It's been many years since I went there... and there were times when it was pretty freakin' out of control.

Anyone care to give me an honest update about the state of the facility today, the crowd, their organization, etc.?

Thanks,
Brad

Here is my 2 cents. I was there a few weeks ago and have been there a few times over the last 2 years. It is under new management. They seem to be trying and doing a better job than the previous management. They made a few changes, location of tech, the return road now exits further up the road into the pits better. Bathrooms are cleaner. The guys on the starting line are pretty good. They seem to have safety in mind, I have seen them tell people to get away from the starting line, which under previous admin, they didn't take it too seriously.

Friday night T & T are ok if you get there early otherwise you get allot of street cars, which is fine, but there are so many there, you cant get but a few runs in.

Best I can tell you.

I'm going to sound a little partial because for the most part it's our home track. I've been racing there for 20yrs and my father started there in the mid sixties. I definitely agree that the track had gotten out of hand in the past years and was a pretty wild. Under the new management the track hooks hard and management has the racers in mind. They seem to be putting more emphasis to the outlaw type cars with having 4.50 and 5.0 index classes for the 1/8 racers. There are a lot of fast cars there. It's common to see low 8 to mid 7 second 1/4 mile passes. Our car is a good old SS spring car running 9.90s and every pass leaves with the wheels 1 1/2' off the ground. The bite is great. Anyways... after a long rant. Give it a try. I think you'll like it. IHRA track.

It used to be the closest track to me when I lived in Suitland, but I haven't been there for over a decade after moving back to Northern Virginia. IIRC, it's about 60 miles from me, almost directly on the opposite side of the Beltway.

I used to have a racing friend in Bowie who I'd pick up on the way over, but he's moved / off the radar, so it's more like "no mans land" to make the drive for me now. I wouldn't mind going back as long as it's not the mad house it was before. No way I'd take my 3 kids if it hasn't cleaned up its act a good bit.

Sounds like someplace I need to go checkout. Heading to Virginia this weekend to watch some LODRS make up racing.

I haven't been there for many years. Last time I went, there was a gang fight behind the grandstands and the employees at the gate carried pistols.I was talking to a friend a few days ago when he told me they have been going there regularly. I thought he had lost his mind but he insisted that the place is much different from the old days and is indeed a nice place to go with a substantial guaranteed payout for their bracket races.

Oh, the good ol' days!

I think the last time I was there was 2000. I wouldn't leave anything in the pits that I wanted to still be there when I came back from a pass. There was an accident in the pits where a racer was driving waaaaay too fast to the lanes and center-punched a trailer as it was trying to park. It could get ugly pretty quickly.

At MIR or Mason-Dixon, I'd just lay all my stuff out like it's a picnic and go about my business. Maybe that's a little too trusting, though.

I really hope it's gotten better, since it's still one of the closer tracks to me mileage-wise, although not always the easiest to get to because of the typical DC metro traffic SNAFUs.

Reminds me that you & I still need a face-to-face since you're in the area now.

Al, looks like Friday night will be a good night to go. According to the website it'll be some pro mods and quick 4. The is almost always some outlaw pro streeters. Saturday looks like a regular bracket day.

Brad, let me know when you headed that way. I'll try to meet you there. We can make a mopar showing.

Brad, if you're worried about the Friday night crowd just go on a Saturday. They have open time runs noon-2 and then qualifying. So if you enter in Mod you can get at least 6 runs without trying too hard. Or just enter test&tune. Crowd is a lot better on Saturday on a normal bracket race, so I don't worry tooo much about my stuff. Jim has been doing a great job with the track. Prep is real good (Jim's son has been talking to Jason Miller about that IIRC), and they fixed the water problems. Watch out for big $$ weekends because they are guaranteed purse and I've seen 6 lanes of Top ET there (lanes hold 22 door cars each) plus maybe 4 or so lanes of Mod so it can get pretty crowded.

Thanks for the heads up. Will likely head out on a bracket day as that is more my speed. Headed to Virginia this weekend for an LODRS race. Just have to get used to these new class names like Mod and Top instead of Pro and Super Pro. Will definitely hit a Friday night or two as well. Lots of tracks around here to hit for sure.

If you want to get a decent amount of runs it's the only place to go. Forget Mason Dixon. As mentioned it is the fastest track around. Every car I've run there ran 1.2-2 tenths better than M.D. and 75/80. If you go Friday night get there when the gates open and you'll get some runs, wait until 6-7 and you'll be watching. The new management seems to have a better hold on the crowd.

Under the new management its alot better. Track prep is right up there with MIR everytime we go down to test. Grudge events the place gets really packed. I heard this past saturday they had bracket racing and a grudge event and they stopped selling tech cards by the afternoon because there were so many cars and people there.

Hi Brad, it sounds like your getting close to testing.
Let me know if you need a hand @ Capital when you go.