im kinda in the middle of nowhere, about an hour north of philadeplhia. i was thinking maybe finding a track or something to practice on, or better yet someone to teach me, would improve my driving more then what im willing to spend on parts right now. im leaning more towards road racing even though it seems more expensive and harder on the car. i think once i develop a racing style, i can better choose my suspension, camber angles and oversteer/understeer, those sorts of things.

 

What your looking for is a High Performace Drivers Education, HPDE, event. As a novice an instructor will ride along with you and give you pointers and hopefully keep you out of trouble. One organization that puts these on nation wide is the National Auto Sport Association, NASA. Check out there web site and a good explanation of a HPDE here.

 

http://www.drivingevents.com/resources/tracks.html

Bob

 

Geez... Wish I was in that area. You've got Pocono, Lime Rock and Watkins Glen all in striking distance...

Yeah, NASA is a good place to start.

 

pocono is about 1 1/2 hours away, watkins glen i'd spend most of the day on the road then on the track, and i dont even want to think about lime rock. if i got really competitive i might not mind having to drive that far though, i just dont have the time cuz i work non-stop for low pay so the nasa thing is like $35 for memebership i think it said, what other expenses will i encounter after that?

 

Track fees vary by track from anywhere from $100 (Nelsons Ledges near Akron OH) to Lime Rock at $225 per day. One of the nice things about NASA is that after you get enough seat time and demonstrate to the organizers that you're a decent driver with good track manners, you can become an instructor. As an instructor, your fee is $0 (and you get the same amount of track time as a paying customer) and the only cost to you is that you get less "down time" between runs because you are riding with/talking to your student. Took the instructor's clinic and served as an instructor this year. I am pretty happy with the situation.

Cheap hotels can be found in decent proximity to all of these tracks (as low as $35, I'd guess).

Remember, your expense is not limited to the entrance fees. You'll wear your tires and brake pads very quickly as well. Even so, I'd recommend that you give one track day a try and see what it's about. Experience is the best teacher.

 

come on out to Lime Rock this next Monday and see what it's all about. It won't cost you anything to get in, I'll give you a ride, on track & at speed, then you can decide where you want to go with it.

Mike

 

To get experience, I highly suggest doing a drivers school or three with the Genessee Valley BMWCCA. They have weekend schools at Watkins Glen a few times a year, and have very good instruction, considering it's all track junky volunteers like the rest of us. Cost was around $250 for the weekend. I also run with EMRA (www.emraracing.org) for the time trials (Pocono courses, Watkins Glen, LimeRock, Nazareth, etc). Cost was $135 for the day, which usually has 3-4 25 minute sessions in the morning with an instructor, until you demonstrate that you're a safe and aware driver, and we sign you off. Personally, I like when someone (new or experienced) rides with me, since a fresh viewpoint is good for improving, and asking questions lets you think about why you're doing certain things. We just had a time trial at LRP last Friday (75 deg & sunny!!!) that went very well. The north east has tons of racing & track time available, so no excuses

 

sounds like i have pleanty of options, but i may wait until the spring i work like ever damn day and now some kids are quiting so i have to work midnights to pick up the slack for a while but i definelty need to get out and try it i think.

mike thats a kind offer but im not sure what im doing monday, but even if i was free i'd need a lot of motivation to drive that far