W2W: SCCA or NASA?
 

been doing the HPDE thing for about 4+ years, and now trying to step up. "sorta almost" got a taste of w2w at WRL COTA in December.
now im tyring to put together a 1 year plan to get myself and car ready for w2w (cage, suppression, license etc etc)
but ive sorta run in a cross roads right away.
#1 which way to go SCCA or NASA?
#2 i assume SCCA is considered higher up than NASA?
im not quite in the same financial bracket as most so i cant afford to get licenced in both.
#3 (unless one license's transfers to the other series?)
im in central texas if region matters. i would be staying within texas most likely. at least for the first 5-10 years. im about 1.5 hours from COTA.
#4 suggestions on route to go to get licence?

thoughts? any and all advice would be greatly appreciated! even stuff i havent thought of.
-Cory

SCCA and NASA are pretty much equal. I would only consider SCCA Pro (Trans AM) a step higher.

I know you have changed some things on your car, but check the rules and see which classes are closest to your modifications. SCCA I think STO or GT2 might be your options, and NASA ST2 or ST1.

Either organization will accept a license from the other. As far as obtaining one, I might be spoiled up here in Ohio as every spring NASA holds a driver school at Mid-Ohio. Upon completion you get to apply for your w2w license. Perhaps other tracks\clubs in Texas do the same??

Probably NASA.

SCCA has very specific and weird rules.

NASA's rules are a little bit more logical and laid out better.

But - most importantly - go where the racing is. Check your region and see whats more popular in your area. NOTHING beats good competition and big grids.

All the comments above are correct. I'd add that a lot of it has to do with the region and 1) who manages it, 2) what type of competition and car counts you get in your class. Also from what I've seen with NASA w2w you have two race groups in some regions(big bore and small bore), and one race group in other regions. You may or may not like this grouping. SCCA , at least in Florida has more race groups.

that was one thing i forgot to ask, which is bigger, more active in my area.

In the last number of years I have been racing NASA, SCCA, Spec Corvette, Corvette Challenge and Trans Am, all at the same time. Yes, I am racing a lot, like 30 plus races a year. I have raced the NASA Nationals and SCCA Runoffs, too. I will be racing Spec Corvette at CoTA May 3-5 if you are close to Austin.

The cost is not tied to having a race license in NASA and SCCA. Once you get licensed in one, getting licensed in the other is easy. What costs is the hours/laps on the car. Therefore, if on a budget, you should pick one series to run in. I run my white and blue Corvette in SCCA GT2, Trans Am TA3 and NASA ST2/TT2. I just need to change tunes and/or restrictor plate to make the changes for the sanctioning bodies. Now is when you need to decide which class to race you want to race so you can make sure you prep the car correctly. One car can be very portable if done right.

Call me if you want to chat.

Never run SCCA, been with NASA since 2006ish if I recall. Build to a specific class and figure out what you can afford to run a full season. It's not a cheap hobby in any class.

They both have their strengths and weaknesses. SCCA classes are more stable in general, yet they are very nitpicky and you have to build the car THEY want you to build. NASA has more flexible classes which I think is a huge advantage, but they also have some arbitrary rules that turn some people away.

Both are amateur racing, so I'd figure out which one lets you run the car you want to run, and has entries in said class in your area. Remember you are doing it for fun....if the rules or the officials aren't making it fun, you are in the wrong place.

When you guys talk about region, how far are you normally going for races? I generally associate the SCCA with autocross in my area and generally understood that I was going south to Texas for my closest NASA region.

VIR is my home track and is 4 hours towing. Road Atlanta is 9. Summit Point is 6ish with DC area traffic.Dominion Raceway is 2 hours up the road, but haven't been there yet.

I live in Texas and have raced both NASA ST1 and SCCA GT2.
Raced NASA ST1 in 2016 and won the Texas Region and the Eastern States National Championship at WGI.
There where plenty of cars at the Championship but usually only 2-3 ST1 cars in the Texas reigon races.
The other thing I don't like about NASA in Texas at least is they put 1,200 # cars and 3,500 # cars on the track togather. (seems like a good way to get someone killed)
Racing the SCCA GT2 Majors & Hoosier Super Tour races now. There are usually 7-10 GT2 competitors at every event. Even more if you travel east.

Don McMillon

The only thing "higher" about SCCA is the average age of the drivers.

NASA ST is growing in Texas region finally. Like an idiot im prepping my car for ST and going to comp school in May at COTA with NASA. (prepped for ST2)

Op should toss a cage in his car and do comp school.

