SoCalBoss

Sorry for the long post, but I tried to keep it concise...

I went to the first Track Attack and met another forum member there (billyboss). There were 5 of us with 4 bringing non-driving guests. I had a blast, as did the other Boss owners. This is basically their 1st day class but using a Boss that is stock with the exception of a roll cage, 6-point harness, upgraded brake pads, Motul RBF 600, 302S grill, FR radiator, A/C condenser removal). This is a great program for everybody who has never had any instruction or limited track experience like me. For those with tons of track experience and are pushing their car to the limits, I'm not sure this day would be very entertaining, as the fundamentals are being covered throughout the day, and there are 2 sessions of open track time. For the more experienced track drivers, I think this day coupled with Day 2 would be the way to go. The staff (instructors and support) were awesome. Drinks were always available, and Cindi made sure we stayed hydrated. They were all very organized and made sure everybody was comfortable and having fun. There was a photographer throughout the day taking pictures and gave us a USB drive with all of them.

Here's how the event went:

Sunday evening reception:
Bill Rhinehart gave us a quick tour of the museum. He is very knowledgeable and gave us a number of interesting bits of trivia. Of course, I can't remember much, now. Then, we had a nice dinner and ended the evening introducing ourselves and meeting the staff.

1st morning classroom session:
Introduction to all the instructors for the day: Cindi Lux (head instructor), Dan McKeever, Charlie Putnam.
Cindi talked about braking, turn-in, exiting turns, handling weight transfer and downshifting. Then, we put on a driving suit and grabbed a helmet. We got on a van to take us to the garage where we found 5 Bosses (2 of the Laguna Seca variety), each with our name on the windshield. My name was on the CO/black one, which is what I own.

Orientation to the track:
We got in our cars and were shown how to strap ourselves in. When I started up the car, I noticed the display in my instrument cluster showing: "TRACKEY ACTIVE. TRACK USE ONLY" (more on this later). The 5 of us split up into 2 groups following an instructor on the track for a few low speed laps, just to get us comfortable in the car with the extra safety gear and a little familiar with the track. We spent the entire day on the East track. The West track was being used for their Mustang Experience program.

Skid-car:
My group followed the instructor backed to the garage, where we parked our cars and walked over to a course set up with a Ford Five Hundred set up with outriggers at all 4 corners to simulate low traction. The 3 of us got in the car with the instructor (Dan) taking us through the course in different settings (normal traction, reduced front end traction, rear end traction, and at all 4 corners. It was a great exercise in trying to find the limits of the car in a controlled, low speed environment. The key concept I took away from this is the idea of balancing speed and turning angle.

Heel-toe downshifting:
We went back to the garage and got in our cars and followed the other instructor (Charlie) to the front straight section of the track. Here, Cindi showed us how to heel-toe downshift. We then got in our cars going up and down the front straight of the track practicing downshifting from 4th-3rd, 3rd-2nd gears for about 15 minutes. This was a great exercise for me, as I've tried to do this in the past, but wasn't very good at it. Charlie gave me a few tips to get me better at it.

2nd morning classroom session:
I forgot what we talked about here. I think it was just about putting the concepts we learned earlier together.

Track walk-through:
We split up into 2 groups again and drove onto the track following the instructor. We stopped at a few key corners and got out of the cars to look at the corners on foot. Charlie showed us different lines that could be taken through some combination corners and explained how being 1 foot off the optimal line and get us into survival mode. He also talked about sacrificing one turn to gain an advantage on the following 2 turns…

Lunch: rolls, salad, steamed veggies, pasta, meat marinara sauce, meatless pesto sauce, cookies. Yummy!

1st afternoon classroom session:
On the van ride back to the garage, we took a few laps on the track, with Dan explaining each corner and the different lines through them.

Lead follow session:
We split into 2 groups following an instructor on the track. He started slow and showed us the braking points as if we were going at speed. He gradually increased speed and kept an eye on how we were doing. We took turns being directly behind the instructor.

2nd afternoon classroom session: (10 min)
Instructors talked about what they saw and answered any questions about the track. Cindi suggested we do the whole track in 4th gear. I think she said this for 2 reasons: to concentrate on braking and taking the right line and to reduce time close to redline. It was 95+ degrees at 4500 ft elevation.

Lapping session #1:
Instructors rode along for a few laps. Dan gave me great tips. I had the most problems finding the line in turn 15. I found it difficult to look ahead at the apex which was so far away and late and staying patient to not turn in too early. No passing -- just pull into hot pits to create a gap.

3rd afternoon classroom session: (20 min)
Let the cars cool down. Talk about what we were feeling on the track. Ask any questions.

Lapping session #2:
Passing was allowed by point-by on the front straight. I was feeling a lot more comfortable and I felt like I was hitting my marks most of the time. I stayed in 4th the whole time, but in hindsight, I should have practiced my downshifting.

Instructor hot-lapping:
The instructors took all the guests on a few hot laps. Then, the rest of us got an in-lap and an out-lap. We then took the cars back to the garage and say bye-bye to them.

