Youth Involvement in Motorsports

[JohnBM01]

Motorsports. The ultimate marriage between one driver's skill, the car he/she races, the track being raced, all in an effort to reach an ultimate goal. Bring in the youth for this one. When you are out to try to teach the youth about racing, what would you tell them? When I raced at Houston Indoor Kartzone, I came across some young children who were getting ready to race. And in so, I shown them the track map and my strategies in racing. But saying that I'm a road racing fan, if I had to teach or inform youth about racing, I probably wouldn't make a wonderful impact on telling people about racing. I'm not trying to start any rivalries, but when all America knows in racing is NASCAR, how do you teach youth about racing in America, if not the world of racing? From what perspective do you teach racing to the youth so that they can make their journey to motorsports greatness? How do you get the youth involved in motorsports?

I'll start.

Basically, I'd love to teach youth that while NASCAR has a lot of drama in races and even though it makes for great action (they say), I'd teach youth to take a look at sportscar racing, if not road racing in general. To me, I would highly stress this because when you're racing, there will be drama, but would even Johnny Herbert do such a thing as "bump drafting" to try to pass another P1-class car? No, because what would happen? He'd end up having front-end aerodynamics altered, maybe even a stop-go penalty for rough driving, and maybe even ugly up another car. I know most American racing series aren't about sophistication (no offense), I'd teach the youth that racing is about having fun, while at the same time, carrying a degree of respect and sportsmanship. It's kind of like learning martial arts, and I think that's how people are taught about martial arts.

GTPlanet, this topic is about youth involvement in motorsports as well as teaching them about motorsport in general. So if you would like to contribute, go ahead.

 

[kart racer]

God have I been away for a while.As you all know by now, I feel the best way for anyone to get into racing is threw karting.The kids have been joining our ranks this year in record numbers. All of them have different tastes on racing, but they all see karting as the best way to start racing.The great thing is that they are bringing kids that are not as into the sport of racing and would like to learn more.We like to get them involved around the track as much as we can, working the pits and the corners, this seems to give them a better understanding of the sport. As of the spring of 2005, the local kart track up here will be doing a 250,000.00 upgrade. Once this is done, we will be able to put on driving classes for bikes and cars.I hope that this will futher the intrest in racing around here.

 

[Azuremen]

Kart racing is a good way to start, I agree.

I myself have started with local autocross groups, with what was my street car, a 94 Toyota Tercel. Even with such an underpowered car, you learn quite a bit and it is a great deal of fun. The group I'm with is quite accepting of novices, with a novice class and very helpful people around, willing to give advice on teh course to tire pressure.

The nice thing about autocross is you need to have an ok car, a license, and about 20 dollars. By an ok car, I mean its in one piece and is not falling apart, most people's cars would do fine. Its cheap, easy, and safe.

Plus, you get to meet people that are involved in more serious level racing and what not, and making contacts is always nice.

 

[Blake]

I've always wanted to get into motorsport through karting but to tell you the truth, for me, it's just too expensive. I can't afford to buy and run a kart. I think when I get my driving license I'll apply for a CAMS license and get into motokhana and khanacross type events.

 

[DRIFT4EVA]

3 of my friends do speedway. One has a Minisprint and the other two do the saloons. My friend who races a minisprint, crashed a couple weeks back. He ripped off the whole right side. Luckily he had many spare parts. In a small town where I live. Motorsport is a big thing.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I've always wanted to get into motorsport through karting but to tell you the truth, for me, it's just too expensive. I can't afford to buy and run a kart. I think when I get my driving license I'll apply for a CAMS license and get into motokhana and khanacross type events.

Exactly the same for me. I just like to go to the local kart hire place, thats always fun with my step brother.

 

[Blake]

Where me and my friends are going for schoolies there is a kart hire place that apparantly has decent karts (the friends who's beach house it is is the #2 karter in NSW and he knows what he's talking about -- he'd be #1 if the guy in 2nd didn't ride over his back tire on the 2nd last corner an let the guy in 3rd take the lead) so we'll be having fun there in between hangovers

 

[Cap'n Jack]

IN between hangovers? Try and drive drunk!

