Late to Grid - Grassroots Racing

Your First Track Day: Everything You Need to Know to Get on Track Safely and Confidently

• Bill Snow

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Thinking about doing your first track day but don’t know where to start? In this episode of Late To Grid, we flip the script—Josh asks the questions that every new track driver wants answered, and Bill delivers a masterclass on getting started in motorsports.

From picking the right helmet and prepping your car to managing on-track nerves and avoiding rookie mistakes, this episode is packed with advice that will get you from the paddock to the grid with confidence. Bill shares practical tips from his years of experience working with drivers at all levels—making this an essential listen for autocross enthusiasts, track day rookies, and anyone looking to dip their tires into high-performance driving events (HPDE).

💡 Topics Covered Include:

  • What you really need for your first track day
  • Helmet and safety gear recommendations (without breaking the bank)
  • Tire and brake prep essentials
  • What to expect at registration, tech inspection, and the driver’s meeting
  • How to manage your first lap nerves and understand point-bys
  • Why bringing snacks might be the most underrated track day tip
  • Tips on coaching, car alignment, fluids, and even what to pack in your “track tote”

Whether you’re using dad’s 350Z or your daily driver, this episode will help you avoid rookie mistakes and fall in love with grassroots motorsports.

Do you have pit stop panic or trackside trouble? Not anymore!

Atomic Autosports, your trusted shop for getting your car ready for the track now brings you everything you need for race day success with their brand-new online store!

Essential trackside tools, top-of-the-line safety gear, and a full lineup of performance chemicals is now just a click away.

Plus, show your Atomic Autosports pride with their awesome swag! T-shirts, hats, hoodies, and stickers!

Track ready setups for time trial drivers and others 

Thanks for listening and taking an interest in growing grassroots racing. The Late To Grid podcast shares the stories and inspiration that help listeners along their motorsports journey.

Find all episodes on the Atomic Autosports website.