"Graduation":
Instructors said they had a great time getting the Track Attack up and running. We were handed a certificate of completion with a picture of us in the car printed on it. We were also given a plaque with a Boss piston mounted on it. I included a picture of it in the linked album.

Final impressions:
I had a great time. I would have loved more track time, maybe condensing the lead-follow and track walk to make time for 1 more session. I definitely recommend this for anybody who hasn't had any formal track instruction. You will learn a lot. It is a $1500 value (the cost of the 1st day track school). You will get tons of time with the instructor since you will be in a small group. The instructors are great. They are there to help you learn and have fun doing so. If you have the time and money, do the 2nd day. From what the instructors said, it sounds like it's mostly track time. Billyboss is doing day 2, so he can probably comment on this more.

Here are the main things I'm going to work on during my track day at Buttonwillow in 1.5 weeks:
1. Vision - Spotting the apex as early as possible
2. Smooth steering input. The instructor was telling me my hands were moving too fast during the skid car exercise, and I noticed how that translated on track...

TracKey:
Dan said they were given the software and got the final revision of it just last week, iirc. He suspects that Ford is just working on the software encryption, before they release it to the public. I definitely noticed the lopey idle. Since I haven't really pushed my car yet, I couldn't really tell the difference. I was trying to ask him what differences he noticed, but he was talking to somebody else and I had an airplane to catch.

I mounted a Go-Pro for my lapping sessions and the instructor's hot lap. I thought I had recorded my first session, but it wasn't there. I did get my 2nd session and the instructor's hot lap. I quickly looked at one of my later laps in the session. My time was 2:00 in 4th for the whole lap. The instructor's hot lap with me riding shotgun was 1:54. Being able to do the whole track in 4th without losing too much time relative to a person who's had thousands of laps on the track says how much torque is available on these cars…

I'll edit the video later this week and post it up. There won't be sound, though. The mounting hardware that comes with the camera insulates all the sound… :-(

Here are links to some pics. There were a lot more, but out of respect for the participants' privacy, I left out the ones showing the windshields of the cars as our names are clearly visible.

Museum

Track Attack

dean_acheson

Thank you for doing this, it's very helpful. I'm trying to find time to schedule to go. It's quite a drive for me.

06GT

Thanks for sharing your experience, there are a lot of us waiting to go in the future, as well!

06GT

They have these things, called "airplanes"...

cloud9

Hey great writeup Warren. I'm looking forward to my trip at the end of the month. I'm doing the second day in the FR500S so am glad to hear it will be mostly open lapping.

fuhrius

man, that white car sure looks good! ;-)

great to see what a black LS wing would look like on the car.

any pics / description of how the seats / harnesses were set up? or the roll bars?

I'd love to get some pics of those...

P0 Corsa

I too thank you for the excellent write up of your Miller experience!

Interesting all the Bosses pictured appeared to have the LS aero package installed (rear wing and chin splitter). Wonder if they all had the same tire (not wheel) package? Believe I read all were to be shod with different (not Pirelli) tires.(?)

YellowJacketBoss302

Thanks for the excellent write-up !

SoCalBoss

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they all had the LS wing and front splitter. They all had Michelin tires (I think Michelin is a sponsor of the track), but it didn't occur to me to look at which ones they were. I was too busy thinking about driving...

CaptDistraction

Very cool stuff. I'm very jealous.

06GT

I could bring you along as a driving guest when I do mine, but it's not cheap.

Think about it. I won't be going until middle/end of next year.

cobrajetjoe

Awesome! Thank you very much.

BDavidsonGA

Great write-up thanks! I'm looking forward to my trip on September 28th.

2012YellowBoss

Great write-up, thanks Felt like I was there.

CaptDistraction

I've been researching their schools, I plan on going to two different programs in the next 6 months. One something like this, and another probably more private-coaching type program.

How much is a driving guest? I'll probably happily pay it.

06GT

$1995 BOSS 302 Day
*Includes their own BOSS car and dinner the night before

Add: $995, *2nd day Mustang GT
Or Add: $1395 *2nd day FR500S


I am planning on doing a 2nd day w/ FR500S when I get around to going.

CaptDistraction

that's not bad at all. I could probably save the extra skrilla to do the 2nd day FR500S. Might as well do both days at that kinda rate anyways.

Maybe I'll do the private coaching part now, then just save for when that rolls around for you if the offer is still available then.

06GT

Yeah, I'll be in-touch. It would probably be about a year from now. Getting married next April and then honeymoon and a couple other things first.

Not enough $$ to justify it this year with other things going on.

CaptDistraction

That works for me since I need some time to save up anyways. /hijack

OP sounds like an amazing experience, Miller isn't the simplest of tracks to master, either. I was there for the 2010 Nasa Nationals, and the attitudes had plenty of race cars and their newly humbled drivers for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

SoCalBoss

Charlie Putnam got us out of our cars to walk the Attitudes and gave us excellent tips. After the first corner, he made the next 2 corners "almost straight." With his advice, I felt like I got that right most of the time.

I forgot to add this pic to the linked album. My name and date is on the plate hiding behind the piston.