Speed SF's Inaugural Night Event A Great Success
After protracted negotiations with the county, we were able to host the first nighttime track event in Northern California. For all involved, this was a totally new experience that had our veterans re-learning a track they thought they knew inside and out.
Aside from the 25 Hours, Thunderhill Raceway never runs events past 5:00 PM—until recently. The soaring heat and growing demand for tolerable track days throughout California encouraged us to try and find better solutions to serve our drivers. With the help of David Vodden, Schuyler VanBuskirk, and the rest of the Thunderhill staff—they definitely put their hours in dealing with the county, we were able to give our drivers an experience typically reserved to well-funded NASA racers.
If we could avoid noise complaints by instating a 95-decibel limit, we were able to bring in some of our more experienced drivers to drive in the darkness. Though we wanted to extend our run groups to midnight, the best we could manage was a 10:30 cutoff. Still, with sessions starting at 5:30, the night kids had plenty of time to play. This way, they at least had a shot at reacquainting themselves with the track and memorize the rhythm. After the sun set, they’d be relying a lot more on their internal stopwatch and muscle memory to guide them through the areas not illuminated by the seven operating light towers before the sun set.
Once the sun was out of their eyes, they had to begin picking special reference points and other landmarks visible in the dwindling light to help them through the night sessions.
Because of the added challenge of running 100+ miles an hour through unlit areas of rolling farmland, only intermediate and advanced drivers were allowed at Speed SF’s inaugural night drive.
Corner workers used flashing lights instead of flags, drivers were encouraged to use their blinkers to signal point-bys, and a generally more conserative approach when alone or in a pack. Visibility being what it was, they had to exercise a little caution and accept they’d be a little off their daytime pace.
“It turned out that some of the stock headlights didn’t cut it,” Patrick mentioned. “Some guys taped rally-style lightbars to their hoods and others had underglow!”
“I wasn’t trying to PB or anything,” said Seigo Ma. “I was taking it slower—I was driving on memory. It was a totally new experience and a lot to take in—so I’m glad I was able to sleep in that morning!”
Others were more excited at the new challenge. “It was one of the best events ever—and also one of the scariest,” said Gary Wong. “Like driving a new track, almost. I had no idea when to turn in, brake, or apex!”
Though that was the M.O. for most of the drivers in attendance, some of the kookier ones took advantage of the colder temperatures and went a little faster. For a guy like Tony Rodriguez, a guy who certainly isn’t scared of throwing his car in and sorting it out mid-corner, visibility was a relatively small impediment. He managed to chop a few tenths off his best time and bring a little more competition back into the relaxed paddock.
There are talks about trying this format again in the near future. As you might imagine, there are a lot of negotiations with the county and the neighbors involved. However, if we stick to the demands made, we should be able to offer this again to our returning drivers and other first-timers looking for a totally new experience.
EDIT (8/3/22):
We have successfully arranged another nighttime date with Buttonwillow Saturday, August 27th. To sign up for the event, visit this link.