Getting Started with Racing
10-16-2008, 12:19 PM
#1
Getting Started with Racing
I am a complete novice, but i really want to get into AutoX and Road Courses.
This is merely for a hobby and the car will still be my daily driver.
I wanted to know, where do i start?
Also I only know of the Englishtown Raceway in NJ. I live outside Philadelphia, PA.
This is merely for a hobby and the car will still be my daily driver.
I wanted to know, where do i start?
Also I only know of the Englishtown Raceway in NJ. I live outside Philadelphia, PA.
10-16-2008, 12:44 PM
#2
Check out SCCA.com and find the region near you. AutoX is a good thing to do before you get out on a real track, it will show you what your car can do and what you can do with your car. Then after that you can decide if you want to stiffen up the ride and have less body roll by adding shocks/sways...etc.
10-16-2008, 01:08 PM
#4
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I agree. Start with autocross to get a feel for the car. Then start looking at HPDE (high performance driver education) events at other tracks nearby. You get time on the track with an instructor in the passenger seat plus class time. It's an absolute blast in a controlled setting.
10-16-2008, 01:50 PM
#6
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NASA also puts on a lot of HPDE events, not sure about your area. Check at www.nasaproracing.com.
In my area, there are also two BMW clubs and also an Audi club that run great HPDE events and autocrosses.
In my area, there are also two BMW clubs and also an Audi club that run great HPDE events and autocrosses.
10-18-2008, 01:25 PM
#9
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But to each his own, have fun at whatever you decide to do.
10-18-2008, 06:47 PM
#10
I8U makes a lot of good points, but drivers who start off at autox usually go on to be better road racers than vice versa. So the only thing I'd change is that autox is the best place to start off first. The costs and consequences are much lower for developing basic skills.
10-18-2008, 11:30 PM
#11
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Thanks Team! I was trying not to offend any of the autoX crew here. And you are so right about the costs and consequences...I would rather get a couple cone scuffs than throw myself into a tire wall. haha.
10-20-2008, 11:06 AM
#12
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For a few thousand track and autocross events per year, also check out:
http://www.MotorsportReg.com
We handle registration for over 130 clubs around the country but our calendar has literally thousands of events over the course of the year. You can subscribe and get monthly listings delivered via email if you like.
Your town Hatfield looks about 40 miles from Philly; we run the online reg for Philadelphia SCCA which has a great solo program and would definitely welcome you. You don't have to become a member first; they have a weekend membership for $15 (IIRC) that you can use to test the waters before signing on for a full membership.
Have fun out there!
http://www.MotorsportReg.com
We handle registration for over 130 clubs around the country but our calendar has literally thousands of events over the course of the year. You can subscribe and get monthly listings delivered via email if you like.
Your town Hatfield looks about 40 miles from Philly; we run the online reg for Philadelphia SCCA which has a great solo program and would definitely welcome you. You don't have to become a member first; they have a weekend membership for $15 (IIRC) that you can use to test the waters before signing on for a full membership.
Have fun out there!
10-20-2008, 03:12 PM
#15
If you have any doubts about your ability at speed, or the financial means to completely write off your car, start with autocross. You will gain the basic skills there that will be of use no matter where you go racing. At the minimum do it for a year and get the "dumb @ss" out of your system before you hit the road course. *the "dumb @ss" is the ability all newbies think they have, right up to the point they fup big time, aka known as the everyone thinks they can drive. 
Looking in the back of the Solo Rule book will show you some impressive names that are currently at the top of the Pro racing ranks: Randy Pobst, Jeff Altenburg, PD Cunningham, Jason Saini are just a few past Solo champs who continue to credit autocrossing for helping them learn their craft. Watch any post race interview with Pobst, especially a street course race, and Pobst will go on and on about autocross.
In the Nov 08 issue of SportsCar, MX-5 Cup champ Eric Foss (who will be driving a World Challenge TC in 2009) gives an interview and credits his Solo background for helping to make him a quick learner when it came to visiting new race tracks.
