Nelson Ledges: Historic Track on the Rebound! (LOTW #27)

[@AlexSoduk]

Great video! Another interesting fact about the track is that it used to run in the opposite direction. I was told that they changed the direction long ago because cars would sometimes overshoot the braking zone on the front straight and end up in the road. If you go far enough out in the infield, you can still find some remnants of the old short track as well.

[@johnlorrieboskovic2836]

It was dirt originally and the initial layout was kind of an oval. The track was paved and instead of the left into the Carousel (Oak Tree, once upon a time) the track went straight across to link up around turn 10. There was also a swamp the outside of the back straight. A racer I knew who had raced there since it was dirt kept a picture of him standing on the hood of his MG, hands on his hips, with water up to the door handles...

[@chupposity]

Nelson has been home to multiple 24 hour races in the past several years, and there are cars or motorcycles on track many days per week from April til as late as early November. If you go to nelsonledges.com or their Facebook page you can see what events are coming up.

[@fredwolfe2276]

Thanks Richard, for the great review. Nelson Ledges is on so many drivers/riders bucket list. It'll be your new "home track"!

[@LapoftheWorld]

Thanks for the hospitality Fred. Hopefully this will add it to a few more lists!

[@autointerests]

This is a really great history of Nelson Ledges and very nicely made video, great job! We're glad you enjoyed driving with us and appreciate your recommendation of our organization. Hope to see you again soon!

[@LapoftheWorld]

Thanks, and no problem! Thanks for the slick event and to your staff for fielding all of my questions! I'm sure I'll be back!

[@tommissouri4871]

The friend of mine that I mentioned in your other Nelson Ledges video said that in his hot van lap, he scared the student a bit when they hit the apex at 9 and water and mud came flying up everywhere. It was flooded a bit from the rain the previous night and apparently, no one had hit it all morning in any of the sessions. They stopped the next lap to help the workers clean the mess they made and the workers took it with good humor that the only one to hit the apex that day was a Chevy van.

[@Come-What-May]

Just went there a couple weeks ago. I thought it was very nice. Being fron NE Ohio, I look forward to seeing the continued improvements.

[@WolfpaqC8]

Really well done video. Neat old-school track. May have to try it. Thanks! 👍

[@MrSurferjer]

LOVE NL! What a great driver's track!!!!

[@stephenroach8033]

I raced there on a 96 GSX-R 750 from 2000-2004 bumpy was an understatement. Still managed to run 1:13s when the tracks record was 1:10. This was LONG before the paving. Would love to have a go now but Im too old for those shenanigans. Good times and bad. Never forget Ron Gueis. July 2001 RIP

[@LapoftheWorld]

Yeah, I never drove it at it's worst but I did see some old video and it was pretty clear that it beat you up a lot. Bikes there much have been pretty sketchy, but a fun layout.

[@robertjames6687]

Excellent report. I like how broke-up the behind the wheel footage with the drone shots, the new & improved pits, lots of new buildings & the history of the track. Great to hear the facility is making a comeback with so many improvements and with more planned down the road.

[@LapoftheWorld]

Glad you enjoyed! I'm definitely curious to look back at this in a few years and compare to where the track is at that point.

[@The_Stick]

Great job Richard. I've read a lot of references to this track in Car and Driver over the years, and it's good to see a video about it. It's even better to see that the track is on the rebound after some tough years. I'm still hoping that we get a track in our area.

[@LapoftheWorld]

Thanks James! Last I heard they were closing in on a "site B" with notably less red tape around it, so fingers crossed they're able to share details soon.

[@ScarletSwordfish]

Thanks for these videos. I just went to my first track day at Nelson last weekend, you gave me a good idea of what to expect.

[@LapoftheWorld]

Awesome! Hope you had fun and I'm glad the channel helped in some way.

[@slothkid9199]

my father told me stories of racing against porches, and cobra replicas back in the early 90s at nelson, cant wait to eventually race the same track.

[@robertkorn]

Nicely done video! Even though I have experienced being on my roof in the tire piles, I still have a love for that place and always looking forward to the next event there. My first experience there was also with AutoInterests and I can confirm everything you said about them, they are a fantastic organization.

[@LapoftheWorld]

Glad you enjoyed the video, and that you're still going back after a decidedly un-fun sounding experience with the scenery. Definitely a track I left wanting more of.

[@tripn4days]

"It has like eight apexes" I laughed so hard when you said this because it''s so true 😂 This was my first racetrack, and I run it twice a year, but yeah, that turn has like eight apexes! Glad you made it out to our humble home track!

