Share your TRACK DAY check list

So, for all of us "journeyman" level trackday/hpde/track rats, that is, those of us who don't have an enclosed trailer with ALL THE THINGS.  I'd like to purposefully avoid autoX checklists - mine and all of the ones I've seen are much, much lighter than my trackday prep list. 

Mine looks like this:

Towing Car tire pressures
Towing car Lug nuts secured
Trailer Tire pressures
Trailer Lug nuts secured
Spare Trailer Tire pressure
Towing Car fullsized spare + pressure checked
Safety Chain connected
Cotter pins inserted and good
car straps checked + safety chains
emergency brake hook connected and ready
Light connector attached.


Helmet
HANs
Gloves
Long pants
Arm restraints

cell phone charger/misc charger
gopro and mounts
masking tape
water++
ibuprofen
sun screen + hat

Torque wrench
fuel jug full and packed
tire pressure gauge
pyrometer
windex + paper towels
rubber gloves
basic tool kit
small jack
jack stands
wheel chocks

Helmet, meeting the organization's rules

Pants and shoes as required by the safety regs

Proof of registration.  

You should bring everything else, but you can also borrow just about anything else you forget.  The on site gear shops are always busy because of expired or forgotten helmets or not having long pants, shoes, and socks.

In reply to accordionfolder :

I always bring a breaker bar, torque wrench, jack and brake fluid.

lol - so what I'm hearing so far is I over-prepare and that's why everyone is eternally borrowing things from my paddock space. 

I live in Manhattan and don’t have a tow vehicle, so I’ve been driving the race car to vintage racing and BMW CCA club race weekends. I have a pretty bare-bones set-up:

(1) Helmet bag with room for helmet, HANS, and spare visor. I have a set of custom-molded ear protection that stays with the helmet. I also keep my credentials (race license and logbook) in a side pocket. 

(2) Small duffel with nomex suit, underwear, shoes, socks (2 pair), balaclava (2), and gloves. Bottle of sunscreen and mosquito repellent in the side pocket. I also generally keep a camping-style rain jacket and pants in there.

(3) Rain tires on the car. Race tires in the car: one in the spare tire well and three in the backseat area. 

(4) Toolbox with torque wrench, breaker bar, impact sockets, box-end wrenches, vice grips, flashlight, and the appropriate tools to swap pads. Also two sets of mechanics gloves.

(5) aluminum low-profile floor jack and two plastic wheel chocks.

(6) small milk crate with race pads, spare brake fluid, and engine oil. Also foaming window cleaner, rain-x, quick detail spray, pack of microfiber towels, and several pairs of vinyl gloves. I also keep a longacre tire gauge and tire temp probe thingy in there.

(7) two collapsible chairs, a full-sized golf umbrella, and a small camping tent. 

(8) battery jump pack. 

(9) Milwaukee cordless impact gun. Expensive but totally worth it!

(10) Small camera bag with a pair of GoPro Hero cams, spare batteries, charger, and various accessories.

That’s it. Just about everything fits in the trunk, which is large for a race car (an old Benz sedan). I drive to the event on my rain tires and street pads. When I get to the track, I empty the car, set up the tent, and put all the gear in it. I live in the northeast, so rain is common and I like to keep my stuff dry.

Then all I need to do is jack up the car, swap in the race pads, and switch to the dry tires. The whole process from pulling into the paddock to having all my gear stowed and the car race-ready doesn’t take more than an hour.

1) car

2)gas

3) tires, pressure, lugs torqued

4) brake pad and fluid check

5) helmet and bag

6) chair, ice chest, drinks, snacks

7) a friend on call with a trailer in case I break it

but I’m a simpleton

In reply to accordionfolder :

Actually I was thinking of adopting your checklist for next weekend at VIR - very thorough and I am camping as well so I have to remember all my camp crap too!

1) field wipes

2) Cooler with food and drinks

3) Tools (jack, jack stands, bike tire hand pump for air pressures in case theres no compressor)

4) Camping chairs

5) Some sort of insta tent if theres no garage space

6) Helmet, gloves, etc

7) Extra change of clothes, 2 extra changes of underwear in case theres a code brown moment or super swamp ass) 

8) Extension cords and a box fan if room allows (I'm thinking Sebring in mid-july on the short course) 

9) Extra Fluids 

10) Extra set of brake pads

accordionfolder said:

lol - so what I'm hearing so far is I over-prepare and that's why everyone is eternally borrowing things from my paddock space. 

I used to be that guy. The one everyone came to when they needed something. I brought everything but the kitchen sink. It took hours to dig out the trailer, load car, tools, coolers, food, drinks, spares, fuel cans, misc crap, air up 16 tires (including the tow rig, my car and the wife's car) and fuel up everything, Going to an event was a chore and it got to where it sucked. 

I now show up with a car that I drove to the event, my personal gear, and a AAA card. That's it. I'm going to spend the next several years borrowing other people stuff. 

Edit: I'm running a TT the end of the month. The only thing I'm adding to the above list is a spare set of brake pads, a bottle of brake fluid and a couple of quarts of oil.

We don't do Track Days, only full races, so it's usually "pack literally everything." We've tried to tame it back a little bit and now don't carry duplicate tools. Actually the Harbor Freight 301 piece tool set is pretty nice for races.

Hood pins! You can never check them enough! I learned this the hard way on my out lap at Road Atlanta last month. Fortunately, my stupidity didn't take the windshield with it, just some hood maladies.

But yes, there's what to bring physically, and then there's the mental mindset of checking your car, reviewing changes between sessions, etc. I like to log pressures and temps before and after sessions. The more data the better! 

In reply to Wizard_Of_Maz :

I have a great hoodpin story but it involves some bad language.

- insulated cup with whiskey and diet coke
- GRM t-shirt
- camera.

(I'm usually a spectator)

1. bottled water.

2. bottled water.

3. bottled water.

4. helmet

5. bottled water.

Well, I dug out my autox checklist, which now reading closer isn't what you asked for. But I'll put it here anyway (we're good at answering questions not asked, why stop now?)

One of my most important additions has been a cheap, large, battery powered clock. I prop it up or hang it somewhere visible. Since I don't wear a watch a quick glance in my paddock space tells me how close to the next session I am and when it's time to get suited up.

Show up and hope car doesn’t break.  I found my helmet yesterday and got excited.  

(Trailer and truck always stocked with tools so no need to remember to load them)

I'll double the water, water, water, water statement and food in a cooler. I couldn't do the whole cafe burger and fries for lunch and not feel like crap in the afternoon. 

And light food, granola bar, maybe some banana nut muffins, sandwich stuff, maybe a red bull or two for the last 1-2 sessions.

Oil, brake fluid, enough tools to rotate tires, bleed brakes, etc. Anything more major I figure the day is done. 

I've never ran a track day but have worked on sprint cars for over 20 years the first thing done off the trailer is  to "run the bolts ".  You never know what you will find that is not been tightened or missed during the week.