Austin, TX owners - A friendly hello w/ some questions

[pro10is4life]

First off, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Nick, and I'm hoping to get to know you guys (and hopefully some other fellow Texans) over the next few years . Howdy I'll be new to Texas, but not to the raw and exciting world of Lotus.

Here is my situation. I currently live in Boise, ID, and I will be attending the University of Texas at Austin this coming fall to study Business and Mechanical Engineering (flame suit on for the rest of this thread ). Go Longhorns!! Well, a few years back my dad and I made a deal; I followed through with my end of it, and now, although he is probably a little regretful, he is trying to keep his word. In short, I am fortunate enough to be able to bring our Lotus to Austin when I come . No, this definitely will not be my "college car" driven daily, nor will it see the campus very much. The last thing I am trying to do is get attention with it; I'm not like that, and i can't stand when other people show off such things. It would purely be for fun, and probably see more track miles than street miles.

This leads me to my questions:

I would much rather not bring the car if I am unable to find a safe home for her. By chance, does anyone have an extra garage spot that would be up for housing a new child (the car, not me!) ? . If so, we could probably work something out...

What are the local road-course tracks, and how far of a drive are they?

I'll be in town from July 10th through the 16th. I would love to get together and meet some fellow enthusiasts if any of you are up for it!

Thanks guys. I look forward to hopefully becoming a part of the Lotus community in the Lone Star State!

[chotto]

Welcome to the Lone Star state. This might be out of the question for a college kid, but its a thought. Harris Hill Road Course is in San Marcos (not far from Austin). It's a new course that just turned 1 year old recently. They are getting ready to start building garages soon. If you are able to join, it could kill two birds with one stone.

[...m...]

...harris hill road's great, all of fifteen minutes out of austin, and the best deal going in private tracks to boot...actually, i believe they're running an open HPDE july 11th if you're driving in for the week...

[Chris Mackey]

Bienvenidos al Tejas.

I live and work near the school, and I drive Elsie there every day. Campus is an awful place for our cars. Construction, congestion and rotten road conditions make the daily commute kinda tough. Parking is nonexistent (my job affords me one... most of the time).

Your notion is correct - put Elsie in a safe place far away from campus. If you live away from campus, plan on riding the bus to school.

Go Horns!

[pro10is4life]

Thanks for the responses guys

Originally Posted by chotto

Welcome to the Lone Star state. This might be out of the question for a college kid, but its a thought. Harris Hill Road Course is in San Marcos (not far from Austin). It's a new course that just turned 1 year old recently. They are getting ready to start building garages soon. If you are able to join, it could kill two birds with one stone.

That would be a great deal. Unfortunately, you are right; it is a bit out of question for a college kid.

Originally Posted by ...m...

...harris hill road's great, all of fifteen minutes out of austin, and the best deal going in private tracks to boot...actually, i believe they're running an open HPDE july 11th if you're driving in for the week...

Fifteen minutes?? . That's a bit shorter of a drive than the 5.5 hour drive that I'm accustomed to! We'll be flying in for the orientation, but I think I might try to come check the track out during the event and would enjoy getting to know some people. Will you or any other Lotus owners be attending this event?

[chotto]

There are at least 8 of us here who are members of Harris Hill. I'll probably be there, just don't know if I want to drive or not. It's a lot cheaper to go on a member day and get a lot more driving in.

[Scott Bowman]

I plan to be at H2R on July 11 as an instructor. I'm sure you'll see several other Lotus drivers instructing and/or otherwise involved in the HPDE day. Also, there is a separate thread regarding a fall all Lotus track day being considered by the San Antonio Lotus dealership and the local club. Should be a great excuse to skip classes for a day.

[jasperw4]

Welcome to Texas! Everyone has mentioned Harris Hill (which is a great track, and I'm sure if you stop by on the 11th you can get some ride along time) but TWS is a 1.5-2 hour drive and MSR cresson is only about 3 hours away, all 3 tracks are very fun and have very different personalities.

Harris Hill Road | News
Texas World Speedway
(cresson's site appears to be down)

Also, be sure and check out the Hill Country Drives...

Hill Country Drives

And lastly, stop by our shop: Welcome to Soulspeed - Performance Suspension and Tires. We've got some extra space and might be able to work out someting on storing the car.

