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Snooze

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Recently, my Dad and I went to learn how to drive our new Mustang. We thought it was a good idea to learn what the car can do and to tell you the truth, 600+ horsepower is a bit scary to drive. We signed up with the VARA group in LA and drove at Buttonwillow raceway. The whole weekend was unbelievable.



Our first day was spent doing track tours, the skid pad, and slalom courses to learn what the car was capable of. At the end of the first day, we were able to race with one passing zone on the east side.



I was absolutely amazed on how well the car would handle. I thought I new what thresholds cars were capable of, but doing this really opened up my eyes. We would enter some turns at 40 mph and accelerate through rhythm sections exiting at 100!! I still sit here at my desk and shake my head.



The car was to fast for itself as well. Dad and I were loosing traction in 4th gear and 90 mph. I could only get myself to go 115 on the long strait away, Dad claimed 140 :). He had a bit more confidence since it was his car.



For anyone that has a car (and does not have to be a sports car) and wants to learn how to really turn, you should enter yourself into some racing lessons. I now feel really good behind any steering wheel and especially behind the wheel of the Mustang.



Well, the story of the whole weekend is way to long to post, so I thought I would give an intro and some pics to let you guys see what I got to do with my dad. :) It was a Priceless weekend.



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Cool deal man,



I was wondering when we were going to see them !!!!



Todd Z
 
Nice you did a HPDE car conrol clinic! That is how the wife and I started. Two years later and we have 10 races and 45 track days under our belts.



Now get rid of the blue tape you rookie! Paint protection film is your friend. Your the car I like to run off line to kick all the debris on to...LOL
 
way cool,When I bought my Roush the wife gave two edicts (she will not ride in the car)

Get more life insurance and take a driving course.

Did thunderhill in Aug and infinion is sept, not cheap but learned alot.

Have you Modded your extreame? With the factory upgrades they come in at 550 bhp.

620 RWHP would be around 730 bhp, nice ride.
 
Dad and I thought the bluetape made us look cool <--rookies :) You could say we were a bit paranoid about getting nicks and dings. We decided to put the tape on even though we have clear vinyl over the front bumper, valance, and all other contact areas behind the tires.



We were also getting hooked on driving on a track, but we swore that we were doing it just to learn the car and not get hooked racing. (We still talk about "racing" and passing people. haha). Dad wants to get an old mustang and race in the vintage classes, but the money is to overwhelming to race.



Oh ya, remember that 620 rwhp is an estimate after all the work we did to it. We need to go to a dyno. I am only stating what the shop told us it should be putting to the ground. I am sure it is going to be less. Also, since it is a build number below ten, this car was a press car and driven by Steve Saleens daughter. It was also the test car given to the chief editor of Rob Report in..the October issue I think? We bought this car directly from Molly Saleen. We then found out after we bought the car that Saleen modified the car to impress whoever drove it, so we already had a car that was performing way past the posted specs on the 06 Saleens. We were very fortunate. You could say we were in the right place and the right time when we found this car. It is very hard to get a build number below 10.

 
Racing doesn't have to be <i>that</i> expensive. About $30,000 will get you a long way with certain cars, and this is counting buying a trailer, several sets of wheels/tires, and spares.
 
"it doesn't have to be a sports car"....though I'm sure it helps.



I'm supremely confident that my lesabre would get laughs there.....though I'm also confident that she'd be the biggest vehicle there.....



Uhhh, yeah...I've got Infinite rwhp! 1 set of wheels divided by infinity=0 lol.



The foot brake would become my best friend....no powerslides for me.



But hey, instead of leaving a smoke trail on a burnout, I drive _out_ of my own smoke cloud, who else can say that?



(Looking at the pics and the course itself, I'm not so sure on your comment about what cars to bring...)



Something like this would be kind of cool, if I could get past my stereotyping of these clinics and they were actually around here. You'd think that something of everything would be located around our Capital, but no....
 
Yes, Bill, including the car. You'd be surprised what you can get for little money, Particularly when you'll be turning it into a racer anyway...high-mileage cars with blown motors, slightly damaged, missing parts, etc., etc. all are perfect candidates for racers. Since you'll be replacing all those parts anyway, it doesn't matter the condition of them anyway. Heck, I only paid $400 for my car, and it was complete and only needed a decked head to work.
 
Tiger

Take a car with a blown moter, build a motor that can compete on a SCCA sanctioned road course.

Add all the saftey equipment required by the SCCA,Than pass the inspections.

Set of track tires and rims,Snell rated helmit and gloves.

30K will not get you a win, nor even be able to run with the big dawgs:)
 
I beg to differ. It all depends on what class you intend to run in. There are some classes that limit motor build-up, saving quite a bit of money. You can accomplish safety for less then $2500. About $800 for a 6-point cage, $500 for a good seat and harness (both SFI/FIA aprroved), $400 for a fire system, then the rest in a helmet and 2-layer suit plus underwear. Not to mention I'm building a racer and have ran all the numbers and I'm not even up to $18K. Granted, I'm missing a few parts, but does include a new motor and transmission, build up of the motor, all new suspension components, etc, basically only thing remaining stock would be the body shell and dash, as required by rule.



Racing isn't cheap, but it doesn't have to be expensive either. There are plenty of classes by different sanctioning bodies that are designed with budgets in mind.
 
Tiger,



I have a friend that races SCCA. He says it takes lots of money to race.



Since you are well versed in racing, what class do you race in?





Tom
 
I know several people that have moved over to NASA / American Iron series. They have moved mostly due to BS and politics that permeates SCCA.
 
To have a race prepped car, to run SCCA events, with the entent to win races, you will need to spend 30K x2, at a minimum, or you can put a 30K program together, and just go out and have fun.
 

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