So you're thinking about your first track day. You've got questions. I've got answers, and that's what we're talking about. Let's throw the green flag on this episode. So, Josh, this is, this is different because usually you're sitting over there, and now you're sitting over here. I am. But we're talking about something really important today, and that is a question that comes up all the time, is I want to do my first and my first podcast. Wow. I want to do my first track day. What do I do? I've got questions. And you have those questions I. Do, I do. I mean it's it's funny. So I've, I've always wanted to get on track. I've done some autocross. I've done I've done super moto events on kart tracks. I've done a ton of karting. I really want to get a car on the the big track and go have fun with that. So that to me is it's the goal. So what am I doing? Well, let's talk about that. The first thing you need to have is either a car or access to a car. That's that was the first difficult thing we're pretty sure. So my dad's episode, he's still sort of crossing his three 50s, and I'm pretty sure that I will be able to get access to put that on the track. It's going to take some convincing, but I think I think we're close on this. So to me, I mean, for an inspection on that, like if we're going to do a base inspection on that, I mean, what are we looking for in that? Yeah. If he's competing in autocross, it's probably almost ready to go for the track if not ready to go. So what we're going to be looking at is everything nice and tight. So we're going to what sometimes that's called shake the car down. So we're going to put on a lift. And the technician is going to see if there's anything loose steering suspension components or loose wheel bearings which are considered suspension as anything loose. Is there any play. We're going to look for any drips say any fluid leaking, you know, any fluids leaking. Not because it becomes slippery, but you don't want it all to leak out and then have a problem on track. So if something starting to leak is probably going to start leaking more when it's under the demands of being on track, we're also just going to make sure that the tires are good. And what we're looking for there is does it have good tread? Are the date codes. You know, still still within the last couple of years? Make sure there's no chunks missing. And lastly we're going to look at the brakes. We're going to make sure that there's good pad material. We're want to check the, kind of what the condition of the brake fluid is. Anytime a cargo is on track, you want good brakes. Everyone thinks, well, I want to go fast. I want to have, you know, acceleration. You got to stop the car. It's a safety thing. Right? So, if there's, you know, there's always needs to be updated brake fluid, but there should also be updated track pads, or even autocross pads, for that matter. We can help with selection and identify those too, based on how the car is being driven and the type of car it is. And that's okay. So you're going to as you're going to look at all of that. So that way I can get out on the track and be like, okay, we're good. I'm not thinking, what's going to fall off? Right. And there's one other thing I might throw in there, too. A lot of, track days, they have their own tech form. Oh, we will go through that tech form for you, and we will sign off on it, too. So if there's something specific. So there's some organizations that say you cannot have a crack in your windshield. There are other organizations say it just can't be in your line of sight. Okay. Well, you know what? Let's help identify that. So we'll make sure that you are 100% covered. So when you roll up and register or sign in as the morning of your event, you're good to go. Not not the worry. Surprises are not I mean, you're going to get surprised enough out on the track. I'm assuming that surprises in the tech lane are bad. Yes. You don't want those. It makes it makes for a rough day. Speaking of rough days, I don't really ever want to have this rough of a day, but I need a helmet. I've got a couple of motorcycle helmets, but I'm assuming for, like, most track events, those are probably a no no. So what what what what am I looking at for a helmet? Because I see that there's the ones that, like, have the air vent in that are $1,200. I'm assuming I don't need to go that route. You don't go ahead. Yeah. There's there's a lot of good helmets in the $250 range. And up. So you need I need something that's called a 2020. So we're recording this episode, in May of 2025. And what happens in October of 2025 is the next version of the SA helmet comes out. So it's going be, SA 2025. Helmets are generally good for ten years. So if you had a 2020 helmet, that's good till 2030. And that SA rating is what what most track day organizers would expect. I definitely recommend a full face helmet, some organs. I organizers let you go with open face, but I do like the full face because, believe it or not, with that window open, sometimes you get some rubber chunks coming in the car and the last thing you want to do is get that in your face, or worse, your eye. And you don't need any fancy vents or cooling systems. You just need a good helmet that fits your head properly. And depending upon where you live, there's going to be organizations and stores near you that that you can go to. You can try them on, if you have to do mail order, maybe call and just confirm sizing before you hit that buy button. Sure. Because I mean, to me, this is like a hat or a tennis shoe. You probably want to try it on before you commit to it if it's shaped differently than your head. I don't think there's going to be anything worse than being on track and something squeezing your head the entire time, right. In your eyes. And I just, I did some, I was at a cart rental track, this week, and I grab the small helmet, I fit in a small helmet and bell and zap and I grab the loaner helmet, say, hey, because we were out of town, this small helmet was loose. Oh. No kidding. Yeah, so extra small was the way to go. Glad I figured it out, cause I don't want that thing bouncing around right. I know that. So sizing is important on. Helmets. That sounds inconvenient. You mentioned checking the tires, checking the brake pads, things of that. Are there recommendations? I mean, like this that drives this car? I don't know if we want to dump a ton of money into race tires for this yet. I mean, I'm going I'm going to go on the track, but I it's not going to live there. I guess I would say. Still, it's going to have an interior. It's it's not race car yet. What are your recommendations for that. There's a lot of good tires. You know, most people doing track days are going to look for what's