HPDE Groups to avoid?
 

My goal for this year is to get to Watkins Glen and check it off my bucket list. I've only run with SCCA Track night events to this point cause they work with my schedule the best. But they don't run at WG. So I'm currently looking at Chin, NASA, SCDA and Hooked on Driving and Mass Tuning. Any pros, cons, etc? I'm pretty much going to stay away from the Porsche and BMW clubs cause they seem to require an independent inspection at a regional authorized 3rd party shop which I feel is overkill.

Let me know any in sight you might have.

Thanks.

ive ran with scca and speedventures and ongrid and speed district but they are all socal west coast event runners


only one i tell people to stay away from is xtremespeed they are horrible would never run another event with them

I have used Chin and HOD several times. All positive experiences.

I’ve exclusively ran with NASA and been happy with the experiences overall. I know the different regions have different rules.

I've ran with HOD, NASA, CHIN.(All at VIR) Here are my takes.

NASA: Will give you the least track time but all my time on the track has been very productive with them. Lot's going on at a NASA event, between TT, Lightning/Thunder races, packed schedule.

HOD: Good coaching, more track time than NASA, good run groups, well balanced.

CHIN: Only 3 groups and the Novice group is incredibly slow, lots of tracktime and a nice 1 hour long session at the end of the day open for everyone. Single sessions tend to be longer as well, 30 or 40 minutes.

My least favorite was CHIN, I was way faster than anyone else in Novice but they wouldn't let me move up to the Blue group, it was an incredibly frustrating experience. It felt like I was stuck in traffic on my way to the grocery store the entire day. Almost half the group was completely off-line and very unpredictable. I almost left early because it was so frustrating. The only thing that saved it was the hour long session at the end of the day. NASA is great because the traffic always seems to be well managed, I'll start in the front of the group and get about 3 clean laps before I hit any traffic, and by that time it's mostly spread out. HOD was good as well and they let me move up groups without issue. I usually go with NASA but I wouldn't hesitate to go with HOD again. I'll probably stay away from CHIN for now, only 3 groups tends to create too much traffic. I don't really feel I benefit from the extra track time. I prefer the 20-25 minute sessions, that is enough to get some good laps in and then take a break.

My experience has been that the faster, but not fastest HPDE run groups seem to have the most folks and traffic. Everybody seems to get better but most folks with a non-dedicated track car don't want to "let it all hang out". If I am in doubt, I sign up with the slower (and probably riskier) group and will get moved up if needed. Don't want to get in the way and I always learn from both faster and slower folks.

Great info Christian, thanks. And everyone else that's replied also:w00t:

I was really looking at Chin over Labor day weekend, I was thinking of taking that week off and it would work out well. But the others are actually on the weekend so those would work too.

I've run with MassTuning a few times, but never at Watkins. I would say it's similar to how Christian described Chin - you have to start in novice and it's very slow paced. Good I guess if it's your first time on track, but frustrating when you're used to Advanced groups with SCCA . You get 5 or 6 sessions, and after the 4th one a lot of people leave so the last few runs of the day are usually a lot better and less populated.

I've run with HOD, NASA and PCA. HOD was the first group I ever ran with. I felt like they ran a good event and I felt pretty comfortable running with them as a Novice at the time. Their prices are definitely on the higher end. I've run with NASA a couple times as well and enjoyed the events they put on. As someone else mentioned, they typically pack a lot into a day, but it's cool to be able to watch some of the races if it's a HPDE/TT/Racing event. I'd like to run more events with them in the future. The organization I've run with the most, by far, is PCA. I've run with multiple regions (First Settlers, NNJ, Shattenbaum) and have been really happy with their events which is why I keep running with them. I've also been able to move up groups pretty quickly over the years to where I'm now running in the Advanced group. Yes, they require a tech inspection before the events, but I factor that in for the price of doing an event. I've found a local shop that does this for a decent price and I usually time it to where I have them check alignment, balance wheels, etc. PCA also seems to have unbeatable pricing which helps offset the tech inspection cost. They also have a ton of events at great tracks along the east coast (where I'm located).

Overall, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the three I mentioned above. Lots of times it just comes down to Events and dates that fit into your schedule. Hope that helps some.

I have found NASA events to be very dependent on what region you are running with.


My NASA Southeast and NASA Mid Atlantic have been excellent. Especially for a Novice, their classroom sessions are very good and they have good instruction.


NASA Florida is something to be tolerated, at best.


Chin events in Florida are good as long as you stay out of Novice. Lots of 1st time HPDE drivers with high-dollar cars who want 0 risk.


PDG (Performance Driving Group) at Sebring is great if you are a intermediate or better driver who basically wants an Open Track day at Sebring.

My best experiences have been with

TrackDaze
PCA
TrackClub USA
NASA

Some groups that require the independent shop inspection will allow the inspection to be valid for a year

Chin, HOD, and 10/10ths were all really good had a bad experience with MVP the guy that runs it likes to talk about people at previous events or previous day and kinda derogatory as well when he does talk shut!!

Mark is kind of a dick. :smiling1:

In my limited experience, avoid the newer groups until they're more established. From what I've seen first hand they have been pretty chaotic, and don't control what happens on the track very well. As a novice I started with HOD and kinda expected all the groups to be similar to how they run events. My 2nd event was was a new group out here in California and it was really bad but they've gotten way more organized and they're a great group to run with now.