Anyone here race SCCA, NASA, or PCA? I want to do some Miata races, I have done about 10 car trackdays over the years with PCA or a few other orgs. I also raced 2 endurance races with Champ Car, (which doesn't require a license) at Sebring. Drove with a couple of pretty established racers on my team. The SCCA licensing process seems pretty extensive, I'm wondering if anyone has done it and used some of your bike racing experience to avoid taking the $8K racing school and learning about lines, flags, etc.? I'm generally skeptical of making too much of my motorcycle racing experience, the car racers generally think we're maniacs so I don't want to scare them too much. The local Mazda shop goes to all the SCCA races, so I'm leaning that direction. Any suggestions?
I am a 30 year SCCA racer of Formula cars(FF,F2000, Atlantic) then switched to bikes about 8 years ago. I haven't raced with SCCA in about 10 years so my info is probably out of date. If you are running your own car then get whatever license that lets you run the races you want. If you are renting from a pro shop then do what they say as the shop will choose the events they are doing. SCCA license is accepted by NASA , PCA and most other vintage race groups too. I would go with SCCA and tell them in detail about your racing background at your SCCA driving school, they may waive your second SCCA school and grant you a regional license after your first school. I don't think a pro school is worth it in your case. Do not try to be fast at your SCCA school, be smooth. You should have no problems with your racing background. One more tip, even if you have your own car, I would rent a car for your SCCA school, tons of laps and due to classroom time at the school, you won't have time to work on your car. Good Luck!
If you do the facetubes, hit up Greg, He's prob one of the nicest, most helpful dudes on the planet..has a couple miata race cars Plus he's one of your (miata) people..
Gino you dont have to do a high dollar paid school. Many SCCA regions do 1-2 schools per year. You only need to do 1 of these and then you can race on a Novice Permit..you are a novice for your first 3 race weekends after the school. Think of it as doing a WERA school or Ed Bargey day for you license vs doing a week long Yamaha champion school. You have 365 days from the end of school to complete 3 race weekends (without carnage) and you get your full SCCA license. See here and here https://www.scca.com/pages/driver-s-school-w-table https://www.cfrscca.org/Driver-Schools https://www.scca.com/pages/i-want-to-road-race The high dollar week long schools provide cars, apres session hand jobs, gourmet lunches and shit...thats why the crazy rich dudes go there. Some of then can also grant you a full SCCA Comp license instead of a Novice Permit. If you are going to rent a ghey-mobile...cough miata..sorry for school and some races then maybe you can do a region school and a race or 2 to make sure you want to drop the coin. Which class Miata are you thinking?
In between spates of motorcycle racing, I raced with the SCCA between 2006 and 2014, I had my own car when I signed up for my first school, Summit Point in April. I hadn't raced anything since the GNF at Road Atlanta in 2003; also the last year I'd been to SP. Based on my performance, attitude, and behavior, the instructors agreed I didn't need a second school. I made them aware that I'd raced motorcycles for 10 years but I didn't explicitly ask to have the second school waived. I was awarded a provisional license that became a full regional license after two race weekends without doing anything really stupid. I think the SCCA school (two day) cost about $350, and I ended up using both slicks and rain tires because, Summit Point in April.... There are some minor differences with flags, but otherwise wheel to wheel racing, whether on two or four wheels, is similar enough. Obviously, the details of going fast on four wheels are different than on two wheels, but mentally its all the same.
This is more my speed, NASA has a "comp eval weekend" where you can do something similar. So hopefully I can sign up for Sebring in July and get a novice permit. I'm thinking Spec Miata, just because there's alot of people in that class, I can rent a car for the weekend and just show up with my helmet. I want to get my feet wet and see how I like it. I will always be a bike guy at heart, but I've been doing the MotoAmerica Twins since 2018 and the last few years have been tough- I went backwards and that kind of struggle takes alot of energy out, and kills the fun factor. I'm not done there yet, but I have to scratch the sports car itch somehow and the sim racing isn't cutting it.
I would avoid Spec Miata. Competitive, national-level cars are over $40k and, since they don't have a frame, they don't crash very well. I started with an SRF (Spec Racer Ford): steel tube frame, open cockpit, closed wheel, spec cars. They are tough as nails, easy to fix, and the racing is very competitive, for less money than an equally competitive Miata. There are customer service reps and other shops that rent cars: https://scca-e.com/customer-service-representatives ("CSR"). Some guys rent for a full season, some for just an event or two, and some have their CSR maintain and transport their cars (So, arrive and drive with a car you own). I've always been hands-on, so I maintained, set up, and repaired my own car. That is my gray car at the 2011 or 2012 Glen National, chased by 30 plus others.
