mooty

i have fast GT3's and slow BSR.
i do DE and racing and did very well in BSR in fact.
but those who think racing cost the same as DE are either smoking something very nice or they are awfully slow. some guys in BSR said a set of R888 last a season hahahaah, 4 day and i dont want them anymore and if i had more money, i wouldn't touch them after 2 days.

time commitment is a HUGE different.
DE, you drive the car there.
racing, you tow there.
i can drive to the track, DE, drive home same day and have dinner with wife at 7pm.
racing, no way.

DE, if your alignemnt is off, who cares.
racing, my BSR is aligned for every race weekend.
nut and bolted every race weekend.

if you need trackside support, add $$$

no, it's not the same.

but is it fun, oh yeah!!!

mooty

that's not fair.
he didn't win bc he drove take off.
he won b/c he's a better driver.
so it's not correct to budget this way.
assuming he and i are equally capable drivers and cars are equally prepered, but i run stickers every race, he has zero chance of ever beating me. how fun would that be for him?

it's like crack, you know.
sure, we can run old tires. but once you tasted fresh rubber, things change.
i dont get excited driving toyo's after i tried hoosiers.
then i tried michelin blue slicks on cup car, now short of slicks, i dont get all jazzed up any more.

JackOlsen

They're really two different things. Aside from the cost and commitment being much bigger in racing (you're kidding yourself if you say otherwise), the whole mental game is totally different. Racing is a chess game you play with a group of other guys -- you have to keep your car up to snuff in order to not be handicapped in that game. If someone else provides you with a car it's that much better. DE days are a chess game between you and the track -- or you and the car -- but it has very little to do with what the other guys on the track are coming up with to keep you behind them, or what you have to come up with to keep the guys in your mirrors from getting around you. It has a lot to do with your car. If someone tossed you the keys to another car, it wouldn't be quite the same experience as driving the one you made for yourself.

I'm actually surprised that as many people make the transition from one to the other as they do. One is really for introverts. The other is for extroverts. But most track guys (although not all) end up moving from one to the other and not looking back.

I've done both. I prefer open tracking and time trials to racing, but I expect I'll also do more seasons of racing. Just because I don't like it quite as much doesn't mean it sucks in any way shape or form.

Stuttgart951

+1

Local guy here used to race 935's once upon a time.

mooty

LOL. jack, you dont appear very "introvert" to me!

get up here and do some NCRC light racing, and when you are up here, maybe you can help me make my garage as beautiful and functional as your!

ZAPmobile

+1

ZAPmobile

WRONG

RonCT

For me, just no desire to race. I enjoy running in Black / Red and advancing my own skill and experience. So in a way I'm "racing" myself. I also enjoy the concept of "arrive and drive" with my street car albiet with some minor modifications and RA1s.

sig_a

If I were black or instructor, the temptation would be in place to race. And it's a good thing most people are tied down by higher priorities. Racing is a rarified opportunity.

chrisp

Racing is more $$, more pressure to perform, more risk to the car, more pressure to have the better car, more time (on and off the track), and more work if you wrench on the car yourself.

It's also more of a rush on track, more exciting overall event and more comaraderie if you're in the right class with the right group of guys.

For some the pros don't outweigh the cons.

Gofishracing

The dynamics of driving the car at speed is what drives me. I'm a winner when I come home safe. Alot of my contemporaries have started to get that competitive urge and have started to race. The cost and commitment are much higher than DE. More track time in DE, I feel better comradery in DE where we are interacting with each other on the track rather than competing. NASA has both.

Crazy Canuck

Time.

early_grayce

I haven't raced, but like most I'm thinking about it for down the line. The way I see it is that DE is a hobby and racing is a sport (i.e. training, preparation, more commitment, etc).

With respect to cost, I think Paolo was suggesting not to compare it on a 1:1 basis, but rather compare a full season of DE (e.g. 6-7 events, 30-35 days) vs. 3-4 races... which might be a bit more reasonable...

cgomez

From my experience I think the camaraderie is higher in racing, as you get to "interact" a lot more on track with others, you do like to share and discuss those experiences in the paddock or over a few beers at night, and it is a lot more fun. There's a lot of helping out others to get their cars fixed and back on track.
Almost everyone walks around the paddock to say hi to their fellow competitors.

Racing is a lot more expensive and its about competition and being at 100%+ ALL the time. It is a very different state of mind, independent of driving skill. That's why you spend more $ b/c the tires get destroyed a lot faster, as well as brakes (rotors and pads). You need to inspect and check the car a lot more thoroughly between sessions as you dont want to loose a whole session if something doesn't feels right (as well as for Safety reasons).

I feel that driving my racecar at a DE or open track is kind of pointless unless I make a time trail out of it and go for my PR or something like that (It is like playing tennis solo against the wall, good training but...).

However, I do like Open Track days, because of the easiness of driving to the track and running my streetcar (if I have to tow, I rather race). I enjoy driving fun street cars on track to see what they can do (and justify the fact of daily driving at 55mph a 500+hp car!!). No tire changing, no complexity, just driving.

pedsurg

the current economy stinks; dentists excepted : )
taxes on most who can afford to race will increase by 50% on 1/1/11
additional 5% surcharge on ALL investment income recently passed into law

WATCH OUT BELOW !!

jack
Tampa