nickthegenius

I have a '90 Sentra that I use for a daily driver and I would like to do some SCCA racing with it. There are quite a few events at Inidanapolis Raceway Park and other venues around the area, but even after reading the SCCA site, I still don't understand the groupings for classes.

I originally wanted to do some of the road-rally events which are basically timed events on what appear to be public roads (possibly desolate county roads that are shut down for the event?). There is a notice on the site that all Road Rally events are suspended until further notice. My guess is someone got hurt doing something stupid!?! Not sure, though.

So if I wanted to do something with the car on a roadcourse or track, is it the Solo 1 or Solo 2 that I want? I want a class that isn't aimed for "serious"racers, but for the person that wants to have fun with thier car on the weekend.

What do you guys recommend to start in? I like drag racing in my Mustang, but that gets old after a while and I don't feel competent running the Mustang on the roadcourse. I think running a 90hp car is a better place to start.

Any help or comments prepping are appreciated too!

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1990 Nissan Sentra- nursing it along until the strut towers rust out completely
1998 Triumph Daytona- Hindle hi-mount, euro undertail, carbon fiber bits.
'03 Mustang GT- SOLD

Felonious Cat Stalker

SCCA Club Rally (performance) is suspended until further notice due to the death of 2 spectators at a recent event.

Performance rally is like what you see on TV, with prepared cars and full roll cages, helmets, etc on closed roads.

Road Rally is done on open roads with avg speeds that are below the speed limit, which can still be a challenge on some roads they use.

My suggestion is that you start by finding a local group, either in the SCCA or otherwise, that does Solo II or Auto-X. This is the most basic way of trying it out, you don't need any special equipment and they should even be able to supply a helmet rental. Solo II is usually done in a large parking lot. It isn't as fast or fun as a track, but there's less chance that going off course will result in damaging your car.

Once you've done that and have improved your abilities, move on to Solo I, which is done on a track but with only one car running at a time or no passing or on to lapping days, which aren't competitve but give you a ton of seat time.

If you do try Solo II, try to be humble when you show up. No matter how good a driver you are or think you are, the regulars can always teach you a thing or two and are more likely to help someone who wants to learn than someone who is cocky and thinks he's the fastest.

Ask lots of questions in the Autocross section of this site and in the Rally section too.

And finally, unless your Mustang is set up for drag only, don't be afraid to run it in Auto-X too. You will not only have a lot of fun with it, but you will learn A LOT MORE about the handling and dynamics than you could learn on the street and this knowledge may save you ass some day when a big honkin' SUV blows a red light in front of you.

Good luck.

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