nskyline34

Hey guys, I'm looking to get into road racing and I want to do it right. What are the best classes/schools to do to. I'm in the Seattle area. I want something that can teach me so when I begin racing I'm not completely lost.

PushinTheLimit

www.nasaproracing.com

Nasa starts you out in the HPDE ranks (High Peformance Driving Events). There are 4 levels in HPDE.

HPDE 1 - Newbies that have very little track experience and/or unfamilar with that particular track. Instructors are assigned and classroom sessions are part of the experience. This is where you learn about the track, the track line, passing rules etc. Passing will be very limited with a point-by in designated areas on the track.

HPDE 2 - Once the instructor signs you off on HPDE 1, this is your next step which by the end of the weekend, many drivers are signed off to run solo without an instructor in the car. Passing is opened up slightly still with a point-by. Still go to classroom sessions and build on what you learned in HPDE 1.

HPDE 3 - All solo runs here and passing here is basically anywhere with a point-by.

HPDE 4 - Passing anywhere and point-by is optional.


Some people progress quickly, others may take more time. You will gain valuable knowledge and have a good feel of the tracks you go to. Take your time and learn everything you can before you go into Time Trials or Wheel to Wheel racing. All the HPDE levels will help you very much and prepare you for those next two levels of racing.

Joy of 6

Cascade and Prodrive here at PDX have schools to get you started. I think you can rent an SRF from Pro Drive to get some real experience. Might be something at Pacific Raceways in your neighborhood

Scooter70

if you're looking for professional schools, there's Skip Barber, Bondurant, Spring Mountain, and probably a few more that I can't think of off the top of my head. These schools cost more money but you use their cars so there's no worrying about your equipment during the day so you can focus on learning.

Bill32

Define "road racing" from your point of view.

If you plan to track your street car, that's High Performance Driving, not Road Racing.

There's a big difference in how you approach doing one vs the other.
And.....How much do you want to spend?

What the guys above have said is correct for high performance driving.
And the NASA events are especially good.

If you plan on road racing, the schools aren't cheap, like $4k for a jim Russell 3 day school in a Formula 3 car, but you do get your SCCA license in 3 days (and that will qualify you for the NASA license too).

nskyline34

No I mean gridded wheel to wheel racing. I'm looking for a good place to start. I raced karts for years and want to get into cars. My goal is to get to ST1 or ST2 and race corvettes. Since that is a relatively slow(er) form of racing should I buy a corvette and learn or start in something like spec miata

z06801

Miller Motorsports park is the Offical NASA racing school. Just get the vett if you want to end up in ST1 or 2 after racing shifter karts it will feel like a Miata anyway

Bill32

Your transition will be much easier with your kart racing. I raced karts for 10 years with 5 road racing championships. When I went to Jim Russell at Sears Point, the course was easy for me, I had the fastest laps in the school.

Spec Miata is a momentum class, Corvettes aren't. Personally, I find them boring to race (and I've done the 25 Hours of ThunderHill in one).

With your experience,I'd just get the car you want to run and then I'd go with a 3 day school where you end up with your license NASA or SCCA. You already know brake points, apexes, etc. you'll be fine in your first races.

You can also get seat time in the HPDE's mentioned above.

nskyline34

Lol ok that's what I was thinking but I have no experience with them. How much does it cost to run ST2 for a season with a C5Z? Assuming no major breakage just normal consumables? Or cost per hour?

nskyline34

Also can I rent a car at PIR? Does anyone know how much it is just for a test-n-tune day? (Pacific or Portland)

Bill32

Too true and the shifters beat the crap outa you.

Driving the Corvette will feel like sittin' in your Lazyboy. You'll also discover thet the steering wheel is not used to hold you in the seat.

One nice thing about NASA and SCCA is that once you get a license from one, the other organization will accept that (with the regular fees).

Bill32

Some one here should chime in. I ran open wheel and figured $1,500 per weekend with repairs to be competitive.

Bill32

You're going to have to google some of this yourself.

I just hit their website then Prodrive's website - $799 to rent a SpecRacer Ford and do the Introduction to Racing course.

z06801

but they are so fun

nskyline34

Thanks guys for being so helpful. How much does it cost for my racing gear? Suit, Hans, etc? And also what is STO class about?

