I like that he mentioned Hustlers schlong and ass pain in the same post.

In NASATX we know who the DE4 guys are because they don't have "tt" on their cars. If I am passing and don't trust the guy in front if me, then I pass on the inside ofthe exit.

If you're in a white 300z (500whp) and don't "get it", then I'm going to block your ass on the straights, again.

If it's a TXMC buddy, I'll present the car and we can go side by side for a while if you want.

I beat my meat pretty hard while racing.

Good strategy. Late apex and do an over-under pass. That is what I like to do and was my preferred method of passing slower bikes. It is lower risk. It helps to have a faster car or at least carry a lot of speed out of the corner. If you can just get next to them and the next corner turns in the same direction, you own the apex at the next corner and they have to slow down.

Turn 6 going CCW is a great place for this at TWS. You can late apex that corner, you have a long straight to gain overlap (if you exit faster), and at the entrance to Turn 7 the slower guys will not brake as deep so you eventually get them under braking. I could take a corner-parker on a liter bike with my SV650 if I timed the T6 exit just right.

I run in TT with NASA and still give a point by when I can. Most of the time though I really don't have to do much before they are by me. I do it as a courtesy to others and to keep up communication on track. I have never once had someone tell my that they preferred me not to do so.

I will say that my skills have improved dramatically since being forced into TT.

Have a great day,
Jared

+1. Lots of point-bys in SV red (advanced), even though they aren't required anywhere to pass.

They separated TT from the DE4 guys here in the SE region, and have some combined DE3 and 4 groups - which can cause confusion if one forgets PBs are required, but it gives good experience to the DE3 guys when they're running the DE4 sticker on thier car. If I don't know the guy, I'll give him a PB - others/friends I'm comfortable with have to earn it :)

I thought all HPDE's where they point by are essentially computer remote controlled RC's cars? What a waste of time IMHO.

At TWS the only time you're pointing is when you're on a cool down because you're constantly on the wheel, turning the car through 500-700' long corners. I got passed a lot, and I mean a lot, last weekend at TWS and taking a hand off the wheel to point someone by is a little less safe than holding your line.

The best thing to remember is that most of the guys running open passing have done this before, don't recognize your car if you're new, and know to use extra caution.

Right now I'm debating whether or not I want to pay $300 for 2-days for "Miata's at Hallett". I've gone every year but the prospect of poking around the track, waiting for someone to signal the conga-line of TT crew to pass, so we can train them is not soundign like a great idea. Then again, that's 4+ hours of open track on Friday, I should probably do it and burn-up 3 tanks of fuel.

It's hardly "wild west", it's the natural progression of driver skill. To paraphase Savingpozhole, "If someone has run DE for a while/years and they can't handle open passing, I don't want to be on the track with them."

That makes sense. From a beginner's standpoint, there's a lot going on on the track, a lot to pay attention to, and coupled with that you want to make sure you're aware of all the cars around you and what pace they are at, whether you need to point them by, etc. But also from personal experience I've seen that when you get out there, there's a flow to it and you get the hang of it pretty quick. Thinking about the advanced group's rules, it seemed a bit overwhelming to imagine the point-by not necessary environment, but as you said, advanced group is exactly that - people who are experienced and who aren't overwhelmed by it. Looking forward to one day being at that point myself. Long way to go though.

This sums it up pretty well. It's the experience that matters. I remember starting out in the beginning, I had an instructor that made a point of having me point out the cornor stations on the warm up, then during one session, wanted me to call out when we were near a station. I failed miserably, as I was so intent on going fast and focusing on that. It was good training that I kept up with though, and today, can I can even recognize corner workers that I know, while at speed.

Same for open passing. Experience and familarity with other drivers makes it pretty much automatic. When someone new is added, I think we all follow the old adage "I'm ok, you're so-so" until they prove otherwise. You also get to know from experience, different cars capabilities, and thus where and when a proper overtake is best.

On our last event, I played in a pointby only group for a day. Biggest difference was there was more variance in overall speed and skill even with drivers of same makes (vettes). Once back in the open passing group, the skill/speed levels were much more consistent and it was actually more comfortable.