With the warmer weather coming I always get excited because that means racing season is near.
Most of you who know me know that I enjoy racing. And not drag racing, or street racing, but autocross and road racing, the kind where you utilize the whole automobile through many turns and twists. I have been racing about 3 years now and enjoying it thoroughly. Its an expensive hobby, between the maintenence of racing a car like a 350z and the expenses on part upgrades to help make yourself more competitive is not cheap on a car like mine. But alas, its a hobby I enjoy and I tend to keep myself grounded and responsible with the money that goes into it.
Currently my car is fairly competitive in its current state in its class (BSP). I wont go into the nitty gritty details of modifications, but its had quite a few thousand dollars invested into uprades over the years.
This season I wanted to focus on learning to drive. Yes, I do fairly well in autocross, but really I have never been educated on driving theory, skills, and techniques outside of reading or getting tips here and there from more seasoned drivers. This season I already have 1 performance driving school scheduled, and I hope to do 2 or 3.
Autocross is not a automotive sport that is highly dangerous, a novice can come to an event and run almost any car they have and have a good time. You race against the clock and there is little to no risk. However, this year I am going to start road racing as a supplement to my autocrossing. Road racing is much different from autocross in the sense that it is racing on a real road track, and speeds can exceed 100mph many times. There is also the added danger of having multpile cars on the course with you. With this kind of speed and risk, you really need to be very well educated and have the proper safety training, equipment, and understanding of how to drive a car at those speeds.
As I stated before, its no cheap hobby. One day of training runs $225 at the cheapest. Brakes cost $400, tires can run upwards of $1000, and etc. Maintenece on the car must be done early and often, and if something breaks, well you gotta fix that.
BUT the real reason for this blog is that today I found out that I will have a bit of help on the mechanical end and parts. Skidmore owner of a club that I participate in (“ZOOM” Z owners of the midwest) www.skidcity.com; has worked to get me some sponsorship from a few businesses:
Nismo – Nissan
Devoe Performance
1602 B East Kearney
868-8303
Youngblood Nissan
3505 S. Campbell • Springfield, MO 65807
1-866-537-3397 • (Local) 417-882-3838Nissan Sales Manager – Richard James
Nissan Sales- John GalloSkidcity.com – Nissan/Z enthusiast club
Here are a few pictures of my car, and a link to a video of me racing autocross last year. Click them to make them larger!
Enjoy!
Felix likes the new tires!
My car in its street form
My car on the autocross course
My new wheels for this season
New brakes for this season
Video of me racing at the autocross!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDoBiKZp7rs&hl=en]
Be prepared for more videos, pictures and posts about my racing journey this season.
Neil
