New Track near Lynchburgh
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 9:36 am
I know its not common knowledge but there is a new track just outside of Lynchburgh, TN called Polecat Training Center.
https://www.ptcdriving.com/
PTC was designed and built as a school track, as the name implies. The developer had bought all of the Skip Barber hardware (formula cars, body moulds, spares, etc...) following their bankruptcy with plans to start his own school. Thus PTC was born.
The track has been operational for about a year now operating primarily as a school. They recently began offering track day dates to both motorcycles and cars. The car events are hosted by Owen Trinkler. PTC is under 4 hours from Knoxville which puts it a similar distance to NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green and AMP in Dawsonville, GA. Road Atlanta is about a half hour farther.
I ran a trackday there June 10th. The track is 2.1 miles with 19 turns, so its a very busy track with moderate speeds and only a single straight of any length. I was driving a pretty fast car and only saw 120mph on the front straight. Everything else was between about 45 and 90 mph. There really are no high speed corners other than the "bus stop" type feature at the end of the front straight. There is quite a lot of elevation change, some rather dramtic, that contributes to the track's fun factor.
I spoke to Jon Krolewicz at SCCA yesterday and they are currently talking with PTC about getting the track approved for Time Trail and Club Racing. I also talked with PTC's GM and they have a plan underway to make the safety improvements required to approval. If this all goes acording to current plans the track could host Time Trials spring of 2024 and likely at a substantically lower price than FlatRock. BTW: Flatrock should be laying pavement soon and will likely be at least partically operational this fall.
My opinion: PTC is a fun track but is severely in need of paddock and safety upgrades, which are currently planned. With those upgrades in place the track would be a fun Time Trial facility with, given the moderate speeds, minimal risk in the event of an off.
The biggest issue with FlatRock will be cost. So PTC will give us a lower cost option but requiring more travel time to get there.
https://www.ptcdriving.com/
PTC was designed and built as a school track, as the name implies. The developer had bought all of the Skip Barber hardware (formula cars, body moulds, spares, etc...) following their bankruptcy with plans to start his own school. Thus PTC was born.
The track has been operational for about a year now operating primarily as a school. They recently began offering track day dates to both motorcycles and cars. The car events are hosted by Owen Trinkler. PTC is under 4 hours from Knoxville which puts it a similar distance to NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green and AMP in Dawsonville, GA. Road Atlanta is about a half hour farther.
I ran a trackday there June 10th. The track is 2.1 miles with 19 turns, so its a very busy track with moderate speeds and only a single straight of any length. I was driving a pretty fast car and only saw 120mph on the front straight. Everything else was between about 45 and 90 mph. There really are no high speed corners other than the "bus stop" type feature at the end of the front straight. There is quite a lot of elevation change, some rather dramtic, that contributes to the track's fun factor.
I spoke to Jon Krolewicz at SCCA yesterday and they are currently talking with PTC about getting the track approved for Time Trail and Club Racing. I also talked with PTC's GM and they have a plan underway to make the safety improvements required to approval. If this all goes acording to current plans the track could host Time Trials spring of 2024 and likely at a substantically lower price than FlatRock. BTW: Flatrock should be laying pavement soon and will likely be at least partically operational this fall.
My opinion: PTC is a fun track but is severely in need of paddock and safety upgrades, which are currently planned. With those upgrades in place the track would be a fun Time Trial facility with, given the moderate speeds, minimal risk in the event of an off.
The biggest issue with FlatRock will be cost. So PTC will give us a lower cost option but requiring more travel time to get there.