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New to the forum/looking to start racing

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BBShriver

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My dad brother and I have been kicking around the idea of getting into racing as a hobby/advertising for our company (https://www.threesevenresearch.com).
Any suggestions from the veterans here as to what a good place to start would be? I'm thinking SCCA/NASA club racing, but wondering what classes there are, etc. Also might like to get into vintage racing at some point.
 
Well, you've come to the right place....Hal, Nial & the other serious`racers can give you some good advise. welcome.
 
I have been racing with EMRA for years and I would say it is the best bang for the buck in the northeast. Very laid back club without sacrificing safety.
I have run in most of the other clubs.

The EMRA enduro series is especially neat (in my opinion). We also do shorter sprint races (usually about 20-25 laps). EMRA runs at Pocono pretty regularly (we were there two weeks ago) and we will be at Pocono again on September 8 and 9.
Note that we have a Time Trial on Sept 9 which is really intended for stock and modified street cars. It is the perfect way to "try out" racing since you can do it in a normal car such as a Camry or a Cavalier or whatever (it's not wheel-to-wheel racing...more like a "track day" with regulated passing). You do not need race equipment for our Time Trials....just a helmet and wear a long sleeve shirt (Note: Convertibles need an approved roll bar...not required for hard top cars).
We provide instructors and so forth.
And if you come on Sept 8 you will see a modified "LeMans Start" for our Two Hour Enduro...pretty cool to watch, especially from the driver's seat.
If you're not ready to race but just want to see what it's all about, just come and watch...we have free beer at the end of the day.

Here's the EMRA schedule for 2007:

https://www.emraracing.org/Emraeven.htm

Note that we also have upcoming 2007 dates at Watkins Glen, Lime Rock and our season ends with a Four-Hour Night Enduro at Summit Point.
Another good group is Vintage Racer Group (VRG) if you're into vintage racing. I ran the Pittsburgh Vintage with them a few weeks ago. A great bunch.
I'm the EMRA RaceChair. I'll be happy to answer any other questions about race licenses, car prep and so forth.
You can see some pictures of EMRA races in my signature link below.
 
I suppose one other important thing here is that while I currently live in Allentown, PA, my parents will soon be moving to Florida and my brother lives in Myrtle Beach, so some sort of national racing body would be preferable to a local organization.
 
""""""""as to what a good place to start would be? """"""""

I assume road racing at the club level?

You might start by going to some races and kick tires. Pick a class/group that interests you and aim for a specific car make that would fit in your budget.

Listen , learn, ask a lot of questions, take notes and pictures.

NASA and SCCA are national organizations; and vintage and smaller clubs are regional in nature. Look on the web for their websites and hit the news-stand and get a copy of Sportscar and Victory Lane for a start.

There are dedicated driving schools in all areas of the country. Many clubs have a driving school once or twice a year that is less expensive.

Good luck.
 
Take the to the track.....

We could go 10 pages here and you still wouldn't have as good of an idea as to what goes on as one day at the track will give you.

SCCA has 30 day free memberships now....So just show up.

BTW...Racing is all about racing...
It's about driving and feeling a car at the limit. [And sometimes beyond]
The car is expendable.

Take your annual income and drop a zero....That's the MOST you want to spend on your 1st car.

If you really want to go fast, you will be breaking stuff.

(BTW...The car below is a non-WTW car)
 
Here is my Bro w/ his first checker....

My car is the red one behind him and Cpt. Sparkles has the Pinto on the left.

Spend your cash on safety equipment, entry fees and towing costs.....NOT the car.

You will have more fun racing close than being all uptight about damage.

NelsonLedgesMay12004.jpg
 
Dave offers sage advice. I've been racing since 1969, and learned a long time ago that you should never race anything you can't walk away from without looking back.
Entry level cars at a reasonable price are a glut on the market. In the SCCA, the Improved Touring classes are popular, and car counts are fairly good, so even mid pack or below, you still will have someone to race with. Think Pinto's, 2.3 liter Mustangs, even Chevettes, Ford Festivas, and the like.
The production classes will eat up dollars way faster than you can make them. A $50,000 Sprite isn't unheard of. Believe me!!
Safety equipment is one item that shouldn't be skimped on. Fire suits and helmets, while rarely actually used, are there for only one reason. To protect YOU should the unthinkable happen.
I would also suggest going to a couple of races, and volunteering to be a corner worker. This will give you the best seat in the house to look at the various cars and classes, and help you form an intelligent opinion on just what you are looking for.
Hope this tiny bit of insight has helped some.
Jeff
(Pay no attention to my avatar! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif )
 
Bugeye58 said:
(Pay no attention to my avatar! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif )
Click to expand...
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/winner1.gif
 
WhatsThatNoise said:
Here is my Bro w/ his first checker....

My car is the red one behind him and Cpt. Sparkles has the Pinto on the left.

Spend your cash on safety equipment, entry fees and towing costs.....NOT the car.

You will have more fun racing close than being all uptight about damage.

NelsonLedgesMay12004.jpg
Click to expand...

Are those GT Pinto's? I've been pretty much sold on the idea of getting one. Buy in is way cheaper than Spec Miata and it's a way cool class. I'll be at the next MARRS. Maybe I'll see you guys there?
 
