sbelles

My experience with PCA is probably a little different then most here so I'll give another $.02.

I started doing DEs with PCA in 2001 (I was 39). At the time I was a Delaware region member and they didn't do any DEs so my first ones were with Zone 2, Potomac, Chesapeake and a few others.
Had a couple of kids in my early 40s and moved to FL in 2005. There I was a member of Suncoast region and I ran with them, 4 or five other regions, Chin, PBOC and a couple trips back up to VIR to run with zone 2. I went to the PCA National instructors school in 2008 and started instructing, moved back to PA and joined RTR and started club racing in 2012.
Through all of that time I've run with and/or instructed with over 15 regions and I've found friendly and helpful people in all of them. Yes there were a few aholes but that's to expected in any large group. I've had people help me fix things, lend/give me parts and offer any help they could. When I blew my engine at MMC a couple of weeks ago no less then five of my competitors reached out to offer help.

NYC993

When you are young, you have health and time but no money.

When you are middle aged you have some money, some health but no time.

When you are older you have money and time, but little heath.

Lesson: borrow when you are young!

mark kibort

you know for me, i feel i WAS about 90% prepared for racing with my first race coming from DE. maybe it was the type of DE that NASA allowed for and the personalities that were running, but it was highly competitive DE (if that is a term that can be accepted). guys in the paddock were sizing folks up and picking their battles on the track. yes, they were battles, but controlled battles within the confines of the DE class . (i.e. group 1-2, 3 and 4 unlimited passing).
i thought that it really provided a path to w 2 w racing and a lot of motivation with guys wanting to race under more formal conditions. (along with preping their cars to do so..) some didnt have the cars, so went spec (name the affordable spec class... CMC, AS, etc) others just took their cars apart and made them race cars. being out there with the race classes each day gave a lot of exposure to racing. normal DE weekends dont do much of this, and dont feed the race clubs as well.

Making the best of what you have will always make you a better racer.
Some times the lack of funds and support is actually a good thing in the long run.

Frank 993 C4S

See you here!

No NJMP for you? It's my home track and I need the points - LOL!

audipwr1

I was totally bored of DE last year after 2 years of doing it and started racing this year

All due respect DE is nothing like racing, I can text during a DE session - DE is about time to chat cars which is cool, but it's not comparative to racing - I'm also certain club racing is a joke compared to pro racing - I just don't have that context

I'm also on the younger side, yes it's painfully expensive - running even a SPB at pointy end is endless check writing - thousands and thousands per event - car eats parts. Again I'm sure a cup guy would laugh at me and a IMSA guy would determine that my season running costs cover 1 20 minute practice for them.

If I wasn't fortunate / lucky / hard working to have the career I do (or to be lucky sperm club) there is no chance someone my age could spend at the clip I do at least.

It's probably a bit more expensive on an absolute basis than in the past so yeah probably skewing more towards folks in their 40s +. Safety gear, data acquisition, etc

Coloradoheel

NASA's contingency with Toyo is much better. I ran a 4th of July event and finished 1st/2nd in the 2 $$ races (only 3 SPB starters) and walked with $250 in toyo bucks.

Contingency Program Payout Schedule
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 10th – 14th
19+ starters $550 $450 $350 $150 $150 $50
9 – 18 starters $450 $350 $150 $100 $50 $25
5 – 8 starters $350 $150 $100 $50
3 – 4 starters $150 $100 $50

Beantown Kman

So true! Youth is truly wasted on the young!

JustinL

Try one of the endurance racing groups if you can. It's a different experience to the one man team racing. If you can get 4 friends together to build a car, you'll gain the wrenching skills you'll need. Or you can buy a pre-built car and split that among a team of 4; it can be more reasonable from a cost perspective. Alternatively rent a seat on an existing team to get in at the cheapest level.

I will also echo the mentor comments someone made previously. It is immensely helpful to have some more senior racers help you along. I've had huge help from the 'older than me' racers locally in terms of technical help, advice, and encouragement. There are ****** in any sample of the human population (except 944 owners), so just steer clear of them and hang out with the nice people. As more experienced racers we should make an effort to find the people who want to move into racing and offer them our help.

NaroEscape

My wife and I used to always be the youngest at PCA events: DE, socials, drives, etc. We joined in 1993 with a little 914 (so think about that...we were young AND we owned a car that many people joke is not a real Porsche!!). In all our years, we NEVER felt too young or put down by the "big 911 drivers". We did autocrosses and DE's right off the bat and a bunch of years later, I started Club Racing. We also do SCCA Hillclimbs and Time Trials - my wife does not feel comfortable with wheel to wheel, but TT is a great way to be competitive in a DE type atmosphere.

Oddly...now at 50ish, we are still kinda the young ones around...ESPECIALLY in SCCA! We went to a SCCA Divisional Awards Ceremony last winter, and one guy joked that the top 6 guys in their class were all on social security!! And looking around the room, I believed it!!

But...and a big but...we have no kids. so not only do we have the money, but we have the time. Big difference for us...

Porsche's are expensive. Period. Just about the only way you can get into PCA Club Racing on the "relatively" cheap is 944 SP1 class. But if you have to fix it, its still not cheap.

Go to a SCCA or NASA event, TT or Race...look at all the Miatas. Then look at the drivers. Either young, no family, or older with grown kids. It's relatively cheap racing, but those are the demographics that have the time...

Paseb

Haha frank

Please both come to road america

I need points too

mark kibort

Dont forget about the 928... its quick and very very cheap to operate. brake pads , oil changes and used tires for 15 years now on the same platform.
all it costs to build is the usual mods (headers ,bolt on suspension, wheels and a cage as you would with any car.) You end up with a car that sits right in the middle of GT3 or back of the pack, GT2 but still a heck of a lot of cheap dependable fun!

NaroEscape

Huh?? maybe cheap to run if it's running, but ANY work seems to cost an absolute fortune on these cars. That's why so many of them are rotting away, the cost of repair is way too great to be worth fixing.

David993S

Don't know how I missed this thread, but I just saw it. I haven't read all the posts, so this has probably been addressed in multiple ways, but here's my $0.02 worth:

I started racing with SCCA at the age of 28 in 1981 (so you can do the math for my age now). I raced for nearly 20 years at the (then) National level, and even back then many guys racing in the production classes were affectionately referred to as "gray beards". I retired from racing after a bad accident and now just do the occasional DE/track day and what I see in PCA DE's is the demographic is generally "older" (including myself in that category ). With track days in other organizations I see more younger (under 35-ish) drivers running less expensive street cars such as Hondas, etc.

As many have said, racing is very expensive even if you do it on a "budget". It takes a huge commitment of time, money, energy, etc. I understand why not many younger folks are getting into it. I know when I started racing at age 28 I made many sacrifices. One has to prioritize what they want to do and how much money one wants to devote to what amounts to a hobby for most of us.

Cheers.

Glen

Much to the chagrin of science.

We get faster as we get older!

ProCoach

Both, so true!