Joe...This is the kind of thing hat needs posting to the eformulacarnews.com F500 forums so that more people can read it. Please take a second to cut and paste it to the site.
Take care, Rob Howden Publisher / Editor-in Chief - ekartingnews.com - Super Kart Illustrated - eformulacarnews.com - FormulaCar Magazine Ph: 519-624-2003 Fax: 519-624-0053 P.O. Box 580 Cambridge, Ontario Canada N1R 5W1 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Palmer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 11:23 PM Subject: Re: [F500] Heartland Park > > I arrived at HPT with very low expectations . . . if the new surface was > smoother than a tractor trail after a long rain, it would have been an > improvement. > > After walking the track Friday night, my expectations came up a bit . . . > the surface looked and felt great and the F1 style curbing looked well done > and in all the right places. > > Saturday's first laps confirmed that Ray's contractors had done a good job > pouring a smooth surface. In the early laps/sessions the surface seemed a > little slick. The grip seemed to improve in later sessions/laps. This may > have been partly due to the weather conditions/temps as well as more rubber > being laid down. > > The new surface is also wider at many points around the track. The very > driveable curbing adds even more room, changing the lines in many of the > turns, making them much faster. > > Now that I could choose my line for speed instead of picking my way around > the bumps & jumps, I found the track to be very fun and challenging. Not as > technical as Madness but with some interesting attributes, like a banked > carousel, a blind high-speed kink on the front straight, and a fun chicane > on the back straight. > > The front-runners were running 1:47's and 1:46's. I imagine the Run-Offs > Rockets will take another second or two off that. Note: Fastest FF lap was > a 1:46.2 > > The race start was pure chaos through turns 1-3 . . . 4-wide with several > cars 2 & 4 wheels off. However, there was not a major incident. The wide > track, smooth flat curbs, smooth shoulders, and smooth grass areas saved the > day. I made mistake passing some Vees around lap 13 and went four off and > back on and then did it again in the next corner when my dirty tires decided > to add insult to idiocy. Both offs were easily handled through the smooth > transitions and grass. > > If you never ran the "old" HPT, I think you'll like the track, surface, and > facilities. Chuck and those who had run the "old" track, you'll be > pleasantly shocked. > > See you all in Topeka. > > Shiny Side Up, > Joe Palmer > TX Novakar #56 > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Chuck McAbee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 3:57 PM > Subject: [F500] Heartland Park > > > > We have heard at length about the Solo Pad at Heartland Park. > > > > How about the Runoff's configuration track. Joe Palmer, David Gill, Rusty > > Cook, Jack Walbran.....comments please. > > > > I got to see a video from the test day and I noticed that the launching > pads > > and bumps I remember from last year are gone. What else does the track > hold > > for those of us who intend to participate in the Runoffs? > > > > Chuck McAbee > > SEDIV #16 > > > > _______________________________________________ > > F500 mailing list - [email protected] > > To unsubscribe or change options please visit: > > http://f500.org/mailman/listinfo/f500 > > *** Please, DO NOT send unsubscribe requests to the mailing list! *** > > _______________________________________________ > F500 mailing list - [email protected] > To unsubscribe or change options please visit: > http://f500.org/mailman/listinfo/f500 > *** Please, DO NOT send unsubscribe requests to the mailing list! *** > _______________________________________________ F500 mailing list - [email protected] To unsubscribe or change options please visit: http://f500.org/mailman/listinfo/f500 *** Please, DO NOT send unsubscribe requests to the mailing list! ***