Thats why I asked..they are about 3 levels of 'Ghey' or "Spec Miata" as others call it now... I almost got sucked in a few years ago so my info may be a touch old... For SCCA, like WERA, you can have National and Regional (or Divisional) classes. For Miatas it is (or was) Spec Miata Club Miata (of some sort and name by Region/Division) SMX Spec Miata is the oldest class..thats the class where you can race Nationally in a 1st gen 1.6 or an NB 1.8 and there are different prep rules for different gens regarding weight, airbox, etc. Nominally they use a "stock" engine" but the best engine guys have figured out how to get 10-20+ hp out of a 'stock' engine and hence they cost thousands more than just rebuilding one in your garage. Guys will do things like check/prep wheel bearings before ever race...less drag and all kinds of tricks to get the tiniest advantage at the spear. The newest class is SMX and its for the NC chassis only as there is a newer big dog class called MX5 cup and this is a middle ground class for that and maybe some of those cars/build kits Mazda sells. These cars are newer and more $$$. Not sure how popular this class is Lastly is "Club Miata" in...this will be a regional or division class that is for the older lower spec cars to run cheaper...its a great starter/budget class. The cars that runs these races usually cant finish in the top 10-20 of a national but can win these local races with a good driver. The rules will be mostly "Spec Miata" with some local changes so you may only want run in your division...check before you run in another area...A decent turn key car can be had for ~10K or maybe less. This is like running a WERA regionally only class using a semi-clapped out SV. Now i know you said Spec Miata...but another way to dip your foot into cars and go open wheel is with 2 budget options....Formula Vee and Club Ford. Formula Vee has been around since the mid 60s and uses a VW bug engine and open wheel chassis. Initial costs are pretty low and running costs...tires and such are low as well. There is a great option with some clubs to run a Vintage Formula Vee and those can be had ready to run for less than 10K all day long.... Club Ford is the name for old Formula Ford cars..they are usually more vintage, that costs are more the Formula Vee but the club part keeps things reasonable. You can look here for vintage race groups in your area and see what runs around you. http://www.the-vmc.com/member_orgs.htm and lastly since most people dont know you can even do this and there isnt really a licensing school....um let me leave these here..... https://www.americanrallyassociation.org/2024-ara-schedule ......scroll down for the regional events they are shorter and cheaper. https://www.americanrallyassociation.org/novice-tips https://www.nasarallysport.com/main/schedule
My plan is to run SM at first, and see how I do. Also, I'm going to rent a car from the local Mazda race shop (Velocity Warehouse) and do some races. If I buy a car, I have to go whole hog with a bigger trailer, new storage spot, and probably sell a bike or two to make room for all of the spare shit that seems to come with the car. My fear is that the car will be so slow that it will be boring. I've watched a few SM races at the local tracks, and it seems qualifying is key because if you're running within a few .10 of the guys around you, unless someone makes a mistake you're not going anywhere. So I could see myself upgrading to something faster after a year or so. But I really like GT style cars, not much interest in the FF or the open wheel options. We'll see, I guess. My other option is to do some NASA racing with a Spec E30 or the next class up, there's a good BMW shop that I know and some good techs that run this class. So I have the option to try a few classes once I get my licenses sorted out, before I buy a car.
I am currently dipping into the 4 wheel world myself. I have an NB Miata that I am using for SCCA Time Trials events (only has a roll bar). It has been an absolute blast so far learning the 4-wheel driving and setup aspects. Plan is to eventually move to W2W with an endurance team, maybe have my own car or put a cage in this one. Some former WERA guys are doing big things in the car world, Woody Heimann is a MX5Cup racer on the JTR Motorsports team. Like stated above, the cars are all about where you want to race, how competitive you want to be, and how much money you want to spend. Endurance series like lucky dog and AER are more performance based and less rules for each car, and you get tons of track time while splitting costs with others.
Gino, I don't know what size trailer you currently have, but it may already fit a Spec Racer or Formula Ford. They are both purpose built racecars and fun to race, albeit a little underpowered, but way way quicker than a Miata. Don't overlook them. And after getting your feet wet, maybe try out a formula atlantic. Those have huge tires, lots of downforce and haul ass.
Gino, FWIW, the previous iteration of SRF (with the 1.9 liter SOHC) was faster than SM, and the latest iteration (1.6 liter DOHC) is much faster. I'd be happy to chat privately with you, and try to talk you out of SM. But yeah, qualifying is very very important and, in low-powered cars, having a "dancing partner" to draft (and bump draft) with is key. I'm back racing motorcycles at age 68 because it is just so much more fun than racing cars, and the people are way cooler too.
I raced Spec RX7 (spec Miatas were just starting) for a couple years around 2000 or so. Random thoughts: I took school at Summit Point in my own car that I had several events on already so I was familiar with it and it was shaken out. I explained my motorcycle racing background and advocated for myself to get by with one school. Not annoyingly, I just said I hoped it was possible. If that's a goal, I'm going to disagree with @Paddy O 's advice. You need to stand out. I recall being called out in class along with another guy (who also got through in one) for being the only ones braking properly deep into 1. A well-respected BMW racer/instructor was stationed outside of four and my friend was right behind when I came through during one session. "Wow!" Another guy came up to me at one point after seeing my lap times. "You fucking motorcycle racers..." Now the downer. I thought car racing kind of sucked, especially with slow, similarly powered cars. There would be 10 of us on the same second in qualifying. Cars are BIG. Passing is really hard. Since a collision is less risky than motorcycles, you find a wide range of what people are willing to do. One guy bitching at me because I didn't give him enough room in 1, while another dive bombs me in the same corner and drives right across my line on exit, forcing me to check up or hit him. I was friendly with a decent racer (won T2 at the runoffs a couple times, never really got a deal together). "You should have hit him." I didn't want to drive like that but it seemed like a requirement to do well, otherwise you get taken advantage of. I summarized to friends as "going fast on a motorcycle is harder than going fast in a car but racing a car is harder than racing a motorcycle". YMMV.
