stormperson - that is too funny! Yeah, Cleveland is cool as far as competition goes, but like some of the items you listed, it's a downer for me. I may still go, but I also hate the fact that it's on Thanksgiving.
Most of the guys are getting there around 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM. Part of that is the computer is being used by the off-road guys before then. They return it for lap-counting use around 4:00 PM.
Having said that, I'll probably be there around 12:00 PM. I really like time to set up and take my time working on the car.