 

[Blake]

You don't want us to come back from schoolies do you?

 

[Cap'n Jack]

No, not really...

 

[Gordonfan24]

Basically, I'd love to teach youth that while NASCAR has a lot of drama in races and even though it makes for great action (they say), I'd teach youth to take a look at sportscar racing, if not road racing in general. To me, I would highly stress this because when you're racing, there will be drama, but would even Johnny Herbert do such a thing as "bump drafting" to try to pass another P1-class car? No, because what would happen? He'd end up having front-end aerodynamics altered, maybe even a stop-go penalty for rough driving, and maybe even ugly up another car. I know most American racing series aren't about sophistication (no offense), I'd teach the youth that racing is about having fun, while at the same time, carrying a degree of respect and sportsmanship. . .

Now hold on a second... I know it says "no offense", but I have to say something. You may not think that I, as a NASCAR fan, know who Johnny Herbert is, but I do, and I know what type of car he drives too (not make, type). But what I have to say is that you only see bump drafting four times a year in NASCAR - at restrictor plate races. There is a reason for that and it's to make the cars go faster. But you don't see them doing it at most other tracks, unless the car in front is much slower (which I've seen in sports car races also). They do it then to get the cars out of the way, getting into the corner, which most other auto racing series' do. Another reason they can bump draft is the material the car is made out of. In NASCAR, we use sheet metal. In LeMans racing, most cars are carbon fiber or urethane. You're not gonna mess up the front of a very expensive carbon fiber front fascia are you? But if it's a well-supported and well-braced piece of sheet metal, why not? I don't disagree, though, I'd teach my kids (although I'm 15 now) about all series. Basically, I'd let him/her choose. Now, I have a lot of respect for you, John, and I'm not trying to start any crap, I was just making a point, and I hope I did...It sounded alright in my head, but getting it down on the forums is a bit harder.

As for my thoughts on the youth in auto racing... I fully support it, even though I have no way of getting into racing yet. I think a Bandolero and Legends car is a good way to start out. But then again, there are those who say, "well, they go in circles too". And yes, they do, but they also run on road courses, and I think that 600racing, the company selling those cars, has an SCCA package for the Legends cars. I think those cars are both cool-looking and fast, and a nice, relatively cheap way to get into racing. Bandoleros go for about $7000 USD, new; $4000 USD used. Legends cars are $13000 or so new; as low as $8500 USD used. And once you buy the car, it comes race ready, and 600racing sells any and all spares you may need. (I should get paid for all this sucking-up...maybe with a new Legends car?) I'll attatch a picture, in case you guys have never seen one.

The first pic is a Bandolero, the second is a Legends car (a 34 Chevy Coupe model):

 

[Blake]

I'd want to get a Bandolero car, that thing looks pretty good. How do they go on track?

 

[Cap'n Jack]

That Legends car reminds me of the Aussie racing cars.

 

[JohnBM01]

Now don't ge me wrong. I actually liked that Summer Shootout stuff. The Bandoleros are pretty nice machines. Those Legends cars are pretty cool as well. But I'd really recommend that. I even heard these machines do some road racing as well.

 

[Blake]

How do they perform on track?

 

[Gordonfan24]

Bandoleros have about 20-30 horsepower, depending on different setups (really for the younger ones from 8-16, but there is no maximum age limit, well, until you can't fit in the car). The Legends car though, gets a whopping 140 hp!! What the Legends cars are is a 5/8 scale running model of their actual 1930s-40s street car. They're fast, and cool to watch too. If your local short track has that series, I strongly recommend going.
Yeah, they run dirt, asphalt, road courses, ovals. . . you name it. The company that makes them also makes what they call a Thunder Roadster, but that's not really for youths. It's 16+ I think, so I've got one more year. They're pretty cheap too, considering you get a race ready car...