[@LapoftheWorld]

I nearly laughed out loud when the guy I rode with narrated, "so you track out here (out of 5) and then... whatever"

[@johnwren3976]

I went to SCCA driver's school in the early 70s at Nelson in a 57 MGA. Attended many regional, national and Trans Am events there. Caught a glimpse of Paul Newman. Great track. Back then fastest lap time was held by a Corvette, I believe. Close behind at #2 time was a classic Mini Cooper S which gives you an idea how balanced the track is.

[@johnlorrieboskovic2836]

I did my 2nd driver's school there in May of '79 and "campaigned" my '79 Fiesta there in 1980, my one and only year of racing. My claim to fame is turning a 1:30.9 in my bone stock Fiesta - 155 SR12 tires and all!! Attended the Cumberland Nationals several times there along with many Regionals. Survived an earthquake there in '80 (I was sitting in one of the outhouses!!). Miss the place!

[@carswarfield]

I’m from East TN (Maryville) but this was my first track. I’ll be there this weekend!

[@LapoftheWorld]

Nice, you're from right next door to me more or less (West Knox here). Have fun! Nelson was a blast.

[@mglaz100]

Really good video! I'm glad that you got to meet Phil. He and his family are great people. And . . . remember the name Matan Rosenberg - Phil's 17 year old son - future racing star!

[@mglaz100]

Nice ride as well!

[@EliseAutoXr]

Well done, thanks for the fun review!

[@GogglesPisano13]

I created the virtual NL track originally for Papyrus' NASCAR 2003 simulator. Someone else converted it for rFactor and removed all the weeds that used to be so prevalent around the track, but at least they left behind Pepe and his crops! LOL. Glad to see my virtual track is still getting love from the sim community.

[@LapoftheWorld]

That's awesome. Well thanks for the gift that keeps on giving! Definitely very useful tool in memorizing the layout!

[@timsplinter1321]

I've lived within hearing distance of this "phoenix rising from nearly literal ashes" since '93 and it has been SO HEARTWARMING to see it come back to life over the last few years. The whole property just looks so much better than it did 10 years ago and it's noticably better on this video than it was even just 2 years ago when I did a track day with Xtreme Xperience. When you're done driving (or before), stop in to Garrettsville a few miles west and south and get something to eat. Slim & Jumbos/Sean's Pub can be highly recommended as well as the prize of downtown, The Mill. It's a great little town here!

[@LapoftheWorld]

It was definitely a cool surprise to me to see how far it's come since even some of the reference videos I watched. Thanks for the restaurant tips. I'm working on a "how to" video with a little more practical information and may include those suggestions!

[@dereksroomrepair]

You mean west and south

[@timsplinter1321]

@@dereksroomrepair Yes... yes I do... oops...

[@daytona5.722]

Another great video! I really enjoy these!

[@LapoftheWorld]

Thanks! I hope to be able to get out with a lot more frequency this fall so hopefully more tracks to come this season!

[@obrien240]

Great review of the track and that was a great weekend to be there with AutoInterests!

[@LapoftheWorld]

💯 The weather was basically perfect and they run a slick event.

[@johnberger5539]

I drove this track in the late '90's during a One Lap of America. It was terrible! And clearly before its rehabilitation, both the track surface and the drop offs into the cow pastures, if you managed to visit places other than the asphalt. The commentary I wrote on the One Lap website was that: There were so may patches and bumps that the square area of the patches seemed to exceed the unpatched areas and that the vertical deflection of the shocks on any lap likely were longer than the length of the track. I also suggested that the restrooms could be found by blindfolding oneself and relying on one's nose for their location. I'm glad to see it's been resurrected!

[@LapoftheWorld]

Yeah, I hadn't been there myself prior to the recent work, but I'd seen videos from some local BMW guys who'd done races there in the late '00s and may or may not have needed dental work afterwards. 'Definitely way better as of my visit.

[@rookietoprobuildz]

Dope track, I'll have to try it out

[@gregmorris2022]

First time to your channel. Really enjoyed this video. I rode a motorcycle here during the 2001 & 2002 seasons. At that time, the track had what can only be described as potholes. It was really as bad as you’ve heard. After 20 years, I’m going back to participate in an SCCA Track Night in America event. Looking forward to it.

[@LapoftheWorld]

I suspect you'll have a less bumpy time this year, lol. I had seen some BMW club race in-car from the late 00s so half expected to need a dentist when I got home, but was very pleasantly surprised.

[@DriversTherapy]

Love that you are still using your tent chair!!! The track almost looks like a nice long driveway. I also think you can do a great Nicholas Cage voice, have you ever tried it?

[@LapoftheWorld]

It doesn't do as well in the wind, but the forecast had a small chance of showers so I deployed it anyway. Lol, I haven't tried many celebrity impressions but, for the record, his southern accent in Con Air was a disgrace, lol.

[@DriversTherapy]

@@LapoftheWorld ,hahaha I watch his movies just to hear him talk. I laugh so hard.