called the 200 tread wear tire. You don't need to get that aggressive if you're going out occasionally just trying it. You know, you can look at a 400 or 3, 40 tread, wear a tire. I gotta tell you, my first track day ever, I was in run flats, you know, and nobody gave me grief. And they said, listen, you're here. You are learning on a tire that's hard and dense and probably a little slippery for what we're doing. But that's the best way to learn. So my advice is always go out with what you have. You're not going to be pushing 10/10, which means 100% sure you're going to be out. You're just, do I enjoy this? This is what I like to do. Am I worried there's other cars that might be around me? Then as you get more comfortable with that and you're like, I'm doing this more and more, dad doesn't know I'm taking it, so he hasn't said anything. You can buy that. The other set of tires. That that makes sense, that makes when he sees they're balled up, he may may have questions. Yes. That's a that's a good point. I read I did read something in the tech information about needing tow hooks for the car. I'm, I'm hoping I don't need tow hooks for the car, but they're supposed to be there. What's involved with Adam? I cut my car up here or something. Or what? Depends on the car. So that's the reason that tow hooks are required by some organizers is if you were to go off track or you were to stall on track, the last thing you want is that tow truck. Because it's not a typical troll truck that will show up to your house if you had cars to get towed. It's basically a truck with a strap. Where do you want that guy sticking that strap? That's the way it comes down to you want them to put it where you want it. So. Sure. A lot of today's cars have tow hooks that can thread into the bumper. So there's a little disc about the size of a nickel that gets popped out and a tow hook gets screwed in. Some cars come with those. Now I come with one, because how often do you really need a tow look on the front or rear. But there's aftermarket companies that will sell tow hooks for that specific thread pitch, and every car's a little bit different. And what you do is when you get to the track, you pop those little nickel sized plastic covers off, you screw in the tow hooks. You're good to go for the day. Okay. If you're doing, track days on a more regular basis and you don't like the way those protrude, there are some flexible, cloth ones, like a webbing, that can kind of be tucked out of the way. And they attach under the car. And during the event, you might have a sticker that shows where that is. Just so it's very clear where they should be, tying up if you do go off track. That way, if it's under if it's in the gravel, if you are in the beach, they at least there's an arrow that says hook here. Okay. Don't don't hook to my fender or to the, the grille or anything. Yeah. That makes sense. Can you imagine a hook coming up through your car's condenser or the radiator? Because that that felt like something underneath that was strong. It happened. So that's that's solid. We'll just take there. What's this green fluid. Yeah. No, that that all makes sense. Something else. I mean, 350 Z. Do I need, like, a track specific alignment, especially starting out here. Is that a big thing for me? No. It's not. So if this is your first track day, just come as it is. You know, if it's your wheels way off. Yeah. Come on, come, come see it. Shop like Atomic Auto Sports. We'll get it. We'll get you set up. But. No, just come on out. Have a good time. Your first track day. You're not going to notice a difference between one degree camber in the negative in the front versus negative three and a half degrees camber in the front. You will eventually, if you continue to do this, then you want to look at maybe a more aggressive alignment. But for now what you're running, let's get you on track and have some fun. I love that. So it sounds like we've I mean, getting the car prepared. There are steps to follow. You guys obviously do a lot of help with that. What what happens when I get to the track? I mean, I'm pretty sure it's not just show up and there's the track. Go drive around in this direction. It does not seem like it does. That doesn't seem like a good idea. There's a couple steps ahead of time. So number one is I always recommend, reading the event rules. And sometimes those are called supplementals or supplements or subs. There's, a sort of a guide, page or two that might be, sent to you via email after you registered. Read those over because they'll tell you, whether or not it's a cash only event. I've seen folks roll up and they don't have the cash. Great. Oh, what are we going to do? There might be information on where you can and can't park. What time is the driver's meeting? What time is registration open? If you have to do tech at the facility, what time is that? You want to make your morning as easy as possible? Smooth as possible. So knowing what's happening is key. So once you get there, find a spot. You're allowed to park and park your car. That's where you're going. All your gear is going to be there during the day. You're going to clean everything out of your car checking it, registration, make sure everything's smooth there, get, you know, get your wristbands wherever you need to do. There's going to be a driver's meeting. You want to make sure you get to the driver's meeting, because they're going to tell you how the day is going to flow, where it's going to flow, meaning, hey, this is where you need to go, to get on track. Sometimes, sometimes different flags mean different things. So they're generally accepted. Flags and flags are thrown at corners and at start finish based on current track conditions. So we won't go through what they are today. But there are some times when a red flag at a track might mean, stop where you are is safely stop where you sure? Pull off to the right or left and wait there for instructions. But there are other times when it says slow your car down and find the next corner station that is manned. That's where you want to pull off. Because we don't have a vehicle, it's going to come around and sweep you up. You have to watch for, you know, the corner. We're going to give instructions. So very important to understand that also they're going to talk about your run groups. So you know you're going to have a novice group an intermediate group an advanced group. And depending upon how the day is, there might be two novice groups or might be two advanced groups. And what they do is they break you up how you registered, but then also any input that may have happened during the day. So they might see that a novice is running super well. Somehow they got a novice and they've already