Teach Me: SCCA Track Night in America, Pitt Race July 10

I see that on Tues July 10th from 3pm - 9pm there is a SCCA Track Night in America event at Pitt Race.  

As a novice, I need some track time.  

One of my key questions is, do I have to be a $50 SCCA member to participate in this event?   

$150 for the event and $50 to become a new member at that makes it $200.  I'd like to save where I can.  

I have never been to Pitt Race.  It is just 2hr 20 minutes away for me so not too far.  Mid-Ohio is my closest track but that is still 1 hr 15 min away so Pitt is still relatively close.  No over night needed for either.  

The plan is fresh brake fluid and brake pad up the newest Q45.  I have been street driving the car quite hard for a few weeks and it has been doing very well.  No leaks, no fluid consumption, etc.  I have a set of 2 year old, low miles 16" Hankooks RS3s that should be great for this purpose.  

I also plan to rent a Uhaul trailer and use my Ford Super Duty to trailer the Q45 to the track so if needed I can trailer it back.   I should probably bring a come-a-long too if needing to load a dead car.  

IIRC you can do TNIA without being an SCCA member, but it costs more.  I'm a member, and I think it was because if you do a couple of track nights in a year it just makes sense to join financially.  I could be totally wrong on this, it's just my recollection.

Definitely yes to new pads and brake fluid.  I'm a big fan of Motul RBF600, if your car can take DOT4 fluid.

If you haven't flushed and filled your coolant recently, now is a good time to do it.  You may want to consider running 2:1 water to coolant in the summer, it cools better.

Personally I've never towed a car to the track, and don't plan to deal with the nuisance.  Drive within the car's limits and your own, and drive it home when your done.  It's not a race, it's about having a good time and improving your skills.

One of the most relaxing track 'days' I've ever done was TNiA at Atlanta Motorsports Park last year.  Didn't prep the car, other than throwing on my front track pads.  Drove there, ran about 7/10s for three sessions, done in time for a steak and a beer.  

Unless you think your car is blow-uppity, I'd skip the tow.

There is a NASA weekend at Pitt Race the weekend of the 21st, that would get you two days on the track and an instructor for  all 8 sessions. If you are a novice and want to learn, you’ll get much more out of it than a TNiA, which is much more casual.  The NASA Great Lakes region really has their act together, best HPDE learning program I’ve seen.   I’ll be there instructing