Bro, do you even race?

Brentford

Brentford

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I'm not sure if this has been brought up, but does anyone here actually race or have at least raced before? And I don't mean go-karts at the local amusement park.
 
I remember watching the Ego Challenge at Saugus Speedway. Guys could pay a fee, sign a waiver and take their street cars out on the flat 1/3 mile track. Watched many a knucklehead toast their street cars.
 
BobbyFord said:
I remember watching the Ego Challenge at Saugus Speedway. Guys could pay a fee, sign a waiver and take their street cars out on the flat 1/3 mile track. Watched many a knucklehead toast their street cars.
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Ego :D
 
BobbyFord said:
I remember watching the Ego Challenge at Saugus Speedway. Guys could pay a fee, sign a waiver and take their street cars out on the flat 1/3 mile track. Watched many a knucklehead toast their street cars.
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I mean if my car had several hundred miles on it, I'd maybe consider doing it, because why not? And by several, I mean over 250k.
 
I raced go carts a little, serious ones (not the amusement park type). A Legends race car, and I finally dollared out try to put together a super stock class car.
No money and poor results overall.

Racing is tougher than it looks, most that think they could, just dont have a clue.
Sitting in the seat, the raw intense immersion is beyond imagination. Going turn one on lap one is much closer than it looks.
 
Greg said:
I raced go carts a little, serious ones (not the amusement park type). A Legends race car, and I finally dollared out try to put together a super stock class car.
No money and poor results overall.

Racing is tougher than it looks, most that think they could, just dont have a clue.
Sitting in the seat, the raw intense immersion is beyond imagination. Going turn one on lap one is much closer than it looks.
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That's the thing. Just from watching, it look easy. I'd compare it to golf in that sense. It's easy till you get out there and actually do it. I know not near enough about cars to even ever give it a shot.
 
ToyYoda said:
I did some kart racing (not the go-karts at the local putt-putt course, but WKA kart racing) in my late teens/early 20's. Even that form of racing got too expensive very quickly.
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Went to a kart school for my 12th birthday. It was amazing, it felt great, but karting is always obviously stupid expensive. WKA stuff gets insanely competitive. That's rad that you played around with it.
 
DUN24 said:
Went to a kart school for my 12th birthday. It was amazing, it felt great, but karting is always obviously stupid expensive. WKA stuff gets insanely competitive. That's rad that you played around with it.
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Thanks, and you're absolutely right about the expenses. It wasn't that I couldn't afford to race, I just couldn't afford to be competitive. I was bringing my kart to the track in the back of a pickup truck while other guys were bringing their stuff in a full transporter. And those were the guys that usually set sail on the field once the race started.
 
Did several road rallies plus timed hill climb events in the mid nineteen-fifties with my 1952 MG TD.
Built my stock car around 1958 and raced for two years before selling the stock car and starting races.
Tried kart racing in 1964 and was pretty good, finishing second in several feature races but never able to grab the gold ring. Gave kart racing up after two years as it became very demanding (see ToyYoda's post #15) , not to mention expensive, to race with the top teams; plus I was married and had a business that was really taking off.
I never missed racing when I quit driving but can tell you the thrill of being in a race and being competitive has nothing I can think of to compare it to. A period of revitalization in the 1970's when my son took up motocross racing and we traveled every weekend to a track somewhere so he could race. I worked with the #52 NASCAR team in the late 1980's through early nineties, after my Bride and I retired. These days I am content to watch various forms of racing such as motocross, speedway bikes, open wheel whether on water, in the air or on dirt or asphalt, from the sidelines and on television.
 
Roadracing in the 1970's and early 1980's. I raced AAMRR and WERA, running modified production Yamaha and Ducati bikes. Some modest success. Sprint races usually 10 to 15 laps, and 6-hour endurance races. For the enduros, I teamed up with another guy 'cause he was paying the bills, but raced my own bikes in the sprint races.

I raced out of Cycle Works Yamaha, and Mike Baldwin worked there and raced with a lot of success... including five times AMA F1 champion. That was the premier class of US roadracing, and later morphed into Superbike. He won the Suzuka 8 Hour twice back when that race was a really big deal, advanced to grands prix, but his career was cut short by injury. I just mention him because he was known as Mike The Bike, and he nicknamed me Lew The Shoe and it stuck. Mike earned his handle, but I didn't really deserve the honor.