been on track before. They might move somebody up to intermediate, they might see someone in the intermediate and eventually throughout the day, bring them down the novice, because they need a little bit more coaching and maybe some classroom sessions. But at the beginning of the day is so important at the track event, because that that's what's going to set the tone and pace for the day. You want to make sure there's no questions. One last thing to talk about is the point by so during sessions, a lot of times maybe not novice sessions, but intermediate advanced for sure. Sometimes novice there's a point by that means when there's a quicker car that's coming up behind you, you need to give them some indication it's okay to pass you. Well, every track and every organization is a little bit different in how they handle that. So you really need to understand is it a straight arm out. Is it an arm over the, you know over the roof of the car? What are you doing to indicate that? Yeah. And just take bring a notebook because there's a, there's a lot that's covered and you want to make sure you understand. I was about to say the way you've explained the driver's meeting. I mean, it sounds like driver's meeting, and I mean, both of us as people that own business, I think of networking. And this does not sound like a networking event. This is this is much more instruction. All this is pay attention. Don't be the guy that's still over, at his car. Her car, trying to figure things out. Yeah. You got to pay attention. Gotta be listening. Because if you don't understand it, I mean, it could be dangerous. Yeah. No, that that makes really, really good sense. I am not planning on this. What happens if I end up saying. Oh, I just came from that corner. Meaning I spend up spinning. What do you what do you do in most cases? Number one is you need to, you know, come to a complete stop at not on the track. You know, if you do find yourself on a track, get moving as quickly as you can and make sure you can orient yourself or you're going to be on one edge of the track, because a car coming behind you will have a lot more track if you're on one edge or the other. As far as being stuck in the middle, if you are come to a stop, maybe in a gravel pit or in the grass, the first thing to do is to look for a corner station. And keep in mind that corner station might be behind you. So, just like the airline. Inspections, if the tracks out there, the corner station may be behind you. I got it, got it. Makes sense. That corner worker. Might be giving you instructions on not to move or to move, because they might see something on your car that you can't. Sure if your car were to be on fire, that is the only time when you should exit the vehicle. You should not get out and wait for a tow. You stay in the vehicle. That's the safest place to be unless it is on fire. But if that corner worker's giving you some instructions, follow those instructions. If they're not. Take a deep breath. Get oriented to where you are, and safely and slowly pull on to the track and then get up to speed as quickly as you can. After that happens, you need to come into the pits for off. That means four tires, four wheels off is generally a mandatory black flag stop. The event organizer or the lead instructor wants to ask you, are you okay? What happened? What did you learn? And if you don't know what happened, you didn't learn anything. Let's get out of the car. Let's have a conversation. Because, if you knew what happened, you're less likely to allow that to happen again. If you don't understand why that happened, then we need to have sort of a basic discussion on car handling, entry speed, braking threshold. Those sort of things make sense. I mean, you've talked a lot about instruction in terms of they're going to tell you this, they're going to tell you that. They're going to tell you where to go. They may tell me where to go. That being said, I mean, should I get an instructor for this? I mean, should I be hiring someone to to hang on for dear life in the passenger seat? Not yet. Okay. Yeah. So if you're going to your first track day, more than likely there's going to be at least one instructor. Instructor that's going to help you. If you do something like auto interests, there's going to be lots of instructors that can help you. But at most events, there's at least one person that can coach you. You can always go and ask them questions. Matter of fact, I was running in, an event here recently. I was in the intermediate group, and I went and I grabbed one of the coaches, and I said, listen, I'm gonna work on my braking a little bit. Here's what I'm currently doing, and here's what I'm experiencing with my car and here's my car. Here's what I have. I'm running today. And he gave me a couple of ideas which were very helpful. So you can always reach out to a coach no matter what your level. There's especially as a novice, they might have somebody in the right seat for you. They might not. But, you know, there's generally going to be a classroom session where you can go and ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask questions, because once you if you're the first one to ask, everyone else is going to start asking as well. You will hire a coach if this is something you get really passionate about. You want to get faster and you want to do more of it, then you might do that. There's also remote coaching. So if you were to buy some sort of data acquisition device, which are not terribly expensive, that person can review that data remotely. After you're after your track day and give you some tips and tricks. Interesting, interesting. I mean, from that there's the common. The most common mistake, I'm pretty sure, is everyone showing up for their first track day and thinking I should be in the advanced group. I believe that's probably the most common mistake. So we're going to ask what's probably the second most common mistake that people make? Oh my gosh, it's probably a tie. The first is not upgrading the brake fluid. So what will happen is brake fluid has a boiling temperature and the standard brake fluid in the cars that we drive on the street, is either dot 3 or 4 under track conditions, even mild track conditions that brake fluid can boil. What happens when brake fluid boils is it creates air in the system, and you get a spongy or soft pedal that creates panic as you're trying to stop after a long straightaway. So make sure you get that update. The other thing that is overlooked all the time, or the unreasonable expectation, is that you brought enough food and beverage. This is a demanding sport. Even on your first event, you don't drink enough water, Gatorade, you don't have enough, you know, sort of snacks or