Just because no one else seems to have started this thread topic already...
Who is going to the race this weekend in Austin? I won't be there, but I'm sure those who will would love to know who else will be attending!
According to the Alexander Rossi thread started by Gerardo, it looks like Alexander, Pat, Leland, Jane, John Mayes, and a "gaggle" of others will be there. Who else? Who is in the gaggle? (Come on, people: network!)
COTA is amazing as is the sound of the cars, their braking, cornering, and acceleration speed. Hard to describe how dynamic the cars are in person.
This is my first F! race, and experiencing these cars live is beyond words.
We had dinner with Christian Epps who built the track. He explained that the clay earth around the track is so unstable that they had to dig down 8 feet below more than the full width of the entire track and lay in a more stable layered base of earth and gravel. It took many months and millions of dollars to bring the track surface to a standard that wouldn't heave and or crack in short order. Christian has a picture of himself on a mountain bike standing in a grassy field holding up a single finger... indicating that he's standing where turn 1 will appear, before any construction had begun in 2010, He knows where all the bodies are buried... literally. :-)
We're in a suite looking over turns 12, 13, 14 and 15 and we can see the cars diving down through the essex behind us from the roof deck of the suite. The sounds and sites of that location are incredible.
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You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)