MikeJim

I ran into a well-known veteran racer today at PBOC Sebring and asked him why I didn't see him at Daytona Roar last weekend. He said he had tired "of trying to wrangle a ride. They all want you to pay now."

I mentioned that I didn't remember ever seeing so many small, young, fit (think jockey) drivers. My racer friend said the 24 Hours has attracted a new breed of "well financed" foreign drivers, many hoping to use the event to springboard their careers. Other than a few high-profile "celebrity drivers" (think NASCAR), there are fewer and fewer available seats for non-paying participants.

I was hanging out with a team at Daytona that had two veteran American drivers and two young bird-like European drivers, who looked fresh out of art school. One of the youngsters had never been to Daytona before...only driven it on a simulator. His FIRST LAP on track was a 1:52...roughly the equivalent of what others were turning in GT.

He is paying for his seat.

CXC Simulations

Yep, I hear that a lot. Our simulator sales spiked a couple months ago from drivers like these guys prepping for the 24.

I just sold one a couple of days ago to a veteran as well. He had just come back from the test. His exact words were "I got killed in the first session by guys who had never been there before but had been running a ton of laps in their simulators." By the time he got in the groove again, they were already fine-tuning setups.

Jdub315

Alot of you fools do realize they have tons of sponsors who throw mad money too the Race teams too wear their logos. So saying it doesnt pay out you are f'ing nuts.

85Gold

Awesome 1st post.

Peter

ProCoach

I think Jdub will need to increase his sponsorship, eight years later.

Geneman

Ted Giovanis and the boys from TGM are doing the 24 again with Wright MS. support this year. He runs with no sponsors at all.

Veloce Raptor

That's because Ted is the sponsor

MSR Racer

😂

Beyond Fear: How I Fought the Feds for Six Years―and Won

ProCoach

Flaunt it if you got it. He’s 76. He can do anything he wants, right?

Veloce Raptor

Absolutely! I think it's great

ProCoach

The biggest issue with age is the healing and recovery time is much, much longer...

Matt Romanowski

No question. It's crazy to see how quick a 18 year old heals from injuries versus a 30 year old. The one variable people have control over is physical fitness. Look at guys like Tony Kanaan and the super high level of training and fitness they undertake. While it's drag racing, John Force's story of his recovery after the big wreck is interesting. He said he was better off the line after the recovery because his "Polio" leg was stronger than it had ever been.

tcsracing1

yes, but think of all the women the winner gets