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`Want 2 Race ?

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SpaceRider
2/7/2008 12:17:16 PM
Wanna Race?
Well, do you ?  How bad do you want to ?
WANTED: Racecar drivers. No experience necessary.



by Mac Demere
 
You can become a race driver. It's easy. It doesn't (have to) take a lot of money. Mechanical experience isn't required and on-the-job training will be provided. I started racing on a very moderate salary. I had no formal training in auto mechanics and I wound up running in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and NASCAR Southwest Tour against the likes of Michele Alboreto and Jeff Gordon.
Requirements
Here is what's required: Commitment in an abundant quantity. You'll know you're approaching an adequate level of commitment to racing when your significant other shouts, "You love racing more than you love me!" and you respond: "Yes, dear, and your point is...?" I know talented drivers who aren't going to make it in racing because they refuse to risk secure, high-paying jobs and loving relationships. And I know far more who have torn up marriages, squandered inheritances, and committed felonies in order to go racing. Others paid the ultimate price. After watching a friend die on national television, my wife said: "Anyone who marries a race driver is an idiot!" "Does that include you?" I asked. "Yes!" she responded. Compared to racing, drug addiction is an inexpensive pastime. If your commitment just fluttered, click over to golf.com.
Upon learning that I drove racecars, people often say, "I've always wanted to do that!" Especially if the speaker has an expensive car and an expansive house, I reply, "Not very much or you would have!" If you really want to be a racer—want it bad enough—you will become a racer. I'm not implying that you can make it to NASCAR or Formula One. But you'll be a racer!
Be Professional
The best way to get into racing is to treat it as if you're planning to start a business. This is true whether you've just won the Powerball lottery or are still in school. Before shelling out franchise fees, savvy entrepreneurs spend time learning and working in their targeted industry. Before you think about buying a racecar, do these three things: Expand your mechanical knowledge, volunteer to work on a race team, and develop your driving skill. My advice: Put off buying a racecar until you've run a few races.
First, start a self-directed study program in racecar mechanics. Read a basic auto mechanics textbook or—even better—take a course at your local community college. (Engineering school graduates: This especially applies to you.) Memorize every book and every video you can find on racecar preparation. Even the well funded need to know how a racecar works. Save books with "engineering" or "technology" in the title for last. Before you redesign suspensions, you need to know which way to turn a lug wrench. Devour every racecar driving advice book and video.
Pay Your Dues
Next, look for a struggling amateur or semi-pro team that needs help. Volunteer to work evenings and weekends washing parts, sorting tires, loading trailers, and the hundreds of mundane chor
SpaceRider
2/7/2008 12:22:35 PM
Beginning Drifting
 Learn to control the uncontrollable


by Mac

Think drifting looks cool? Then you've got to do it from behind the wheel. Performed with precision, drifting makes you feel like a driving demigod. Passengers will disagree: They'll swear you're Zeus.
Sideways Forty-something female riders (and some males) squeal like preteens. And it's especially rewarding when the knowledgeable heap praise. Travis Pastrana, motocross ace and rally racer, loved my specialty: hands-free drifting while simultaneously adjusting the air conditioner. "Simply nuts" is the ultimate compliment.
I've drifted everything up to and including a Porsche 911 and a Freightliner straight truck that weighed some 14 tons. Just to make it interesting, I replaced the 911's stock narrow front/wide rear tire combination with the same size tires all the way around.
Drifting can be more rewarding than turning a fast lap on a racetrack. Few non-racers appreciate the demands of a smooth, precise, quick lap. However, everyone genuflects to those who can slide sideways and bring it back under control.
Do and Learn
Words alone can no more teach you how to drift—or even control a sliding tail—than watching videos will make you skilled at hitting a curveball. You must do it to learn it. Here's where you can learn the basics of drifting without spending loads of money or time in traffic court: slick-track karts. Think of slick-track karts as the Little League baseball of drifting. They're a low-cost way to find out if you have talent or, at least, the ability to learn. Almost every major-league baseball player was the all-star of all-stars when he was in Little League: If you can't quickly become the best slick-track driver you've ever met, other sports beckon.
The first thing you'll learn at a slick track is how to correct when the rear tires lose grip. (Engineers call this "oversteer" and stock-car drivers term it "loose.") Slick-track karts naturally slide the tail in most corners. When the rears begin break traction, turn the wheel the direction the tail is going. It's called countersteering or opposite lock. Some instructors say to imagine keeping the nose in front of the tail. Others say look where you want to go and your eyes will naturally make you turn the correct direction. If you have hope of being a big-time drifter, this will be completely natural.
Anticipate and Listen
To become a master at catching a sliding tail you must learn to feel what the rear tires are going to do before they do it. While you can successfully react to a front-tire slide, you must anticipate the loss of rear grip. Whether in a kart or an F1 car, the tires are talking to you. Learn to understand what they're saying.
At least as critical as sensing departing rear grip is anticipating its return. As the rear tires regain traction, you must dial out just the right amount of the countersteering before rear grip fully returns. If you wait too long to remove the opposite lock, the vehicle will happily spin in the opposite direction.
On tight corners on some slick tracks, you may HAVE to drift to get the kart to turn. If you attempt to change direction the way you would in a normal automobile—by moving the steering wheel to the right for a right-hand turn—the kart will just plow straight ahead. (Engineers call this understeer; stock car drivers call it push.) If you face this situation, you must do something to get the tail sliding. If you're trying to turn right, initiate a slight left turn and then snap the wheel back t
SpaceRider
2/7/2008 12:26:53 PM