Later I ran track days 8 to 10 times per year up to about age 60.
 
Moons ago, one of the folks on here was a team owner in one of the old road course leagues.

I've won a race myself in my truck running street class, dad and I have won a few with me as crew chief.

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yes, raced Formula 4 Mustang at Seekonk. Then around '95 built a Seekonk Sport truck, 4 banger S-10 hence my former name SST55
stuffed a 350 in it and ran open shows over at Thompson. Also ran at New Smyrna during speed weeks for a number of years.
There were pics of the #55 on here and also the #87 that got went because of photobucket wanting a obscene amount to link to 3rd party sources..

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat but only with OPM, Other Peoples Money.
 
I think if my dad controlled the purse strings in the house and not my mom Is have been in a racecar at some point. Didnt happen though. Cause I know at one point he was really looking at quarter midgets.
 
Just did a few motorcycle enduros and poker runs. You were a winner if you just completed the run or had the best hand
from the cards you grabbed out of the buckets along the route.

I found out real quick after doing a ride along at race speeds on a road course that I was a better fan
than could ever dream of actually being a driver. Almost lossed a submarine sandwich I ate before
jumping in the car.

I sponsored a cousins superstock dirt car in Mn. Had my name on the rear quarter panel.
That was good enough for me.
 
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Started racing karts (race karts - not concession karts) back in the mid-1970s. I've done that on-and-off since, including part-time last year. Am taking this year off due to a neck injury (not racing related). I'm both driver and mechanic, and sometimes a one man team. Throughout those years I've helped a lot of kids start racing - both in my equipment and in their own. Lol I probably should give up driving at my age, but it's so darn fun (even if I'm not winning) and it also sharpens my setup skills.


Interspersed through all that I've played with Enduro cars (pavement), Legends cars (pavement), Street Stock cars (dirt and pavement), and Limited Late Model cars (dirt). I've mostly been mechanic and / or crew chief on those cars. I've also tinkered with road course sports cars, but mostly just helping at the track. Also helped a friend do some bracket drag racing (he won the whole thing on the one night I couldn't go, LOL). The Enduro had a short life (as do most), the Legend got sold (too expensive - the owner / driver insisted on mostly racing Thursday Night Thunder at Charlotte), the Street Stock morphed into a Limited Late Model due to crazy track rules changes (and is now junked due to expense / obsolescence / local tracks imploding). Finally, I've also helped build and "tune" electric racing cars for EV challenges (full sized cars - not RC cars).
 
gone said:
Interspersed through all that I've played with Enduro cars (pavement),
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Thanks for the cool post. One question... what is an Enduro car?
 
LewTheShoe said:
Thanks for the cool post. One question... what is an Enduro car?
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An Enduro car is what some of my local tracks call a mostly stock car that runs endurance races - typically 200 laps or 2.5 hours whichever comes first. They'll put 50 or more of these cars on a half mile track at the same time, causing a "race" that resembles a rush hour frenzy. No cautions - broken or wrecked cars and debris are left where they lie unless the track is blocked. They red flag the race if it appears somebody needs help, put out fires, clear the track some, etc. Winner is whomever gets to 200 laps first, or who has made the most laps when time runs out.

The only legal things you can do to the car: take out all glass and lights except the windshield (although if it's a dirt track they let you replace the windshield with wire screening), install a roll cage (****pit only - not reinforcing the chassis), add straps to help hold the stock gas tank, and fasten the doors shut. They usually allow you to install other safety equipment, like a racing seat with racing belts and rollbar padding and a fire extinguisher and a fuel cell, but those are optional. You're not allowed to hop up the motor or drivetrain - supposed to be what came in the car from the factory. Also not allowed to change the suspension, although they'll usually allow you to mix tire sizes (but they have to be all DOT tires). Driver must wear a helmet - I also required my driver to wear a fire suit and gloves because these cars are junkers and dangerous.

It is mayhem but fun. It was pretty popular around me until inevitably tracks started loosening the rules and the cars got out of control. At first the cars had to be full sized 4 door American sedans, but then they let in midsize cars, then pony cars, and when they allowed purposely-built track cars it got silly.
 
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