Choosing a race style

I'm 41 and I've never raced (other than go karts and some, uhh, non-sanctioned drag racing).

I have asked this question before, but I approached it from the wrong side. I had asked "how do I get into ______ racing?" without thinking about the baby steps first.

Is there a good website you guys know to help me pick? Kinda like a "which dog breed is right for you" thing? My plan is to choose some, then get some schooling on race driving and then actually get into racing. Never too late.

I'm not into super competitive stuff, nor am I really looking at sponsored/paid stuff, just fun and learning. I have spent over half of my life building cars and learning about the engineering of vehicle dynamics but never applied it except on the street. Enable me.

What about just attending a few events of various types as a spectator to get a better feel for what you like?

I would say attending and just watching is a good way to figure out what you like. Im still trying to pick what I wanna do.

First, check your bank account. Racing is an expensive sport.

I guess a good first step is to find out what kind of tracks or racing is in your area?

There are several books available on race craft available on Amazon and other books sellers.

If there are tracks in your area they likely will have a driving school available that you can get hands-on experience before you take to the track in earnest.

For me, I learned by just hanging around the tracks growing up, getting as many rides around the tracks as possible and driving anything and everything I could get my hands on. Go-Karts, racing sims, actual Karts, Autocrossing, etc. Then once I bought my own car did a few track days or HPDE's, a bunch of autocrossing and then once ChumpCar/LeMons came along I jumped at the chance to join a team, help wrench and drive.

Ice racing can be the cheapest but the season is short.

Of course you have to have ice.

My recommendation is rally cross. I have Texas motorsport ranch in my back yard and really want to go do a couple events out there, but more than that, I want to go hoon a beater in the dirt.

I'd say, attend a track day event. Different degrees of modifications done to a wide, diverse number of makes/years/models. Racing done on established tracks which you might find yourself on one day.

Unlimited information to be had and very light on attitude. A great pairing for someone looking for answers and a hugely entertaining day.

Autocross has the potential for being a lot of very similar cars doing exactly the same thing for hours at a time.

Kart racing is a TON of fun . . . for the guy on the kart. Not for the guy turning up to watch. Steer clear !

Rally Cross is often an off-road event. Doesn't sound like what you're looking for, but . . . maybe.

With autocross you can buy a Miata, learn to autocross it stock, be competitive, and if it ain't for you- sell it and even make a dollar.

With rally cross you can do the same thing- stock econobox, beat on it. not for you? Sold to a high school kid.

How do you choose between these two? Simple.

Do you want to feel bad ass AND actually be a bad ass? The autocross is for you.

Do you want to just feel bad ass? Rallycross is for you.

We all know that rallycross guys have the biggest members...

I believe that competing is much different than spectating. It's not really possible to simulate the G-forces on your body without at least riding along with a driver. Go to this website.

http://goaheadtakethewheel.com/

Also go to www.scca.com to see the closest region to you for solo, rallycross, and HPDE events to participate in. Don't forget to check out drag racing if you're interested in that. There is drifting and some other non-mainstream racing events you can check out, too. The "fake" race events are inexpensive for participation if you stay mild with your car.

Trackmouse wrote: With autocross you can buy a Miata, learn to autocross it stock, be competitive, and if it ain't for you- sell it and even make a dollar.

That's a little too pricey and time consuming to do. Race with what you have first to see which events you like, then go from there.

By the way, the next issue's cover story might help a bit. The basic gist: How to get involved in motorsports. And our definition of "get involved" includes some off-track stuff, too.

I think autocross is most people's gateway drug. It's cheap, you can usually use whatever you drove to work today to get started. You get a foundation in performance driving at low speeds, and get to hang with other like-minded people. I'm sure this thread will take off with people more 'in the know' than me(99.9% of forum participants), but these sites may be a good starting point given that you have the misfortune of living in Pittsburg :

http://stcsolo.com/

http://www.pittrace.com/

Autocross and rallycross are probably the cheaper ways to get your feet wet. Great way to learn vehicle control and dynamics at the limit safely. You can spend as much or as little as you want, I have a great time at our local events and I'm not super competitive (trying for national or tour titles).

Once you've outgrown those or want to try wheel to wheel then solo1 and spec series might be the way to go.

BoxheadTim wrote: What about just attending a few events of various types as a spectator to get a better feel for what you like?

I have done that but it doesn't translate for me. I love watching drag races, but its really boring to me to go in a straight line for 10 seconds. Its like sports. I love to play baseball but hate watching it. I was thinking that if I saw a synopsis of race types and their classes I could narrow it down. Like if one type of racing appealed to the fact that I enjoy suspension engineering, that might be a little more attractive than a spec class that specified part numbers.

The real problem with attending races around here is that there are very few. Ohio and Maryland have some more, but attending races to see what I like would be a several year and multi-thousand mile endeavor, and even then like I said, it doesn't necessarily translate to something I would like to drive.

Not to mention, I don't even know what to search for. What if my future favorite type of racing is SuperMod K-car rock crawling, but since I've never heard of it I don't even know to look for races in my area.

I do know that I have attended several autocross events and even did a couple ride-alongs, and it didn't interest me. I have attended multiple circle track events and it looks like it might be a little fun, but repetitive. I have attended several F1 events and love turning both ways, so maybe rallycross or some kind of road racing...

that's the problem. I don't know. I might look at a synopsis of rallycross and say "eww, that doesn't look fun when I see the classes and rules."

Do something and if you don't like it, then do something else.

I started doing track days, then bracket racing, then rallycross, then I hit an autocross or two and decided rallycross is best motorsport.

