jefnvk

Hmm a lot of posts apparently didn't load yesterday, I missed most. Motorcycles I gave some thought to, the wife was not onboard with those plans. I'm not sure my belly would look good in leathers either

Craiger77

Join us on Tuesday evenings. These guys are good. I just got into iracing a few weeks ago and look forward to it every week. the CF League is definitely not Global mx5 cup

Shortcutsleeping

I'm thankful I get to drive the GSpeed Corvette, SLJHMR:



Prior to that, I was running Scratcher, my mostly-homebuilt tubeframe car. I'm told I currently hold the NASA win streak with 40 wins in a row. It is currently on a diet, shedding pounds!


Our team fields a WRL car....we are building another 3rd gen camaro as this one (pictured here at Daytona in 2018) finally got retired.


I guest drive on the Pontini WRL team as well in a 4th gen Firebird (will be with them at COTA next month)


My wife has two Supras...one is a daily/drag car she plays with, the other was a ProRally car we rescued and put back together and got running. I ran it at the club rally nats a few years ago.


There are some others, but those hit the high points.

Costas
cars and such...

jefnvk

Is there a thread anywhere detailing it? I'd be intrigued. I've gotta get my setup back together, after I moved the TV that was my screen got repurposed for actual TV usage, I want to get it swapped out for a three monitor display, so I can actually drive out my side "windows".

Oh the pile of money ive already got spent as soon as the old condo sells. Car hoist, race car, and now some new monitors, not to mention mud flaps and weatherproof mats for the dirt road I now have to commute on

93Polo

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ason-23-a.html

fmcokc

You should really go Miata or something like it. Learn with no power, no abs and no TC. It will teach you how to go fast. Once you master that skill you can drive anything really fast.

Supercharged111

If you're in MI you should look into the Camaro Mustang Challenge with NASA. Bob Denton is the director there. They have 10+ car turnouts and are a fun group to hang out with. I run CMC here in the Rocky Mountain region myself, have done so since 2013. I started by HPDEing my C5Z. Used race cars are around $8000 and can be built for under 10k if you can do all the work yourself.

tangel2

I didnt see where you are located, but if youre east coast close enough for Summit Point, NJMP, VIR. WDCR SCCA has a regional showroom spec miata (SSM) class. That's an awesome class running sealed engines and toyo tires that last almost a whole season. Solves a lot of the issues that have driven SM running costs beyond reasonable. Usually at least 30 cars, often 40 in each race. I arrive and drive a few times a year in addition to running my air cooled 911 in vintage.

tdereggi

I think you got to ask yourself what you want to accomplish. This was my first season racing. I bought a race prepared C4, which I plan to race next 2020 season, but this season, it wasn't quite ready. Still had some cage and seat mods to finish to fit the car to me, and was still working to get trailers and tow vehicles and such. So my first 2019 season, I chose to race Spec Miata. Rented from Winsor Customs, local east coast guy, Nothing but good things to say about his operation. The Miata path offers several critical benefits. For the experienced racer, it gave a class that was always full of participants (easily 50+ competitors each weekend) most of which took their racing seriously (maybe too seriously :-)., making a very competitive environment, But for the newbie it offered two more important things. One, a way to measure one's progress. All cars nearly the same, plenty of racers to compare to, so can have clear expectations of what goals should be obtainable. Two, its a momentum car, meaning its fast once it gets going, but it has very little acceleration power, so requires very minimal braking, to stay on the road, and reach the cars potential. What that does is pushes a driver to use their driving skill, and find every millisecond they can find by perfecting their line. And I guess, a third benefit might be they are relatively inexpensive cars comparatively, and tend to hold up well, on and off course. I just feel it was a really good way to learn, and speed skills development, The experience had me seriously considering to buy a Miata, But with that said, I enjoy driving my C4 more, and racing is expensive enough with just one race car. So Im definately looking forward to next season In the C4. But what I've observed is there is not a shortage of car classes to race, people race EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. A friend of mine was racing MR2s, which looked fun, I thought I might try that at some point, just cause I was big into Fiat X19s back in the day, and the MR2 are very similar mid-engine cars, but more readily available. , . .

jefnvk

@tdereggi Looking to get out on a track in a more competitive environment than HPDE. AutoX has developed one set of skills, but I'd like to be more rounded in my driving development. I'm not going to say cost is the ultimate determination, but it is a determination. Part of the reason I focused in on F500 is a decent car can be had for not much more than $5k, and there is almost nothing one can do to an engine that would rack up any significant bills. Bone simple cars that run lap times not too far off (and in some cases better than) considerably higher priced cars.

