Katfish

I was looking at going to Sebring Raceway to do a track day. The website mentions it is required to have a SCCA license.

Any info from you guys that have done this would be greatly appreciated.

Not looking to be a full time racer, just take the car out to see what it (and I) can do.

What kind of process and cost am I looking at?

Thx

Ronin38

Check with the club hosting that track day... I've been to several track days (mostly SCCA-run, PDX events) and none of them required an SCCA license... ? Could that be for the Advanced run group, maybe?

Do you have a link with the track day information? I would be happy to double-check it for you.

Katfish

Here's what I'm looking at:

http://www.sebringraceway.com/club_events.lasso

UPCOMING SCCA OPEN TEST DAYS
You don't need to be entered for the SCCA weekend to participate
You must have either a current SCCA National or Regional Competition LicenseNO Pre Registrartion - Just sign up & pay while registration is Open.
Cash, checks & credit cards

slidejob

You will need to join the SCCA & go through the school process for open practice. Or go through a private school like Skip Barber. There are plenty of track days by private clubs that do not require a license. Contact the track & get the schedule of club events.

Ronin38

^ What he said.

An "Open Test Day" is NOT a "track day" where you can drive your regular street car. It's a day for racers to test and tune their race cars for an upcoming competition.

Katfish

Thx for the replies,

Any ideas on what a school like Ship Barber would cost?

slidejob

http://www.skipbarber.com/?gclid=CPr...Fc9w5Qod9UA2Ig

I'm guessing that to come away with an SCCA regional license from Skippy is going to be a few grand. You'll train in formula cars & Miata's, quite different from your mustang. If your not planning to race your better off putting that $$$ into your car & have an instructor teach you for free at the club track day events. Most clubs have instructors that will tutor newbies. It's in everyone's interest to have a safe day at the track, so I would inquire about instruction. I instructed for years & have made great friends from doing so, plus all the free track time.

Bob99b5

I went to Bondurant in 2004 and the cost for the course was about $3K for the class at that time. I passed for an SCCA license but never bothered getting it. The Bondurant class was so much fun and completely worth every penny!

slidejob

Do you remember the Cobra Vics at Bondurant?

I just bought one of them!

tr6nut

If you have your heart set on running at Sebring, it would be easier and cheaper to run an SCCA PDX or NASA HPDE. These allow you to run your street car and only require a helmet. Here's are a couple of links for info:

http://www.drivenasafl.com/speed/con...event-schedule

http://www.scca.com/contentpage.aspx?content=37

Chin Motorsports also runs open track events at Sebring:

http://www.chinmotorsports.com/

wjones14

True. The Skip Barber course is serious training. I wouldn't say it's not worth it however. The knowledge you gain from it would be something that you'd keep for the rest of your life. And proper driving technique is almost surely going to give you quicker lap times than $1000 worth of mods.

But it's also true that you can learn a lot from instructors at club track day events. I have been to four such events, and all the instructors were incredibly good. The club I went with has former IndyCar driver Bill Prout as the classroom instructor, and the in-car instructor I had last August at Watkins Glen was Kim Baker. Kim raced in the NASCAR Nationwide event at the Glen in the late '90s, coming in 2nd in 1997 and winning the race in 1998. With that quality of instruction, you can learn quickly at track days.

Katfish

Thanks for the info. I just paid the $50 yearly fee for Chin. They have an event in April I'm going to try and get to.

SilverHorse-----Racing

You will probably also want to get on the Central Florida Region SCCA website and poke around as well. Most of what has been said above is correct, so I won't repeat it all. SCCA is a great club, and everyone involved are all volunteers, so they are there because they want to be - always good to remember when attending an event.

That said, there are less expensive ways to a competition license, but you still need 2 school weekends to get your novice permit, then 4 club races in a year to get a regional competition license. You can rent a car from a lot of car prep houses like Robinson or others (or buy our #93 SilverHorse Racing race car!) for a lot less than Skip or Bondurant (although they are both excellent schools), and go to SCCA schools in region. A national license requires at least 6 in one year, and both require minimum race attendance every year to keep it. But if you're just looking to have some fun with your street car, as has been mentioned above you don't "need" a competition license.

But... remember a very old rule of racing, and one that should be mentioned for anyone attending a "open track" day...

Never put anything on the track that you aren't able to afford to walk away from.

Because once it's on the track, there are way too many things that can happen that are outside of your control (and some that are but everyone makes mistakes) and so you need to understand that while most of the people attending these events walk away with big smiles on their faces, I have seen firsthand the results of when people get in over their heads, or they have an equipment failure, so just be aware that this is an outside possibility, and your insurance will not cover the damage / loss. So if it's not paid off, or you've got too much in it to walk away from it in the case of a total loss, I would think twice before putting it on the track - just a little does of reality.

Coming from someone who has hit the wall at Sebring, Daytona, Savannah, West Palm, and others over the years, and have all the dents, dings, and balled-up cars to prove it. Just trying to keep others from making all the same mistakes I did!

slidejob

OUCH!!

tr6nut

There are companies that provide insurance for track event damage/write off. They don't cover every event and it's not cheap (depending on worth of car, budget $300-500), but it's worth looking into if you want to run an event and this is a concern to you. $500 isn't cheap, but it's cheaper than $40K.

Katfish

Yeah, way to throw some fear into me. j/k I appreciate the advice.

slidejob

I think you will find that most track days end up with very few cars, if any, being damaged. Don't let the "red mist" get you, drive within yourself & the car. Go through the process as a rookie & you should be fine.

Now, if your going to do competitive side by side racing, your going to crash & I assume that is what silerhorseracing is talking about.

SilverHorse-----Racing

Having been a SCCA instructor at schools where I saw cars get balled up on Saturday morning practice sessions (first run group of the weekend after instructor ride-arounds) I can tell you that it can happen, sometimes all alone out there, nobody else involved. My intent was not to scare anyone away from it, as it is the most fun you will ever have with your clothes on, but more to the point, be aware that things can happen, be it driver error, mechanical failure, etc.. all of which create a situation that can end up destroying a car. Having seen all different levels of track safety, I would highly recommend SCCA, as their corner workers are second to none, but other events I've seen have been well staffed as well, to the point where I have always felt safer on the race track than on the tow to and from the track.

Slidejob is right, probably 95-99% of cars that start an event go home no worse for wear, but I was just pointing out that you could always be the 1%, and should at least be mentally prepared for the possibility. So long as you understand the risks and costs involved and are willing to accept them, welcome to the club