ProCoach

I hope the Ozarks Club Race entry comes up closer to the event. Great track but very light entry.

Mikelly

...And to follow up on this... I have written my own journal post on my trials and tribulations and the actual costs to race in 944Spec and SP1. I'm currently learning the ropes on the whole SP3 thing, and have a turbo car waiting in the wings for "other" classes. I'm hopeful that my racer learning and development series of videos will help other folks learn about the process and the paperwork/compliance side of racing, because I feel that this is one area that confuses so many people thinking about diving into racing.

I also have an ulterior motive to grow the platform back to something Dave would be proud of. My son bought my SP1/944Spec car and he wants to race in NASA/SP1 and I've got a few others I'm providing valuable guidance to. 944s are still very viable and a VERY CHEAP way to race in a very competitive field, if we can get people excited in it again.

My work is cut out for me, but I'll have the time to sling the good word of front engine rear transaxle Porsches in the near future.

Streak

I've not read every post but imma give my 2¢ anyway:

More than a couple comments have mentioned the disconnect between DE and CR. I started auto crossing in 2005, started DE the next year and was racing by 2008.

There used to be a clear connection. We need to get that back and maybe make it a fixture of the DE program. I know our chapter will put you with certain instructors if you have told them you want to CR. Generally more aggressive and talking more about race craft than a typical DE instructor (not a knock just a different mission). That process should be expanded and formalized to the limit that the damned insurance companies will allow.

Just thinking out loud that incorporated into a standard DE event there could be a core group of dedicated CR instructors from the chapter at a DE. The students can sign up as club race school candidates vs regular DE. Those students would be paired up with the CR instructors and attend different classroom sessions focused on race craft and race etiquette and similar.

This would all have to fall under DE rules of course as well as the students would have to have met certain criteria before being accepted into the program within the program.

Just a kernel of an idea.

RossP

I think generally its too much effort to go racing via the DE to CR path. Maybe it is because the path is unclear and/or overly complex. Most guys who really want to race are just going to skip all of that. Late last year when I was deciding where to race this year, I looked at PCA and simply put, the process to get a license and go racing was too much. Ive had a racing license in NASA since 2010, PCA & BMWCCA instructor etc and as I recall I still would have had to go through the whole PCA licensing process. Compare that to IGT where I sent in a copy of my NASA license and boom I get my IGT license immediately and go racing. No probationary period. No PCA racing school. Car clubs aren't the only game in town for amateur racing anymore and they don't seem to have realized it.

tgsmith4845

If you have a NASA license, or a license from any other nationally recognized racing group, PCA will grant you a provisional license. All that is required is to join PCA and attend a short orientation meeting with the steward to cover PCA racing deltas. Easy.

RossP

Understood. I went back and looked, and what caused me issue was the required race results within the past 2 years. Prior to this year I had been out of racing (doing DEs only) since right before covid so I would have had to go through the Rookie license process, club school etc. (assuming I couldn't get an exemption from PCA which admittedly I never tried to do). Either way the unoffical reputation of PCA CR was not a positive one which drove me to choose another series.

ProCoach

^^This^^ is what I hear from historic/SCCA/IMSA guys asking me about what it would take to go PCA Club Racing. I do all I can to dispel this notion but there are so many other groups who have a lower barrier to entry and don’t suffer from as much contact or friction with officials.

tgsmith4845

Ah. Understood.

claykos

This is a pca problem not an overall problem. Many events are packed...

I have been racing for almost 20 years with several different clubs and I did 2 pca races in 2016. That was enough. It was a pain to get the license (if I recall they made me fill out their specific medical form even though I had a recent medical for NASA that was an almost identical form) and had to have several phone conversations before getting the license. Fine. Jumped through those hoops.

Then at the race (this was COTA) a guy sideswipes me in the outlap of qualifying. I pull in to check damage and report the incident. They wont let me go back out and qualify because "I was involved in an incident." The guy who hit me never came in. They let him keep his qualifying time even though I gave the stewards video of him hitting me. The comments were "oh ya that guy is trouble, he was involved in a couple incidents last race." Same guy plays bumper cars in the race and totals 2 or 3 cup cars. He went home with a totalled cup car in his trailer. Everyone shrugged.

There were a few really great and fast drivers i had fun racing with, but the overall quality of driving was the worst of any org ive run with. Extremely aggressive and people driving cars that were way over their heads.

ProCoach

BOOM.

Veloce Raptor

Yup. Abysmally inconsistent stewarding. Clown show material. Easily fixed, though, IMO.

But they have to WANT to fix it, rather than continue to perpetuate the old boys club.

chartersb

There are more racers racing in more events at more tracks with more sanctioning orgs than ever. There are fewer PCA licensed racers than ever at the same time that there are more people racing Porsches in other orgs. There a number of things PCA Club Racing National can do to help change the decling participation and interest in PCA Club Racing:
Make it easier, simpler for non-PCA licensed racers from other orgs to race with PCA:
* If they have an active license with recent race experience, grant them a provisional license.
* If they have an active license from an org that requires a signed medical, accept that approval as part of their license and issue a PCA provisional license.
* If they are licensed from an org that is "13/13" based race org and culture, don't make them go to the rookie orientation meeting the day before the PCA event
* Consollidate the 40 plus PCA CR classes into a much smaller number, each that accepts a broader range of cars (see WRL or AER)
* Activly reach out and promote PCA CR to racers in other orgs. PCA CR is the best sprint racing (a 90 min "Enduro" is just a long stint) for the money
Grow from within:
* Activly promote CR to all PCA members, not just current license holders
*Create an obvious path from DE to CR for potential racers
*Establish a PCA CR School program

9114609048

I looked into PCA club racing in 2019. The licensing rules then were very restrictive, with just two routes to a license. Recent experience, or 12 DE events, but you could only attend DE if you did not have prior experience. I did not qualify for either route, since I had previous race experience. I phoned the club racing office for clarification. At that time there was no waiver option, but they asked for my racing record anyway. After review, I got a curt email denying a provisional license and got sent to DE, which their own rule did not allow. I didn't ask for any special treatment, just an opportunity to prove that my driving-racing skills were still intact. SVRA offered that opportunity. I did a two day race school, qualified for a license and have been racing and having a lot of fun driving my RSR again.

edub

Just throwing a data point in - mid 40's 2 kids and a mortgage. I make good money.

Car insurance went up 40% this year alone, just because.
Time away from the house would put burden on my wife, she works as well so soloing the kids is hard.
Trailer and tow vehicle would need to park somewhere I don't have space for. I'd need another garage (have a 3 car garage already)

Sim racing seems like a better option (I'm familiar with video games and technology having grown up with them).

I feel like I would be an ideal person to go racing, love the track, go often, and yet racing has additional costs and burden that just seem too expensive to take on.

For my situation to change, even winning the lottery wouldn't solve all the problems. Wife and kids at home alone while I'm out playing gentleman racer? Not gonna happen.

ldamelio

Sure it would. Trophy wife, preferably a stripper. She'll be snorting blow and enjoying the pool boy. You can race all you want!