Originating a race class...

Ok, so I'm a poser. I have never raced in my life. Never autocrossed, never road raced, never anything... except a few times when I embarrassed a fart-can Civic or a Cavalier with a big spoiler on the trunk. I have built dozens of customs and cruisers and I'm now in the process of building a couple real street beasts. My desire to enter road racing and autocrossing has been somewhat eclipsed by a small group of guys who do race (or used to) and who want to originate a new class.

I had an idea for a race body and I was just curious what it might take to originate one. I have a pretty clear set of rules/regs and a large handful of other folks interested but none of us have any more experience than reading rules, showing up, racing, and going home with an adrenaline rush and a cone hopelessly lodged in a control arm. My plan was to get into this slowly, but the learning curve is faster than I expected.

I learned that part of my reason for not racing sooner was that there are no events that truly interest me.... so why not make one that does?

Am I crazy?

The closest I've come (and it's very distant) is wanting a class for some of the weird stuff I want to build at autocrosses (a tube-chassis, mid-engine VW Fastback would be in some very fast Modified class under SCCA rules where it would be eaten by a snowmobile with giant wings).

Basically, I've been guessing that the way to go for my case is just to build something cool, hope to inspire others to build something similar, and skate by running Just For Time or in whatever dumb Modified class until something gels.

Clearly uncertain in addition to being untested, and less viable for road racing where you actually have to be able to match the speeds of your run group to some extent...

The group I'm planning might already exist. It would be a street-legal class.... And I don't mean a race car with taillights, I mean smog-legal, DOT tires, inspection-ready daily drivers on a low-speed circuit.

Its basically a class for daily driver performance street cars facing off on a road course, kinda like autocross meets road race. I haven't figured it all out yet, but I think it fits me. I feel like there is a gap between performance street and racing. The big conundrum is how to certify drivers. I basically want a chance for beginner racers to be able to bring their street performance cars to a place where they can prove their mettle, but I can't have every teenager bringing their 92 Saturn with a subwoofer and a spoiler thinking they are god's gift to speed squaring off against a veteran vintage road racer who knows racing etiquette.

Think of it as Fight Club meets Pinks with an emphasis on respect and fun. Claims classes could be used for certain mods.

Door to Door or against the clock?

Door to Door would require more safety equipment obviously.

It sounds to me like you are wanting to do something along the lines of a track day but timed, like a SOLO1 or a Time Attack.

curtis73 wrote: Its basically a class for daily driver performance street cars facing off on a road course, kinda like autocross meets road race.

Sounds like NASA Time Trial to me.

I actually wrote a 14 page rulebook for a new Can Am series about 12 years ago. Even got in contact with Jim Hall (one of the originators of Can Am) and got his blessing on the whole thing. What stopped me dead was the cost involved to not only start it, but advertise and promote it. I was planning to team up with Cart Car Series and piggyback on them. They qualified on Friday and raced on Sundays if memory serves. We would qualify and race Saturday. Not a long race, maybe a couple hours max. I made the aerodynamics, brakes, and engine requirements relatively open. Spec tires. Spec fuel. I can't remember the rest. I do have the rulebook still. LMP cars from the early 90's to present would be eligible to run in the series, both closed and open cockpit. It would have been awesome. Oh well, when I make my billions, I'll do it. LOL

Yeah, Time Trial if you want to race against the clock, Performance Touring if you want to go wheel-to-wheel.

curtis73 wrote: I learned that part of my reason for not racing sooner was that there are no events that truly interest me.... so why not *make* one that does? Am I crazy?

Yes, you are crazy.

IMO, You really have to try someone else's well run race weekend and rules at least for a few events before going out and doing it yourself. Pick a class and just do it. Better yet, rent a ride in a few different org/class/series if you can. There are literally hundreds of venues from ice racing to baja to road racing out there for any hunk of scrap you can drag to a track. Once you have raced a bit - then develop your own series and drag some of your fellow competitors along with you so you don't end up alone in a hell of your own making.

If you do create your own - call it SpecDuramax/Bonneville

It does exist previously. It is regional, so it may not exist close to you. Smaller independant clubs offer time trials on road courses. My hillclimb organization also meets your definition.

David S. Wallens wrote: Yeah, Time Trial if you want to race against the clock, Performance Touring if you want to go wheel-to-wheel.

Hmmm... Guess that makes Back 40 a Performance Touring series.

Street legal, door to door racing. No roll bars/cages etc. We have such a class in our ice race series.. www.ice race. com

There are a number of organizations doing High Performance Driving Events (HPDE), most prominently Porsche and BMW. And you don't have to have a Porsche or BMW to participate.

They have various classes that restrict speed and passing depending upon the preparation of the car and the experience and qualification of the driver.

You can bring your street car to one and get on the track. It isn't racing, though, except to the extent you might get lap times recorded. Good way to find out if you even really like it before reinventing your own racing organization and classes.

Hearing that there are already classes like this makes me feel better. I wasn't up to the whole kit and caboodle.

Off to research some more.... thanks y'all.

I would say it makes sense to have racing experience and to know the ins and outs of someone else's series before starting your own. Not that you couldn't do it anyway, but it seems like the hard way to do it. Watching how it's all done elsewhere is a quick way to get up to speed on the challenges and figuring out how to deal with those challenges in your own unique (and, to yourself, superior) way.

I'm pretty "up" on racing since I've been around many events with a crew that races a lot, just never actually raced. (which makes me less of a man... I need to grab a wheel and go. )