Due to some upcoming events, I have had requests for a turn-by-turn track guide to Lightning at NJMP. I don’t have time right now for a detailed right up with video, so below is a preliminary guide. I’ll base my corner markings off this map here. NJMP’s site says Lightning only has 10 corners, but there are 11 radius on the map I just linked to. I will go by the map.

Lightning is driven clockwise. Turn 1 is in the bottom right corner of the map, just after the long front straight and pit row, but BEFORE the entrance to the track from the pits.

TURN 1

VERY high entry speed for all cars - I’m doing around 110 mph in my Miata. There is a HUGE hill here that you can’t see on the map, which crests BEFORE the apex (which is therefore blind). GO SLOW UNTIL YOU FIGURE THIS CORNER OUT! You really don’t want to launch yourself over to Thunderbolt.

Braking zone has a slight hump just before it, making the car light and grip low. Fortunately, you get a TON of compression with the hill, so you can brake very late once you figure things out. Think through the hill to where the apex and trackout points are, and set yourself up accordingly. There is a mini straight right after Turn 1; stay to the left to setup for Turn 2.

Also, people enter the track right after Turn 1 and you are pretty much blind to that. Partway through Turn 1 look to the right and you should hopefully be able to see if anyone is about to enter. Adjust things accordingly.

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Toyota is issuing a recall for 3.8 million vehicles because they have floormats that may cause the gas pedal to become stuck.

While this can certainly be a major problem, far more concerning is the inability of people to effectively deal with the issue. The NHTSA says that over 100 incidents have been brought to its attention, and the Associated Press has reported on a family that was killed when their Lexus began accelerating out of control. Someone in the vehicle called 911 to report that the accelerator was stuck and the brakes no longer worked. They then crashed.

The brake failure could have been coincidental, but was likely just an example of brake fade. Even the most vicious track pads will fail if you floor both the brake and gas pedals, and I’m sure the Lexus in question did not have any upgrades in that department. The shocking thing is how easy it would have been to avert this disaster: all the driver had to do was put the car in neutral. Sure the engine would have freaked out, but at least it would not have kept accelerating the car.

It is not surprising though that no one in that car thought to put it in neutral. Most people don’t really know what is going on when they make an input in their cars. And here is an example of why not knowing some of these basics can be deadly.