Any seat time is good, some of it just cost more - and its not always the entry fee.
p.s. it is not automatic that if you are good at one you are good at the other. This season we saw one of the top solo drivers in the country, multi time champ in a number of different cars and classes, make a run at pro racing - lets just say he had a very, very hard year.
Looking in the back of the Solo Rule book will show you some impressive names that are currently at the top of the Pro racing ranks: Randy Pobst, Jeff Altenburg, PD Cunningham, Jason Saini are just a few past Solo champs who continue to credit autocrossing for helping them learn their craft. Watch any post race interview with Pobst, especially a street course race, and Pobst will go on and on about autocross.
In the Nov 08 issue of SportsCar, MX-5 Cup champ Eric Foss (who will be driving a World Challenge TC in 2009) gives an interview and credits his Solo background for helping to make him a quick learner when it came to visiting new race tracks.
Any seat time is good, some of it just cost more - and its not always the entry fee.
p.s. it is not automatic that if you are good at one you are good at the other. This season we saw one of the top solo drivers in the country, multi time champ in a number of different cars and classes, make a run at pro racing - lets just say he had a very, very hard year.
Last edited by ULLLOSE; 10-20-2008 at 03:18 PM.
10-21-2008, 09:15 AM
#16
p.s. it is not automatic that if you are good at one you are good at the other. This season we saw one of the top solo drivers in the country, multi time champ in a number of different cars and classes, make a run at pro racing - lets just say he had a very, very hard year.
must ... not ...
10-21-2008, 09:30 AM
#17
After 1 season of Auto-X i must say its quite humbling.. it really opens your eyes and as ULLOSE put it best.. 'gets the dumb @ss' out of you... i highly recommend AutoX to start as i know i cant afford to total my car. but a couple cone scuffs are easy to buff out.
10-21-2008, 06:58 PM
#20
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11-02-2008, 11:37 AM
#21
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Keep in mind that your best mod for the money will always be tightening the nut behind the wheel. I've found that for $1200 you can buy bolt-ons that will trim maybe 1 sec per lap, race tires which will trim 2-5sec a lap depending on the track, or 4 track weekends with an instructor, which can trim 30+ sec a lap.
As for the whole Autocross vs Track thing, I say it's apples to oranges. I am absolutely terrible at autocrossing. I once drove a supercharged miata in which my co-driver got FTD (out of 140 cars) and I got STD
. I've never been within 2 sec of my class winner, etc, etc. But on the track it's a different story. I hold the Mid-Ohio lap record for a Boxster (1:40.8), I've qualified on pole in every w2w race I've ever driven... and it isn't the car. One time I raced a $7k Spec Miata against a bunch of nationally-competitive badasses (who had engines that cost more than my entire race car). When the green flag dropped the #2 guy got 6 car lengths on me by turn 1.
I think it's a matter of personality. If you have massive amounts of talent, you win at autocrossing. If you have an obsessive attention to detail you win at time trials. If you like beating up other kids on the playground, you win at wheel-to-wheel racing.
As for the whole Autocross vs Track thing, I say it's apples to oranges. I am absolutely terrible at autocrossing. I once drove a supercharged miata in which my co-driver got FTD (out of 140 cars) and I got STD
. I've never been within 2 sec of my class winner, etc, etc. But on the track it's a different story. I hold the Mid-Ohio lap record for a Boxster (1:40.8), I've qualified on pole in every w2w race I've ever driven... and it isn't the car. One time I raced a $7k Spec Miata against a bunch of nationally-competitive badasses (who had engines that cost more than my entire race car). When the green flag dropped the #2 guy got 6 car lengths on me by turn 1.I think it's a matter of personality. If you have massive amounts of talent, you win at autocrossing. If you have an obsessive attention to detail you win at time trials. If you like beating up other kids on the playground, you win at wheel-to-wheel racing.
11-02-2008, 01:56 PM
#22
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^Yeah, as many track weekends with an instructor should be the priority. I wanted to fast track things so I did a 4-day race school. I found it to be quite beneficial. I'm running in NASA now and highly recommend their HPDE program.
If it's affordable you may want to consider taking an older used Miata or something along those lines to the track instead of your daily driver.