proteins. So make sure you pack a good thing because I know it could be hit or miss whether or not the concession stand is supposed to be open, that open, did they bring enough burgers to grill up those sort of things? So pack accordingly. My go to is always a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at every track. They always bring snacks. Yes. Oh, we always bring snacks. That that. I mean, then that doesn't matter if you're on track or if you're just. I mean, at a picnic, bring snacks and friends. That's that's a big one. What's a basic driving technique I should be thinking about? I mean, of course, like I said, at, it's like 85% of people are above average drivers. I'm included in that. So what should I be focusing on? Smooth as fast. Oh, okay. That's it. Don't mash the brakes. Don't mash the acceleration or throttle pedal. Smooth as fast. Easy on the brakes. Easy on the throttle. There may be driving situations where you have to unsettle a car with with aggressive braking or transfer weight with excess excessive acceleration. You're not there yet. Be smooth. Be consistent. Be safe. Remember, this is your first time out. You want to go out again. You got to bring that car back and you got to be invited back. Because if you're an aggressive driver out there your first time, they're gonna say, I know that this person should run with us again. So don't turn the car into a paperweight, is what you're saying? No. Okay. Good car, good call. Speaking of that, speaking of not turning the car into a paperweight, what are the things that I need to be monitoring when I'm on track? I mean, at, I know I shouldn't be glued to the temperature gauge, but should I be checking that? Yes, absolutely. So I always like to do what's called a gauge sweep. So, and you're only going to do those on straightaways. That's the only time your your eyes should be for just a second away from any mirror or winch out the windshield. So what I do is as soon as I, coming out of, turn onto a straight away, I'm going to look in the mirrors, and I'm going to quickly make sure that there's nobody ready to pass me or that I need to be aware of, that you're always going to hold your line. You don't move over for some of the pass you. It's their responsibility. Once you've made sure your mirrors are clear, I always do a gauge sweep left to right. I look at all my important gauges. Are there any any lights on that weren't on last lap right? That is, I'm getting to the pits and seeing what's going on. But you should always make sure that the gauges are where they need to be normal. And I have to tell you, during a track day you're going to use more fuel. Sure, keep an eye on the fuel gauge, because the last thing you want to do is not have enough fuel to get home. Is that seem like a voice of experience here? It happened to someone I know this weekend. Look, luckily, I've. I've caught it, before it was too bad, but somebody was having issues on track this past weekend, and it turns out, hey, it looks like you're out of gas. Oh, yeah. They need that. Yeah, they they they need that. I know we mentioned snacks. We mentioned water. We bring just too much of it, basically, because worst case scenario, you feed a friend and make a friend in the process. I love that. What? Snacks? Helmet. What else should I bring? Few things. So first off is something called a torque wrench. So you're going to want to make sure your lug nuts are torqued. And what that means is every car has a, lug nut torque setting that specific to your vehicle. It's going to range anywhere from, like, 85 to 150ft pounds. So bring one of those because you want to make sure your wheels are tight. And what can happen is as they warm up in track, they might loosen a little bit. Now, usually after your first and second session, even though you check in the rest of the day, they're they're generally good. Your tire pressure gauge. So for your first outing, you're probably not going to get too crazy with setting and changing tire pressures, but they're because the heat that's generated because of the friction. And if it's a warm day, those tire pressures may elevate and you want to bring them back down to a more reasonable level. Question comes up what tire pressure do I run? It depends. Too much. Too much for this episode. We could do an episode on that. It sounds. Like. Yes, absolutely. You're on, bring some window cleaner. So bugs are generally in areas that have a lot of trees and, and vegetation, and there's a lot of bugs that you hit. So you want to clean windshield. I like to bring some microfibers with that. And also some quick detailer, I don't know, a clean cars, a fast car. Sure. So, you know, being able to wipe down if you have the room, some bug and tar remover, because that will get those nasty bugs off your front bumper, too, you know. You know what? That I'm too long. Oh, and then any fluids that, you need. So your brake fluid, some of your motor oil, you really shouldn't have to need antifreeze. But if you have the room it can bring up, bring a gallon of that. Perfect. And, I mean, would you throw that, like, in a big, like, Rubbermaid container or something? Yeah. The best thing to do is find a Rubbermaid tote that fits either in your backseat or in your trunk. Nice. And then what you do is that your track pack? Oh, I like it. Right. So you're not taking that window cleaner and now putting it in your garage inventory. It stays in that tote. Because when it's time to go to your next track day, because you're going to fall in love with this after your first one. Sure. You just grab that, you open it. Yep. Boom. Done. You have to worry about what? What isn't in there? What's supposed to be in there? It's just there. And if you want to create a checklist, either on your phone or paper so that you can quickly go through, make sure I got my torque wrench and my 17 millimeter socket that goes with that, my tire pressure gauge, blah blah blah all the way down. I love that I feel I appreciate this because I feel ready now to actually take this on rather than just being like, hey, I'm going to show up and be I'm going to be the fastest guy there. I actually feel like, okay, I have an idea of what to expect. No, I, I really appreciate this. This has been really good for me. Good. You know, I have two last things to say. It. You should bring love it. Maybe three. Bring a camping chair. Oh, yeah. Bring some extra clothes. Maybe a hat, another shirt. Make it a little sweaty and bring your smile. Have a good time. It just. I love number one. Have fun. Love it. Absolutely love that. That's a yeah. No, I'll. I'll bring all that. Are you ready to go? I think so let's. Get you to the track. Perfect. Thank you very. Much. Thanks, Josh. Great questions.