What Makes a Successful Racing Program
By Christopher Hurst

What makes a successful racing program? Let’s take a close look.

 

What makes a successful racing program?

Limitless money.

 

I have a few ideas. While I am new to racing Corvettes I have been doing endurance road racing since 2011 - over 11,000 miles of racing


2017 practice day with our 92 Saturn

1. Define success
Is winning the only measure of success? I started endurance racing for the challenge of a 24 hour race. We have been to premiere tracks like Charlotte, COTA, MIS, Watkins Glen, along with others – things I never dreamed of when I started, but having the privilege to race at these places is definitely in the success category for me.
Also in the success category is my children (now 18 and 20) have been involved with the team and have gone to all the races. My daughter has been crew chief for several races (great resume builder) and lots we learned here helped my son with his combat robots.

So far our mighty Saturn has run ChampCar Endurance Series and in our last five races we got two podiums and three class wins. (We split costs between the drivers which does help keep costs down)

2.Choose the kind of racing that is right for you
Skills, funding and interest all play into this decision

3. Be a student of racing first
Save a lot of $ not making mistakes other people made

4. If possible, don't start from scratch
Everyone knows that it is almost impossible to get back all the money put into a car. If you buy a car that is already done you get to skip that part. This does not excuse you from learning the rules upfront, learning the car and adjusting the handling setup to your liking, but it can save some of the upfront setup costs.

5. Winning race programs require a lot of work
I'm a hobby racer, so me and my team do all the mechanical and prep work on the car. Even if you are farming it out you need to ensure what is being done is what you want.

6. Know the sanctioning body you are racing with
If they are inconsistent, have bad customer service, do not communicate well, this definitely can affect the experience. None of them are 100%. Each has its own rule book and credentials required to drive. These will be a factor. In my hobby drag racing this was not much of a factor, but I can see it is a huge factor in road racing. I'm basically happy with ChampCar Endurance Series and they eliminated what kept me away for years which was too many rules of other sanctioning bodies

(BTW building a Vette which is why I'm on the forum)


We finished 3rd overall and 1st in B class (engine size) out of 48 cars after 24 hours of racing at Nelson Ledges with ChampCar Endurance Series in 2018. Finishing a 24 hour race is no small feat - the P3 was a nice bonus.

 

 

McLaren can't get out of their own way.