Any Race Car Drivers?

Lance F said:
Karts alway intrigued me, but I never made the connections to get into it. I am sure I missed something there.
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Me too, I learned about them too late and showed up with the wrong cart, a custom IRS GPZ 1100Turbo engine (insurance pool, $20 bid).:eek:
 
tonycondon said:
there are more than a few basically self funded start & park teams in Sprint Cup
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That's true Sterling Marlin is probably the most well known. He ran mostly hand me down equipment just enough to qualify make a few laps and then behind the wall. He would collect his payout putting most of The money to ministry work. I am told he is very well respected among the racing community.
 
i think it was Morgan Sheppard that does that. Most of the other start & parks are just hanging on doing what they can trying to catch a good break at a restrictor plate track or to pick up some decent sponsorship.
 
Henning said:
Wow, when did the name "Hare Scramble" get resurrected?:lol:
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Never went away?

I scrambled once. Not really for me. I raced motocross for 10 yrs. Sold my bike and quit 3 yrs ago. Miss it dearly. I can't bring myself to watch it on TV or anything. Sad really.

I quit when I was in college (not long ago) and not riding much. I got rusty and had a couple times in a row when I went to the track and just rode like crap. My friends I rode with - many of em were getting older and getting out too. Economy sucked and my favorite local race series closed. Said F-k it and put the bike on craigslist. Sold it in 2 days.
 
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dell30rb said:
Never went away?

I scrambled once. Not really for me. I raced motocross for 10 yrs. Sold my bike and quit 3 yrs ago. Miss it dearly. I can't bring myself to watch it on TV or anything. Sad really.

I quit when I was in college (not long ago) and not riding much. I got rusty and had a couple times in a row when I went to the track and just rode like crap. My friends I rode with - many of em were getting older and getting out too. Economy sucked and my favorite local race series closed. Said F-k it and put the bike on craigslist. Sold it in 2 days.
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I got out of it all a long time ago, between sailing and flying I didn't have the time, shop, or funds anymore. I always kept my hand in engine building for the race boat crowd though; I've got a great small block Chevy design for swinging a prop.
 
tonycondon said:
i think it was Morgan Sheppard that does that. Most of the other start & parks are just hanging on doing what they can trying to catch a good break at a restrictor plate track or to pick up some decent sponsorship.
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HA! Your right not sure what I was thinking:confused: It was Morgan Sheppard.
 
DaleB said:
If you want to learn to drive really well and turn both ways, I highly recommend SCCA autocross. You "run what ya brung", no special safety equipment needed other than a helmet (Snell rated, not just DOT). It's a great way to dip your toes in, learn a lot and have a lot of fun. And you can drive your race car to work. :) I ran a number of daily drivers and junkers... '85 Grand Am, '63 Corvair, '98 Mustang, '82 Skyhawk (the Buick flavor, not the other one). VERY low chance of collision damage of any sort, near zero chance of collision with another car since it's a timed run with (usually) only one car on the course at a time. You can move on to Club and other flavors of racing if you really get into it.

If you want wheel-to-wheel oval track... I dunno. There seem to be all kinds of classes of that, including high school kids flogging the tired shells of old 4-bangers around a dirt track. :dunno:
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Autocross is a lot of fun, and you can learn an awful lot of stuff there. But when I got to drive an Ariel Atom on a real race track, first on a short course where speeds never got much over 80, and then on a longer course where speeds only went below 80 in tight corners, I realized that things do get different when speeds go up. The laws of physics don't change but reaction times and "staying ahead" of the car matter. I was reminded of when I first learned to fly instruments, and how far behind I felt. I guess the point is that when you master one class, you need to expect to start over in some ways when you go to a faster class.

And yes, the Ariel Atom is the most fun I've ever had on four wheels.
 
Wingsofglass said:
I've never raced and it's a long story, but I own a race car. It's a NASCAR Cup car with a brand spanking new Yates 800hp motor. It was driven by Dale Jarret and won a few races the year he won the cup. It's an 88 UPS logoed car. One day, when the tower is closed, I'd like to do a high speed pass down taxiway alpha at my local field with it.
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Hi. My name is Ben and I am an addict..:yesnod::yesnod::eek:.

Do what I did... Mix aviation with NASCAR..... it is a HOOT .:idea::)
 

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N801BH said:
Hi. My name is Ben and I am an addict..:yesnod::yesnod::eek:.

Do what I did... Mix aviation with NASCAR..... it is a HOOT .:idea::)
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I like that! I finished a 392 stoker last summer for my Shamrock. Dyno 360hp
/ 460tq.
 
