What should I do before getting to the track?

  • Take your car to be inspected and bring your tech form with you to the at-track registration. The tech form is located under the documents tab
  • Review track terms and flag colors (below)
  • Make sure you have filled your car’s fuel tank full and insure you have at least ½ a tank of gas before your second driving session, if scheduled. Do not go out for a driving session with less that ½ a tank, your car can fuel starve around the corners as your tank gets closer to ¼.

What to bring to the track

  • Water, Gatorade, snacks
  • Folding chair
  • Bag for personal contents removed from car
  • Helmet (unless you are renting)
  • Closed toe shoes
  • Sunglasses
  • Hat

What to wear

  • Long sleeved shirt and pants (made of cotton are preferred), but not required. Shorts and t-shirts are allowed in street cars. Driving suits are required in race cars.
  • Closed toe shoes (thin sole are best)
  • Sunglasses

When should I arrive at the track?
The event schedule along with your session times will be emailed the week before the event. All Edge Addicts activities originate from the paddock. COTA arrival time is approximately 6:30 am. Motorsport Ranch arrival time is approximately 8am.

To access the COTA paddock you will enter via COTA Blvd. Drive past lot “A” until you see a guard shack (between turns 11 and 12). You will have been sent a link to sign the COTA waiver electronically, you must have this complete prior to arrival at the track. Sign the waiver there, then proceed through tunnel “2”. You will drive approximately a mile and will make a right hand turn into the paddock. If you go through Tunnel “1” you have gone too far.  Park in the paddock making sure not to take another driver’s spot, and please do not block any trailers.

Registration packets and where to find them.

  • Once parked in the paddock proceed to the designated registration location, at COTA this is usually a higher numbered garage flanked with Edge Addicts banners. At Motorsport Ranch it is in the clubhouse. Here you will pick up your drivers packet and helmet (if you need to rent one).
  • In your drivers packet you will find a colored wristband, please place that on your left arm, you will show it to the grid marshal every time you enter the track. 
  • One last item before you head off to the driver’s meeting. All cars that drive on track need to have identifying numbers on each side. The numbers should be 10 to 12 inches tall. You can use blue painters tape, or have vinyl numbers cut prior to the event. You can select your number, as long as it is not 0, 1, 11, 111, 2, 22, 3, 5, 55, 7, 07, 77,  777. If you have not already sent in your car information (year, make, model, color, and number) please email to Karen@edgeaddicts.com
  • Once you have your registration packet proceed to the driver’s meeting, at COTA this is usually in loft 204 (exact room location, and time, will be noted on the schedule. Normal drivers meeting times for COTA begin at 7:15, Motorsport Ranch 8:30). The lofts are directly above the garages. You can use any stairwell to access the lofts. At motorsport Ranch the drivers meeting is held upstairs in the club house.

What to expect at the driver’s meeting?

  • This is a fast paced meeting and attendance is mandatory as we will discuss important safety topics as well as foundational aspects of performance driving, exit strategies, mental capacity, passing protocol, how to get onto grid, passing protocols and flag meanings (it’s our main means of communication between drivers/instructors and track marshals). 
  • Once you are released from the driver’s meeting you are free until it is time to line up on the grid for your driving session.  This is a good time to remove all loose items from your car including the floor mat.
  • Afternoon meetings/classroom sessions are held to discuss foundational skills, advanced technique, or address issues in specific run groups.  These meetings are mandatory, class times will be posted in obvious locations as well as announced over the PA system.

Now it’s driving time!

  • Please be on grid with your car and helmet 10 minutes before your scheduled session. All first-time, novice drivers will have assigned instructors. Under no circumstances are you allowed to enter the track without your instructor.
  • The instructor will find you on the grid. At COTA (trackside) of the garages outside of the registration garage. At Motorsport Ranch under the green awning. There will be Edge Addicts staff helping to facilitate. Your instructor has been pre-assigned, and will be looking for you.
  • If you are an Edge Addicts solo approved driver you will be allowed to run without an instructor in the car with you.  Our instructor team is still available, and we expect you to take advantage of them. In this sport you will never outgrow the need for instruction and coaching. We will place an instructor in the car with you (at no charge) if you have not been on track within the last 6 months, or have not have an instructor in the last 6 months.
  • Once on track we will use a flag system to communicate information to you and your instructor. Flag marshals are located at key spots around the track, it is important that you have a general understanding of the flag colors prior to your driving event.

FLAGS
Yellow Flag (standing or motionless) - Reduce speed, drive with caution. No passing. Car may be stopped or spun off track.
Yellow Flag (waved) – Great Danger - Dramatic reduction of speed. Course may be blocked; be prepared to alter your path. No passing. Car may be stopped or spun on track.
Black Flag (Held, then pointed or shaken) – Warning, you have been observed driving in an unsafe or improper manor proceed to designated black flag area for consultation. Driver must acknowledge the flag
Black at All Stations – The session has been halted. Cars should cautiously head to the pits.
Black with orange circle - There is something mechanically wrong with your car. Proceed to your pit or designated black flag area.
Red Flag – An incident has occurred requiring dispatch of emergency vehicles. Check your mirrors then slowly proceed to the pit. No passing.
Green Flag – Course is clear, track is hot (may also be thrown last lap of session)

Blue w/ yellow stripe –. Be aware of car behind you and let them pass in the next passing zone.

