2026 Jerry Wolf Spring Classic at Mid-Ohio
Written by Jeff Woodward, photos by Fred Haaser
Every day there is a yesterday, a today, and a tomorrow. We tend to worry about tomorrow and frequently wish we had done more yesterday. As for today, if you didn’t grab it with both hands and enjoy the ride, you are missing out. I am truly sorry if you are reading this and you were not able to join us at Mid-Ohio for the Jerry Wolf Spring Classic. Not to make you envious, but we enjoyed a weekend at Mid-Ohio that I am convinced can never be duplicated. We will try our best to do so in October, but I can’t make any promises! At least a dozen drivers informed me that they had surpassed their goals this weekend, with many setting their personal best.
If you are unfamiliar with High Performance Driver Education (or HPDE) events, I can simply say that it is where Passion Meets the Track. We had 9 drivers join our novice group who did their first time ever on a track. They spent time in the classroom with Jeff Bauer and then had an instructor join them for two days of on-track sessions. Our lower intermediate group had about 20 drivers and a lot of open time on track to hone their skills with their instructors. That group spent time in the classroom with Mike Keslosky diving into weight transfer and car control skills. Our upper intermediate group were able to experience expanded passing with an instructor in their car as well as riding with an instructor. For many, it was the highlight of their weekend and a step forward in participating in expanded passing with admittance to our Friday lapping day.
A quick thank you to these two individuals, Jeff and Mike, as they masterfully adapt their classroom to the needs of the students, as well as taking time to address any developing issues they see. This includes spending time on track within the run groups they instruct, as it allows them to get a solid perspective of what needs to be addressed in the classroom. This year we are taking a step forward by stressing situational awareness with our drivers. In the past, we have focused on specific driving “lines” and how to achieve that line, but with cars becoming dramatically faster than they were just 5 years ago, we needed to re-focus our strategy for safety purposes. We have added a check ride to move drivers up a run group and have designated instructors to perform those rides. Those instructors take a critical look at the driver’s situational awareness before moving them forward.
We had 53 instructors participating and an equal number of advanced drivers to fill out our expanded passing run groups. We put some of the instructors to work in our track experience program, taking individuals out on track in our novice group to experience what it is like to participate as a driver at one of our events. We expect that several of those participating in that program may have already registered as novice drivers in October. Welcome to the family!
Those 53 instructors were kept busy by our two chief instructors, John O’Brien and Brian Childers. Both have many years of instructing and racing behind them to help direct the activities of the instructors. They did not take any time off throughout the weekend as both were not only working with instructors, solving problems and answering questions but had adult offspring with them participating as drivers. That meant keeping two cars going at all times while managing the daily life of a chief instructor. Thank you both as it was a challenge to keep everyone moving in the right direction.
Along with a safety check at the hotel Friday night before the party, we have begun using Garage 8 Saturday morning to do a check on any late-arriving drivers before the drivers’ meetings. David McCarty, our safety chair, and his crew do a great job of getting everyone through efficiently. David has also initiated a relationship with a local garage for those drivers who did not complete their required inspection with a qualified mechanic prior to the event. Fortunately, we had everyone show up with the properly completed form as David reached out to all of our novice and intermediate drivers prior to the event, reminding them of the required paperwork.
Gary Nichols filled out the operations team by covering day-to-day operations. This meant being a central clearing house for everything that was happening. Fortunately, the club invested in a radio system several years ago that allows the team to stay in touch everywhere except when on track. Gary kept busy all weekend answering and asking questions. His years of experience both on track and running events are irreplaceable. Thank you, Gary, for the hours spent keeping the track hot and the drivers cool.
Our pit-out was covered by the ever-present David Parks who rarely left pit lane and kept an eye on the traffic in pit lane. Joining him for a spell were a couple retired instructors, Rich Rosenberg and Dave Raum. Joining them on Friday before driving himself on Saturday and Sunday was one of our newer drivers, Fred Haaser. Thanks, guys, for giving David a break and checking in with drivers who had to visit the black flag station.
