Anyone belong to SCCA?

[Dtrigg]

I am thinking about buying a Formula Ford or a Formula V, specifically for vintage racing. I realize I have to get my ticket to drive. My questions are regarding where should I go to school, what do regional SCCA groups provide, etc.

Also, any thoughts regarding renting a car versus purchasing a car? Yes, I understand it's not possible to rent a ventage versus a preped car.

P.S. My wife thinks I am nuts, so I thought renting would be a better bet than purchasing. Again, the costs of rental versus ownership is a consideration.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Or. perhaps I should bump this post to another formum, but I like the broad perspective of "Off Topic".

 

[Ponyboy]

Kudos for taking the step. The SCCA schools will provide licensing or some instruction on what you need to develop in case your performance isn't up to their standards yet. From what I understand, you can get this licensing in any race car that meets established SCCA criteria.

I think renting a car is great for getting your "race legs" underneath you and it's cheap since you don't have to worry about it after your rental time is done. In addition, you'll have that much more time to find the right deal on the vintage car of your choice.

You may also want to check out the SCCA forums as well.

Good luck!

 

[Jason Weaver]

Shawn,
You are correct, you can attend a SCCA licensing school with any SCCA race car with current logbook. You will need to join SCCA, have a current physical / medical exam and then apply for a novice permit.

In a SCCA licensing school weekend I think renting a car is an excellent choice for a couple of reasons. The car has to be 100% reliable, you need to complete all the sessions to get your required track time to complete the school / licensing requirements. Most rentals come with track support and this just makes it that much easier to concentrate on nothing but driving. It's rigerous enough as it is w/ out having to look after your car, classroom sessions, meeting with instructors, etc. It's doable, but I can imagine having someone there who takes care of everything would be the way to go. If you do take your own car, as I did, make sure you have a good "crew" with you, it's not humanly possilble to do it without help there. Just my .02 from someone who has "been there done that".

If you can catch a double school weekend you can fufill your requirements in one LONG weekend vs two. A little tougher on the body and the car, but nice to do it all in one weekend. Just check on the SCCA site to see what is scheduled, etc.

Here is a link to the SCCA club racing website, if you haven't been there yet, great place to get you started. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

http://www.scca.org/Club/Club.asp?IdS=01CF92-B9A4A50&x=030|010&~=

 

[Jason Weaver]

FYI,
Looks like the next double school in your area is at Willow Springs:

10/02/04
Cal Club Double Regional/Double Driver School
Willow Springs International Raceway
Cal Club
Sue Cannon 562-693-4118

 

[Jason Weaver]

Doug,
Just realized you are moving to Raleigh! My bad! Shoot me a PM if you would like to chat more about the SCCA licensing process.

 

[kenjiMR]

I am taking the Driving Concepts racing school the first week of September. It qualifies you for provisional competition license for NASA races, after some NASA races, you can apply for SCCA license as well I believe. Check out the Driving Concepts website for details. I am taking hte licensing so I can compete in Honda Challenge.