If you would consider a double world champion on an F1 game with expert opposing drivers in play a race car driver, then I might see myself fit for the job.

Kidding aside, I have aspired to be a racer since I was a kid though my dreams of having it come to reality seem to have been sidelined by the fact that when I was karting when I was younger, I got caught up in some accident.

That did not have any physical damages upon me but more of played with the thinking that I sure was not able to overcome until now.
 
TMetzinger said:
Autocross is a lot of fun, and you can learn an awful lot of stuff there. But when I got to drive an Ariel Atom on a real race track, first on a short course where speeds never got much over 80, and then on a longer course where speeds only went below 80 in tight corners, I realized that things do get different when speeds go up. The laws of physics don't change but reaction times and "staying ahead" of the car matter. I was reminded of when I first learned to fly instruments, and how far behind I felt. I guess the point is that when you master one class, you need to expect to start over in some ways when you go to a faster class.

And yes, the Ariel Atom is the most fun I've ever had on four wheels.
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Yeah, even in the small 'kiddie classes' of real race cars, it's a different world in edge handling and tight wrapped performance. You're either standing on the throttle or on the brake, and once you pass even 250hp at those weights, the accelerations become pretty spiffy:goofy:. There are several different track/school programs you can go through with these 'entry level' race cars for about the cost of flying as regularly as you'd be running the car.

Next performance venture for me if/when I have funds will be to sponsor a CAF P-47 if I can find one down here. Andrew destroyed a hell of a CAF squadron collapsing their hangar at TMB.:sad:
 
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I spent 15 years working on IndyCars....my only driving experience in them was being towed back to the fuel pumps at Indy from the pits. I can attest to the cubic dollars spent keeping the cars on the track. I had over a million frequent flyer miles in the first two years on the circuit and over 180 days of per-diem paid each year for the first couple years. We did a lot of testing. I'm glad to be out of it especially since the drug lord destroyed the series and the speedway(indy).

Frank
 
BiffJ said:
I spent 15 years working on IndyCars....my only driving experience in them was being towed back to the fuel pumps at Indy from the pits. I can attest to the cubic dollars spent keeping the cars on the track. I had over a million frequent flyer miles in the first two years on the circuit and over 180 days of per-diem paid each year for the first couple years. We did a lot of testing. I'm glad to be out of it especially since the drug lord destroyed the series and the speedway(indy).

Frank
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Another sad development in a once great series.:( Too bad the Aurora engine didn't get a good chance, it had/has potential to be a great geared exp aircraft engine. Run between 3600 & 4500 it ought to do really well.
 
I spent many years driving Rally cars here in the UK & Europe (on closed road or in the forests)
At most levels Motorsport is very expensive to do ( even more expensive than owning and flying airplanes!)

Sponsorship is very difficult to find these days, Although I no longer compete much myself, I still own and run a professional Rally Team,www.pro-tecmotorsport.com

And each year it is more and more difficult to find the funding to compete at a high level.
 
Henning said:
Another sad development in a once great series.:( Too bad the Aurora engine didn't get a good chance, it had/has potential to be a great geared exp aircraft engine. Run between 3600 & 4500 it ought to do really well.
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I worked in the IRL in 97 and the Aurora engine did pretty well for having never really been developed prior to racing. We learned a lot that year about engines that are also part of the structure of the car. Once they opened up tolerances on the bearings the engines quit grenading due to clearances tightening in turns as the car was loaded up. We were running at over 8K rpm if memory serves....maybe closer to 10K so the engines weren't very "torque-y" but did put out some power. If they ran them much slower they'd last longer but would need some major work to have a reasonable power level. We were around 650HP at the higher rpm and running on methanol. Other than the noise level of an un-turbo'd engine they were pretty good. I did miss the rotary muffler though....the aurora's were loud.

Frank
 
No, not much of a driver, never have been. When I was 16, I had saved enough money to buy an old car from a friend, I told my dad about it and he went off on me. He said your crazy, you'll kill someone. There is no way in hell you can have a car. Get a motorcycle, maybe you'll only kill yourself.

So I got a motorcycle. I didn't learn to drive a car until I was in the military. I learned to drive in a Jeep. When I got out of the military, I almost killed myself on my BSA-650. No more motorcycles for me.

After my divorce, I had a very cool little 240Z. I took a date over to Palm Springs in it. We went the back way over the mountain. So anyway, here I am, tooling along a winding road thinking I must be really impressing her with my gear shifting and driving.

