PanoBlog

Here is a panorama of where I spent my 2010 birthday.

This is Turn 5 at Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point, WVA. Summit Point is ~15 miles east of Winchester, VA. This is the track that I began flagging at in 1984, it is a 2 mile track that is host to the Washington DC Region of the SCCA.

This was taken on June 27, 2010, right after lunch, when temps were well into the high 90’s. Caught napping, before the action resumed, were Dan Zane, Josh Cockey (again …) Ray Hall and AFC Dale Ferril.

TO “START” the PANO, CLICK IN THE RECTANGLE. AFTER PIC  HAS LOADED, HOLD DOWN LEFT MOUSE BUTTON & “DRAG” the CURSOR AROUND or just wait for the auto pan to kick in.

Summit Point Turn 10. The “other” gravel trap. Get this turn right and you can take a nap getting down the front straight to Turn 1. Get it wrong and the best thing that could happen is you get “fished” out of the gravel … the worst …. do you remember the “junkyard”?

Summit Point Turn 5. About as fun as a flagger can have without takin’ their clothes off. After drivers open their eyes after going thru Turn 4 without planting themselves in the tire wall, it’s STAND ON THE BRAKES they may still have and jerk it left! A great turn ….

Summit Point Turn 3. YEE HA!!! A lot of stuff happens here … sometimes even on purpose! The gravel trap captures many cars on errant paths, others use it as the “Showroom Line” … those may be greeted at Turn 4 with a Black Flag. The guys and gals of EV know the gravel trap as well as the drivers.

Summit Point Turn 7 from the stands across from the station. Turns 5, 6 7, and Turn 8 can be seen. A great place to watch racin’ from.

Summit Point Turn 2. This station is a GREAT place to blue flag from … if the bushes are trimmed. The flags can be shown “intimately” to drivers who reward good flagging with their waves.  The “action” here can be very hetic at times, then other times …. “Car number ## pulled off in the first access road”.

Summit Point Turn 8  … from the “Tub”. This shot is for all the Summit Point SCCA flaggers … who never get to use the tub. All the flagging “work” is done from ground level, it’s easier to chase cars from the ground!

Summit Point Turn 8 from the infield side. The stands from which Summit Point T8 Pano 01 was shot can be seen across track. Saturday lunch time … the free lunches tend to clear all the flaggers from the turn.

Summit Point Turn 8. A pano from the stands showing from Turn 5, 7, 8 and up the hill thru Turn 9. A fall Friday afternoon before the race wars break out.

Summit Point’s Turn 1 … the big ~170° with two access roads. The Captain and Communicator staffed the “Tub. Flagging is done from DR upstream to the Tub. Safety folk person the “Pump house” access road, inside DR point, outside DL point when available.

Summit Point … the front stretch – from Start/Finish into Turn 1 … the breaking zone from Heck!!!