TrackJunke

Are there certain requirements or tests that must be completed?

Adam Richman

Pretty good discussion on the subject:
<a href="http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=241164" target="_blank">http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=241164</a>

Edit: should note there is a ton of superflurous barbs and quips but some of the longer posts I thought had some good content.

I would say that from my experience, its alot more about where you are in your head than what seat time you have (but you have to have the seat time). I think I have a good amount of the latter but I don't think it prepared me for the former. As a student, I always went out to explicitly NOT scare my instructor and my most used question after a session was "are you comfortable with what I am doing out there?" I found not one student with that as their primary goal which in the end, scared the **** out of me.

Adam (Phat-S)

Bill Gregory

Here is the progression criteria two PCA regions use up to instructor: <a href="http://www.ncr-pca.org/drivers-ed/Progression.htm" target="_blank">http://www.ncr-pca.org/drivers-ed/Progression.htm</a> . In these two regions, instructors have at least one black run group season with lots of days prior to becoming instructors.

Dave E

I made instructor in less than a year and a half after first driving on a track. I also spent much time and money(well spent on both accounts) at skip barber race weekends. Knowledge, skill, good judgment and the ability to communicate effectively are far more important factors than mere seat time. How many drivers do you know that have been driving a long time but still aren't that good?

Chris Bennet

[quote]Originally posted by Dave E:
<strong>I made instructor in less than a year and a half after first driving on a track. I also spent much time and money(well spent on both accounts) at skip barber race weekends. Knowledge, skill, good judgment and the ability to communicate effectively are far more important factors than mere seat time. How many drivers do you know that have been driving a long time but still aren't that good? </strong><hr></blockquote>
Do you instruct with PCA or some other club?
-Chris

A Quiet Boom

Being a teacher or instructor requires not that you are by far superior to you students, it requires that you have a very good grasp of the subject material as well as the ability to coach others and explain, in terms they understand what it is they need to be doing in order to learn. I've met college professors who are brillant yet are terrible teachers and I've met teacher's aids who can help anyone get high marks because the almost intuitively understand what the students need to learn. If you want to become an instructor I think you first need to ask yourself if you have want it takes to be a good teacher, if so then the rest is easy. I've never been on a roadcourse and I've never met a DE instructor but I have done plenty of drag-racing in my life, even to the extent of informally teaching others how to do better. I think the requirements are the same. Communication, patience, love for teaching and helping others, decent ability at what you are teaching, etc. Overall though the right attitude is of the utmost importance.