Point or Thunderhill. Interestingly, he pronounced the Reno-Fernley Raceway as being the very best track he'd ever been on in his life! That alone should cause you to investigate RFR, even though it would be a longer drive from home. Like T-hill, it also boasts lots of runoff room, but the straights are longer and thus the speeds are higher--the truly speedy are hitting 165 or so at the end of the front straight, which leads into some esses before a 3rd gear 180-degree left-hand hairpin. It also has some great elevation changes--nothing like Laguna Seca's long uphill climb, but enough to make it interesting.
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
The NORCAL guys run a track day in early October at Thunderhill (Fall NORCAL Classic). Great date, not real hot and little chance of rain. This is also the least attended NORCAL annual track date at Thunderhill and you will get a LOT of miles. Expect at least 125 miles a day and 5 sessions.

Fair price, Very good people and safely run event. NO yahoos. I do this one every year.
 
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