Nelson Ledges Safety Fund - $1000 Target

The guy had to pay for all of those rear tires he burned up at Mid-Ohio somehow.

Either way, my money went to a good cause.

 

Mid O on back to back weekends?!? Something smells fishy. I'll bet he moved into a garage as close to the tire vendor as possible, and is getting back and shoulder rub downs between track time from the umbrella girls.



















or at least that's what I would have done!:up:

 

Just caught this guys ... That money could have definitely gone to tires at Mid-O.

The winner of the prize giveaway is Shaun Harris. Congrats man. Contact Brian at Sportbike Track Gear to claim them.
(http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=119965)



BTW - I still have the money ready to go. Scott is drawing up a formal document right now and as soon as I receive that, I'll write and send the check out - with pictures of course.

 

Hey Eddie, I just want to say thanks for doing all this. :up:

 

No problem. Wanted to try and actually do something, rather than just talk about it.

 

Updated donation list:

www.fast48.com/nelsonledges

 

Here's an update of where the funds are going, more specifically, in a message from Scott (Lane, President of Nelson):

Eddie,

First I want to thank you and all of your associates for your consideration and thoughtful donations to Nelson. This form of support is indicative of why Kerrie and I are involved in trying to keep Nelson alive and hopefully even make it a little better every year. Based on the current ownership situation that I have discussed with you and your group previously, capital is difficult come by, and we really have to carefully utilize what funds we have.

The funds that you have gathered will be set aside for specifically improving run-off and increasing safety overall. Including moving tire walls to increase run-off and grading existing run-off to make it safer.


The specific areas that we have discussed include:

1) Riders left Turn 1
2) Riders left entrance Turn 7 – Carousel
3) Riders Left exit the Kink Turn 11



I realize that Turn 7 is probably the highest priority for increasing Motorcycle Racing safety.
However, based on the preliminary engineering survey of the site this is going to be a very extensive project. (Probably in the range of $600,000.00 - $900,000.00 if the work was contracted out) We have made some preliminary changes to the drainage in an effort to get a feel for how to change the existing drainage to allow the expansion of the run-off. Based on this preliminary work it very evident that we have a lot of water that needs to be re-routed to provide enough room to move the tire wall at turn seven any significant amount. Fortunately we have the ability to get this work done for a lot less than it would cost to hire a contractor, but it will still be a very large investment, and it unfortunately will not be one that the majority of our customer can fully appreciate, similar to when we moved the wall between turn four and turn seven.


More analysis needs to be done because this water starts at the far east side of the property by the side road opposite the bridge and flows all along behind turn one through to turn eight at the middle of the carousel.

The easiest and most immediate impact that we can make is probably going to the run-off area at the exit of the kink. This area has enough total run-off but the grade of the run-off is not correct. The drainage swale is routed to close to the track which makes for a hair raising ride when leaving exiting the track either riders left or right. . This may be something that we may be able to start on during the off season depending on the weather conditions; therefore this may be our next project. I’m really not that experienced at winter excavating, so I’m not sure what we will be able to get done. I have scheduled a meeting with one of my consultants who helps me plan these projects. He is regular car enthusiast that owns and operates his own excavating company. Maybe I’ll even be able to coax him into bringing down one of his big dozers to help expedite the project.

All in all, we’ll use up your groups generous donation as quickly and intelligently as we can and hopefully we’ll be able to make a meaningful improvement in safety. This is our goal and we will do our best not to disappoint!

I don't think we could ask much more from a track's management; especially given the resources they have available. Hopefully everyone's donations will help out in one way or another.

 

As an FYI, I sent this to Scott and Kerrie at Nelson Ledges after reading RRW earlier this morning. I'm still not sure if that money has been used, or if it's still sitting in waiting:

"
Hi Scott/Kerrie,

I just saw this post on Roadracing World about air fence being deployed at Summit Point, over in West Virginia. What do you think of using the money we raised in the "Nelson Fund" for something like that?

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/...&article=38900
http://www.witchkraftracing.com/nelsonledges

It would really be nice to use that money for something tangible so the people who donated to it, can see it being used.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,

Eddie

Witchkraft Racing
www.witchkraftracing.com
"

 

I think the track needs to cough up the money and pay for the improvements, instead of someone asking us to contribute to a 'safety fund' and hope things are repaired. Except for the tire walls being moved, that place has remained the same since I began racing (2004).