The party went very well as we had Susan Okin, Jill Buzzard, Dave Raum, and Rose Nichols making sure that the pizza and wings kept everyone full. A thank you to the ladies and a special thanks to Rose who does triple duty, helping with the party, working registration, and driving on Saturday and Sunday.
A special shoutout to my wife Becky who shops and organizes all the snacks and beverages everyone enjoys at the party. She gets the wristbands and window stickers organized and supervises registration. Once you arrive you will visit her along with our registration team to check in. Friday afternoon, she and Rose Nichols head over to the hotel to get set up for the party, remote registration and the safety inspection that happen at our host hotel, Quality Inn. On top of that she answers a lot of questions over the course of the weekend and does her hardest job, keeping me in line.
I’m not sure how to express how much Becky and I love our HPDE family. From the volunteer team that oversees daily operations and planning to the drivers that show up faithfully, participating at every event we have at Mid-Ohio. When the drivers gather Friday morning for their meeting before the track goes hot, it makes me smile to see everyone. I feel satisfaction that we’re doing it right, as I’ve never seen a disappointed face in that meeting. Everyone works together, making sure that every driver in the paddock gets out on track. I’ve seen guests jump in to help diagnose and resolve a problem with a car so that the driver can resume their weekend. We expect courtesy on track as it is integral to safety. When that courtesy becomes camaraderie in the paddock, it takes our program to an entirely new level.
None of this would be possible if there had not been some talented HPDE chairmen that came before me to start and develop the program that we enjoy today. Dennis Okin was my predecessor and ran a very tight ship. He switched roles several years ago to run the registration for our events. Just as he did in his role as event chairman, he kept a close eye on registration, filtering drivers into the correct run group and handling a slew of questions prior to each event. I would love to cover some of those questions here, but you will have to ask Dennis for his best stories next time you see him.
Dennis is stepping down, and Arizona Stafford has stepped into the position for our Autumn Thunder event, with Dennis providing support. Dennis, we want to thank you for your many years of service with the Ohio Valley Regions HPDE program. I wish there was a bigger way to say thank you, but seeing all of those drivers at the Friday morning drivers meeting, I know that you were a part of that.
To Arizona, a huge thank you for stepping up and taking over. What lies ahead is not an easy task, but I do hope that you find it as satisfying as the rest of the team to be a part of something as awesome as OVR’s events have become. Welcome to the team!
We were fortunate to have Max Barkley photographing our recent weekend. Please find a link (attached) to the photo gallery from the event. Each image has been developed professionally by him in very high resolution. Once you log in to the gallery with the password below, you are able to order prints as well as digital downloads of the photos from the store button (in the shape of a cart).
Max came away with over 1600 "keeper" images from the weekend, so if you don't see your car at first, keep scrolling until you do!
https://maxbarkleyphotos.pixieset.com/ovrpcamidohiohpde2026/
Password: OhioHPDEDriver
We have our next Mid-Ohio weekend October 2-5 and have already seen some 60 drivers register for the weekend. The team has decided to limit each run group to a self-imposed limit on the number of drivers in each run group. These will be hard numbers that we will not exceed. The reason for this is that we have become aware of some HPDE events this year that have been overbooked. Due to the excessive number of drivers, they experienced major issues with registrants getting ample track time. Overcrowded run groups with trains of drivers as well as multiple closures on track due to higher-than-normal incidents and broken or damaged cars were the major causes. At the end of the year we will review our run group limits and may possibly lower those limits and raise prices to maintain a level of safety and enjoyment for our drivers.
If you have not registered for Autumn Thunder at Mid-Ohio, please do so now. In past years there were four PCA regions that hosted events at Mid-Ohio. Due to an increase in racing this year in September, we will be one of only two PCA events happening at Mid-Ohio this fall. This means that spots will go quickly and as I mentioned, we will be cutting off registration when a run group hits that pre-determined limit.
Thank you to every driver, every team member, every volunteer, and my wife for allowing me to do this twice a year. Thank you for attending, helping, and directing every weekend we get to go to Mid-Ohio. Until October, stay safe and we’ll see you where Passion Meets the Track!
Your appreciative HPDE chair,
Jeff Woodard