I have considered the Miata route. I've got nothing against the car itself, I am still considering it (there is one for sale locally at a pretty decent price), I am just more against the type of racing that comes with it. In the local races and videos online I've seen the open wheel guys are, lets say, much politer than the IT and SM guys with one another. I have a desire for open passing and actual lateral Gs, not full on rubbing is racing type action. I had actually thought about vintage and karts for that reason, there just isn't enough of it locally.

oharal

Lately mostly just saving/look for a house but the past couple years I've done a few 24 hours of lemons races in an old Dodge Coronet we rebuilt. Once we won our class in that car we built a new car to chase the overall victory in a 1990 Miata. Lots of fun and very difficult in many ways. My teammates and I get most of a whole season of w2w club racing in a weekend. Far more than a season worth in a 24 hour race! Best part is we can afford to build another car together if we wad it up unlike a legit club racing car.

Racer35

Closing the loop on Spec Corvette in Michigan... There is a GM engineer there with a complete Spec Corvette that he's been running with NASA in HPDE, while the class develops and another car that's almost complete (pending Penskes). There's another that will be built this winter and discussion about a 4th car starting this winter as well. They should have an official racing schedule for 2020.

Olitho

This is awesome news. Spec Corvettes are getting built everywhere.

tdereggi

jefnvk, good points. The Miatta guys are definitely bumper to bumper full on racing, and they may bump you, or maybe complain, if youre to slow and not keeping up. As much for safety, as anything. As a newbie, my times are still slower than they could be, so I experienced a bit of that go-faster pressure..When I was financially responsible for the rental car, I wasn't willing to push my limits beyond my comfort zone either. But, Im ok with the competitive attitudes, because I knew what I was signing up for, and that's what racing is. I was learning to be a more predictable driver, so faster drivers could more safely pass me, until I got my speed up to competitive levels. The SCCA guys and WIndsor were great, and I got a lot of support, to help me keep progressing. But I agree, if someone isn't ready to take on that level racing, there are other options. Agreed, the Vintage groups will likely be more relaxed and have more etiquette. They surely aren't going to want to be bumping and grinding with their classic cars or open wheel cars. I'd like to get more involved with my local vintage race groups as well. There is always time trial / solos to add competition without the bumper to bumper. Or be more selective of events initially, such as do more club race schools, before going full out. To get my Competitive license, I did the SCCA club race school in DC and NJ, that were super inexpensive. I'm gonna do the DC school again next season, just cause it was such a good environment to gain real time feedback on race sessions. Another thing to consider is how predictable your availability will be. With the mazda class, which has a lot of participants, the race weekends can fill up, and get waiting lists. Not ideal for me, since Im a last minute guy. A less attended car class, will leave more flexabilty for finding race days. Regarding F500 open wheel racing, well that also looks so much fun. I dont think you could go wrong following that path.

Captain Buddha

This was my first race car, bought in August 2013, first raced at the SCCA Super School Weekend in January of 2014. It's an ASA/GTA Monte Carlo that runs Nationally in SCCA GT2 or regionally in GTA. LS1, 4-speed Jerico dob box, quick-change rear end, Hoosier 27x10-15 Bias Ply Slicks....it's ALL driver....a handful to drive! Pix below from the 2015 SCCA Daytona Runoffs, what a BLAST!! I still have this car and use it for track days as well as racing.





Here's my 2nd race car, the first TA2 Camaro - it started life as an ASA/GTA Monte Carlo and then was rebodied to run in the Trans Am TA2 Series. A very fast car! I ran it in SCCA GT2. LS3 power. We sold the car recently to Mitch from Gold Rush.




I sponsored Max Nufer for a few seasons and we took turns driving both the Monte and Camaro.




The 2017 Indy Runoffs were QUITE fun! I was started out driving the Camaro and Max was driving the Monte as well as his SM (you can see the FULL garage!!). During testing it was determined that Max was faster (as ALWAYS!!) in the Camaro, so we swapped and he did well....me? Nothing like finishing with a flat tire and a compromised fuel system....BUT...I finished LOL!!








I had a new Trans Am TA2 Camaro built by TRB Autosport / Derhaag for campaigning in both Trans Am TA2 and SCCA GT2 (Super Tour & Majors). It's been a BLAST!! Nothing puts a smile on my face like a tube-frame, V8 powered BEAST!! For Trans AmL Max has raced both Indy (P5!!!!) and Mid-Ohio and I just wrapped up COTA and am prepping for Daytona in a few weeks! For SCCA GT2 I brought home the Southern States Championship for this year!!