It can get a little hairy out there on the track. You've got the occasional "red mister" out there, those with questionable judgment, cars of varying performance levels and it doesn't take much to find yourself avoiding cars coming across the track after an off or spinning in front of you because they over cooked it.
I think it's also true that not all novices start off with the same aptitude. So being honest with yourself about what your basic abilities are and respond accordingly.
As for AutoX--I have no interest in it but it can help you develop basic car control skills.
Oh and I'd recommend that you don't modify the car too much starting out.
If it's affordable you may want to consider taking an older used Miata or something along those lines to the track instead of your daily driver.
It can get a little hairy out there on the track. You've got the occasional "red mister" out there, those with questionable judgment, cars of varying performance levels and it doesn't take much to find yourself avoiding cars coming across the track after an off or spinning in front of you because they over cooked it.
I think it's also true that not all novices start off with the same aptitude. So being honest with yourself about what your basic abilities are and respond accordingly.
As for AutoX--I have no interest in it but it can help you develop basic car control skills.
Oh and I'd recommend that you don't modify the car too much starting out.
11-02-2008, 03:47 PM
#24
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Autocross ard driving a road course are very different in many ways. Yes, being very good at autocross would give one a very large step up on the car control needed for successfully driving at the limit on a road course, but there's lots more to racing than car control.
Anyway, many places have multiple groups that sponsor autocross (in the Seattle area, there is at least one autocross most weekends from January until about now). Your local SCCA region would be a good place to start. Autocross has the advantage that it's relatively inexpensive, relatively difficult to hurt your car (or yourself), and has a long, long learning curve. A typical half-day of autocross will cost you about $25 (entry fee), and you can autocross most sporty cars stock for starters. The problem with autocross is that, for that $25, you get about 3 minutes of seat time (four 45-second runs), and you get to spend 90 minutes ******** cones.
HPDE is, to many of us, more exciting, but it's also a lot more expensive, and dangerous, than autocross. While I know of cars having been destroyed in autocross, the worst I've ever seen was a slow rollover, once; damage is extremely rare at autocross. OTOH, it's a rare day at HPDE when at least one car doesn't have damage, and I've seen a number of cars completely destroyed. I've never seen anyone hurt badly, but it certainly can happen. A track day in these parts costs a couple hundred dollars (at least) for entrance fee, and at least that much more for gas, amortizing tire and brake wear, and other wear and tear.
Try looking on the website of your local track; there's often a resident school at tracks, which sponsor track days/schools. Local road racing clubs also do that.
You can (and many do) do both autocross and HPDE with the same car; I did for several years, until I started road racing (I still autocross the same car, which is still my daily driver, although autocross is very frustrating when I do it only every couple of months now, being busy with racing).
Good luck, and have fun.
Anyway, many places have multiple groups that sponsor autocross (in the Seattle area, there is at least one autocross most weekends from January until about now). Your local SCCA region would be a good place to start. Autocross has the advantage that it's relatively inexpensive, relatively difficult to hurt your car (or yourself), and has a long, long learning curve. A typical half-day of autocross will cost you about $25 (entry fee), and you can autocross most sporty cars stock for starters. The problem with autocross is that, for that $25, you get about 3 minutes of seat time (four 45-second runs), and you get to spend 90 minutes ******** cones.
HPDE is, to many of us, more exciting, but it's also a lot more expensive, and dangerous, than autocross. While I know of cars having been destroyed in autocross, the worst I've ever seen was a slow rollover, once; damage is extremely rare at autocross. OTOH, it's a rare day at HPDE when at least one car doesn't have damage, and I've seen a number of cars completely destroyed. I've never seen anyone hurt badly, but it certainly can happen. A track day in these parts costs a couple hundred dollars (at least) for entrance fee, and at least that much more for gas, amortizing tire and brake wear, and other wear and tear.
Try looking on the website of your local track; there's often a resident school at tracks, which sponsor track days/schools. Local road racing clubs also do that.
You can (and many do) do both autocross and HPDE with the same car; I did for several years, until I started road racing (I still autocross the same car, which is still my daily driver, although autocross is very frustrating when I do it only every couple of months now, being busy with racing).
Good luck, and have fun.