I wore my NICO shirt one day and bumped into some fans at a gas station in a beat up old pathfinder. They claimed NICO definitely got them through some sticky situations in the past
Anyway, I took my vette and drove in the high performance driving experience part of the event. 2 days, 5 or 6 sessions per day. Overall it was a blast. The sequence of turns and elevation changes at the end of the track (pretty much from turn 10B to the finish line) really separates the men from the boys. You come up a hill into a blind downhill turn, then a slightly off-camber turn at the bottom of the hill. This particular section claimed 3 or so cars over the weekend, which really sticks in the back of your head as you're driving it.
We sort of lucked out on the weather. It wasn't too overly hot, and it never rained. Most of the time it was overcast. That being said, if you're driving, you're required to wear pants, so it was still a lot hotter than what I'd call comfortable. With the pass, you also buy the ability to camp at the track. I'm not super into camping to begin with, let alone in Atlanta in August, so I got a nearby air BnB.
The event hosted drifting (both armature and professional, full course), time attack of various groups/money, and the HPDE sessions also in various groups/experience levels. The time attack guys had some pretty wicked builds. Lots of money in the group A and group B segments, and TONS of speed (150+ in the straights).
The drift guys also had some pretty impressive cars, and they were also hitting 150ish mph, and then initiating drifts
I'll have some more pictures and video later on, but these guys were nuts. They were going through the blind crest at high rates of speed and sideways. Sliding down a hill towards a very large, very immovable wall. Giant cojones on these guys.
The HPDE groups flowed fairly well, although there were some crashes in the various groups. This poor guy was in my run group and only a few cars behind me when he somehow lost it at the bottom of the hill at the finish line and hit the wall HARD:
^That used to be a BRZ. Both driver and instructor were taken to the hospital.
The team in the paddock next to us actually got fastest time of the day, and then promptly wrecked both their cars
(both Subarus). One hit the wall, the other blew the engine.
Torry (user EzCheese) was in fine form in his Juke, but definitely needed more power. I had a good chuckle during a ride along as we got passed by everyone and their brother in the straights, but returned to their rear bumper in the twists.
We went way wide in one turn and went a bit too far into a curb. My a** came off the seat, and his ABS light kicked on, so we brought it in.
Here's some shots of me and some other cars:
Sounds like a fun time. 