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Info on road racing?

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fourgsixthree33

10+ Year Contributor
1,244
45
Oct 25, 2010
Athens, Pennsylvania
I want to get into road racing with a dsm. I plan to build a dsm just for that purpose. Thing is, i am a total newb to this and know nothing about it. I would like to do something similar to what RRE does. Not auto cross! High speeds, on a road coarse, with other cars. Not time attack stuff.

How do i start? I need as much info as i can get. I live in PA, near philly and harrisburg. What tracks can i race at? What classes are there?

I have raced dirt modifieds all my life so i am not a newb to racing or setting up a car nor am i a newb to dsms. Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
The way to get started in road racing is HPDE events from NASA. You don't need to have anything special to run these events. You'll gain knowledge about how to drive and how your car handles.

I'm from the same area (car's in Mechanicsburg and I live in Downingtown) and the closest tracks to us are Summit Point in WV and NJMP in NJ. Other tracks are BeaveRun in Pittsburgh, VIR in VA, the Pocono track, and Watkins Glen in NY.

If you really want to do it competitively, you'll want to download the NASA's CCR as that will have all the rules, classes, etc.


And obviously read as much as you can on here.
 
Thanks for the quick replys. I forgot to mention i have read the "road racing faq" thread that ludacris made. Very helpful.

I am interested in going to an open track day. Just wasnt sure where to go.

Do you have a link to the NASA CCR download?
 
I'd say start out at Summit Point, as it's the closest and most affordable. I really want to go to NJMP (it's only a couple years old and looks like a lot of fun), but I can't justify spending $550+ just on registration for the weekend. Summit Point is only about $325 for the weekend.

NASA CCR


For more info, anytime I consider/do a mod, I cross check NASA's CCR, SCCA's ProSolo rules, Redline TA rules, and NASA Time Trials rules. This way if I want to participate in any of them, I can. Most of the rules are the same/very similar (e.g. Redline TA rules are the same as NASA's CCR).
 
Lapping day - usually you go with a car club (Porsche, for example) and just get open track time. No instruction. Sometimes they allow you to run as much as you want, sometimes they split the track time with other groups and give you so many 20 minute sessions.

Time attack - competitive racing (not wheel to wheel) that you have to pass through all HPDE levels (1-4) to be eligible.

Road racing (assuming HPDE type) - a few (typically 3) 20 minute sessions with an instructor while you're a noob (HPDE 1 and 2). Then once you get to levels 3 and 4 you are allowed to go on your own and sometimes take ride alongs. They also open up passing rules as you move up so you get closer to actual wheel to wheel racing.
 
^^Thanks! This sounds great. I am really excited to begin my Road Racing "career". I can't stop watching videos of Road Racing DSM's. RRE has some good videos. Anyone on here have videos?

I think it will be a little more fun building a car that has to handle high speed turns and not just going fast in a straight line for a few seconds. Drag racing is fun too, but different.
 
Turning is a lot more fun to me than just going in a straight line :hellyeah:

There's a road racing section on this site:
DSM Forums - Road Racing

Gixxerdrew's videos:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/152056911-post606.html
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/151878549-post427.html
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/151815692-post267.html

eclipsegsx1736 video:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/152879410-post126.html


I'd recommend starting to watch videos of the track(s) you'll be most likely to drive. I watched videos of Summit Point for a week or two before my HDPE event. This way I could get a head start on the track layout and start to get a feel of where the line is. I think this helped me a lot, as by the middle of the first session out, my instructor stopped telling/correcting me on my line, but instead started to nitpick on things like entry angle, hitting the apex (sometimes I was just a bit too soon or too late), throttle control in and out of a turn, etc. Every once in a while when I took the line wrong, he'd remind me where I should have been.

Here's a great read through of someone describing a fast lap at Summit Point. I paged through this the other day, but haven't gotten the chance to read it all yet. Seems like some really good stuff though.
A Hot Lap of Summit Point Raceway
 
Lapping is only $60 / day here in Atlantic Canada. Time Attack is $120 / day, and Road Racing is $350 / day. Guess we got it lucky!
That's about the same cost as the NASA events in Colorado... I'm going to miss those low prices. It's quite a bit more expensive here in Norcal. But the tracks are better.
 
Great links! I'm not sure which track to go to. I know Pocono wouldn't be a far drive at all. Watching videos of the track I would race at would definitely be a great idea. I do know that I want to figure out which track costs less for the "lapping day" or "open track day".

I also know I want to go to a track with a daily driven DSM and get some track time so I know how this stuff works. I don't want to build a car for something I have never done before.
 
Mine is not running yet. Just rebuilt the engine and ran into complications with a relationship that put things on hold. Talon was at a friends who was mad at me so he pulled the engine out of my car. Loooong story.

But yea, I will definitely just take a DD regardless of what kind of car it is. I will be buying a new DSM here soon.
 
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