General Question About Racing

[Bruno240]

I would like to get into racing but i dont know where to start.

If you guys could put in your $0.02 to get me off in the right direction so i can learn about it. I just dont know where to start. Like some general information about all the kinds. Theres just soo much i dont know what to do.

I tried a search but couldnt think of any key words to use besides racing.

Any help would be appreciated(SP?)

[nismofly]

what kind of racing are you looking to get into? like road racing, do autocross, thats what people told me and im starting next summer, as well as going to a racing school

[toptechracing]

I think you need to be more specific about what kind of racing you would like to do. Also what area are you from?

Joe

[fiznat]

yeah I'd like to get into a little bit like that also-- maybe someday get the chance to take my car out on the Watkins Glen track. I've heard of some people doing that, I wanna know how! That must be so awesome to get in there...

I think you have to do it through the SCCA?

[nismofly]

my dad runs scca club racing so ive driven on watkins glen before, also im going to skip barber racing school there next summer.

why would you go to the glen and not lime rock? i mean the glen is like a little over an hour drive from my house, its like the same for you to lime rock

[fiznat]

Ive actually never been to lime rock, but I have been to the glen this year to see the Sirus at the Glen.... I'm not exactly experienced with these things but the glen just looks like awesome fun to drive on. I'll definetly be looking into lime rock though --- and that skip barber school as well since I guess I need to take 2 classes to start towards my licence?

[nismofly]

yep, thats what im doing, i hope to do one this coming summer and one the summer after, but ya when i ran the glen its amazing, so much fun

[Bruno240]

i guess what im asking is what corses are around cincinnati ohio then. I think i want to do like a road track or autocross.

[nismofly]

mid ohio sports car course, as far as i know would be the closest

[Chingon]

check locally, most have a website or something. JUst google it. or go check the scca official webpage to see who is in charge of your area.

[CybeRise]

Get yourself a 240Z-280Z drop a Chevy 350 in it(Bolts right on) and become a street racer and scare the crap out of everyone

[Bruno240]

lol, i dont want to street race, i just think its a stupid idea.

I really want a place to just push my car to the limits in a safe enviroment and not get pulled over by the cops

[s13sr20chris]

race car school!

i went to a formula/grand prix race driving school and it was awesome. let me tell you, driving an open wheel car on a road course is what its all about. as much as i love my 240, it just could never be as good as a formula 2000 car. still, guess where my pocket change goes... 240.

edit: go to a racing school

[skydragoness]

lol, i dont want to street race, i just think its a stupid idea.

I really want a place to just push my car to the limits in a safe enviroment and not get pulled over by the cops

(even if Cybe was kidding)

Purpleduck, you are on the right track (no pun intended), since you live in Ohio i think you will have plenty of outlets and tracks to go to. Ever go to Beavrun Motorsports Complex ? Its in Beaverun, Pa, about 30min from the Ohio border. They have tons of classes there, and a beautiful track. They have everything from autocrossing, go-kart racing, to winter-driving schools, etc etc.

[Bubba1]

Purpleduck: you have plenty of options at all price ranges. It really depends on how serious you are and how much you're willing to spend.

GoKarting is probably the least expensive way to break into motor racing. There are plenty of good schools out there.

If you just want to improve your driving skills, or experience driving your car on a real track like Watkins Glen, Lime rock, Beaverun, etc without breaking the bank, I recommend a joining a car club. I happen to instruct for the Audi Club at several of the tracks mentioned. Audi welcomes enthusiasts with any make car. Heck I have an all Japanese fleet and I've been an Audi member for years. Costs about $40 to join the club and $200-400 for a 2 day school at the track depending on the track. Plenty of track time, plus you get to use your own car, with no special requirements. I did my very first Audi event a in bone stock 89 240sx. I had a ball. Ridiculous amounts of fun, friendly people, and a cool mixture of cars ranging from stock civics to full race Ferrari's. The Ohio Valley Chapter runs a nice event at Beaverun every July. I've done the last two. Fun little track.

Autocrossing is another inexpensive route to improve your skills. A lot of the major clubs have autocross outings. I know the Porsche Club has monthly autocrosses at the Hershey Park parking lot. There are plenty of other good clubs that do them. Racing schools like Skip Barber, Derek Daly, or Panoz, are probably the best route for more serious aspirations, like SCCA. It's considerably more expensive, but it's more comprehensive. You also use their cars. A typical 3 day racing school will run you a couple of grand. But it's well worth it. I went thru Skip barber years ago and even did some of their races. Wicked fun, but it's expensive.But if you want an SCCA license, that's probably the quickest way.

People ask how you become a millionaire at racing. The answer is start as a billionaire. Anyway if you want info about the Audi club, I'll provide the link.