Monkeywrench said:
Are those GT Pinto's?
Click to expand...
Nope...ITB

We can't do cam, compression, DCOEs and tranny swaps.
Also, we have to use the original glass.
And we have to weigh 2490#

So our cars are much slower on the straights.
(But our engines are cheaper to build & maintain)

A GTP = GT3 if you go out of your area.
(That shoud give you a good idea of lap times)

BTW...You MARRS guys are great!!!
Thanks for one of the best weekends at Nelson we have ever had.
The car count was 240!.....

I'm on to you DC folks tactics now.
(Giving away beer to the competitors so they have to race w/ hangovers on Sunday /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/nonono.gif)
 
WhatsThatNoise said:
Monkeywrench said:
Are those GT Pinto's?
Click to expand...
Nope...ITB

We can't do cam, compression, DCOEs and tranny swaps.
Also, we have to use the original glass.
And we have to weigh 2490#

So our cars are much slower on the straights.
(But our engines are cheaper to build & maintain)

A GTP = GT3 if you go out of your area.
(That shoud give you a good idea of lap times)

BTW...You MARRS guys are great!!!
Thanks for one of the best weekends at Nelson we have ever had.
The car count was 240!.....

I'm on to you DC folks tactics now.
(Giving away beer to the competitors so they have to race w/ hangovers on Sunday /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/nonono.gif)
Click to expand...

The lap record at Watkins Glen is a 2.17 and a 1.27 at Summit. They're not as full prep as you would think. Anywhere else they run in GT3, but they're really an ITB Pinto (as far as brakes and suspensions go)and the motor can only be mildly built. You are limited to a 500cfm Holley, no porting (besides cleaning up casting flash), and you have 4 different pistons to choose from (everyone seems to run the TRW forged, the others are OEM cast or forged). The only thing really free is the camshaft. The body has to be stock, and only an air dam and a mini trunk spoiler are permitted. Heck, you take the air dam off and the spoiler and put treaded tires on the car, and you have a decent vintage car as well.

I ain't exactly a MARRS guy yet... but I know quite a few of them, and yes they can party /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif and they put on a heck of a show.
 
Well other than just general racing interest, the whole family racing craze right now stems from going to the Monterey Historics a few too many times, walking the paddocks, listening to the cars, and realizing as much fun as it is to watch it would be a heck of a lot more fun to be on the track. Also going to LimeRock vintage races over labor day, and Watkins Glen the following weekend. Might try to get to the SCCA tri-region at Pocono this month. Originally we were looking at a Jaguar XK120 race-prepped, for $55k in Monterey that was stunning, but then we already have an XK 140 with an E-type engine (ported/polished/headers, etc), independant rear, and 4 wheel disc brakes, so a vintage spec XK would be a pretty signifigant step backwards performance wise.
Right now our front-runner buget race car is a 73 Porsche 911 locally for $8800. Supposudly has a strong drivetrain, but the paint is very poor. Both my dad and uncle were Porsche mechanics back in that time frame (Dad in the late 60's, uncle in the early 70's) so are fairly familiar with the cars overall. I also used to work pit crew for a grassroots stock car team as part of my old company in Nevada, so we've all been around the car/racing scene a bit.... enough to get bit by the bug at least!

Reading "The Last Open Road" series by Burt Levy kinda pushed me over the edge...

Appreciate all the comments, and certainly am planning to attend as many races as I can get in my schedule.
 
If advertising is part of your plan then keep in mind if you go the scca production route the SCCA runoffs are on speed each year.
 
From the time we decided to road race, after buying the car.
(We had been Auto-X'ing & I strongly recommend a year of that first)
It was 2 weeks until driver's school and we had NOTHING!

No suit, shoes, helmet, socks....Nothing
No trailer, gas cans, rain tires.....Nothing

We made it....Thanks to a lady from our region who helped us with all the paperwork.

My point.....Don't delay.....
If your interested now....Race something...Race anything!
Just get on the track.

And you're still too wrapped up on car selection.
Think Truck, trailer, safety stuff, tools & tires.
And buy a race ready car for under 4 grand.
(don't ask what it is...Only if it has a current log book)

Real racing has nothing to do with cars....
(Well almost nothing /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/yesnod.gif )
 
Go to the SCCA.com website and find the Region nearest you. Go to the races and inquire about your interest. Most SCCA schools have drivers that will rent cars for you to use during the schools, that way you have a crew and not the burden of trying to build or buy a car for your license. Rental will then give you a basic on costs per race and either boil the blood for more or make you cringe at costs. Then build or buy what you want for the class you are interested in.
Larry K
StL Reg SCCA Grid
PDX,Solo,RoadRally
 
Nationals won't have IT cars, but you can ask people about that class.

Go to registration and ask for a free 30 day membership...
And tell them you want to observe a corner so they will give you the proper credentials (arm band)

Wear a white shirt and ask a corner Cpt. if you could observe sometime during the day.
(in between races)

Then ask everyone who looks like anyone all types of questions.......

Enjoy.....And tell us what you think of the experience /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif
 
WhatsThatNoise said:
Nationals won't have IT cars, but you can ask people about that class.

Go to registration and ask for a free 30 day membership...
And tell them you want to observe a corner so they will give you the proper credentials (arm band)

Wear a white shirt and ask a corner Cpt. if you could observe sometime during the day.
(in between races)

Then ask everyone who looks like anyone all types of questions.......

Enjoy.....And tell us what you think of the experience /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif
Click to expand...

Yup.

Pocono is only an 40 minutes or so from Allentown. Worth going regardless.

The guys up there to ask about the IT classes are some of the guys running "newer" cars in the Production classes (basically anything non British) as a lot of them have come from the IT ranks.

Most importantly go out and have fun.
 
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