Wow! Words cannot describe the level of enterprise that this project encompasses. BOTH tracks are absolutely terrific.

Having been involved with both small and large-scale racetrack projects in the past, I wasn’t quite prepared for how expansive this one is. Occupying nearly 700 acres, the sum of two autonomous tracks, marvelous Club house, “Shade Tree” garages, Villas and the world-class karting facility is far more than it’s wonderful parts!

I was hired by the developers to validate the placement of the car and bike friendly curbing on the larger, “pro event” 2.25-mile Thunderbolt circuit, located in the Southwest quadrant of the campus, scheduled to open for a Club day August 1 and hosting an SVRA race as their inaugural public event about a week later. Looks like they’re on schedule.

Arriving early morning Monday June 23rd, there was an incredible amount of activity with hundreds of workers on site. After nearly three decades in the steamy, languorous South, I had forgotten how industrious and fast paced life is in the Northeast Corridor. Growing up in Philadelphia allowed me to be familiar with the area and the drive down 55 from I-76 East across the Walt Whitman bridge was like “old home week.” It’s a snap towing from nearly anywhere.

I found my way quickly through a construction entrance in the fence and headed to the pit lane, which boasted a nearly completed timing tower and garage suites. The base coat of asphalt had been successfully laid Friday and Saturday, so we had a good idea of how the track would “flow” and we would be able to plot sight lines, verify the significant elevation changes (yes, there are significant elevation changes) and test the superelevation (banking or positive camber) through many of the turns.

First off, the scale of the paddock is gigantic. Together with a 9000 square foot, two-level pro-shop, catering and banquet facility, complete with a commodious viewing deck off the second floor on two sides, the professional event garages AND the pit lane garages with suites over top, the place is huge, roughly twice as large as VIR’s main paddock. The asphalt trucks were paving around the garages and the builders had poured the reinforcements for the deck supports on the building. The principals took me on a tour later in the day and it looks just great. Reminiscent of the design of an old WWII airplane hanger, the curved roof is unmistakable and serves also as a good visual for guiding a driver to their turn-in point through a long, sweeping corner on the far end of the track. But I digress...

Joe Volpe, Director of Motorsports Development at NJMP, HRG racer and instructor for numerous marque clubs and SJR-SCCA, was kind enough to bring his concours-ready 2000 Mustang Cobra R as one of our test vehicles. I quickly wired up a portable Traqmate data acquisition device and we took a few quick laps of the circuit. Joe is absolutely a terrific guy and beams constantly like a kid in a candy store. He’s a wonderful emissary for the track, host and a great asset among a large cast of very competent, caring and knowledgeable staff. We did sample a tiny portion of one of the large runoff areas at a rather dramatic rate of speed, but were able to maintain control and continue on our way without incident. Joe’s car was a superb test bed and, although not equipped with R-compound tires and in nearly stock configuration, was superbly balanced, allowing both of us to “draw” broad, fast arcs through the corners at both reasonable and insane slip angles. The car was fast enough to hit almost 130 mph, this on street tires and on a “dirty” track with no curbings or run-off room, twice every lap...

Soon NJMP principal Harvey Siegel arrived and we got to work, walking the track and examining from every angle where cars might and would likely be close to the edges of the circuit. Long experience and comparison with other world class facilities, along with the engineering expertise of the track designers, allowed us to identify quickly the affected areas. Once marked, both Joe and I drove several quick laps in succession to verify the placement of the curbing and we were done by early afternoon. We took principal Lee Brahin around to sample this work of art after he arrived later in the day. The concrete forms were installed beginning late yesterday afternoon and completed by the end of the day today. Mission accomplished.

One of the many fine qualities of this track is the fact that both higher horsepower cars will enjoy several high-speed sections and the lesser horsepower cars are provided plenty of long, fast and smooth corners, providing good performance parity without compromising either. It “feels” longer than 2.25-miles and feels faster than many other similar length circuits such as Laguna Seca, Mid-Ohio and VIR North, actually quite similar to Road Atlanta without the fussy T10A-T10B complex. It feels a good deal faster than Barber, not quite as quick as Mosport or Lime Rock.

There are no really slow, “fiddly” corners so common in the manufactured, cookie-cutter circuits recently constructed. Most of the latter sections are quite a bit quicker than they look but will require discipline and study to maintain the best car position for the best possible exit speed onto the following straights. Very few corners can be taken as individual bends, but instead must be considered as parts of several identifiable “complexes” of corners, with the proper flow needing to be planned, established and executed for optimal lap times. This circuit will be a challenge for both amateur AND professional drivers, again a rare quality on currently manufactured race courses.

I’ll be posting a “Hot Lap” on this site soon, as well as offering on-line coaching for those headed there this summer and fall. Separate DE and competition downloadable “study packages” will be available about 7/10.

Onto the 1.9-mile “Lightning” circuit, located in the Northeast quadrant of the campus. This course, primarily designed as a “club” and “school” track, is a refreshing revelation in this day and age of stop-and-go, “technical” tracks. Unlike Thunderbolt during our visit, it is complete, it’s smooth, wide and fast top coat epoxy polymer asphalt curing in the New Jersey sun. The curbings are fairly narrow and relatively short but provide a good guide for proper car placement.

Like it’s name, it’s incredibly fast, but like Thunderbolt, it’s not possible to buttonhole this slightly less than 2-mile track as a “horsepower” track, mostly because of the marvelous pair of complexes through the first half of a lap, beginning with the high-speed blind crest late apex at T1 and ending with the blind-crest early apex right at T6, with a downhill and slightly off camber exit leading onto the Bridge straight. Reminds me of a few places I really like at BeaveRun, the very fast and rhythmic T1-T4 complex and the T7 “drop off the edge of the earth.” If you’re fast there, you’ll be fast here.

The left at the end of the Bridge straight, T8, will catch out quite a few, but the following straight leading up to the Lightbulb is long enough so T8 cannot be treated as a throw away, but approached with discipline and a plan...

I’m sure that the first section of the course will allow better handling cars an advantage that cannot be easily erased by simply juicing a “big car” down both of the straights. It was surprising to note that our terminal velocity, no doubt due to the very fast sustained and exit speeds through and from the 15-degree banked “Lightbulb” turn leading onto the Pit straight was actually higher on our test vehicle!

Remember, Lightning was complete and Thunderbolt may well be comparable once the top coat is on, the surface is cleaned up and the curbs are in place so you can use them.

All in all, two very nice, quick and immensely satisfying circuits to drive. Each track has two, maybe three blind brows, several placed to make negotiating them properly a challenge, but none unsafe. The first turn on Thunderbolt is wonderful, reasonably quick with an uphill exit. The second turn is a blind crest right with an uphill entry. Awesome!

There are plenty of passing opportunities on each track, even more so on Thunderbolt due to the long wide corners in the back. It is so refreshing to have a bunch of medium to high speed corners available on both circuits, plus some inventive passing opportunities for those forward thinking drivers who make a good study of the course and are comfortable and confident in their cars.

I’ve posted a “Hot Lap” for Lightning here and have posted video on both circuits on YouTube under the search term “NJMP Lightning” or “NJMP Thunderbolt.”

A big thanks to principals Lee Brahin and Harvey Siegel as well as Director of Motorsports Development Joe Volpe, General Manager Don Fauerbach and Managing Director Ken Grammer for the wonderful opportunity to be a very small part of getting this epic open!