Jay Posted February 18, 2007 Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 February 18th, 2007 2.6 miles of whipping asphalt, 15 turns, over 70 feet of elevation change, long straights. Eagles Canyon is pure excitement. Yesterday, February 17th 2007, I and a couple of other Allison Legacy Drivers were invited to take a sneak peek of Eagles Canyon Raceway. Wes Pullen, Donny Nay, Skipper Walker, Mark Chapin and I loaded up and made the drive up to Slidell TX. which is only 27 miles from my home in Flower Mound TX. It's about a 12 mile ride from I-35 going west on F.M.455 to get to the track. F.M.455 is narrow and at this time is not in very good repair for large rigs. Much like the track, F.M. 455 has several areas of tight turns that will definitely test your race rig driver's ability. Mark Chapin rode up with me and took notice that the county must be getting ready to do some repair to this stretch of road, as we passed many piles for repaving material along the way. We arrived at the track and unloaded the cars on the racing surface, as this is the only paved area at this time. Crews were working on moving earth on top of the hill were the garages, timing tower, and other structures will be built. Additionally, about half of the outside retaining wall on the front stretch was poured and more forms were in place as this work is in progress. From the front stretch and looking out over the course, the first thing that caught my eye was turn 11. It looks like a turn that will pitch your stomach right into your throat. Down hill and off chamber, every one of us just stood there and said that looks like fun.?. We were greeted by two of the key people involved in the construction of the track. Linda Cook, Executive Vice President and Owner, and Jim Humphrey, Vice President, Business Development. Linda Cook was very surprising to me in that she was as much excited to get out and run the track with us as we were to be there. There is no doubt that she was directly involved in this venture because her passion for racing was as evident as the asphalt we were standing on. The time had come to suit up and hit the track. Linda took the lead of about eight cars that were at the track. Three Allison Legacy cars, some awesome CVAR cars, 67 Camaro, 67 Corvette, 68 Camaro, you know the cars that you would think should be in a show room instead of on a race track. Totally sweet cars!!! Anyway, back to the track. We followed Linda for about three laps to get a feel for the line to follow. I have to say, with every lap, I thought this turn is like MSR Houston, this turn is just like Hallett. If you enjoy the long straights in Houston, and the challenge of the hills in Hallett, this is your track. I myself was disappointed that Hallett was not on the 07 schedule. Eagles Canyon has reintroduced the challenge blind hills, off chamber turns, but maintained a driving surface wide enough to maintain the excitement of running these areas and still carry some speed. The entire driving surface is 60 feet wide!!! Lots of side by side racing!! You will find yourself thinking to yourself, this turn feels like MSR Houston. Turns 7 and 8 feel and are run just like turns 3 and 4 in Houston. Much like turn 1 in Houston turn 1 at Eagles Canyon is very tight but turns right instead of left. While running turn 9 I found myself looking for the billboard the other side of the interstate like in Hallett as I topped the hill. This is going to be one of the most beloved tracks in the state of Texas. You get the best of both worlds rolled up in one 2.5 mile package. Although I found myself wanting to just cut loose, the thought of spinning off the track into the rough, and I do mean rough helped me maintain restraint. If any car had gone off the driving surface it would have resulted in damage of some sort. Large rocks, piles of earth, and a drop off the edge of the driving surface at this point were all to be feared. I did shoot some in car video. It could have been a bunch better had I cleaned the windshield. While you are watching, take notice of the perspective of where to horizon of the sky is to get a sense of the elevation changes. Please realize we were not running at any speed that is possible at this track. Enjoy! Once this track officially opens, you will not want to miss the opportunity to come out and play. The design and lay out are sure to promote some of the best road course racing in Texas. Special thanks to Linda Cook and Jim Humphrey for inviting us out to see the track. Linda, I cant wait until the track opens!!! By: Jay Carley Allison Legacy Series Director Texoma Legacy Motorsports CompCar N.C. / N.A.S.A. TX http://www.texomalegacymotorsports.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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