Club Racing
 Amateur drivers duke it out for bragging rights

by Joe Hollingsworth



Every year, tens of thousands of amateur drivers compete in hundreds of "club racing" events from New Hampshire to Hawaii, Florida to Washington, British Columbia to Nova Scotia. Save for the most knowledgeable, few race fans have heard of the obscure road-racing circuits on which they compete: Bremerton, Thunderhill, Spring Mountain, Shannonville, Grattan, Waterford, St. Eustache, La Junta, Mountain View, MidAmerica, Pueblo, Kershaw, Cabaniss, Second Creek, BeaveRun, Mission, Gimli, Gingerman. Occasionally, club races are held on big-name tracks such as Watkins Glen, Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta and Lime Rock, but for every Road America, there is a Roebling Road and an Arroyo Seco.
Anonymity
Among the many reasons for the anonymity of club racing is high insurance costs, which means spectators are prohibited at virtually all amateur road racing events. (For the uninitiated, "road racing" employs sinuous circuits that usually feature elevation changes and always employ both left and right turns of many different radii. While club races are no longer held on actual highways, its heritage can be traced back to events in the late '40s and early '50s that ran on public roads, closed for competition.)
For 60 years the largest road-racing group in North America has been the Sports Car Club of America. Those who attend an SCCA club event after an absence of 15, 25 or even 35 years will find things haven't changed very much. Indeed, they may see some of the same automobiles, not just the same make and model, but the very same vehicles: Austin-Healey "Bugeye" Sprites, original Minis, The Graduate-style Alfa Romeo Spiders, Nixon-era Datsun 510s and 240Zs, Elva Couriers, MG Midgets, MGAs, Triumph Spitfires, BMW 2002s, Volkswagen Sciroccos, Fiat X1/9s. (You might be an old guy if more than six body shapes came to mind when you read that list. You're certainly an old guy if you've driven more than one of them.) Even in the "sports racing" and formula-car classes, chassis were often built in the late '80s or, in the case of Formula Vee, much earlier than that. Some club racing classes prohibit cars built after Bill Clinton became president. Is it club racing or vintage and historic racing? Often that's a distinction without a difference.
Though SCCA remains the largest, there are numerous other groups that also organize amateur road racing events. To name a few: Eastern Motor Racing Association, Formula Race Car Club of America, Midwest Council of Sports Car Clubs, National Auto Sport Association, International Council of Sports Car Clubs, and Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs. This is in addition to marque clubs, such as BMW Car Club of America and Porsche Club of America, that organize racing events. While there are some variations in rules among the groups, there are far more similarities than differences.
Class Acts A vast number of classes have long been a hallmark of club racing. SCCA crowns national champions in some two dozen classes. In addition, there are nearly that many "regional only" classes. Moving from those closest to unmodified street cars to pure-bred racecars, SCCA classes can be divided into several groups: Showroom Stock, Improved Touring, Touring, Production, GT, Sports Racer and Formula.
Cars from the Showroom Stock classes could be—and often are—driven on the street. Except for safety upgrades, few changes are permitted, which doesn't mean the racers don't attempt t
BillFromTR
2/7/2008 1:16:54 PM
I love racing.  1/4 mile is fun but gets old.  Auto X'ing is real fun, but the courses are usually short and slow.  Lotsa turns, no real straights (parking lot "cone" racing).  Havent tried road courses but this Spring will be different because one is opening in NJ.  Can't wait :)
SpaceRider
2/7/2008 1:33:05 PM
Hi `Bill,
I also love rac'in : ) I think 1/4 mile racing
is a good tune up to realize how to handle the power of your machine : ).
To me it just never lasted long enough, and the long
waits to get in line & do it again : )
 
Right now I love racing go-carts, but they can get
expensive also.  I would love to Rally Race or
 places like the Mid-Ohio Course I"ve seen on
TV & Games : ).
 
I hope this summer, `if you go to the new track in NJ,
that you have someone take pic's/vid : )
That would be SuperSuper!
Thank's for your post/input....`SpaceRacer : )
 
 
BillFromTR
2/7/2008 1:56:20 PM
Heres a pic of whats they are building.
 
SpaceRider
2/8/2008 4:07:06 AM
Hi `Bill,
Thanks for posting...WoW, that's going to be a super race complex : )
 
I'll dream about driv'in a new ZR-1 on the Lightning Course : ),
Keep us updated.
 
It even has a Karting Track + ATV Track..Looks like a awesome layout.
How far is the track from you ?
What major city is it close to ?
Thanks, `Space
SpaceRider
2/8/2008 4:18:24 AM
Does anyone Kart Race ?
Let us know `ok
For me, it's the lowest cost to get in2 Rac'in : )
 
 
 
 
 
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