My first track experience was a complete blast! Oh, that is so much fun! There were really nice folks willing to share their experience, if asked and all were very helpful.
Unfortunately for me, my day was cut short when I slid off the track and damaged the pan hard bar and the driver rear axle. The axle shaft flange bent .068" out, so one side of the flange moves away from the caliper mounting bracket than the other( imagine 12 o'clock measuring .068" out further than 6 o'clock). The rotor is ok and the wheel is still straight, I checked those things out already.

Question- can the axle shaft flange be bent back in place? If not, do i need to find another LS1 car at a junk yard or do all f body's in that year range have the same axle shafts?
The other question I have is if all 1998-2002 camaros and firebirds had a pan hard bar? And then, is the same pan hard bar used for all of them and is that true for the Firehawk's.

 

glad you had fun man. make sire you get the safety gear. i see the majority of major injures in the "track day" gorps. club racers and TT guys already have all the gear.

 

They mandated helmets but nothing else. No gloves, neck brace or shoes were required. These days are just for weekend warriors, like me, to come out and feel what their car can do at speed without having to think about the law.

I was amazed by how well my Firehawk handled the corners and twists. And the power the LS1 delivered out of the turns was great! Obviously, I didn't learn enough, soon enough because I spun.

 

Some pictures...

 

like i said. that is where i've seen the largest number of serious injuries. death is included.

 

Welcome to my addiction!

Safety is certainly important, but as long as you observe all of the rules, take care of your equipment and drive within yourself, you will be fine. I've been running track days (in a convertible) for 6 years now and have only seen one person hurt - a first-timer who walked away with a few scratches and bruises. The worst I've suffered is a little sunburn.

 

you can tell who has been doing track days/ auto longest. judge them by the size of their stupid hat. lol i'm on the lookout for a cowboy hat

 

Take the axle out, take it to a drivetrain/clutch shop they can machine the the face of the axle back straight.

You spun most likely because you let out of the gas.

Rule#1, the gas pedal is your friend.