racecar driver
racecar driver
I'm sure we have all thought about it, but does anyone know what it takes to be one? i mean what kinda school do you have to go to, or where are these schools, and are they like collage do you go to them after highschool, can you get scholarships? and then what does the school help you find a team to race for? I'm just wondering if anyone has any info on this?
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IneedMoney
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S14Life
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Yeah this intrests me as well...
try these sites..http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/index ... /a...e.asp
hmm thought I had more..
try these sites..http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/index ... /a...e.asp
hmm thought I had more..
Regarding your question, let me offer the following excerpt from one of my books:
1) There are maybe 1000 people in the world making any kind of a decent living driving any kind of racing car. There are maybe 100 doing so in road racing cars. There are at least hundreds of thousands who think that they both want to and can. Each and every one of the hundreds of thousands is absolutely convinced that he (or she) has the talent and determination required to reach the top.
2) The captial outlay required to reach the level of skill and experience where someone might be willing to pay you to drive any racing car is silly. That required to get you to the point where someone might pay you to drive a road racing car in the USA is awesome.
In hte USA these problems are compounded by the simple fact that there exist no logical road to professional status. It's not like the stick and ball games where the progression from the sand lot to the big leagues is almost as formalized as the progression from grammar school to a University degree. With the exception of Skip Barber's munificent $100k bonus to the winner of hte Barber/Dodge series (which is still not enough to move up with), there are no scholarships for students of motor racing, no matter how worthy or how needy they may be.
- C.Smith: Drive to Win (treasured autographed copy)
1) There are maybe 1000 people in the world making any kind of a decent living driving any kind of racing car. There are maybe 100 doing so in road racing cars. There are at least hundreds of thousands who think that they both want to and can. Each and every one of the hundreds of thousands is absolutely convinced that he (or she) has the talent and determination required to reach the top.
2) The captial outlay required to reach the level of skill and experience where someone might be willing to pay you to drive any racing car is silly. That required to get you to the point where someone might pay you to drive a road racing car in the USA is awesome.
In hte USA these problems are compounded by the simple fact that there exist no logical road to professional status. It's not like the stick and ball games where the progression from the sand lot to the big leagues is almost as formalized as the progression from grammar school to a University degree. With the exception of Skip Barber's munificent $100k bonus to the winner of hte Barber/Dodge series (which is still not enough to move up with), there are no scholarships for students of motor racing, no matter how worthy or how needy they may be.
- C.Smith: Drive to Win (treasured autographed copy)
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LittleBrotherSilvia
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Its discouraging, but no one said it was an easy road. There is also an entire section titled "getting started" in Smith's book. It laid out a path streching from Sprint Karts (good call Nathan), to shifter Karts, Formula Ford (w/Barber, Bondurant, or Russell), English Formula (Ford/Vauxhall Lotus/F3), F3000, Indy Lights, and thus on.
I'd highly recommand this book, along with Carroll's other "to win" books if you are interested in race vehicle dynamics. It's not a driving technique book in any sense of the word - lots of other books offer such info, and Smith knows it. It is an analysis of the mentality of a Race Car Driver and everything he should know in order to suceed at motorsports.
I'd highly recommand this book, along with Carroll's other "to win" books if you are interested in race vehicle dynamics. It's not a driving technique book in any sense of the word - lots of other books offer such info, and Smith knows it. It is an analysis of the mentality of a Race Car Driver and everything he should know in order to suceed at motorsports.
MrFox is right. It is extremely hard to get into professional racing without funding your own team (takes ALOT of $$$). Even then to make it succesful is a whole other story.
Alot of guys are born into it.. their dads used to race and developed their sons at an early age with karts etc. Others get into racing late in the game, usually super rich guys that have alot of time on their hands. I personally know both style racers above... either way it is done it takes so much $$$ to get there the odds are better for you to become a pop star on MTV. Ofcourse there are always exceptions to the rule and guys that have made it on their own without lots of $$, but very rare.
The best advice I can give to any aspiring racing enthusiast is; Forget about competition and making money as a race car driver, instead, try to make it a fun thing. It doesnt have to be expensive, NASA HPDE is an excellent way to have fun and learn your limits on the track. A beginner freindly environment where you naturally progress with the program and step up to more competitive classes as you go. I personally run in HPDE4, which is the most advanced HPDE level NASA offers (without going into actual race classes) and eventhough I have a competition license I will probably stick to HPDE 4 for a while cause it is fun, which ultimatly is all that should matter.
