0wn3r wrote:
thanks. btw, everyone else's response was such a big joke.
umm wtf? how is following behind someone, slower than your car can obviously, go considered "independently pushing the limits of your car"?
so if you break out some hyundai elantra out there that's going 15mph, and you have to follow him... boy, talk about pushing your limits!!! yay!!
Being that you quoted me I'll try to reply in a way you understand.
Nothing I said was a 'joke' I actually am involved with this. As it is we have enough problems with crazy idiots even with the rules. This is somethign that can get you killed very easily. Drivers ed in this country is a joke and leaves kids with a feelign of entitlement, invincibility, and knowitallism. We try to fix that before they hurt themselves or worse yet someone else. You don't just show up at the track with a drivers license and go fight for a national title. This takes practice. The last thing we need is a person on the track who thinks 'my car is faster gtfo of my way'. The purpose of these types of days are learning not racing. no matter what you hear rubbing isn't racing in almost all amatuer series. They don't have sponsors to fix crumpled panels.
The actual rules:groups are arranged into skill levels. NASA usually runs HPDE1-HPDE4
HPDE1 is where you start. it has very tight rules on behavoir and passing. However even at this most basic passign is allowed in certain safe areas of the track. The point is to learn high performance driving not racecraft yet. there is always an instructor with you in the car in this group.
HPDE2 is where you start to learn how to really drive. the passing rules are looser but still there. by this point its assumed you know how to follow the flags and signaling of courseworkers. and how to get your car around the track. you begin to pick up more speed and come to grips with the capabilities of your vehicle. usually in HPDE1 you have a lot of people who are 5 or more seconds slower than the car is capable of. in HPDE you will solo in the car often times with your instructor in a lead chase scenario.
HPDE3...basically its learning race craft this is the step when you are going to graduate from this to race licensing test/school. Still has passing rules. Its not a race its still a learning experience.
HPDE4 open session. This is where the instructors go to play in exchange for teaching you nuts the rest of the weekend. THERE ARE STILL PASSING RULES IN THIS SET. but they work on the assumption that your going to be safe and not endanger other drivers.
from the FATT website i pulled their passing rules:Quote ». Passing Rules a. If you are impeding another car, help him pass you with passing signal. b. If you are being impeded, make a pit stop and separate yourself from that car then return to the track. c. The car being passed must: 1. Signal the car behind him with a clearly visible arm signal outside the window. Car being passed stays on line. 2. Maintain position and stay on the line. 3. Ease up on the gas pedal to help the pass be completed before the braking zone. d. The passing car should: 1. Wait for a passing signal. 2. Pass in the passing zones between the cones on the straightaways from Turn 10 to Turn 1, Turn 2 to Turn 3, Turn 9 to Turn 10. 3. Acknowledge the driver of the overtaken car. e. When a driver indicates a pass, one car may pass for each signal. [/quote]if your interested the link below is directly from NASAhttp://
www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/index.htmlits their writeup of their own rules which may or may not be more helpful to you than my explanation. as it says at the top of thatTHERE IS NO SPEED LIMIT
sorry for the novel I just wanted to explain it a little bit
PS I started doing this before I had a car. I would take my mothers four door stock accord out and pass a lot of people who made comments like your making while they were driving much faster cars.