Here's the site for much more info than I can provide:
600Racing

And some pics of the Thunder Roadster (the second pic isn't too great, but it's of one in a race):

 

[Blake]

As Jack said those Legends cars are very similar to Aussie racing cars. They have a carbon fibre body around a small chassis and roll cage, a engine that's fairly powerful (I forget the figures) and they go about 200kmh. The great thing is because of the power to weight ratio they are only a few seconds slower than V8 Supercars.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Yeah. They are great cars to watch. Also, watching them in the rain is fair cool too.

 

[Blake]

I haven't seen them race in rain, the worst I saw was a street track with a hell of alot of leaves. Possibly Melbourne.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I'm pretty sure they raced in the rain at Eastern creek.

 

[Firestarter75]

Gordonfan, as far as seeing those things up close I am going to tell you NOT to road race a Legends car. Couple of reasons:

1) HINGED roll cage- when you open the door... the roll cage goes with the body work, not a good thing. In an impact that hinge is a weak spot.
2) Very light weight- In SEDIV SCCA you are grouped with the production cars, I watched a Legends car spin out and get hit by a 2800 pound E Prod. Guess who lost and lost badly?
3) God forbid you hit concrete with one- After watching just how bad that suspension crumpled in a 25 MPH impact I can only hope you don't hit a 3K concrete wall at 60 MPH.
4) Keep the things on small ovals- the cage and safety structures are more suited for it.

Now I will suggest to you a similar BUT it can take a lickin and keep on ticking. The Formula 500. F500's are essentially large go-karts. Powered by a motorcycle or snowmobile motor with drive provided through a clutch straight to the drive wheels. No gearbox, no suspension. The wheels ride on pieces of rubber about 1 1/2 inches high to give you ground clearance. All your adjustments are made through tire pressure and getting the clutch to grab properly. A typical regional F500 will run you 10K, a good one that can do decent at the national level will be 15K-20K. If you can't afford to road race immediatly you can still have a blast playing with it on SOLO 2 courses. They are very crash worthy and easy to repair. Last year at Road Atlanta i had a 500 end up with me after spinning in the gravel, told me about his teammate bump drafting him on the backstretch into the wall. So you figured he had hit about 100 MPH... he came out without a scratch and was out the next day.

 

[Gordonfan24]

Gordonfan, as far as seeing those things up close I am going to tell you NOT to road race a Legends car. Couple of reasons:

1) HINGED roll cage- when you open the door... the roll cage goes with the body work, not a good thing. In an impact that hinge is a weak spot.
2) Very light weight- In SEDIV SCCA you are grouped with the production cars, I watched a Legends car spin out and get hit by a 2800 pound E Prod. Guess who lost and lost badly?
3) God forbid you hit concrete with one- After watching just how bad that suspension crumpled in a 25 MPH impact I can only hope you don't hit a 3K concrete wall at 60 MPH.
4) Keep the things on small ovals- the cage and safety structures are more suited for it.

I wasn't saying that you should go and run them right from the manufacturer...because, like you said, "they're made for small ovals." You're obviously going to have to do some fabricating to strengthen the chassis, and body and cage, for it to adjust to left and right turns, and for the abuse most cars get from running road courses. And I made a mistake, the Thunder Roadster comes with the SCCA option, not the Legends car. But like I said, you could, if you wanted to, probably run it in certain classes in SCCA events, like you mentioned.

But as for me, I wouldn't want to get my kids started right away on road courses, in any car (and, yes, karts are an exception). I'd want them to get to know the car and how it handles in a "confined" area, like a short track. You could learn how it accelerates, brakes, and all that at a short track...but that's just me.

 

[Firestarter75]

I forgot about the ThunderRoadster, its a piece of crap... don't even bother. Those cars are SLOW. You COULD run one of them nationally but its classed as a C Sports Racer and even properly driven I think it would be off 15 seconds/lap @ Road Atlanta from our national drivers.

There is not much you can do strengthen the Legends car due to the bodywork nor is it allowed by the rules that I know of. The bodywork is a tight fit and soon you are fabricating all kinds of stuff.

