track days... PNW

[Hammer Down]

In the PNW you have a few tracks to choose from if $ is no object.  As in
PIR (Portland International Raceway) is nearly impossible to get a date and
therefore they have jacked up the price.  On the other hand, Pacific
Raceways (Seattle International Raceway) is now under new management and is
also undergoing a much needed renovation and restructuring.  I don't know
how much they are going to change the overall layout but I heard that they
have tweaked how the front RR straight meets the drag strip.  Anyway, it
used to be $120/ day, 6 hours of total time (9am to 3pm) Tuesday through
Thursday BUT you had to share the track with who ever else came out.  I took
my 510 out there for practice (SCCA TYPE SEDAN RACING) and shared time with
a couple of open wheelers and a bunch of bikes.  It got a bit hairy a couple
of times.  The catch was, you had to have proof of completing a high
performance driving school and/or have a valid competition license.  There
is Also Bremerton Raceway but that is a temporary circuit so you would have
to rent SCCA's cones and set up a track or bring your own cones.  The
facility is multi purpose so a lot of other groups use it and thus dates are
hard to come by.  The other facility is SRP, Spokane Raceway Park or as some
racers have come to call it Spokane Speed Factory.  Spokane is 2.6 miles
long and consists of 10 turns.  It is a typical Drag Strip road course
layout, similar to Pacific Raceway.  One feature makes it stand out though.
The main straight is a hair over 1 mile in length and the last 1/4 mile is
slightly down hill.  Superbikes have been clocked at over 170mph at this
track.  Enduro karts are over 150mph.  Pavement is good and runoff is okay.
It would be hard to hurt yourself there but not as benign as Willowsprings.
Last time I rented SRP we paid $100 per driver or $500, which ever was less,
for 9am till 5pm.  This was for a mid summer Saturday!!!  We have also
rented it for a Sunday too. Their schedule has gotten a bit more popular but
I am sure there are still dates to be had.

Erik Halvorson