I glanced over at her, I couldn't believe the look on her face. It was a combination of incredulousness and disgust. She said; "What are you doing?" Then she told me to pull over and she would give me a class on driving.

That she did.

We went down the back side of that mountain, the road was like a snake, turning back and fourth all the way to the desert floor. I could not believe how she handled that car, I'm not sure that she touched the brakes even once. It turned out her and her ex were both professional drivers, including racing.

After that humiliation, I just drive my car like a normal person. I do not pretend I am a race car driver.........ever.

-John
 
Not a driver, but I've been a NASCAR official in the past.
 
Ran SCCA Nationals, road racing. Won Watkins Glen, Lime Rock and others. Lot's of fun, but very expensive. Plus I was having the most fun. The crew got to watch me go by at (hopefully) regular intervals, but never experienced what I did. Would have loved to go Pro, but it didn't happen.
 
ok, I am not dumb, but I can't seem to find any information about karting around here. I find gokart tracks....the ones with the slow "family fun center" rides, but nothing about real karting

Any ideas???
 
SkyHog said:
ok, I am not dumb, but I can't seem to find any information about karting around here. I find gokart tracks....the ones with the slow "family fun center" rides, but nothing about real karting

Any ideas???
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Google WKA......
 
Anyone with any experience in the legend cars? They look like a blast to race at a "somewhat" affordable price point.
 
The only racing you can do on the dirt cheap and win is Drag Racing. I used to win with a 4 door Diesel Chevette because I could consistently run 17.23-17.25. and dialed in on 17.23. It was fast enough that it fooled people (it was faster than a gasoline Chevette, it would spin a tire in 1st and bark 2nd & 3rd.) I'd be pretty far down accelerating pretty hard all the way until I hit the governor which I tweeked to get me 50 yrds from the trap and hold power there and guys would break out trying to catch me as I'm coasting in on my ET. :D Bracket racing is about an ability to hit a consistent ET, you can't go faster between your light and what speed you said you would run. The lights are set up to handicap on the ET we dial in on as an offset. So tree hits and releases me but holds the guy in the other lane who is dialed in on 8.70 seconds. The race is his to win only by beating me off the line and running his exact ET. If he passes me, very likely he will go faster than he said and break out losing. I can get off the line very accurately and consistently with such low power. He could easily shake/hop a tire doing his launch and lose right there.
 
Good Point Henning.....

Years ago.. and I mean YEARS ago, a guy would show up at the drag strip out west of Hollywood Fla with a Florida Power and Light El Camino.. The thing ran 16.70's consistantly.... I bet in the 3 years or so he raced, he won thousands in that bracket class... Then one Saturday night he didn't show and never to be seen again.. We guessed his boss was in the stands and he got busted...
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
Anyone with any experience in the legend cars? They look like a blast to race at a "somewhat" affordable price point.
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I've got three years in a Legend car in Georgia. As far as racing goes it is fairly reasonable. Years ago they use to run the stock tire and leave them alone and they would last for a season. Then people started getting the tires camber cut so they could run faster but also required you to go through a few sets of tires a year.

If you just want to race and do not care too much about competitiveness you can do it fairly inexpensively. If you have a real competitive spirit then you'll need a big pocket book to stay with the pack. You'll need an extra engine or two, a good setup guru to work with you on the chassis, plenty of springs and a supply of shocks that you've dynoed so you know how they work.

The cars are short wheel based and over powered so they require a good seat of pants feel to drive well because they are quite twitchy.
 
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N801BH said:
Good Point Henning.....

Years ago.. and I mean YEARS ago, a guy would show up at the drag strip out west of Hollywood Fla with a Florida Power and Light El Camino.. The thing ran 16.70's consistantly.... I bet in the 3 years or so he raced, he won thousands in that bracket class... Then one Saturday night he didn't show and never to be seen again.. We guessed his boss was in the stands and he got busted...
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I originally ran that car in protest to bracket racing then found I could take their money home!:D
 
Thanks everyone. Looks like my best bet might be to just head out to Rockingham and ask around. Should be fun, if nothing else.
 
Lance F said:
I love it!
My son's first glider flight was at 5 1/2, so don't forget you can get em started flying young as well.
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That's so cool... I took my 9yr old nephew on a pipeline day, a long summer pipeline day. Late morning after him doing excellent at mainline at 100' and pretty dang good with an assisted collection field I took throttle and trim and he wheeled it on in a PA-12 from the back; I was pretty impressed.
 
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