[@mikehunt3987]

300,000 mile NSX driving to the track. That's so awesome. Lol

[@Flarecobra]

Well, this is one I actually have not really heard about, and I'm local to the NE Ohio area... though after the sad demise of Mansfield.... glad to hear good racing news in this area.

[@MrPorsche85]

First drove it in the early 90s at a SCCA drivers school ,but didnt complete it because I hurt the engine.Lost oil pressure going thru the carosel which which was banked at the time. The track was pretty rough,but looks to be paved since then.

[@STRAKAZulu]

Need to dig through Mom’s photo collection, but my parents and uncle used to race there against Paul Newman. He’s actually the reason they stopped racing. Couldn’t keep up, financially.

[@LapoftheWorld]

That's pretty cool, and yeah, unfortunately racing at higher levels is a lot about how "fa$t" you are, lol.

[@mediocrejoker9447]

i live 10 minutes away. fred wolfe is a cool dude

[@LapoftheWorld]

Yup, I spoke to him while I was there!

[@JacobMueller]

Do you find R factor to have the most simulations of smaller tracks in the US? Also are you part of any Sim racing groups? Great video, and thanks for introducing us to another small Midwest track even us midwesterners might not of heard of.

[@LapoftheWorld]

I'm not sure honestly. Assetto Corsa is pretty well served with obscure tracks. RF has the benefit of being older in this regard, but I've been all over the place finding the various tracks that I've been able to that weren't in a vanilla sim title. I haven't gotten seriously into the sim scene yet. I did pick up an entry level wheel/pedals but have been too IRL busy to get stuff set up and to 'git gud' enough to play with people online without being a hazard, lol.

[@p9r4ex8dyk]

Is that a performance meter on the windshield? What is it called? It looks cool.

[@LapoftheWorld]

That's a smartphone running the "RaceChrono Pro" app. It's also what generated all of the speed/location data for the overlays (overlays created with RaceRender). I need to get an external GPS antenna to make it smoother, but it's pretty accurate even without.

[@p9r4ex8dyk]

@@LapoftheWorld That's awesome, thanks for the info on the app. I'll check it out. Keep up the great work on the NSX videos. They are very helpful to us fellow owners, especially the new owners like me.

[@jeffhrdlicka4201]

Hi, great video! I've been reading about local tracks and saved enough funds to try an exotic car driving experience - a dream of mine. I'm an amature to road course driving (my history is in quarter mile). What are your thoughts with such an experience on Nelson Ledges?

[@LapoftheWorld]

It's a fun track and should suit most exotics pretty well (The Italians & Porsches tend towards a taller gearing that doesn't do as well on slower tracks). Nelson Ledges is also a pretty simple track (fewer turns) so it's easy to memorize the layout so you are up to speed a little quicker. That said, I'd be cautious with some of the higher speed bends as there are some weird camber changes that can make a car do unexpected stuff when close enough to the limit of grip. TL/DR if you exercise good sense and paid attention in physics class, then it should be a good time 😀

[@jeffhrdlicka4201]

@@LapoftheWorld thank you very much for the feedback! I had not thought of the gearing perspective and it makes a lot of sense. I think you've confirmed my choice! It'll be wonderful to cross this off my bucket list. Cheers!

[@LapoftheWorld]

If the exotic car experience is "Xtreme Xperience" and Cal is around tell him hi for us! I did a day with them at Hallett in 2018, very fun experience and definitely left wanting more laps, lol.

[@jeffhrdlicka4201]

@@LapoftheWorld it is indeed and I will do so! :)

[@rcstraka]

Do they still have the 24 hour race for the showroom stock cars?

[@LapoftheWorld]

At least some version of "The Longest Day" ran this past summer sanctioned by the ChampCar endurance series.

[@rcstraka]

@@LapoftheWorld Thank you, great times there when my father raced SCCA in a ‘59 Austin Sprite, the ‘70’s were a fun time for me, and I think it was early’80’s we attended a couple of “The Longest Day” weekends. Have to make the time to get back there, enjoy a day at the track.

[@LapoftheWorld]

@@rcstraka Should be a pleasant day out if you make it, especially with all the work they've been doing. I believe the race had gone away for a while in part due to conditions at the track prior to the recent work so the 2022 edition was the first after a long sabbatical.

[@rcstraka]

@@LapoftheWorld It appeared virtually the same as I remember it. The bathrooms were nasty back then, lol. The one thing I did notice was that the carousel had been cleared of a lot of the trees that were there. I’m looking forward to returning there.

[@cqe5009]

Nice video! I just found your channel, I have a very similar goal to you. I have 19 tracks on my list currently, I want to drive every one in North America. Maybe I'll run into you sometime!

[@LapoftheWorld]

Definitely keep an eye out. 27 down ~110 to go give or take (for North America).