Go to www.hpt.com and click on "Road." Can't believe anyone who has ever
raced there would call it a dust bowl. I have, several times, and dust was
never a factor.
"Supposedly making improvements"? Once you're at "Road" click on "SCCA
Runoffs." and you'll get the improvement schedule. $5 million worth.
You want elevation? Turn 1 is a blind up-and-over-the brow and pucker up
turn. The carousel is uphill fed by a downhill run. 5 to 6 is downhill, then
uphill to 7 which for many cars is flat out but blind through 7. The second
part of the esses is a fallaway downhill. And more passing zones (Turn 2,
maybe going into the carousel, Turn 8, Turn 10) than Mid-O offered (one good
zone at T4, maybe the keyhole).
Ray Irwin has already taken the road course off the dragstrip so we are no
longer dealing with the snot-slick factor when it rains. He's going to be
repaving the whole thing. There will be a new dipsy-doodle between 5 and 6
(downhill) which will extend the run-up to 7 (might not be flat out!). There
will also be more paved paddock nearly doubling what is there now so you may
not have to park on grass unless you want to. And no gravel paths through
the paddock!
As those who have not visited Kansas before, the image of "flat Kansas" is
mostly referring to the western reaches of the state. Eastern Kansas is
hilly. When the Solo Nationals were held in Salina -- about the transition
from the Flint Hills to the High Plains -- people coming from the west
commented "Yep, Kansas sure is flat," but those coming from the east said "I
thought Kansas was supposed to be flat!"
And the weather is better. A major factor in moving the '06 Runoffs back to
the second week of October.
Oh, yeah, having been to HPT many times as competitor, race worker and
working press for pro events, I can say the hassle factor I have encountered
there has been virtually zero. New owner Ray Irwin, an SCCA racer himself
(he also owns Blackhawk Farms), is definitely committed to a user-friendly
facility in that respect.
I couldn't say if HPT was a low bidder necessarily, but I know it was able
to put enhancements on the table Mid-O could not. Not the least of which is
ample hotel rooms right there in town, not 30-50 miles away! Also super-easy
access, not several miles down some back road. We've been doing the Solo
Nationals (1100 entrants) in Topeka for nine years now without motel
problems. You'll find the Topeka Convention/Visitors Bureau as welcoming as
Richland County's was. They've already cut a deal with the hotels for
reasonable rates. Check out the SCCA website,
http://www.scca.com/News/News.asp?Ref=299 But y'know, AFAIK the autocrossers
never had to cut a deal, they just showed up and rates were good. BTW, my
motel secret is the Raceway Inn right on the Forbes Field property, less
than a mile from the HPT entrance (spartan, no amenities [restaurant, pool
etc], but cheap -- we always get a kitchinette for Solo Nationals week --
1-800-657-7215 -- tell Dave Lemon I told ya to call). Autocrossers do advise
avoiding the clutch of motels on the south end of town (just off the
turnpike). Most choose the downtown hotels or the ones on the north end of
I-470 off Wanamaker Road -- about 10 miles from the track but Interstate
almost all the way.
Welcome to Kansas!
--Rocky Entriken
|