Frankly you are missing the boat on SOLO 2, it will teach more on how a car accelerates, brakes and turns then any short track. Short track you throttle, brake, turn left and repeat. SOLO 2 on the regional and national level you are faced with a mini-road course with top speeds at best 60MPH at most regional events, nationals may push it to 80 MPH but usually that is the national championship in Topeka. There are a variety of corners and usually a slalom. You can run your street car as is providing it passes a standerd safety inspection which checks for loose crap and enough tread on tires. All you need is a helmet which you can buy or arrange for a loaner and a regular seat belt. In fact you and your kids can run the same car, just change numbers. If you have a daughter she can run in the ladies class. Big thing is going to be tires, pads and rotors. The expierance will do wonders no matter which avenue of motorsports they pursue.

 

[Gordonfan24]

I forgot about the ThunderRoadster, its a piece of crap... don't even bother. Those cars are SLOW. You COULD run one of them nationally but its classed as a C Sports Racer and even properly driven I think it would be off 15 seconds/lap @ Road Atlanta from our national drivers.

There is not much you can do strengthen the Legends car due to the bodywork nor is it allowed by the rules that I know of. The bodywork is a tight fit and soon you are fabricating all kinds of stuff.

Frankly you are missing the boat on SOLO 2, it will teach more on how a car accelerates, brakes and turns then any short track. Short track you throttle, brake, turn left and repeat. SOLO 2 on the regional and national level you are faced with a mini-road course with top speeds at best 60MPH at most regional events, nationals may push it to 80 MPH but usually that is the national championship in Topeka. There are a variety of corners and usually a slalom. You can run your street car as is providing it passes a standerd safety inspection which checks for loose crap and enough tread on tires. All you need is a helmet which you can buy or arrange for a loaner and a regular seat belt. In fact you and your kids can run the same car, just change numbers. If you have a daughter she can run in the ladies class. Big thing is going to be tires, pads and rotors. The expierance will do wonders no matter which avenue of motorsports they pursue.

You're right, I forgot all about Solo events. But don't you need a license for those? I very well could be wrong, but I thought I read somewhere that you needed a basic driver's license for those events. I don't think it was SCCA.org though, so it could be false information...

 

[Firestarter75]

I think for car it may be a regular driver license but if you are running a kart you may be able to start them as young as 12, for that you would have to check with your local SCCA region.

 

[Blake]

Are those SOLO evens like autocross or something?

 

[JohnBM01]

You know what I found funny about last year's Summer Shootout? The race Speed Channel shown was at Charlotte Motor Speedway (or Lowe's Motor Speedway), the configuration was an oval. But when NASCAR races the big oval and there's rain, no oval racing. I know how dangerous it can be in the rain on the oval, but the Summer Shootout machines must be pretty nice to race in the rain in NASCAR country.

I don't know if it was the Legends cars or the Roadsters, but one of them had a pretty nice mtorcycle-like roar. I would probably like to race (that is, if I could and if I had a license) one of those roadsters. Only thing is that I heard they spin pretty easy. But I'd really like to race a Bandolero. No doubt about it.

 

[Blake]

John, you've got to get on MSN more

Yeah the Bandolero looks great, I'm sure it'd be quite alot of fun to race. Are those half decent safety wise?

 

[Gordonfan24]

John, you've got to get on MSN more

Yeah the Bandolero looks great, I'm sure it'd be quite alot of fun to race. Are those half decent safety wise?

They're primarily made for young racers (like I said before, 8-16 years old), so yeah, they should be pretty safe. And they don't go too fast, considering they only have about 25hp...

Are those SOLO evens like autocross or something?

Yeah. (Simply put...) And there's also SOLO rallies.


And John, the Legends cars use Yamaha 1200cc engines... and the Thunder Roadsters use a Yamaha 1250cc engine with an exhaust system, so that would probably be why they sounded like motorcycles.

 

[Blake]

Oh, sounds like the Bandoleros would be a good way to get into racing.

Yeah, I want to get my CAMS (racing) licence so I can enter Motokhana (Autrocross) and Khanacross (Autocross rallies), I think that would be a safe and fun way to put your car through it's paces a little bit.