If you aren't familiar with this event pardon me and don't waste precious time reading thread.

"Six months out and the countdown is on!
The 8th Annual F the Dragon, Lexus Performance Car Rally is locked in — August 12–16 — five straight days of the best roads in the Appalachia and the cleanest Lexus lineup you’ll see anywhere on the East Coast … this is the one.
Five days.
Premium builds.
Good people.
Zero excuses.
Every year it gets bigger, louder, harder to top — and somehow it still does. If you miss it, don’t worry… we’ll save you a spot at home watching everyone else’s posts wishing you went.
Open to all F cars, LC500’s and IS500’s
Pull up or be boring.
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Pulled all above off facebook feed in a copy-and-paste maneuver. I'm too illiterate to post hot links to the event that worked except directing to FB. Sorry and hope some can find the more exciting details. Location is Western NC and East TN region. Host hotel fontanavillage.com Fontana Village Resort, Fontana Dam, NC. I post to the LC forum because I didn't see a better landing spot and we are only one of two non-F cars invited to participate.

Question is, have any of you attended this event and can you give feedback on its dynamics? Sounds like a truly great gathering focused on the road/driving challenge rather than scenic-views,. My enthusiasm to book today is tempered by drone photos of the rubber of 10-15+ donuts in the hotel parking lot from a previous year. I'm open to learning to do that but it's not my bag; and unwilling to be "that guy" that slows down the echelon on the public roads or to keep up risks my car, myself, or other enthusiasts by exceeding ability.

 

If folks are doing donuts and trying to drive hard on public roads, especially THOSE roads, I wouldnt want to be anywhere near it.

To be honest even when I'm in KY with family I dont go near the dragon except on non-motorcycle off-days during the week. Weekends are a hell-no and hog days another hard no.

But even on slow days, being around a bunch of folks wanting to see how fast their V8 can take a hairpin on a switchback where oncoming traffic frequently crosses the double yellow is not a place I want to play with my 100k car or my life.

Mountain roads are for scenic views and MILDLY spirited driving traffic permitting. Anything more belongs in a track IMO. I sold my last bike, a Kawasaki Vulcan 1600, and havent ridden since for this very reason. Too many dangerous distracted drivers giving me close calls. The dragon was amazing 20-25 years ago. Not so much since about 2012 when it really started going to shirt.

I'd do a distillery tour across central KY rather than going to the carolinas personally. There are some amazing drives and hidden gems like Castle & Key distillery.

Caveat: I cant speak for this particular group. If they arent driving foolishly on the dragon just doing some donuts in the lot that's not a big deal. But that road is notorious for teaching people that they pushed too far the hard way, and many bikers have lost their lives over the years to sports car owners doing exactly that. I'd suggest reaching out to the organizers and asking exactly how they run this event and expectations of drivers. Even if you aren't "that guy", it only takes one driver near you doing something dumb to pull you into a bad situation on the dragon.

 

I have not attended but I strongly want to this year. Problem is it coincides with the first week of school for my elementary aged kids.

I know a lot of people who go to this event. They run it in several "break out" groups. One group is gung-ho and will drive FAST. Middle group is for spirited drivers, and a third group is there for casual drivers who just want to experience the twists and turns at their own pace. You pick which group you want to join up in. With LCs I will tell you that you will not be able to run in the fast group, your car will over heat in 10 minutes. Remember this is low speed turn heavy driving, so you will be in 2nd and 3rd gear at above average RPMs if you are driving hard. Our cars do not like that. It is also not exclusively the Tail that is driven, they plan routes along lots of different roads in the region. They mainly do the tail itself before Saturday as weekends on the tail are stupid from what I hear.

I can't speak to the donuts, but the group is a big mix of all different personalities. You can find folks who are your speed, no doubt.

 

Exactly the feedback I needed and didn't expect to receive in the thoughtful details given. Thanks!

 

Well, hopefully they will bring back the Lexus Performance Driving school for those of us who like speed/pushing the limits but in someone else’s vehicle. And of course under watchful instruction.

 

That would really pump me I'd pay to go without reservation for professional handling and instruction from that reliable source. Like you, when I read about these events first it was "speed/pushing the limits but in someone else’s vehicle" and that was the hook for me. Now I'd much prefer the experience with my own LC on the track. It has to do with birthdays accumulated I suspect. LOL

Edit: and some bonding weirdness.

 

I've emailed then 3x since December asking for what to expect in 2026 with the death of the 2UR and they haven't gotten back to me, so methinks it went the way of the 2UR as well.

 

When I make my way to road Atlanta I'll let you know, road trip it down and drive the track with me!

 

We did the LPDS last year at Indy. I'm not one who has raced before so I have zero experience to compare but, it was a blast. I would have been happy to spend the entire time on the track in the LC, doing the Autocross and Drifting was not a big attraction for me. To floor the LC hitting +100 and stomping the brakes as hard as one can was a blast especially knowing your not going to get a ticket. At the end they did remind everyone to be careful when leaving since the adrenaline was high and they have had people forget they were no longer on the track (we did drive our LC to Indy). My only comment about improving the Class was to include more Spec information on the vehicles we were driving since not everyone in attendance had one or had driven one before (IS, RC or LC). It was strictly a drive event, no sales talk or information (or discounts .

 

Pie in the sky and logistics may preclude (another story) but that's a sterling offer for a fling indeed.

 

LPDS is done for and likely won’t be back. (you might know my background) It was an amazing opportunity to drive Lexus Performance Cars on the track.


Ive ran the Dragon over 20 times but unsure about this event.

 

 

Anyone could have done that tho lol

 

That's what I did at 16, not interested now.

 

What's the route they do?