Yellow w/ vertical red stripes - Drive with caution; debris or slippery conditions exist on track. Will only be shown two laps, even if condition remains.

White – Caution – You are approaching a slow moving vehicle on track or ambulance or other emergency vehicle. May also be thrown the first lap of the session to show where the corner worker stations are.

Checkered - End of driving session. Reduce speed and proceed to pit. No passing.

Passing
Passing other cars on track is done in a controlled manor. The lead car will signal with a pointed finger, and their arm out the window, that they see the car that has caught them, and are going to stay predictable while the car goes around them. Once you signal a car to pass it is very important that you stay on your line, and be predictable. No sudden movements. You will also need to feather off of the throttle a bit to make sure the car is able to get around you easily.       

Helmets
Proper helmets are required for all on track sessions. Helmets need to be Snell rated 2015 or newer. Rentals are available.

Food at Track
The COTA café (or food truck) will be open for lunch from 11:00 to 1:30 (see map above) Bring snacks and plenty of water for you and your guests.
At Motorsport Ranch in Cresson we provide lunch, water, and snacks
Guests
Your guests are allowed to come watch. Children are allowed, but must be under adult supervision at all times. No bicycles or scooters are allowed to be driven by anyone under the age of 18. Pets are not allowed.
No Speed Limit

While there are no speed limits on track, please remember this is a road course, high performance, driving school where the corners matter much more than top speeds. You will be working on important skills such as proper weight transfer, peripheral vision, awareness, threshold braking, and smooth throttle application, just to name a few.  What you are doing can be dangerous, and mistakes can be costly. Your main goal should not be to see how fast you can go down the straights. If top speed is your goal, a drag strip would be better suited where there are no sharp corners at the end 

Driving on the racetrack is much like driving on the highway. Start at highway speeds and work on smooth transitions from power, to brake, to turn in, and track out.

Cancellations

Due to the cost of renting the facility, and organizing the event, refunds are not allowed, much like airlines, concerts, or sporting events. If the event sells out, and we are able to sell your spot, we will allow credit to a future event (a processing fee may apply).  Please prepare your car properly and have the tech inspection completed in plenty of time to correct any issues. There is no credit for car related issues prior to the event or during the event. Our events run rain or shine.
Glossary of track terms
APEX ~ The point on the track where the car is closest to the inside edge of the roadway between turn-in and track-out.
Brake Point ~ The reference point on the track where the driver begins ap­plying the brakes in order to slow the car enough to negoti­ate a turn. In racing, drivers want to brake as late as possi­ble so as to "outbrake" competitors and pass them as they are braking.
Corner Entry ~ The portion of the driving line through a turn where decelera­tion takes place and steering input begins. The corner exit begins where there is a transition back to acceleration.
Exit Speed ~ At the moment of completion of a turn, as the wheels come straight, the speed of the car is called the exit speed. This is the speed the car carries into the straight. The goal is to achieve the highest exit speed possible in order to travel the straight faster.
Feather the throttle ~ A slight lift of the throttle.
Lift ~ An abrupt reduction of pressure on the gas pedal (never lift in a corner).
Line ~ The intended path around the racetrack. Classic or school line refers to the path that is considered optimal for speed on the normal, dry track conditions. Rain line refers to any al­ternative to the school line that offers better traction and bet­ter lap times in the wet. Racing line refers to the line taken by racers partly for defensive purposes to prevent being passed.

Looking Ahead or Through the Turns ~ Look far ahead, use your peripheral vision. Do not focus on what is right in front of you.
Reference Point ~ Any distinctive feature that the driver uses to position the car or discern where to apply brakes, turn in or track out.
Steering Input ~ The degree to which the steering wheel in turned.
Straight-line Braking ~ Completing all of the braking with the wheels straight before entering a turn.
Smoothness ~  The avoidance of rebound caused by overly abrupt changes in gas, brake or steering. Smoothness does not equate with slowness. Generally smoothness is the result of practicing control of quick, decisive movements so that they are only a little slower than the rebound response of the suspension.
Threshold Braking ~ The level of brake pedal pressure which if increased would lock one or more of the wheels. With ABS, the level of braking that activates the ABS system.
Track Out ~ The exit of the turn where the driver has completed the turn and has positioned the steering wheel to direct the car down the straight or into the next turn.
Trail Braking ~ The practice of maintaining pressure on the brake pedal as the driver enters a turn as distinct from straight line braking.
Turn In ~ The point on the track where a turn begins, where the driver turns the steering wheel to execute the turn.