Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - New York Safety Track (not Safe for cars IMO)

2011 Nismo#91 · 05-20-2019, 10:06 AM

So I was here this past weekend with NASANE and had a good time but there are some serious issues with this being used as an auto track and wanted to let everyone know my experiences.

The Good: Excellent layout gives you a little bit of everything, and a big jump. Technical bits and fast sweeping bits. It can be run clockwise and counter clockwise, we rant counter. The last bit is really difficult because the track is very narrow and the turns are one after another. My favorite turn was Turn 6 with 16/17 being a close 2nd. Puddles or rivers are not really possible on the track due to another issue I'll get to later but a wet track won't last long after the rain passes and even during won't accumulate.

The Bad: There's no fuel at or near the track you have to travel out 11 miles for anything semi decent. Space for trailers and cars is very limited, just guessing we have around 60 drivers and it was a bit over crowed off track. Same goes for food accommodations, you have to bring your own or expect to drive far. The people (I've been told) and police aggressively patrol every main road and even come to the track to hand out tickets, the track is not liked by the locals, they have tried many times to shut it down. There is no surface prep or cleaning what ever dirt or debris gets on the track stays there. They have minimal barriers and many trees and one pond. Their tow vehicle is a pickup with a strap, anything more and you'll have to wait for one of the local tow trucks to show up and yes they are hourly. No cell service or wifi at or for miles around the track.

The ugly: No fire safety. I was hard pressed to find an extinguisher at the track. There was one at the pits which served the whole event as far as I could tell. None at the any flag stations and none on any track service vehicle, if there was a problem they would pick that one up and take it where it's needed. The relaxed attitude of all the track employees. Corner workers are taking videos on their cellphones or watching videos on them. The owners will cross the track at anytime, people on the track yield to them, their house is in the middle of the track and they do what ever they want, like mowing their lawn next to the track. Which brings me to my next issue which is they will not allow an emergency vehicles onto the track till the track is cleared of drivers because it is too dangerous with all the blind corners to send the ambulance so I'd expect at best it would take 3-4min to get so a car. The track surface is about 3-4" above the surrounding dirt, which is great for keeping the track dry. But if you go off at all your going to damage your car to some degree unless your in a truck or suv. I went off (lift off over steer) and pulled off my rear bumper a little, easily fixed. Some of the worse damage was one guy hit is diff (lost oil) and another hit their oil pan (lost oil). Of course the track only had 1 bag of oil absorbent and had to go around to find some more.

Overall I loved the track but wouldn't come back until they get a little more professional and some fire safety.

05-20-2019, 10:06 AM	#1 (permalink)
2011 Nismo#91 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: NJ Posts: 2,402 Drives: slowly Rep Power: 40569	New York Safety Track (not Safe for cars IMO) So I was here this past weekend with NASANE and had a good time but there are some serious issues with this being used as an auto track and wanted to let everyone know my experiences. The Good: Excellent layout gives you a little bit of everything, and a big jump. Technical bits and fast sweeping bits. It can be run clockwise and counter clockwise, we rant counter. The last bit is really difficult because the track is very narrow and the turns are one after another. My favorite turn was Turn 6 with 16/17 being a close 2nd. Puddles or rivers are not really possible on the track due to another issue I'll get to later but a wet track won't last long after the rain passes and even during won't accumulate. The Bad: There's no fuel at or near the track you have to travel out 11 miles for anything semi decent. Space for trailers and cars is very limited, just guessing we have around 60 drivers and it was a bit over crowed off track. Same goes for food accommodations, you have to bring your own or expect to drive far. The people (I've been told) and police aggressively patrol every main road and even come to the track to hand out tickets, the track is not liked by the locals, they have tried many times to shut it down. There is no surface prep or cleaning what ever dirt or debris gets on the track stays there. They have minimal barriers and many trees and one pond. Their tow vehicle is a pickup with a strap, anything more and you'll have to wait for one of the local tow trucks to show up and yes they are hourly. No cell service or wifi at or for miles around the track. The ugly: No fire safety. I was hard pressed to find an extinguisher at the track. There was one at the pits which served the whole event as far as I could tell. None at the any flag stations and none on any track service vehicle, if there was a problem they would pick that one up and take it where it's needed. The relaxed attitude of all the track employees. Corner workers are taking videos on their cellphones or watching videos on them. The owners will cross the track at anytime, people on the track yield to them, their house is in the middle of the track and they do what ever they want, like mowing their lawn next to the track. Which brings me to my next issue which is they will not allow an emergency vehicles onto the track till the track is cleared of drivers because it is too dangerous with all the blind corners to send the ambulance so I'd expect at best it would take 3-4min to get so a car. The track surface is about 3-4" above the surrounding dirt, which is great for keeping the track dry. But if you go off at all your going to damage your car to some degree unless your in a truck or suv. I went off (lift off over steer) and pulled off my rear bumper a little, easily fixed. Some of the worse damage was one guy hit is diff (lost oil) and another hit their oil pan (lost oil). Of course the track only had 1 bag of oil absorbent and had to go around to find some more. Overall I loved the track but wouldn't come back until they get a little more professional and some fire safety. Last edited by 2011 Nismo#91; 05-20-2019 at 01:41 PM.