hey my name is Mac from Maryland and i recently got my first car a 1988 RX7 GTU. then a friend got me into the local street/drag racing scene in my area and I'm now hooked only because I'm pretty good and won a few dollars. But i know very little about cars and racing and now i want to become a serious street/professional racer. So if there are any racers willing to work with and take a very passionate and enthusiastic guy under their wing pleas hit me up and help me out cause I'm way too serious about this.

 

The first step in getting serious about racing is to get off the street. Racing has no place there. People who race on public roads are morons.

What sort of racing are you interested in looking at? Drag? Oval? Road Course? There are opportunities in all these.

-bill

 

i'm interested in drag, road course, and drifting

 

by the way my main focuse for this post was to see if there was anyone out there willing to help a 19 year old break into professional racing. i only talk about street racing cuz that where i got my start n sparked a want to race but trust me i quckly relized i would would be better off doing the pro/semi pro thing cuz the streets are way too risky. beside i get my thrill from going fast not doing something illegal

 

Want to go Pro.?
Get experience AND win races in the class of your choice.
Advertise yourself, dont be shy or humble.
Suck up and get to know people.
Or buy yourself a seat in a racecar for a season, but I doubt you will afford that

 

Question
How do you make a small fortune racing?

Answer
Start with a big one

Basically you need to figure out what type of racing you want to do. Build a car to meet an entry level class specs (i.e. Improved Touring). Race it every chance you get, including HPDE's, Open track auto crosses etc. Plan to spend 2-3 years learning to race and paying your own way. If road racing is your choice and you mastered Improved Touring, then you can move up to Production or GT racing, and start running National events. Plan to spend another 2-3 years and at least 2-4 times the money you spent on IT racing. (To give you an idea we spent approx $700 a weekend to go IT racing and approx $1700+ a weekend to go A Sedan racing if nothing major breaks).The cars alone if you build from scratch will be $$$. It seems most GT3-GT2 cars are in the 100k range to build, plus the R&D. If you prove you can run with the big boys of ameture racing you can start looking at paying for rides in "Pro" series events. At this point you might be able to find a personal sponsor to help with the costs of racing.

The other thing you need to think about is how you represent yourself. You should consider everybody you talk to and comunicate with as a potential sponsor or link to a pontential sponsor. Even on a forum like this it is important. The grammar and spelling you have used would turn off a sponsor. Always conduct yourself professionally. I almost forgot one important piece of information. Start with a big fortune

Good luck,
E

 

Man - it seems like I have answered this post about evry six weeks from somebody! Is there a search feature anymore?

Seriously - For every kid that played catch with his dad in the back yard, one out of ten actually plays on any regular basis in little league. At each succeeding level of little league, at least two teams combine to form one out of the best players who then go on. At the top level of little league, perhaps one out of ten gets an opportunity to play junior high school ball. Somewhere between two and four junior highs funnel into one high school so that measn only one out of four goes on to play high school ball. After high school, perhaps one out of ten goes on to play any level of college with the gross majority playing at the junior college and small four year level where their carreers will end. One out of 100 goes to an actual division one school where they will play at a level high enough to even get noticed by the pros. From there, probably one out of 100 makes it to the double A level without getting weeded out. One out of 100 of those will actually see even a single inning of Major League baseball.

There are fewer opportunities to become a pro racer in this country BY FAR than making a living playing professional baseball. If you are 19 and someone doesn't already know about you, it probably isn't going to be you. Ever think about making a legitimate name in respected and sanctioned amateur racing before requesting a pro ride?

 

best way to get into racing(without your mom or dad paying for it)? is go to college major in business and marketing, while in college put together a racing business plan and spent the rest of your life trying to convince corporations to fund your business plan. Second best way. go to college learn something, get a good job, make enough disposable income to finance your racing yourself(like most of the rest of us). Lastly, there is always the lottery(just about every state has one). If you want to get your feet wet and hope for the best, VOLUNTEER. Racers are always in a money pinch and free help is never rejected. If you want to learn what it takes go to an event make some friends and offer to do anything and I mean ANYTHING. You and anyone else is invited to come to any event I race at and help. I can't and won't promise anything else, but this is the only budget way to get into racing. Good luck and don't be afraid to just say hi when your at the track. College is still the best bet though.

 

At 19 you are already passed your prime. Buy a Playstation

 

Most pros get their start in childhood doing carts. Fernando Alonso and Schu both got started with carts. Look at doing it for the enjoyment, not for a career.

 

Great analogy.

I think the mistake people make is assuming that there's nothing other than Pro Racing. There's a hell of a lot more amateur stuff out there where the racing is just as great and the drivers get the same enjoyment but everyone is spending their own dollar rather than someone else's. If someone truly wants to go racing they will find a way. Every famous driver I know has the stories of working 2 jobs and living with four other drivers in a tiny apartment just so they could scrape enough money up to pay themselves into a ride. The good drivers sometimes attract financing along the way but that is very rare.

 

Another possibility that the original poster may want to consider is getting into racking from the machanical side. It's a little dicey, but if you love to work on cars then you may want to look at some of the various automotive programs at both the community college as well as four-year programs.

Mechanical Engineering at say somewhere like Michigan State might position yourself well in the automotive industry. Two year local programs can at least give you a leg up and get you connected with the local racing teams.

If you are interested in road racing, the look up the SCCA schedule, go to some races and talk to the guys in the paddock. Ask questions, volunteer to help. This will probably get you more contacts than anything else.

Good luck,

 

I can recomend doing a Claude Rouelle 3 day motorsport seminar.


www.motec.com.au/rouelle.htm

 

Go autocrossing. Get on yahoo and search for a scca autocross near you.

Show up early in the morning and tell someone you are new and ask them to walk you through the process.

It is a cheap way to find out just exactly what your car's prep level and your driving level is compared to a good driver/car combo. If you can't beat weekend racers who do it as a hobby, then you have a ways to go.

 

Yes, definitely check into AutoX first. You can race what you brought, no matter what mods you do or don't have. Just jump in and get your feet wet. Don't wait twenty years like I did...

 

Once you get comfortable at autocross and pretty good at it, kart racing is the next most affordable way to go racing and gain the skills you need. At 19, you can still recover from crashes. Lots of fun, about $100 to $150 (gas, tires, maintenance, transport, food, etc.) a weekend if there is a track close by.

Wheel to wheel car racing is expensive, and you have to be of the mindset that you can roll your vehicle into a ball of scrap metal, and be OK with it. If you are not wealthy, then I say go kart racing and get good at it, get your education, get a good job where you can afford to race cars.

The prime age for getting into racing is when you are 10 or 12 in karts, and then get the attention of folks willing to fund you as you move up the ladder. At this point, you will likely need to find a sugar daddy, a rich uncle, or fund yourself until you can attract a sponsor.

 

If you win the LOTTO, that would help.

 

It's easier to become a fighter pilot than it is an F1 driver