rec.autos.simulators

A friend and I are planning on visiting the US from the UK next year. What
we are hoping to do is go to the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on the 15 -
18 October 2003 and the Busch/Winston Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway on
the 26/27 October 2003.

Has anyone got any advice for us?

What should we not miss? What should we miss? What are the places to visit &
what are the places to avoid? Where should we stay? etc etc

It's probably going to be the only chance we get of seeing both ALMS &
NASCAR & we want to make the most of it.

Cheers Lee

There's also a go-karting place called "Andretti's Speed Lab" The location
makes it seem like an average concession karting place, but they have real
6.5 hp race go-karts on an indoor track. You use rental helemts, and they
feel pretty fast when you drive on the limit.

Thanks,
Alex

        Atlanta is like any big US city - there are neighborhoods you
don't want to be in, especially after dark.  A decent grade hotel
downtown or a bed and breakfast are the best options if you don't know
much, a cheap motel the worst.  Get a good guide book.

  Bring or buy the following when you get here:

  1.  Bring sunscreen

  2.  Bring binoculers

  3.  Bring/rent a scanner

  4.  Bring raingear

  5.  Bring lots of water, especially if you're going to the practices, etc.
Lots of beer too of course<g>

  6.  Bring warm clothes.

  7.  Bring lots of food.

  If you can swing it via a rental car, go up to C***te and tour the race
shops.  It's not that far really.

  Atlanta's fairly upscale, so hotel, etc. shouldn't be a problem.  But make
your reservations asap.

John

Lee

Lee

There's also the sports center around the Omni, where you could
probably catch a minor league hockey or NBA game for fairly cheap.
There are occasionally exhibits and such in the convention center as
well, which is part of the Omni complex IIRC.

Jason

A "not miss" is the World of Coca-Cola in downtown Atlanta.

--
Peace, love and Monkeemobiles,
Galley

Try to sit as high as possible for the best view.

Plan on sitting in traffic for a long time after the race is over.  We
got back to our truck around 6:30 or 7:00 and did not move until about
10:45.  We had planned for this, brought a nice barbecue dinner etc,
but it was still very tiring waiting to leave, especially after
sitting at the track all day.  Once we started moving, we got back to
downtown Alanta within a 1/2 hour or so, so the log-jam appeared to be
getting out of the track itself...

There is no package beer for sale in Georgia on Sundays, so if you
want to bring your own to the track (MUCH less expensive that way,
plus you get to pick something besides Budweiser) you need to pick it
up before race day.

Road Atlanta is on the complete opposite side of Atlanta from Atlanta
Motor Speedway, so plan your accomodations accordingly.  Buckhead is a
"trendy" area near downtown with lots of inns and restaurants (and
nightlife, if you are into that).

Andretti Speed Labs is pretty cool.

Helen, GA is not far from Atlanta, and its Oktoberfest should be in
full swing while you are here.

There is a lot more to do in the area, get a good travel guide and
knock yourselves out!

Gerald

Lee

Something I just remembered on "divided by a common language" -- last time
I was down South I found that ***/booze was sold in "package stores",
not "liquor stores" as in the rest of the USA.  Helps to know the local
jargon when you ask for directions...

Dunno about GA, but a funny story about this past Sunday near Rockingham
(NC). We pull off US 1 near Southern Pines to let the lady go wee before we
get into the track area and a couple of non-knowing ***ia-ites are
pulling cases of beer from the cooler in preparations to purchase them and
then scatter them in their ice filled cooler outside.

As I realize what they are about to do, I begin to snicker, the clerk then
realizes what is happening and yells back to them "No beer sales in NC
before noon on Sundays fellas". The look of pure terror that fell on their
faces was hilarious. I felt bad for them as noon was right at the time for
the pre-race activites and to wait until noon to buy the beer and THEN get
to the track would have surely meant missing the first ?-? of the event...we
loaded quitely back into the SUV and gently patted on the cooler of ours,
filled with our favorite brew duly purchased the night before from a local
Food Lion.

Moral: It pays to know the local laws regarding *** sales on Sunday when
attending a NASCAR race. In NC we affectionately call it the 'blue law'.

I should tell y'all the one about the guys looking for beer at the
Martinsville race a couple weeks prior. The m***to that story is that SOME
counties where they hold NASCAR races are 'dry' and packing in your own brew
is the ONLY way to get any :).

Gerald