"Freedom Factory" (formerly Bradenton Motorsports Park)

[Rawkkrawler]

I’m sure some members here follow Cletus McFarland (Garett) on YouTube, new owner of the Desoto Speedway. He just completed an asphalt and concrete renovation to host a number of events for his channel. He primarily will use the concrete pad for burnout completions and the oval for drifting, but has mentioned autocross in his videos. Understanding that our insurance is very specific about hard objects, it appears this site could still allow for some creative course designs. I’d be shocked if other clubs haven’t approached him. Wouldn’t be a bad relationship to start. Thoughts?

[Rawkkrawler]

I’m sure some members here follow Cletus McFarland (Garett) on YouTube, new owner of the Desoto Speedway. He just completed an asphalt and concrete renovation to host a number of events for his channel. He primarily will use the concrete pad for burnout completions and the oval for drifting, but has mentioned autocross in his videos. Understanding that our insurance is very specific about hard objects, it appears this site could still allow for some creative course designs. I’d be shocked if other clubs haven’t approached him. Wouldn’t be a bad relationship to start. Thoughts?

Links for reference..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlmCdLR4LnU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3LQUxt-O0w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVvZ-Q0t87s&t=0s

[Loren]

We're keeping an eye on it. If the new improvements make it look usable for us, we'll dive in.

[AScoda]

His latest video shows an overview of the site before and after new asphalt and concrete.
https://youtu.be/XMnYLCzQe0s?t=1310

[Loren]

Okay, let's put this one to bed for a bit. As I've said to anyone who would listen: Unless they take out some light poles and pave the entire infield, it's not going to be very usable for autocross... at least under the rules that OUR insurance company requires.

So, here's an analysis.

Freedom-Factory.jpg (98.68 KiB) Viewed 12305 times

The areas shaded in blue are within 75 feet of a hard object, such as a wall, fence or pole. (and this is assuming there are no tire barriers around the poles... and that spinning off onto Cletus's new sod is considered "acceptable") Per our insurance, we cannot be within 75 feet of anything on the OUTSIDE of a turn.

The areas shaded in red are within 25 feet of a hard object. When we're parallel to an object, or it's on the INSIDE of a turn, we can be as close as 25 feet.

As you can see, YES, we could do an autocross there. Would it be great? Eh, we could have fun, I'm sure. It would be a pretty small course, and there would be very little design flexibility. The main track can't be used at all, too close to walls. We could maybe use some of the infield loops if we did it just right, but it would be iffy. Much like courses at places like Marchant Stadium, we just have to be VERY conscious of our 75' limits, as they render almost all of the space off-limits.

Once the whole thing is done, and this whole virus quarantine thing is done, if nobody beats us to the punch... we'll try to inquire about what it might cost to rent. I don't expect it will be cheap. We'll find out in due time. I'm not in a big rush here.

[bluesight]

Better to pull this discussion...
Tnx
Mike

[Loren]

Where to begin...

This is all 100% moot until some motivated soul takes over the operation of FAST.

K&K's autocross requirements are the same for all who use them, but K&K doesn't send people out to check and see if you're doing things right. And, it's just as easy to not be aware of their requirements as it is to try to follow them. When I first got involved with the SunRiders (precursor to FAST), we used to allow kids age 12+ to ride along because that's what SCCA does and we thought it was okay. Then we found the K&K guidelines and learned that it was not, so we quit doing it! Likewise, one could be unaware of the "distance to hard objects" rules, or simply choose to ignore them. But, if you're ignoring the rules, and something goes wrong... do you really think your insurance company is going to have your back? Stuff happens, and I don't know about you, but I don't want that kind of liability.

So, again I tell you... it's not possible to run an autocross under K&K's insurance rules at what is now called the Freedom Factory. But, we're no longer insured by K&K. And it IS possible to get some other type of event insurance (insure it as a track event), which is usually more expensive and would likely require us to provide EMT/ambulance service.

But, back where I started, this conversation is completely pointless without a leader. No leadership, no FAST, no events.