First offical race under my belt
 

Well, today I finally made my "first offical road race"........went to a two day driving school a couple of weeks ago and found out I did not know half as much about road racing as I thought I did.........................Have been to six or eight "open track" events also,so I have a little seat time..........

Now back to the race,my 65 Mustang is NOT finished,so I used a "track car",1980 or so Porsche 914,worn out some years ago,but a good learner car,safe and nimble,just NO power.........

After the first practice session, 20 cars in my group (I was the slowest),almost all 911s-928s-944s,a couple of drivers came by to offer some advise,told me I was too courteous on track and should hold my line when being overtaken,they said let the other guy get around where ever he wants to,o-k,second session did a lot better and got a little faster,qualifying went well,still knew I was the slowest,but three drivers and two corner workers told me I did a lot better,race went well also,finsihed 3rd in class out of 5 cars and 13th out of 17 cars in my run group, not great but I felt I did o-k considering everything...............After everything was said and done I had 5 drivers willing to "sign off' for my full competition license,only need three,so I must have done something right..............now I have a full comp. license and not a provisional one,stayed on track,did not do any grass cutting or dirt work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One thing I learned realllllll quick,when it comes to all out racing,most of those guys out there are just plane CRAZY,they were sideways ALL the time,in the grass,in the dirt,and one or two in the tire wall..........I was not driving my own car so I did take a little extra care of someone else's car,I probably would have driven my own car a little harder.........

Another thing,THERE IS NOTHING LIKE WHEEL TO WHEEL RACING on a 1.8 mile,14 turn road course,I thought to myself on the start of the qualifying session when we were 20 cars in all,2 rows of ten,I was 17th,started the session on a short chute between turns 9 and 10,when they dropped the green flag and we all took off,I thought what the HELL am I doing here,but after a lap or two I felt real comfortable with the car and other drivers and drove my little cajun butt for all I could............

Just thought I share my Sunday with everyone...........
Next time out,my 65 Mustang should be ready and that group "only" has about 10 to 12 cars,should be a blast............

David

David,
Congrats. Maybe in a few years, I'll be able to give that a shot. For now, still just trying to put my open track car together.

So when's the next race?? :D

Steve

Steve;

This track runs a 6 race series,3 races in the spring and 3 in the fall,this was the 3rd spring race and the next one is not until the first weekend in October.........

That should give me time to finish my car and get in a few practice sessions to "shake it down"............

Open track is fun and I enjoy it and will do some more,but it does not prepare you for wheel to wheel racing,I do not think anything can get you ready for that,you just have to experience it first hand,a little scary at first,but after a while you get somewhat comfortable with the guys you are racing with and hope they are comfortable with you...........

Hope you get your car together soon and on track.......build a good dependable motor and have fun,the most hp doesn't always win,good suspension/tires/driving is better than a ton of hp...........

Now I know what those NASCAR guys do every weekend and admire them for that,they run 3 to 4 hour races,we ran 15 minute practices and qualifying and a 20 minute race and I was glad to see the checkered flag,I can not imagine doing that for a couple of hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

David

On a side note at the track this weekend.........saw a semi-retired 70 year old veterinarian that practiced about 5 miles from my home town,he was racing his Porsche 928,did very well,in fact he kicked butt,but here's the "kicker".............this guy started out racing Sprites in the early 60's,then in 1965 he bought a Mustang GT-350 and road raced it for 2 seasons,then sold it and bought a 427 Cobra (I know the CSX #,but out of respect for the present owner I'll keep it to myself),raced it for 3 seasons,he was the soutwest champ 2 out of the 3 years he raced the car,third year he had too many mechanical failures............the last race he ran was at Riverside and after blowing the engine he sold the car right there.......had not been in a race car since 1970,now he lives 30 minutes from the track and has a couple of Porsches and 3 old Mercedes.........he got the "bug" again and went to a one day driving school at the track and the instructor told me within 5 laps he was trying to get him to slow down,then "Doc" told him of his past racing exploits and the instructor "turned him loose".......

He finished 1st in class and 9th overall (20 cars),at the awards after the races,the head honcho told everyone that this guy that just kicked their butts was 70 years old,he then got a standing ovation,but,they still DO NOT know about his early years,he's very modest and will not talk about unless you ask,they once he gets going he tells some great stories.............