I have to ask tho, a few months ago for the WRL thing you mentioned using your life savings for a seat with the GSpeed team, at the time I thought you were joking, but you comment about not being able to afford more than one sanctioning bodies license. (you only really need to do a comp school with one org btw) has me thinking that you may not really understand the cost involved with racing.

W2W is very expensive especially when you're using a big heavy car, I just want to make sure you're full aware of what you're getting into. Are you 100% prepared to wad up your car and throw it in the garbage? There is a real possibility that can happen.

You should really look into Time trials and get out of DE, TT is generally a little bit faster, open passing and will help push you to actually drive the car fast, (helpful in qualifying and helps with awareness)

You seem to be on a fairly direct path tho, go get your car caged and just drive as much as you can.

Racing anything is expensive. Spec Miata guys spend $15K on motors that make an extra 2 horsepower over the cheap ones.

The only thing "higher" about SCCA is the average age of the drivers.

This has not been my experence. When I raced NASA Texas ST1 I don't recall ever racing anyone younger than me and Im 54.

In SCCA GT2 over half my competitors are younger than me. Some of them very young using SCCA as a stepping stone to something bigger.

Lol was a joke

Go straight West of where you live (around 30 minutes) and you'll find Hallett Motor Racing Circuit...both NASA and SCCA race there, Hallett also has its own race series, COMMA. Many folks start off doing AutoX/Solo with SCCA so that's where you probably get that association from. SCCA has been around for 75, yep, 75 years (I know, there's gotta be an age joke in there, right LOL?) doing racing, rally, etc.

Hey Gramps! I mean, Don LOL!!! I'm 47 - somedays I feel like the youngest in the room, some days the oldest LOL!!

Corey - you need to talk to Oli and Don here - both race Corvettes and they can give you the true scope / COST of things. I checked out Don't new GT2 Corvette ride....it's *very* high tech. His steering wheel probably costs more than a Spec Miata! LOL!!

Don raises a very *valid* point here, talking about mixing a 1,200 lb car with a GT car - that is a RECIPE for DISASTER!

So, go where the racing is - if you want a MASSIVE field, then Spec Miata (SM) is where you need to go whether it's NASA or SCCA.

Spec Racer Ford Gen 3 (SRF3) is also a MASSIVE field in SCCA.

For the GT2 cars (where your Vette would most likely go, you could also run in T1 too), Don is spot on regarding field size. What fun is it mixing it up with a handful of cars? It's not. The more cars, the MORE FUN!!

So, at the SCCA COTA Super Tour this past weekend the Big Bore Closed Wheel group had 25 cars total, 4 of them were GT1, 10 were GT2, 3 were GTX (new class for homologated cars, i.e. GT4), 6 were T1, 2 were AS.

That is a good size field! BTW - if you are "racing for tires" (or other contingency) then you need a field to get them....

SM had 36 cars, SRF3 had 48 cars!!

Want to go Formula racing? The Big Bore Open Wheel class had 42 entries....42! I don't believe NASA has open wheel, correct me if I'm wrong.

So, you want a BIGGER field you say? Because you REALLY want to mix it up, well, like Don posted...GO EAST!! The Super Tour Season Opener this January at Sebring was NUTS!!!

How nuts?? The Big Bore Closed Wheel group had 53 cars, yep, FIFTY-THREE!! 20 / TWENTY GT2 cars!!

Check the results for your local SCCA and NASA to see. I know there is a much bigger ST presence in TX than CO (non-existent). Hallett typically has a few nasty cars turning laps, Corvettes Vipers and tube frame cars. The reason I don't race a Corvette is because 1: it's expensive AF but more importantly there was nobody to race, so I got a Camaro and went CMC. Of course then there was an exodus, but we're rebuilding and looking to have the strongest season since about 2014. Any time I do a TX crossover event the field is nice and healthy, there are a lot of big cities, industries, and enough good paying jobs down there to justify an ST field. Again though, as far as pitting NASA against SCCA you just have to go to the local site and see who was driving what last season to get a feel for it. Here all people drive in SCCA is SM, FB RX7s, and carts for the most part so I never gave them a second thought after seeing that. CA is a very different story, I suspect TX is too. SCCA workers are volunteer and NASA are paid. 2 very different approaches, I think NASA is for profit and SCCA isn't?

NASA regions are for profit, don't know about SCCA.