New to racing (Page 1 of 3)

I agree with ifb_mole.  Get a track day under the LeMon's belt before bringing it to the race if you can.  This will help shake out some of the potential problems that could end your race.  Of course, it will also use valuable time that some of your other components will have before their inevitable failure as well. 

Welcome aboard!  Have fun!

They're gonna race a Chrysler 5th Avenue. 

They already spectated once, they've got all the experience they need.

In the event the car doesn't crap upon itself.  Some HPDE time with the car will be the closest thing you're going to get to actual road racing.

Holy crap, I didn't know Reno-Fernley Raceway closed. Thanks for the heads up. I guess we're going to have to find driver training elsewhere. We're in Reno so it's quite a drive to use other resources.

OK here's an idea for you guys.  Get the car as race ready as you can.  On April 16th Hooked On Driving has an event at Thunderhill.  I know it is a 3-4 hour tow, but I would recommend it.  You need instruction AND seat time AND track time.  Then when the Lemons race rolls around make sure you do the test day prior to the event. 

By doing the Hooked On Driving program you may also find some shortcomings in the car (i.e need better cooling and brakes are over heating). Between the HOD day and the actual Lemons event you can do some more work to the car if needed.

I know it adds some expense (HOD fee) and time (towing to and from Thunderhill) but the time and expense will indeed be well spent.  I can tell you from experience, seat time and track time WITH proper instruction is the best money you'll ever spend when you first start racing.

Fifthavenue,
We are in Reno as well.  We started the build for the RFR race, then switched gears a little when it closed.  We are now goign to try for Thunderhill the same weekend in May.  Let us know how the build is going. 

I just posted a team introduction on this forum under the thread:  "Introducing Team Special Deliverance and their Bavarian Ranchero"  (I am not smart enough to do one of those fancy links.) 

Most of our drivers have never been on a track before. We are thinking of at least doing an autocross or two (with Reno SCCA) with the car to let them drive it before the race and play with it.

Reno SCCA runs local autocrosses.  Usually at the Stead airport.  Looks like they have an Autocross school in April and then a race the weekend before Thunderhill.  Check them out here:

http://www.renoscca.org/

The price for Hooked on Driving is really per car, you can share a car and split the track time fot the same price.  The autcross even is a good idea too since it's in Reno

In 2 years, we've had 3 drivers who were completely new to competitive driving.  They hadn't done an autocross, they hadn't done a track day, and they hadn't even seen the car until the day of the race.

Those 3 drivers racked up 1 black flag total, and at NL our 1st and 3rd-fastest laps (on a 6-person team) were set by the new guys.

There's always lots of slow cars at any Lemons event; you can always tuck in behind one and get a feel for how to drive, then speed up as you feel comfortable.  As long as you're out turning laps, you'll have about an equal shot of doing well.

Getting autox/track time is definitely a plus, but I think the most important thing for new teams, especially ones with youngsters on it, is to really get everyone to commit to the long haul. This means getting everyone on the same page with estimates for car prep time, cost, travel, etc. It ain't rocket science, but we've seen more than one team fly apart at the last minute because some of the guys weren't as committed as the captain thought they were. Once you get a good group of guys, the rest will fall into place.

get your car road-ready, and take it out in rush-hour traffic for like a week. nail down your big issues and just hit up a Lemons event. all the autocrossing and scca and nasa and HDPE stuff only builds up the false impression that you might be better than other people, or you suck too badly to try. The noob teams are almost always the best-behaved at Lemons races. So, give your car a basic tune-up, throw on a water pump and new rad hoses for cheap insurance, and get the best brakes you can for your car within reason. after that, hopping in as a first-timer for Lemons shouldn't be hard, and with an endurance format you have plenty opportunity for seat time if you don't go balls-out every lap.

On the suits buy them here or used if concerned about price.  The deal here is a steal compared to buying it ala carte.  Especially if you won't use it much after the Lemons events.

Roll cages are a hard one.  If you don't have any fab skills I would say find someone that does and have them do it.  If you do well then it becomes what can you so with what you have.  For instance if you have a bender why buy a premade kit and then have to modify it.  This is where an awful lot of guys have problems.  Especially on one off type cars and get saftey teched the most.  So be sure to have your ducks in a row here.  Pay someone to do the work if you are unsure for the first time.  Of course to me this was the fun of the build but everyone is different.

I'm gonna stay clear of the running issues... Just remember keep it simple.  The simpler the easier it is to fix if it breaks.  At our first race we saw some guys pull an SHO motor.  OMG that's skills.  We pulled our motor too and replaced the clutch.  Guess who's took longer?  ours was about 5 wires and four bolts.  So keep in the back of your mind if it breaks who is going to fix it and how long will it take?

Good luck.