Ford Performance Racing School Moves To Charlotte

[VoodooBoss]

Good news for those on the East Coast and not so good news for those of us West of the Rockies.

http://fordperformanceracingschool.com/en/more/news.html

 

[steveespo]

Awesome. That will be in my backyard when I retire in 4 years. I love the Roval, should be a blast with the FPRS gang.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Tough to move from a location with as many track/course options as MMP/UMC but I'm sure they know what they are doing.

 

[JDee]

Awesome also for me, a lot closer. Was looking at doing a school session there but travel to Utah from up here is not straightforward. Charlotte is much easier, direct flights from Toronto or drive it in one long day.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Nice!!

Can they move before September when I have my track attack date? LOL.

 

[TymeSlayer]

I sure hope they know what they're doing too. Why not keep them at both tracks? Guess I'll need to convert my Boss to a 4X4 now. Look for a new build thread.

 

[ChrisM]

This is actually great! That's about 3.5 hours from my brother and only about 2 hours from where my parents plan to move to. Looks like I know where I need to plan on settling down!

 

[JDee]

TMO group buy deal?

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Really unfortunate news in my mind as Utah Motorsports Campus had the benefit of being a very safe track, hitting a wall was almost non-existent and screw ups meant a short run into the dirt.Teaching new drivers on an Oval or the Roval has many more concerns and frankly does not teach driver's about conventional road courses. Seems like a Nascar based concept and even for those that are fans, Charlotte just does not seem a safe, practical place for what will introduce many new owners to the track?

 

[Norm Peterson]

Agreed ↑↑↑

Might be even more risky for drivers who have just enough experience to start picking up their pace.


Norm

 

[JeffV8]

There far more better tracks than Charlotte. And Bill is right those walls would be intimidating.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Few tracks have the benefit of being "Kind" to drivers like the track in Salt Lake. Runoff is forever, walls are few and far between.

 

[JeffV8]

I raced my shifter kart there on the road course. Great track and the all of the Fords Miller owned.

 

[TymeSlayer]

I cut my teeth there. And there is no doubt that if you remove the close-in walls, the bravery level goes up exponentially.

 

[blacksheep-1]

Well. since Miller past away things have changed drastically, I was out there running PWC when it all came about. Apparently he was the only one in the family that was a car enthusiast, and he built a world class track, but it was horrible for spectators. The museum was broken up, and last I heard Kia or Hyundai took over the track, whether by purchase or lease. When that happened the days of the Ford school was numbered. The fact that it was in the middle of nowhere didn't help the day to day operations either, Charlotte on the other hand is growing exponentially and is the home of several pro and semi pro teams. It's unfortunate that the track in Utah can't be picked up and placed in NC.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

I believe the track is being purchased by some Chinese Conglomerate , but I still view this as a sad commentary, as it almost seems a concession to the Nascar fans, when in my ancient mind the Mustang and the Shelby GT 350/GT 500 are road course machines. With that in mind , Charlotte is just not a conducive track for teaching or learning technique , too damn many walls!!
It is not just the newcomers, over the years so many of my friends , who are talented wheelmen , have contacted walls on roval tracks --- Ford really should rethink this or consider another track, imho!

 

[TMSBOSS]

Property in NC is cheap, in relative terms. A true road course in the area would likely turn a profit. Ford should partner with someone and build one. Great area for auto sports.

 

[93cobra]

As others have stated, bittersweet. I'm grateful for having had the opportunity to go out there for both Boss and GT350 track attacks. Both times were extended trips and priceless adventures. First time was the Utah "mighty five" national parks. Second time was Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Phoenix. I wonder the ramifications for the area once this relocation occurs.

 

[VoodooBoss]

I don't believe Ford Performance completely controls the Racing School and I don't believe they had the option of staying in Utah. Too bad they didn't move to Thunderhill.

 

[JDee]

Well, the problem with having it out west is that the bulk of the population on the continent is in the eastern half of the continent. That's a disincentive for the majority of the population. I agree about the wall concerns at Charlotte, hopefully they will come up with a way to minimize that issue. It would have been nicer if they had picked a dedicated road course, so many good ones in the east to choose from.