-Jasper Benson
SoulSpeed Performance

[Quicker]

Welcome! you'll be able to use your lotus many more days in Austin!

Did I miss something - but why does no one mention the Driveway track? I have not been to it myself.

[Shine]

Originally Posted by Quicker

Welcome! you'll be able to use your lotus many more days in Austin!

Did I miss something - but why does no one mention the Driveway track? I have not been to it myself.

I go there quite often and it's a fun track, esp. when you get to L2.

[Charlie Lunsford]

Welcome Nick, it's always great to recieve another transplant here in the Great State of Texas! As everyone has said there are a number of great tracks within a very short distance from Austin. You should stop by our dealership and get to know the guys in service. We too are planning on hosting several track days soon down at Harris Hill Road.

[pro10is4life]

I appreciate all the kind responses. Thank you for not turning this into another one of the many bash-the-college-student threads. You seem like great bunch of people! I definitely look forward to getting to know you guys.

[pro10is4life]

Jasper - I will put that on my list of things to do . I just hope I will have time with the orientation going on to stop by! I wont have a vehicle while I'm there, but I'll try to find some means of transportation.

[jasperw4]

Originally Posted by pro10is4life

Jasper - I will put that on my list of things to do . I just hope I will have time with the orientation going on to stop by! I wont have a vehicle while I'm there, but I'll try to find some means of transportation.

The #3 bus goes through campus and stops right across the street, shop hours are M-F 10-7. Plus I'll probabley stop by H2R on the 11th for a bit. Won't be driving though, too hot until October.

[Charlie Lunsford]

Jasper you and Jensen chould come by tomorrow evening and check out the 2 Evoras

[jasperw4]

Originally Posted by Charlie Lunsford

Jasper you and Jensen chould come by tomorrow evening and check out the 2 Evoras

sounds good man, you know how much jenson loves wings! at like 6 right?

[Doghouse]

Welcome to Texas.

Houston is about 2-3 hours away and there is MSR - Houston (very nice track and facilities) and Grandsport (the poor cousin of MSR-Houston) for your driving pleasure.

Chili Red, LordZ, MattinHouston, Geezer (part time, he does live in Austin also), myself and others form the H-town branch of the Texas Track Pack.

H2R is without a doubt the best deal around for track membership. It's really fun track for Loti and Miatae (i.e. want to be Loti). Eric and Bo and the guys run a top shelf track that is lots of fun to just hang out at.

Definetely stop by the track on the 11th and I'm SURE you can get a ride or two in. Rich S and Chili enjoy hearing people squeal when riding along in their car.

Overall a pretty good group of people to hang out with and drive with. And if six very different tracks (TMS, MSR-Cresson, TWS, H2R, Driveway, MSR-Houston, Grandsport) within 4 hours drive is not enough for ya...your wallet is way bigger than mine.

[DWebb]

Originally Posted by pro10is4life

I appreciate all the kind responses. Thank you for not turning this into another one of the many bash-the-college-student threads. You seem like great bunch of people! I definitely look forward to getting to know you guys.

Yes Sir, for the most part we aren't like that.
We may bash you for the rest of your life for being a t-sipper,
ehhhh, you horns can take-it!

I hope you'll love Texas as much as We do!

BTW, I think your Dad is nuts.
But You're right He's probably like
And your Mom's like

[pro10is4life]

doghouse - If that is the case, I certainly wont miss coming out to H2R on the 11th! And did I read that correctly?? Six different tracks within a four hour drive!? . Too bad I wont have much money being a college student . I guess that just means I'll have to cherish the track driving opportunities even more . Hm... I wonder if there would be any way for me to get a part-time job at H2R and get reduced membership/track fees as a benefit... hm... a guy can dream, can't he?


Dwebb - A t-sipper? haha. I'm not really sure what that is, but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that it is some type of Longhorn put-down?

Yeah, you're right. My dad is a little nuts, but I most definitely love him. He's a great guy, and I think you guys would enjoy meeting him (he will be there with me at H2R on the 11th).

[Doghouse]

Forgot to mention that autocross is pretty active in central Texas a well. Austin (UT) and College Station (A&M) have pretty active groups from what I know and many of the college students do that because it is less expensive than road course driving.

As for a p/t job at H2R, I have no clue you'd need to talk to Bo and Eric about that. IMHO it can't hurt to ask and if not immediately perhaps in a year or two.