SSteel

I have always wanted to become involved in amateur road racing. I live in Orlando and I have a reasonable window of opportunity to get started.

First question, is Seabring the closest road course to Orlando? Is the Daytona road course ever open to the public?

Second, what, if any, licenses must I have to participate in an open track event?

Third, if a license is necessary, how do I get one and where must I go.

Thanks

davidfarmer

http://www.drivenasafl.com/speed/con...event-schedule

http://www.goldcoastregion.org/Home.aspx

I'm sure others have DE at Sebring, but this is a start.

davidfarmer

and skip barber school

http://skipbarber.com/locations/sebr...FYrs7QodXxy0gA

parkerracing

I think the Mickyard in Disneyworld still has a stock car ride and drive school. Not road racing, but close to home.

BEZ06

Are you talking about actual wheel-to-wheel racing???

If you want to actually "race" you should check the SCCA website for info on getting a competition license to compete in their events.

I just went and checked for a link for you, and if you look at their site below you'll see that they are having a PDX (Performance Driving Experience) at Daytona on April 16/17:

http://www.cfrscca.org/


I think that's the way you should start - go to a PDX, or what are commonly called HPDE's (High Performance Driving Events, or High Performance Driver Education events).

HPDE's are NOT racing. You can go as fast as you can, but the events are focused on education and safety. You'll usually have classroom instruction and an in-car coach/instructor. There are designated passing zones and you need a point-by from the car you're overtaking before passing.

Hooked on Driving has events all the time at Sebring, Palm Beach, and Homestead, and they'll be running an HPDE at Daytona Dec 2-4. Check their site for info:

http://www.hookedondriving.com/hooked-on-driving-events

Chin Motorsports also has stuff going on at Sebring this spring:

http://www.chinmotorsports.com/

PBOC will also have an HPDE at Daytona this fall in October. Here's a site with more info on that event, but I don't think they take novices - you'd need several HPDE's under your belt to attend:

http://www.trackweekend.com/events/1...&action=detail


So.....you can jump right in and go for real racing by attending a licensing school like Bondurant.

But....I'd recommend doing some HPDE's and get started running on the track in a much easier/cheaper manner than turning your car into a dedicated track machine. For HPDE's you basically just need a helmet to run your street car on the track. Below is a video of my car running at an HPDE at Daytona. You can see that at an HPDE you can turn your car loose and experience the full performance capabilities of it, but in a safer and much cheaper manner than if you get into all-out W2W racing.

BTW, for HPDE's you generally don't need anything but a safe street car, an approved helmet, and your regular state driver's license. Your car will be tech inspected prior to the event, but they're just checking to make sure that your brakes, tires, and overall car is safe and you've got all the junk removed from the interior, including floor mats, etc.

Bob