Where does the track rabbit hole lead?

[Kelse92]

The rabbit hole goes very very far...
Just take whatever path suits you.
Some of us are crazy and eventually get full race cars and take them to a track every weekend and others just do the occasional DE day as a break from work/life/etc.
If your preference is in the latter camp, just work your way through DE's and get lots of instruction in car and maybe in a few years work your way up to giving back and instructing others. Some of the best instructors are neither wheel-to-wheel racers nor the fastest on track.
Take it as far as you are willing to go that makes you happy with what you're doing. It is definitely a slippery slope though! Enjoy!

[BigTuna]

I was just at Mid-Ohio with Gridlife the weekend before you. I only had only done one track day before, so I was in the beginner HPDE group. Mid-Ohio hosts tons of HPDE events throughout the year. Gridlife, AutoInterests, 10/10ths motorsports, GPS Tracktime, and usually some regional SCCA groups (Cincy SCCA had one there 8/2 this year). All have different levels you can sign up for, some to timed trials, some don't. Beginner groups always have instructors. Typically groups like PCA and BMW owners, don't discriminate on vehicles, from what I've seen.

Also check out Putnam Park, its a track near Indy. It's a bit more open and has less things to hit if you do happen to go off.

Side note: I was fortunate enough to not have any wet conditions, but Mid-Ohio is notoriously terrible when wet. They basically told us to do the opposite of the racing line everywhere.

As far as the rabbit hole, it can either swallow you whole, or you can stay at the surface, its all personal preference.

[Goingnowherefast]

AutoX -> HPDE -> Time Trials/Time Attack -> W2W

That's the general progression I think. Most people stop at time trials since you can do that with a non caged street car.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Interestingly enough I found the wet and damp sessions to be much more engaging. Sure, the dry session was fun in pushing the car more than on the street, but in the wet I really felt that I needed to control the car well and be extra focused.

Ohio Enthusiast in 2 years:



Maybe you'd be interested in giving Dirtfish rally school a go?

There are couple of BRZ stage rally cars competing in ARA and it sure looks like they're having a good time. Not something you can do with a street car though.

- Andrew

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

Ohio Enthusiast in 2 years:



Maybe you'd be interested in giving Dirtfish rally school a go?

There are couple of BRZ stage rally cars competing in ARA and it sure looks like they're having a good time. Not something you can do with a street car though.

- Andrew

Depends on if you have a set of RallyX springs...

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

Depends on if you have a set of RallyX springs...

Soon. Soon-ish.

- Andrew

[TMF]

Lots of great advice so far. If you decide to get into Time Trial, I'd recommend checking out NASA's TT program. I prefer NASA's TT program vs SCCA's or Gridlife's mainly due to the rulebook (simple and flexible options for a build that can be competitive) and the contingency programs that manufacturers offer to NASA participants. Tires are expensive, so it's nice when you can win a set! The other advantage, is that Ohio is very central to many of NASA Great Lakes events. I'm about to move back to Minnesota and I'll definitely miss the proximity to tracks that I had while here in Ohio.

I'll also note, if you're just looking for open track time, NASA Great Lake's HPDE program probably isn't your best bet. However if you want to focus on driver development, car awareness, preparing for TT or even W2W, NASA GL's program is great for that.

Have fun going down the rabbit hole, be sure to remember it is a fun hobby and don't let it stress you out, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

[Racecomp Engineering]

Oh also...highly recommend a karting league if you're curious about wheel to wheel racing. It's super fun and builds actual skills.

- Andrew

[rice_classic]

For the OP: the best way to approach your future addiction is this:

"Know Thyself"

What blows your skirt up?
Engineering/Fab work?
Risk Adverse or Risk Taker?
Super competitive, love adrenaline?
Prefer a team atmosphere and want to share a car with friends and do LuckyDog endurance racing?

Then, once you know your mental profile, you'll want to address your resource profile:
Room for tow vehicle and trailer?
Discretionary annual spending limit? $5k, $15k, $150k?
Time budget - Weekends free? Have free time to work on the car, prep it etc.?

Once you know what fills your heart with joy combined with how much resources you have to throw at it - then pick the hobby, class and car that allows you to get absolute MOST out of your resources in a sustainable way that allows you to keep doing the thing you love for years to come.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

I had my first track day on Thursday, lead-follow at Mid Ohio with the Club layout. First session was dry, then it rained quite a bit. The rain stopped by the second session, but it was still a very wet track and I managed to spin out coming out of T12 (with no harm being done). By the third session the track was starting to dry out.

Interestingly enough I found the wet and damp sessions to be much more engaging. Sure, the dry session was fun in pushing the car more than on the street, but in the wet I really felt that I needed to control the car well and be extra focused.

This leads me to think that I will enjoy improving my driving skills, so some schooling and potentially coaching is the next thing I'll be looking into.

But that begs the question - where do I proceed with the track? I don't think I'll want to do any competitive driving and especially not wheel-to-wheel racing.

