Schedule
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 7:30 am | Gates Open |
| 7:30 – 8:45 am | Registration (No Late Registrations) |
| 7:45 – 9:00 am | Tech |
| 8:15 AND 9:00 am | MANDATORY Novice Meeting/Course Walk at Start Line (must attend one of the two Novice Meetings) |
| 9:20 am | MANDATORY Driver’s Meeting at the TSCC Bus |
| 9:30-9:45 am | First Car Off |
The event will take place RAIN OR SHINE. In the event of severe weather, a decision will be made at the driver’s meeting to determine whether or not we will be running. If the decision is made to cancel the event earlier than that, you will be contacted by email.
Registration
For events likely to sell out, online registration for members will typically open about 3 weeks prior to the event. Registration closes 11:59 pm the Friday prior to the event. Note: If the venue requires an access list, registration may close up to two weeks prior to the event. This will be noted on the event page in Motorsport Reg.
All drivers must check in at registration the morning of the race, even if you pre-registered online. TSCC uses SCCA car classing. If you do not know what class you are in, please review the classing guide, or ask for help from one of the more experienced drivers the morning of the event or on one of the local autocross forums like autocross.us, TSCC’s official discussion forum, or our Facebook page.
Minors
This form must be filled out and signed by both parents for a minor to participate as a driver or passenger. If both parents are not coming to the event, it can be signed and notarized in advance.
Heats
The event is normally split into 3 heats, as an entrant you will drive in 1 heat and work in 1 heat. During other heats, you can relax and watch the other entrants on-course. Depending on entry, this may be reduced to 2 heats or expanded to 4 or more. Heat breakdowns will be announced at the driver’s meeting.
Dual driver cars – Try to make sure that your co-driver is signed up for a different heat if possible. If this is not possible, we will stagger your runs during the heat, so you have time to change drivers.
Workers
The work schedule for 3-heat events is as follows:
- Heat 1 drivers will work Heat 2
- Heat 2 drivers will work Heat 3
- Heat 3 drivers will work Heat 1
Workers will meet with the Chief of Workers (COW) at a designated location approximately 15 minutes prior to the heat they will be working. The COW will then assign your work position. Workers will change out on the fly. So if you are working heat 3, you will need to be ready to head out onto course the minute the last car in heat 2 crosses the finish line. All entrants in events at ACU-4 are REQUIRED to participate in the FOD walk down at the end of the event; the event OD will address exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
We will be keeping track of workers. Every person driving in the event MUST work the event. If you do not work the event, and have not notified the OD with a valid reason for not working, you will not be able to participate in the next event. If this circumstance should happen twice, you will be banned from participating in any more events this season. Nobody is getting paid to put on these events; everybody has to chip in to make it happen.
Tech Inspection
Cars must be fully prepared, including numbers applied and registration card under your wiper, before proceeding to tech.
Numbers
All cars will required to have their number and class displayed on each side of the car. Numbers must be at least 8 inches tall and must be a contrasting color to the color of the car. Painter’s tape is available at tech. Class letters must be at least 4 inches tall.
Interior
Make sure that you clean out all the unnecessary stuff that you have inside your car. Loose speakers, stuff hanging from the rear view mirror, wrappers and those wrenches that you have been carrying around need to be removed. Clean it as if you were selling it. Remove the floor mats. Grab a plastic grocery bag (or two) and put everything in. They also come in handy when “re-stuffing” the car at the end of the day…
Trunk
Clean it out with the exception of stuff that you don’t mind leaving in your parking space at the event. For example; spare tire, tools, jack, lawn chair.
Helmet
Helmets must meet SCCA certification rules, and must tech inspected with a current year TSCC or ODR tech sticker displayed. Please review helmet requirements in the Autocross Rules page. Loaner helmets are available.
Car Preparation
- Check that all your lug nuts (wheel bolts) are there and torque them to your owner’s manual specifications (if you have hubcaps leave them at home)
- Inspect your tires. Tires must have visible tread and cannot be showing any cords.
- Please don’t put on a new coat of tire shine…
- Check your brake pedal pressure and brake fluid level
- Clean your windows
- Check your throttle return spring
- Check wheel bearings
- Ensure your car is not leaking excessive amounts of any fluids
- Make sure your battery is secured (Bungee Cords are not acceptable)
- When you get to tech, please place your registration card under your driver’s side wiper; the tech inspector will keep this card when you are completed.
If you don’t know what class you’re in, let us know before we tech your car: remember, you need to have your car number and class on your car before you can be tech’d.
If you are in the first heat, please go directly to grid after tech. You do not need to park in grid in chronological order for TSCC events.
Tech will close shortly before the mandatory drivers meeting. If you arrive late and miss tech or the drivers meeting, you will not be allowed to drive in the event.
Course Workers
The most common work assignment, especially for novices, is course working. Course workers stand at worker stations around the course and reset cones as they get knocked over.
- You need to look down to reset the cone, but keep one eye on that car as long as it’s still on-course. Never turn your back on a car!
- When you set a cone, please RUN, don’t walk, and hustle back. This is for your safety, and helps the event run smoothly.
- The Radio operator at each worker station should also hold red flag – unfurled – but holding the tip to keep it from flapping in the breeze. The radio operator should be calling in downed cones, not running for them.
- If you see a dangerous situation, do not hesitate, throw a red flag and call “RED FLAG, RED FLAG” on the radio. If one red flag is thrown, all stations should throw red flags.
- No sitting or kneeling at worker stations while cars are on the course. We try to place worker stations in safe positions, but drivers can lose control in unlikely places- you need to be on your toes and ready to react at any instant.
- Cameras, cell phones and other distractions are prohibited at worker stations.
- Watch out for your fellow workers- keep them safe, too.
- Only upright cones are assessed as penalties. Lay-down pointer cones are not assessed as penalties unless struck after the finish. Cars are required to be under control after passing the finish beams; any cone struck after the finish disqualifies the run.
Radio etiquette
TSCC assigns one experienced course worker at each station to operate the radio and hold the red flag. The radios used by TSCC have a delay after depressing, and the first second or so gets cut off, so always pause before speaking. State “[pause] Control, this is Station [#]”. After Control replies, key the button, pause, and call in your report. This etiquette is especially important for events at large venues where 2-3 cars are on course at once and multiple cone penalties are being assessed simultaneously. The exception to this is a red flag, which should be called immediately. When reporting penalties, always refer to the car number, not the car description.