There is a saying; the only way to make a million dollars in racing is to spend 3 million dollars.
take care,nils
Alot of guys are born into it.. their dads used to race and developed their sons at an early age with karts etc. Others get into racing late in the game, usually super rich guys that have alot of time on their hands. I personally know both style racers above... either way it is done it takes so much $$$ to get there the odds are better for you to become a pop star on MTV. Ofcourse there are always exceptions to the rule and guys that have made it on their own without lots of $$, but very rare.
The best advice I can give to any aspiring racing enthusiast is; Forget about competition and making money as a race car driver, instead, try to make it a fun thing. It doesnt have to be expensive, NASA HPDE is an excellent way to have fun and learn your limits on the track. A beginner freindly environment where you naturally progress with the program and step up to more competitive classes as you go. I personally run in HPDE4, which is the most advanced HPDE level NASA offers (without going into actual race classes) and eventhough I have a competition license I will probably stick to HPDE 4 for a while cause it is fun, which ultimatly is all that should matter.
There is a saying; the only way to make a million dollars in racing is to spend 3 million dollars.
take care,nils
One more quote:
... We all start out firmly believing that if we win enough races, the Big Time will come and find us. It will not. You have to go and find it. The inescapable fact of racing life is that the driver himself must get out there and find the rides/sponsorship that will advance his career.
... We all start out firmly believing that if we win enough races, the Big Time will come and find us. It will not. You have to go and find it. The inescapable fact of racing life is that the driver himself must get out there and find the rides/sponsorship that will advance his career.
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Bubba1
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Re: racecar driver
D1SR240 wrote:I'm sure we have all thought about it, but does anyone know what it takes to be one? i mean what kinda school do you have to go to, or where are these schools, and are they like collage do you go to them after highschool, can you get scholarships? and then what does the school help you find a team to race for? I'm just wondering if anyone has any info on this?
What does it take? Practice, talent, persistance, salesmanship (or a lot of money), some luck and more practice. Best place to start is a good school like Skip Barber (http://[email protected]). But the school is not cheap, and a single course does not automatically make you a race driver. In fact the school will show you how much you more you need to learn and that you should not quit your day job just yet. Carting is also a good entry point as it introduces you to car control and competition with a small investment.
They say to become a millionaire in motor racing, you have to start out as a billionaire. Very very difficult to make a living as a driver. Among the pro drivers I've met, (I'm a humble amateur) they'll all tell you that you spend far more time working to find, appease and cultivate sponsors than you do driving. Of course performing well on the track is a huge part of the job, but it's not the only one. It's necessary if you want to get/keep sponsors.
I find racng a wonderful hobby. Driving a car at its limits on a race track is literally the most fun you can have with your pants on, and a fantasy for most car enthusiasts. I never get tired of it. But the cost factor in relation to the income potential will prevent most people making race driving a career.
i know what you guys mean by saving it's expensive and takes a lot of hard work, i also know that there are some people who didn't have a racing background or didn't have rich parents but are now one of the best in the world, i.e. Keiichi "drift king" Ksuchiya. i know the chances of me getting paid to race cars is like 1 in a million but i definetly wanna do this as a hobby, I'm only 15 and i live in a boring town in illinois, and no one around here races for a hobby, so how do i get started, what do i need (besides my car)? thanks for the info guys.
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Bubba1
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Well, drifting and racing are very different. Drifting is pretty much oversteer for style points. Racing is getting around the track safely and faster than the next guy. And oversteer is just one aspect of racing. Since you're only 15, I suggest starting with go-carts. Develop your skills, get some professional instruction. Most kids start with the car and do all sorts of mods to it before learning any real skills. That's bass-ackwards IMHO. The correct way is to learn skills first, then find the limits of your car as is. That'll put you in a better much position to understand where your car should be improved through mods. Remember a stock miata with a good driver will always turn a faster lap than a poor driver in a Ferrari. I personally lapped a Boxster S in my stock 240SX at Watkins Glen. And I'm far from being a pro. When you get your drivers license, start taking hi-performance driving courses. (That's plural) The car you use doesn't matter. I just mapped out the next few years for you. Good luck.
MrFox wrote:Carts are a wonderful way to learn driving technique, because of their almost instant response to driver input. The response of a road car is glacial by comparasion.
If you can be good racing carts, you'll probably do well in road cars. Doesn't work as well the other way around.
Mmmm, shifter karts..... :ylsuper
Going from driving a shifter kart to driving your normal car, is like going from shooting pool on a competition sized pool table, and then shooting on a bar room sized one. Those karts are so freakin responsive it's incredible. After having driven one, I totally understand why the professionals go karting in their spare time. The thing with karts... as soon as you feel your back end slipping, you've already lost it.