This leaves tracking for leisure. Does this boil down to schools, coaching and open lapping? I know Mid Ohio School offers all of that, as well as other groups (AutoInterests was recommended to me, and I know there are plenty others that also operate in Mid Ohio). There are also car clubs (like PCA, BMW CCA, etc.) but I'm not sure if they are applicable if I don't have an appropriate car.

Am I missing anything here? What are some thoughts of more experienced track rats?

Precisely why I encourage folks to drive on lower grip, high durability, high communication tires.


Too many folks get too consumed with the "go-faster-than-him" rather than focusing on what they want to do.

Just keep doing more track days, draw up your own goals, and achieve them!

Originally Posted by Kelse92

The rabbit hole goes very very far...
Just take whatever path suits you.
Some of us are crazy and eventually get full race cars and take them to a track every weekend and others just do the occasional DE day as a break from work/life/etc.
If your preference is in the latter camp, just work your way through DE's and get lots of instruction in car and maybe in a few years work your way up to giving back and instructing others. Some of the best instructors are neither wheel-to-wheel racers nor the fastest on track.
Take it as far as you are willing to go that makes you happy with what you're doing. It is definitely a slippery slope though! Enjoy!

Very much this.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Goingnowherefast

AutoX -> HPDE -> Time Trials/Time Attack -> W2W

That's the general progression I think. Most people stop at time trials since you can do that with a non caged street car.

That's the vision that NASA sells, and one that is, imo, outdated.

The average car enthusiast nowadays can't afford to W2W, myself included.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by ls1ac

The hole leads to nirvana.

Drive your car stock until you think that you are better than the car. Then start the SLOW prosses of getting the car a little better at a time. You will learn more about the car and yourself in small steps.
Always use an instructor when you can. Have one drive your car to see how much your car can do, then ride with you to help you get there.

I wish more people *actually* did this.

So many folks get obsessed with their lap time, and just start throwing money at the car, instead of the driver.

[mike_b]

I am not a country music fan, but Garth has a great song called "Rodeo" that is applicable to many things in life

"And a broken home and some broken bones
Is all he'll have to show
For all the years that he spent chasin'
This dream they call rodeo"

Yeah, if you chase it hard enough you will end up with some scars. Some visible. Some not. I had a decently built up 2005 STi that I tracked pretty frequently in my early to mid 20s. I also had an 08 STi and 12 GT-R that I tracked. Unless you are completely financially independent or getting paid to drive for a living this hobby doesn't lead anywhere good and you really need to impose your own constraints on it. At some point you will realize you are "chasing the sun" and literally trading your life and your financial future to LARP as a "race car driver".


Edit: And before somebody comes in and says "you can have fun without wrecking your life" I will just say that I agree it is possible, but frequently does not happen that way. If you do it long enough you will know guys that total a car that they still have payments on. Or roll a car and nearly die. Or wreck their car, get divorced, go bankrupt and never are heard from again. I'm not saying that this shit 100% happens to everybody, but it is pretty common if you stick around the scene for a while. You don't want to be one of these guys pulling your wadded up car out to the main road so you can call your insurance company and tell them some story about how you "swerved to miss a deer". Everybody thinks they will know when to call it quits, but when you have 50k or more into a 25k car and the engine pops it will be VERY hard to stop yourself from continuing down that road. After all, you're already in this deep, what's another 5 or 10k to get back up and running?

[Ohio Enthusiast]

I won't reply directly to everyone, but thanks to all the replies!

Originally Posted by BigTuna

I was just at Mid-Ohio with Gridlife the weekend before you. I only had only done one track day before, so I was in the beginner HPDE group. Mid-Ohio hosts tons of HPDE events throughout the year. Gridlife, AutoInterests, 10/10ths motorsports, GPS Tracktime, and usually some regional SCCA groups (Cincy SCCA had one there 8/2 this year). All have different levels you can sign up for, some to timed trials, some don't. Beginner groups always have instructors. Typically groups like PCA and BMW owners, don't discriminate on vehicles, from what I've seen.

Great round up of groups, thanks!

Originally Posted by BigTuna

I was fortunate enough to not have any wet conditions, but Mid-Ohio is notoriously terrible when wet. They basically told us to do the opposite of the racing line everywhere.

Exactly what they told us and how the leads drove. You still go through the dry line, so the on-off-on nature of the traction is very engaging (in a good way, at least for me).

Originally Posted by rice_classic

For the OP: the best way to approach your future addiction is this:

"Know Thyself" ...

Oh yes, very much true. I think my differentiator for this is that I am very much not a competitive person. The time trials suggested by a few here might be interesting, but I don't think I'll like class restrictions at all, and if I run in an unlimited class I will be far from competitive.

Overall I don't have neither the time nor the money to invest heavily into this, and the car would remain a street DD.

I think taking some schooling/instruction is definitely the recommended next step anyway, and that's the direction I will be going.