Does anyone know of competitive racing organizations in the Midwest? I live in the Chicago suburbs and do not mind traveling within reason, but i want to compete with my car. I have a 2010 Mini cooper S hardtop. I ran with Midwestern Counsel Sports Car Club this past 2012 season and had a blast and did pretty well against the competition. But i want more than just a ribbon and i do Not want to drive around parking lots, i want to go out on real road tracks.

 

Find the local SCCA affiliate, they should be able to help you.

But, be aware that if you want to get on the track and race head-to-head with other cars you will need to have a roll cage, proper driving seat, 5 or 6 point harness, fire suppression, and some classes require fuel cells. Plus you will have to get a competition driving license.

It is a whole lot cheaper to stick to parking lots and HPDE days for you track time.

Just my $0.02

 

Competitive you still mean amateur?

BMWCCA has one as well but you have to pass their race school.

If you want to try for semi pro, skip barber has a racing series that the winner gets partial sponsorship. I know a person that won that series a few years back and now is fully sponsored and racing in the playboy mx5 cup.

 

Try http://www.nasaproracing.com/ as well as SCCA.

In any case, participate in HPDE's for a while at least at nearby tracks. With NASA - you can do the DE's at the same events that they run actual races at.

 

I just emailed someone from NASA yesterday to get some more info on what i need and what steps to take. By competitive i mean an organization that has contingency programs and some potential for a return. I know ill never get back what i put into the car in money but i get my moneys worth every time i get on the track! Im looking more for a program like Midwestern Council where i already run my car its the same set up as autox only on real tracks just something a little more recognised. I know it takes a lot to get to the wheel to wheel level but i want to go in that direction as soon as possible. I love doing this more than anything it's a blast! I would like to take this to the big dog level if possible but i know the process takes time and i want to take the steps to go in that direction

 

I see that you are from Chicago... You've run with Council but I am surprised that you have not run with SCCA.


Here's a link for you that will put you in touch with those within the Chicago Region SCCA that can further assist you...



Bilbo is correct and the good folks at Chicago Region SCCA will advise you on what you need to do to be able to compete on the track.

Good luck to you!

 

Thanks for the info ill email someone at SCCA today! I’m trying to work with BR racing on getting a roll cage made up now i know they made them in the past that are just bolt in no cutting or damaging the interior

 

I'm interested to hear what information you get. I'm no expert but I would think that it would be much cheaper and easier to get into something that is already built; a spec miata for instance which you could do for under $10k. Even if you could build a car yourself doing a lot of your own work it will get costly and that's just car preparation. Of course I don't know from first hand experience...just thinking out loud.

 

New to the forums so the reasons for my slow response.

I've raced W2W with both Midwestern Council and NASA since 1999. I also instruct with NASA at Midwest and Great Lakes events.

A couple comments about Road Racing:

There is no money to be made in Club type racing. You might get some contingency money from Tire manufactures or some from say Ford if you're racing a Mustang. But under no means think you can win enough to pay for your weekend racing. If you're looking for a big pay back...go to your local dirt stock car track.

No info on SCCA.

NASA is a great organization with well run HPDE and W2W programs. Value for the dollar is better than Midwestern Council. Both HPDE and TT get hours of track time during the course of a typical weekend event.

What DBoard7 is probably looking for is TT or Time Trials. This is a Timed event where cars are classed based on points. It's very competitive in NASA. Were MW Coucil gives you one lap timed runs...NASA TT is 20-30 minutes 4 or 5 times each day. There is contingency in TT similar to W2W. You'll need to work through the HPDE program or prove your experience in order to get a TT license. TT groups run open passing rules so no clowns allowed. TT classes also run at the NASA Nationals. A NASA membership and TT license will get you on track all across the U.S.

I'm planning to run my '04 MCS in TT this summer as I sold my W2W CMC Firebird last year. I've been on here looking for info on modifications that make "cents"!

Sidney

 

Sidney you hit the nail on the head, I have been looking in to NASA TT and it looks like exactly what i want. The only thing really holding me back is funding, it seems like it is significantly cheaper to run with Midwestern counsel, i know there is loss track time witch stinks but its about all i can afford as of now. I would love to get in as much driving as possible i love it! I couldn’t find exact prices for NASA but it looks like a day would be close to 500 with camping and travel where MC is around 150

 

I would also recommend NASA over SCCA. In my experience, the SCCA is a pretty stodgy group (I know this is a wild generalization, but what the hell, it's the internet) whose competitors are aging and dwindling.

 

Are the rules different for NASA as opposed to SCCA? That is do you need a full cage to run time trials in NASA? I'm building my r56 as an STX autocross/track car and eventually it will become a dedicated track car. Trying to figure out where I want to take this but time trials seems like a logical and affordable destination without going wheel to wheel, which is way out of budget's realm and probably always will be.

 

Midwest Council has a lower price but not value when you factor laps/dollar. NASA blows them away with this. Most tracks NASA races at allows over night camping...Putnum Park doesn't. NASA also feeds you Saturday night! Another thing you can do is work for NASA to offset some of the cost. Look at their website for volunteer duties that pay. Several drivers work one weekend then race for free another. Something to look at.

Sidney

 

I don't know the SCCA rules but you don't need a cage to run TT with NASA.

Sidney