I was right behind him going into the first turn on the first lap of the feature race,he was passing two cars,when the middle car did not see him and crowded him up against the wall,he backed off a little and missed the first turn completely,cut across the grass,grass and dirt flying everywhere,car made 2 big bounces,he grabbed a gear,kept it straight as an arrow,re-entered the track and did not lose much ground,afterwords when he and I were laughing about his "off-road excursion",he told me it only took him another lap to catch those 2 bozos and pass them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a pleasure to watch this guy run and run as well as he did for a stock car,he drove it from his house to the track and raced the hell out of it and drove it home and outran a lot of race cars that are not road legal,he said next time he comes back to the track the car will have better suspension and will be a lot lighter...........

He also told me his highest ever recorded trap speed in the Cobra was 172 mph on a track in Texas..............Hope I'm in half as good fo shape at 70 as he is................

David

Way to go David!

Real racing is the only way to go!

Good story Dave and just proves you don't have to give up racing when you get a little older.
If I could afford to real race I would be doing that but since I can't I'll have to settle for Open Track. Still better than sitting in a lawn chair next to a shined up replica racer telling everbody how fast it is or how fast I used to be.

At least at the track nobody cares if it's real or replica.

Good luck with your racing.

RD

Dave you said you participated in a two day driving school. Can you give me more info on this. I too would like to give a try to racing some day.

DrC, Check right here,

http://www.apexperformancedriving.com/beaverun.htm

Perfect track for beginners and you can bring your street car just to get a feel for the track. And it's in your state.

RD

David,

Great news, glad you enjoyed it.


Dr C, hook up with the Crankoids for some fun.

"We ain't many and we ain't few....
...you party with us, we'll party with you!"

DrC;

The track here in Louisiana is No Problem Raceway,quite a "nice" story behind the name,I'll devugle it later..........

There are a couple of Porsche and BMW clubs in Louisiana and the Porsche Club of New Orleans puts on about three or four 2-day drivings schools per year at the track,always a saturday/sunday deal.......very nice,they serve you dinner both days and supper the saturday nite,usually a BBQ.....

They brake down all participants into 4 or 5 groups depending on the number of people attending,this also goes by your experience or lack there of,the drivers in the first two "novice" groups (me) are assigned an instuctor for the weekend and you do not get on track without your instructor sitting in the car with you ( you bring your own car,any car will do),they also have intercom/headsets for communications between student and driver,very helpful........the school consisted of 2, 20 to 30 minute on track sessions in the morning and the same after lunch,with classroom instuction in between......... I figure I logged just over 100 laps in those two days,quite a lot really.........My instuctor was very nice and very helpful,he told me when I did something wrong and when I did it right and told me how to do it the right way,ever car and driver is different so he offered advise on different approches to turns for my car (65 Mustang),quite different from the 944 he drives and races..........

This school was $250.00 for the two days and I think that is very reasonable considering what some of the other schools charge,track time was plenty,in fact,by sunday afternoon I was wishing we actually had LESS track time,I was worn out.....I learned that I did NOT know half what I thought I knew about road racing and I DO plan to attend again with my race car once it is completed,that's how good I thought the school was............

The whole weekend was run very professionally with plenty of track personel there including ambulance/EMT,tow truck,just in case.........This paticular track has a very nice air conditioned drivers lounge/classroom along with showers,so the facilities are first rate.........

I'd suggest you check and see if there are any Porsche clubs near by as this may be a common thing with them,I'm not sure,but they did have an agenda they followed,so it seemed to me they may do this all over........The track time and school did count toward m competion license and most tracks/licensing will let you use schools like this towards a comp. license..........

Even if you do not plan to race,it's good to get out there and learn the basics of high speed driving,you'll enjoy it and learn to drive fast at your own rate..............


Pat/Cranky; thanks,your right,I love open tracking and will continue to do it,racing is and can get expensive real quick,and NO body cares what you drive as long as you and your car are SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cranky,I thought the older you get the faster you get,at least that's what your supposed to tell people......:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: ;) ;) ;)

David