DRIVING FAST MAKES ME FEEL GOOD I have to take a long "Road Trip" to road race. Yet I live near a drag strip! If I want to race around a parking lot in first gear, we can walk to a SCCA SOLO autocross. I am on the fence: Do I buy a truck and trailer and go road racing? OR just drive it and DRAG IT, at the local strip.
Racing is fun and there is only one Road America. The FACT that I can drag race so much more and for a lot less money. I just use gas and tires on the back.
I need some help if I want to road race. So I'm off to the Midwest-Corvette-Club meeting tonight at Eriksen Chevrolet

 

I have never drag raced but have road raced. You can track your Vette without a truck and trailer. I have plenty of friends who track their cars and drive to and from the track. (not race) BTW: tracking your car and racing you car on a road course are very different animals. The cost between the two is very different as well. You may want to sign up to do a level one HPDE and just see what it is like. You always run the risk of breaking your car when at the track, road racing or drag racing. I commend you for looking into the proper venue for you speed thirst!!! Tracking your car is the best fun you can have.

 

Well going to hang out with Fun Cars> Fun People>+ Fun Activities
I just got home from my first meeting No racers but Corvette people just the same. I felt? I was the youngest one there and I'm 42 The only racer there I knew from SCCA Autocross He just bought a 2013 Grand Sport

 

I used to drag race my car being I live 15 minutes away from Raceway Park in Englishtown NJ, and 30 minutes away from Atco Raceway along with being an ECS customer, also in NJ. Once I started road racing in 2004 by going to Pocono raceway in Pa, I got hooked. I ran street tires for 2 years and just drove to the tracks. When I bought R-compound tires with their very low tread wear rating is when I bought a truck and trailer. I actually considered Watkins Glen my home track for 5 years even though its 6 hrs away. In 2008 NJ finally got its own roadcourse tracks at NJ Motorsports Park with two world class tracks. It's only 1-1/2 hrs away, so now its my home track. Try them both, whatever you feel more comfortable with, stay with it. Both types of racing/tracking have different methods/costs/consumables and rewards. I commend you for taking it to a track and not trying to push the car on the streets. I've tried autocross, with the low speeds its not my cup of tee at all

 

If I had to pick one form of racing venue over the other it would be road racing hands down.
I do a lot of drag racing and it's definitely more prevalent in this area for the reasons you stated, but if I wasn't in an 8 second or faster car I think I would get board pretty quickly. (granted I'm a bit jaded)
Keep an eye out for our sponsored HPDE days at NJ Motorsports park, there are plenty of other like minded Corvette guys there that are willing to help get a new guy started. I will for warn you though, you will be hooked after the first session! You do not need a trailer or anything like that to get started, many come with a bone stock car and have a great time. I think you will be surprised what a stock Corvette can do!

Road racing is sex on wheels...

 

All troof right there....

And some people might get jacked about me sayin it, but I'll hang out with a road racing crowd LONG before I'll hang out with a drag racing crowd. Two different deals entirely right there....

 

I'm in your area and was going to ask what the meetings were like...but I think I'll pass. Not sure how well I'd fit in at 30yrs old and driving around in an annoyingly loud supercharged Z.

I'm at every local Autocross event with the car and drag race a couple times per year. Hope to get it into an HPDE this year. If you see a yellow ZO6 screaming around a parking lot or charging down the 1/4 mile...stop and say hi. I'd love to meet another Vette owner.

 

Road Race ?

auto-x And Road race or track days are very different.

check out NASA great lakes http://racenasa.nasamidwest.com//

or NASA Mid WEST http://www.nasamidwest.com

 

Our good friend Wally, put'n the hammer down at VIR

http://vimeo.com/3357381

or the Time Trial

http://vimeo.com/20208440

sub 2:00 min and never breaks the 150 mph straight speeds.

Most C5Z are in the 2:05 to 2:07 and C6Zs in the 2:02 to 2:04 range

 

Nice vids, I love VIR!

Funny how a lot of people I know outside of the Vette community just assume I drive fast on the street and they just dont get it when I say "why bother, it doesn't even compare to on track".

 

When I was a kid I did autocross and drag racing 2-3 times each, neither were interesting at all to me. I have been to Road america and autobahncc. (i live in milwaukee so i have 3 road racing venues within 2.5 hours)

Road racing is very much different and in every way better than autocross. Drag racing imo is just a waste of a street car. Everything you want to do to make it fast on the dragstrip is totally opposite of what you want to do to make it fun on the street.

Autocross was imo more fun than drag racing by leaps and bounds but with 6, 1 minute runs spread across 2-3 hours. There is no real exposure to the lines, mind you I understand that is to some large degree, the point of autocross. The repeated lapping and data analasys to wring all the speed from every corner, for whatever reason, just suits me signifigantly better.

I very much intend to put a hitch on my vette when I get to a point that i want to have track tires. Without a doubt that point is a couple years away. I know a lot of people say its dumb, but i dont care to invest the money in a trailer and force myself to have to keep a truck, so i can track my car. A hitch on the vette is so much more reasonable if you are on any sort of budget.

I had an 03 wrx and an 11 sti as my previous cars. The sti was quick enough and ran quite well on the track, easy to drive fairly quickly and had tons of room for error. After 10 years of driving awd cars my 03 z06 seemed sort of worthless on the street. The car cant keep traction without so much right foot control, which apparently i don't have after being used to driving awd so long. But on the track my z06 was a total beast, it is so at home there and performed remarkably well. I was at Road America with the car 6 weeks after i got it. By the 3rd lap I was comfortable picking up speed, which i did every lap i drove until it started to rain. Corvettes are totally different cars on the track, its just too much power to manage on the street in low gears with all that torque multiplication. It is well worth the expense to at least run 1 track day if you can get away with it.

I am thinking about towing my car to cota one year, if i did it i would just rent a trailer. It is roughly $35 a day to rent one from uhaul. If it is really way too far to drive you could always go that route. It is inexpensive enough that it shouldn't be a barrier imo.

 

Doug, the ECS NJMP event has been on my bucket list for 3 years now. I've never done an HPDE so I have no idea what it's like. Now that I have Chris' old Z I really want to give it a try. I have a feeling the car will be a lot of fun.

OP, my vote would be road racing...vettes were designed for more than just straight line driving.

 

If your a FB guy (I'm not so dont feel bad if it's not your thing) we will post our track days there and also in the NE section.

 

42??? If you were 20 years older and hung out with the guys I track with you would still be known as the young guy.

 

Only if a person is good at driving the car.

 

It really depends on what you want. Drag racing is a 12 second or less event then it is over and you are back in line waiting your turn again. As you stated it is much cheaper but less fulfilling to me. Road racing is much more expensive and time consuming, but soooo much more fun. There is nothing like driving WOT for 15-20 minutes. I figure it is going to cost me $300 every time I go in gas/food/track fees to tow my car two hours to the track. Then add the annual cost of tires and front brake pads. However you can find scrubbed racing slicks online if you search. Check out www.cornercarvers.com but I warn you to be very careful posting over there. Don't ask questions you can search for.

 

I've dragged raced a number of times and while it is fun I'd rather go road racing or do DE events any day. It's much more exhilerating. DE's will also make you a much better driver all around and teach you a ton about car control.

 

Why one or the other? I prefer doing them all. I do Autocross and drag already, and hoping to get started with HPDE's this year.

 

Two totally different car setups and rear tires, that is if you want to get serious about it.

 

Of course they are. Doesnt really matter though...still going to get out there and have fun.