Sgt.Gator

Great to have another PacNW racer!

A few opinions:
NASA just started in the NW and has no scheduled races, just HPDE. Not a contender for racing yet.

SCCA is strong. I am a member of NASA and SCCA but that's because I didn't know about ICSCC.

IMHO the best value, camaraderie, and place to learn is the ICSCC, ( International Conference of Sports Car Clubs). The conference is made up of multiple clubs all in the NW. We race at the new tracks like Ridge Motorsports Park in your area and Oregon Raceway Park (which is awesome). A total of 7 tracks in the NW.

I'm a member of the Team Continental Club (TC) and can't say too much about how they've helped me go from being a race school graduate to Novice license and having a blast. They are mostly Oregon and SW Washington racers. TC members own Oregon Raceway park and it's our home track. I'm still in Novice but should get my Area License next race.

I think most Seattle folks are in the International Race Drivers' Club (IRDC), but I don't know much about their club.

The folks who go from ICSCC to SCCA are generally looking to race in National events all over the place. I don't have time to drive anywhere outside the PacNW. My furthest event is in Abbotsford BC at Mission Raceway, and that's only a 1 day drive from Bend.

If you want to race spec Miata you might consider Skip Barber Laguna Seca in the MX-5 cup car schools. I did Skip's basic race school in their Formula cars, then went back for the advanced school in the MX-5s. I'm too big to fit in the formula cars long run, so the MX-5 was the better way to go.

I've also done Ron Fellows Corvette School at Spring Mtn. It was great fun and obviously Corvette specific, but for getting race ready Skip Barber was much more racer directed. RF was really for learning to drive your Corvette at top levels of HPDE, not racing.

ICSCC: http://www.icscc.com

TC: http://teamcontinental.com/

Look for me at the races, I'm in a blue 1990 Acura Integra, probably #475 for all of 2013. It's a LOT cheaper to own/race than a Corvette. For the cost of one weekend of HPDE tracking in my Z06 I can race for a third of a season in the Integra.

But I have to admit, if I had the funds I'd be racing a C5Z06!

1ED1

Two to four thousand a weeking if you include everything.

Jatterbu

I started my racing career based out of Seattle and it isn't the easiest but they also have some great racers. I'd highly suggest giving Todd Harris at ProDrive a call, he is THE most knowledgable person in the NW when it comes to racing. They do everything from half day skid car courses to full race schools with car rentals available. This will at least get you immersed into the community to see what's around and which direction you'd like to go.

If you want to be just a relaxed racer and not worry about much, you can go the ICSCC route as mentioned above. I started there and got out QUICK, it's much more about the atmosphere and friends than it is about going out with the best prepped car and wanting to win because 2nd is no good. SCCA National events is where the real competition is at in the NW as you have racers all up and down the west coast traveling to race at them.

Give Todd a call and tell him I sent you, Joey Atterbury, he will give you the 'real deal' on what's around. Everything from Spec Miata's to GT1 Trans Am cars, he's won national championships in both and lots in between

ProDrive - https://www.prodrive.net/

Joey

nskyline34

Holy cow guys this is so helpful. What will all my gear set me back and what classes are the most popular around here in the PNW? I am definitely of the mantality that 2nd sucks. Haha sounds like SCCA is for me. What is a class like T1 or ST2 that I can run in around here?

Jatterbu

Like I said, I'd highly suggest getting in touch with Todd. They are based in Portland but it is well worth the 2.5 hour drive for good instruction and which class would fit you the best. As far as gear goes, that's a pretty broad question. You can get a suit that is $500 or get one that is $2k, you could spend $350 on a helmet or spend $4k. For a good setup I would budget in the $2-3k range for above average gear that won't wear out and need to be replaced all the time. Shoot me an email and I can get you in touch with Todd that way to help you out. If you want to stay in Seattle I can put you in touch with another good friend who is an instructor at ProFormance and DirtFish, but for rentals and getting into the road racing community, ProDrive is the way to go.


Joey
joey.atterbury86@gmail.com