Trackmouse wrote: With autocross you can buy a Miata, learn to autocross it stock, be competitive, and if it ain't for you- sell it and even make a dollar. With rally cross you can do the same thing- stock econobox, beat on it. not for you? Sold to a high school kid. How do you choose between these two? Simple. Do you want to feel bad ass AND actually be a bad ass? The autocross is for you. Do you want to just feel bad ass? Rallycross is for you. We all know that rallycross guys have the biggest members...

Good post. I think I want the feel badass more than to BE badass. All of my performance driving has been on the street, which has its obvious limitations. Right now in my head, my dream racing is on an asphalt track with cars and drivers of similar quality who just want to race. Basically like going to the go-kart track with your buddies and just hone your skills. If you win, great. If you don't, you learned and improved yourself.

Kinda like shooting a gun for fun. If you hit the target, great. If you don't, at least you squeezed off a few rounds and blew off steam. The joy for me is in shooting the gun, not necessarily hitting the target.

Mr_Clutch42 wrote:

Trackmouse wrote: With autocross you can buy a Miata, learn to autocross it stock, be competitive, and if it ain't for you- sell it and even make a dollar.

That's a little too pricey and time consuming to do. Race with what you have first to see which events you like, then go from there.

Only problem right now is all I have is an El Camino with 550 hp. Not a good beginner race car

Mr_Clutch42 wrote: I believe that competing is much different than spectating. It's not really possible to simulate the G-forces on your body without at least riding along with a driver. Go to this website. http://goaheadtakethewheel.com/ Also go to www.scca.com to see the closest region to you for solo, rallycross, and HPDE events to participate in. Don't forget to check out drag racing if you're interested in that. There is drifting and some other non-mainstream racing events you can check out, too. The "fake" race events are inexpensive for participation if you stay mild with your car.

Wonderful links. Thank you

David S. Wallens wrote: By the way, the next issue's cover story might help a bit. The basic gist: How to get involved in motorsports. And our definition of "get involved" includes some off-track stuff, too.

I picked a very poor time to let my subscription lapse.

GoAheadTakeTheWheel.com and "Go Ahead, Take the Wheel" book by Dave Gran are excellent resources.

I also started racing at 40 or 41 after doing HPDE on/off since I was 18 and a bout of kart racing. Friend of mine gave me his tired old Miata and I spent a year building it into a Spec Miata while driving it around on the streets and making it reliable again. Did the spring SCCA Licensing School one weekend in March when I was mostly done with the build (still had stock exhaust and intake etc but all the safety equipment was there) and started racing.

The build cost me a good $10k so not the cheapest route but I had been planning and saving for it so it was expected. If Spec Miata isn't your thing, there are plenty of other classes in SCCA and NASA for cheap race cars. If that Miata had not fallen into my lap, I was going to buy a 1st gen RX7 for under $5k and run it in SCCA's Improved Touring and NASA's Performance Touring classes.

There is an interesting assortment of cars in the IT and PT classes. In my region, we have an old Fiero, an F body, Mustangs of various vintages, 510s, Z cars, BMWs, Hondas, Mazdas etc etc.

It really is rather easy.

If you want to race with SCCA, all you have to do is pass the Licensing School. The Licensing School is both class room and on track. The class room teaches you about how SCCA races work and evaluates whether you know what the rules are (yes you need to read and study). The on track work evaluates you more from the perspective of whether you are a safe racer and whether you know your way around a race track, know "the line" and aren't a danger to yourself or the people around you. It isn't really a competition although you do a few races so people can judge how you behave in a race setting. You don't get extra points for being the fastest.

NASA requires you to graduate through their HPDE program which can take a bit more time (which kinda sucks if you already have experience). the education about how they do things takes longer until you actually start racing but you are pretty well versed in how everything works by the time you have a license.

In both orgs, you are on a 6 month - 1 year probation or set of x races that you have to complete w/o incidents. From there, you just follow the regular rules, don't be a dick and have lots of fun. How much you spend is up to you.

Been doing some googling...

does HPDE = Track Day?

Yes
High Performance Driver Education

curtis73 wrote:

David S. Wallens wrote: By the way, the next issue's cover story might help a bit. The basic gist: How to get involved in motorsports. And our definition of "get involved" includes some off-track stuff, too.

I picked a very poor time to let my subscription lapse.

If you do a renewal in the next day or so, you'll get that issue.

I'm probably a little biased, because, in the same spot you're in, I started with autocross. Went to an event about 7 years ago, thought, meh, take it or leave it. About 5 years ago, I actually decided to give it a go. I've been at it ever since. Its reasonably inexpensive (unless you want to compete on a national level). It's a great place to meet other people who see cars as more than appliances. Over the years, I've taken several complete motorsports noobs with me. A few people try it and hate it. In my opinion, most of those people are going to find motorsports of any type really aren't for them. Some people (myself included) try it and find its something they enjoy and are satisfied with it. Some try it, like it, but want something more intense. They usually either move towards rally/rallycross or head into wheel to wheel. You mentioned you are interested in suspension setup and trying to get the most out of a car. Autocross is a great place to measure upgrades you've put into your vehicle. The car control skills you'll learn will translate anywhere you go in motorsports, and actually make you a better street driver. (The confidence that I can make a car do what I want it to has helped me avoid several accidents over the years)

BTW - I second the Miata suggestion. Buy it now. Enjoy it for a few years. If you get tired of it or outgrow it, sell it in the spring and you'll probably at least get your money back.