Enjoy

[nismofly]

^^^^^^ you mentioned some of the tracks that we had spoken about, does this include watkins glen? id love to able to take my car out with no speed restrictions and push it to the limit, even as mildly modified as it is, because as you mentioned at a racing school i will be using cars such as the formula dodge, and id like to use my own car. if you have info about your club or another that you know of that frequents watkins glen, id greatly appreciate it. thanks.

[nsrZ32]

Join the SCCA, take some driving schools at Mid-Ohio and bam....you're racing

[nismofly]

eh as mentioned, im taking a racing school, thats what you need to race competition scca, you need to take two of them. unfortunatly you dont get to use your own car, they cost $2k-$3k each, then you have to do even more to your car to get it competition ready, were talking a few years here. im starting autocross next summer as well as going to skip barbers, but id love to get to open up my 240 at the glen, driving my dads car there was fun as it is race prepped, but i wasnt allowed to go all out, it was sort of easy from that standpoint.

[JDMaholic]

yes, please provide link to audi club, especially if it's cheapand gets you on a track

[Bruno240]

yeah i would like the link to the audi club.

i guess what im looking for is a track for me to get invloved at near me. and this mid-ohio place sounds like it.

thank you for all the help

[toptechracing]

Start here. http://www.scca.com

Find a link to your local club and join it. that gets you schedules for driver schools and HPDE days....(high performance driver ed) days These are days where you get track time and instruction in your own cars.
Modified by toptechracing at 5:15 PM 11/16/2004

[Bubba1]

http://www.audiclubna.org is the link. I'm active with mostly with the Potomac chapter though I do instruct at Beaverrun with the Ohio Valley Chapter.

Purpleduck: That is the cheapest way to get onto a real track. Audi is not fender to fender racing, it's a performance driving school (HPDE). You'll explore your limits and do tons of hot laps. Mid Ohio is one of the more challenging tracks in the country. It's on my must do list, but because it's very popular the price might be little higher than on other tracks.

nismofly. yes I've done Watkins Glen a couple of times. Very nice . very fast with loooong sweeping turns. And yes I stayed at the infamous Seneca Lodge. I used to race in the Formula dodges mostly at Lime Rock. Those formula cars do make your street car seem numb after driving one. My current favorite track is VIR (VIRginia International Raceway). It's literally a country club with a race track instead of a golf course. 17 turns, like a smooth one way country road with no cops.

Beaverrun may be less expensive than MidOhio. Beaverrun is a smaller and newer track. nice rythmn to it. it also has a world class gokart course.When I was there in July with Audi on the main track, there was also a huge goKart race AND a group of drifters in the performance dynamics area (fancy name for the parking lot)

If you have any questions, let me know.

[jdmfreak]

Soooo.....Whats close by for NY?

Im about 1 hour north of the Bronx.

[nismofly]

well watkins glen is up my direction in the finger lakes, but i think you can probably make it in a few hours. lime rock park is i believe up in northern connecticut, which you could come up 87 then go across i would assume. im definatly going to check out the glen though.

[Bubba1]

Well, [QUOTE=jdmfreak]Soooo.....Whats close by for NY?

Im about 1 hour north of the Bronx.

Lime Rock is probably closest to you. It's in the northwest corner of Connecticut (way up the Taconic parkway and over a bit).

Here are some the other northern tracks that are reachable by car:

Watkins Glen (in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate NY). Beautiful area, nice track.

New Hampshire Internat'l (Lawton). They have a road course in the infield, but doesn't have the elevation changes or the charm that Lime Rock and the Glen have.

Mont Tremblanc (just across the border in Canada) I haven't been on it...yet, but my friends are bugging me to try it. They said it's awesome

Summit Point Raceway - near Harpers Ferry. a little over an hour from Baltimore. Not as far away as you think. SP has two race tracks and they're opening a third one. I was just there last month. The smaller track (the Jefferson Circuit) is wicked and is featured a lot on Motorweek.

Beaverun: Just west of Pittsburgh. Very close to the PA turnpike. It's a long but easy drive but very doable. It's about the same size as LimeRock.the track is a little easier, but Limerocks amenities are better Beaverrun are also in the process of adding a second track. The owners plan is to replicate the tougher turns from the Nurburgring. should be great

If you want to venture a little farther. VIR is on the Virginia-NC border nearDanville. One of the nicest tracks in the country IMHO. It's a 7 hr drive for me, from Bucks County PA, and I happily go there twice per year. it's that nice. If you're looking to find your top speed, VIR and the Glen have longer straight sections to do it.

[nismofly]

now i definatly want to test my car out at speed on these tracks, i cant wait until next summer

[Bubba1]

Well, I can tell you from experience the 240sx' speed limiter kicks in at 118mph (ahem).

[Florida240sx]

Can't wait till i get rid of that thing. And install a 180mph speedo

[Bubba1]

...and better brakes.

[Florida240sx]

nah i'll go with a parachute. Anyone have the 180mph speedo?