Challenge questions (costs and skill level)

On the streets in GA and MS,........LOL!

He could add, "and heck ANYWHERE, after dark!"

Those B/J guys are real w@nkers!

 

Funny story about Quentin and Sara (she was fast). After Quentin made the switch to FoH, he still continued to drive the red 360 even though the FoH cars were all silver. At one of the races he was running 2nd behind doc Earle about two laps from the end of the race with McCormick running up his exhaust. They were overtaking the late Dr. E.M. who was running in his customary last position. Dr. M saw the red car behind Doc Earles car and thought it was from one of the competing dealerships and let Doc Earle by and then cut off Quentin. When he did this, McCormick ducked by on the inside and took 2nd away and finished 2nd for the day. Quentin and Dr. M were both on the FoH team but Dr. M made a bad call and caused his teammate to drop a position. Quentin was fit to be tied and it took several of the FoH pit crew members to keep him off Dr. M after the race ended.

Bruce, weren't you there taking pictures that weekend. I am sure you remember when it happened. I believe it was in the 2001 season.

And yes, Dr. M was a great guy and his wife is a hoot.

Rob, concerning whether Dr. M ever had a 360C, that was his red 360 challenge that was upstairs at FoD when you first came to look at the 355C. Just at the top of the stairs on the east side of the building next to his red Viper....

 

Rob, Bruce is absolutely right here. It was a given that the European cars were lighter, more powerful and faster than their American counterparts. There were probably three or four American drivers who could have been very competitive given equal cars but alas, it is not to be.

Bruce,

When you see Carol, Joe M. and Mr. Risi at FoH, tell them I said hello. I sure miss that crowd.. Is Scott still in service? I assume he is.....

 

Yes Scott is still the man.

I will pass on the hello.

 

Ferrari Challenge would get expensive in a heart beat, plus like everyone keeps saying its more of a gentleman's racing deal. Another "cheap" racing series to think about is Honda Challenge. Our very own Jon Koford aka FLATOUTRACING drives a former Grand Am Integra in it. Almost every race the winner (generally Mr. Koford himself) executed the pass on the very last lap. One truly memorable race was at Summit Point where JPK, Gregg Ginsberg and Lyonel Kent traded hot laps Ginsberg won on the very last lap by a car length. You could probably run a whole season worth of Honda Challenge or some of the smaller series for the cost of a single Ferrari Challenge race.

 

I think some clarification is in order. The term "gentleman's racing" is an old throw back to the 50's and 60's of privateers who would bring or drive their cars to the track and have some fun with their 250 SWB's, 275's and 356's.

To term the Challenge Series a "gentleman's" series implies that they are doing some parade laps. I watched quite a few Challenge races over the years and it's hard racing just like any other series whether it be SCCA, NASA, or Grand Am. While the talent may not be professional it's still quite good.

Mr. Kofod and I are good friends. He helps me set up my Porsche Cup car at Summit Point on frequent occasions.

What axemansean said is somewhat true. It all boils down to how much disposable money you have and how much of a requirement it is that you race a specific marque such as a Porsche, Ferrari, or Lamborghini. You can race everything in Porsche from a $4000 924 to a $200,000 911. However, there is no cheap way to race a Ferrari. You are stuck with either a 348, 355, or 360.

Jon helped me look for a 348 Challenge for about six months, but after hearing his stories of how much his repair bills were for two minor incidents I decided racing a Ferrari was not for me. I ended up buying a used Cup car from Europe with the intention of racing it.

In the end I even decided against racing the Cup car. I use it in the same way Jon used his 355. It's simply to have fun at FCA and PCA track events. Jon talked me into either joining the Spec Miata series or Honda Challenge. I ran two races last season in Spec Miata and it was a blast.

It may not sound as glorius as racing a Porsche GT3 or 360 Challenge, but the talent level in both series is close to professional at the front of the grid. There are at least 4 or 5 racers in Speed Touring that started out in Spec Miata.

I attended several SCCA races and also watched Jon race his Grand Am Acura last season. It looked like a blast watching nearly 40 Spec Miatas go into the first turn at Summit Point.

If some of you are wondering how close the racing is pick up this month's copy of Grassroot's Motorsport. There is a one page article on Jon's Championship season.

In the end if you have the funds to race in the Challenge series or say Porsche Supercup in Europe I am sure it's a lot of fun, but don't let lack of funds keep you from racing. The adrenaline rush is the same whether you just won a Challenge race on the last lap or a Spec Miata race.

Andy F.

 

Andy, that's about as well-put as possible. One of the biggest misconceptions I've dealt with--from friends and occasionally from others--is the thought that the quality of racing correlates directly to the cost/heritage of machinery. It's awesome to watch a field of Neons or FVees dicing around the track. I love it at all levels, and you realize quickly that there are some great drivers top to bottom. They just don't all wear Marlboro overalls.

 

That is quite true Andrew. When I got into racing I wanted to race something cool. So I went into formula cars first with Skip Barber for a season, but the racing wasn't all that competitive (one or two hotshoes and the rest of us).

I looked at SCCA but the fields in open wheel are very small at the Regional level and even at the National level it'***** or miss in FA and FC.

I was told that the best way to learn to race "..is to race with someone". Formula Ford, C Sports, D Sports, and other classes are practically dead at the Regional level so I went with Spec Racer Ford which is about the most competitive and has the largest fields (until Spec Miata took that honor the past two years).

Unless you race in a class with large fields you end up learning very little unless you are naturally gifted and can race with the fast guys.

Regards,

Jon

PS: Here is a link to my season highlight video to show how close the racing can be at the club level:
http://jpkofod.lunarpages.com/2004h4.wmv