NASA racing anyone?

Raced with NASA for the first time this weekend. Anyone else here done the same? I'd be interested in gathering impressions, or having some background about what NASA is trying to do with their racing program.

Briefly, I found NASA very responsive & seemingly racer oriented. I contacted them for the first time last Monday and, by Friday, had a NASA membership & racing license (courtesy of my SCCA National license). The on site registration, tech and national folks were incredibly helpful and efficient.

At the event, at Mid-Ohio, the racing seemed to me close but very clean. The smaller bore classes were very popular - spec miata, honda challenge, and others. Some Vipers and Vettes - some nice looking Mustangs. A number of Porsches, many with PCA club racing decals. Most cars on DOT race tires.

NASA kept tech open all day Friday - so no hours long tech lines as in SCCA. Also, registration was a breeze. I have no idea why NASA can do all this, and SCCA can't, but perhaps NASA's reference to its onsite registration office as "customer service" says it all.

The 360C landed in a class nominally called "Super Unlimited" but which really could just as well be called "other." No idiotic roll cage change, as required for SCCA! I was allowed to race my car with the GT style go-fast wing and splitter, and on Pirelli slicks. The car was a bit out of place at this particular event, though, because it was simply more car than anyone else brought. Given the relatively open rules of the class, I assume it would not take long in a NASA season to run into a car that would crush the 360C.

How did I do? I was the only "SU" class car, and I finished, so I now can claim to be undefeated in my NASA career. Time to retire.

Will

 

For the uninitiated - NASA = National Auto Sport Association.

Race, not space.

 

first thing i thought of was the space program and the space shuttle on the Nurburgring the other day

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=135742137&postcount=441

 

Jon (Kofod) aka FLATOUTRACING is a two time (04 & 05) NASA Honda Challenge champion. Does Rob (Lay) race with NASA too?

I did one time trial with NASA at VIR - Patriot in Feb, so I can't share much as I have mainly run with SCCA.

 

I do in Florida.
Current point leader in my class.

Lots of fun.

 

I think the quality of racing within NASA here in the Mid Atlantic Region have greatly improved in the last few years with people like Jon and his teammates racing. I watched Jon and Ian Carpenter battle it out for most of the 2004 season and their races were some of the best I have seen in either SCCA or NASA.

That being said it's hard to figure out many of the vast variety of classes within the NASA structure. I thought about racing my GT3 Cup last year but I am still learning the car and trying to come to grips with the level of performance. I know last year Spencer Pumpelly and a few other Rolex guys raced a few times in NASA Mid Atlantic so there should be some competition showing up for your 360 Challenge.

 

As the recognition grows we will see those different groups shrink I think. Much like in SCCA there are various groups but unless you have at least 3-4 cars competing in a group that are of equal you won't get much recognition. So all you racers out there....report to NASA racing

I am back in the sattle on Sunday with NASA in Homestead.

 

NASA has come a long way since it started here in the Mid Atlantic region 5 years ago. But as other's have pointed out, the class structure is somewhat confusing and many classes have one or two cars racing in them.

I won two Honda Challenge championships with NASA and had some great battles but the competition was a bit thin the second year. And in fact had my teammate Ian not raced in 04 it would have been thin on competition again.

One of the reasons I switched back over to SCCA and ITA is the level of competition. I will be going from fields of 6-8 cars in class to fields of 30+ cars in ITA. The top ten racers will be within a half second of each other. And anyone of those top ten will have a shot at winning the race.

Lastly, the flagging at an SCCA event is far superior to a NASA event. Even the events that NASA uses SCCA flaggers (Mid Ohio) are hamstrung by the race officials who are inexperienced NASA people.

Overall NASA is a making great strides but in terms of organization and saftey they still have a lot of work to do.

Kind Regards,

JK

 

NASA has come a long way and continues to improve. I have raced both SCCA and NASA SpecMiata. SCCA can be a pain, but I prefer the more strict structure better, and I also believe the level of competition is better. The one thing that always bothers me about NASA has been that there seems to be more hail mary passing attempts and more car damages in a big class like SpecMiata. At the end of the day, if you are a junkie, any track time is good track time, and you do get good track time per dollar with NASA.

 

I did some photography for NASA the other week....I really liked the series! It has a more laidback feel to it....compared to the SCCA.

 

It seems to me that NASA is concerned with getting people on the track whereas SCCA is concerned with finding reasons to keep you off the track if you haven't done things precisely their way.

 

NASA works for me.

"...Given the relatively open rules of the class, I assume it would not take long in a NASA season to run into a car that would crush the 360C..."

Yup. I built my car with this group & class in mind.

1987 Porsche 944 - 2600lbs - 600HP all alloy V8 - Full coil-over multi-adjust race suspension - Quaife torque bias diff - 50/50 weight ratio.

Hope to see you soon.
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Grab a BImmer and run with the big boys BMWCCA

GTS challenge is another new hot series and USTCC is also a great venue.

The ferrari Ch's are quick, but when comapred to full out racecars in PCA/BMWCCA, for the dollar, these cars are producing faster lap times (less money, and faster lap times).

There's a different between quick and fast

NASA is a great venue for many classes though, and PDA has recently taken over NASA Northeast, so that should be poretty interesting.

I'm hoping to rent a spec miata later this year, but I'm in the process of acquiring a new BMW project so that might be higher on the priority list for a while. E46 M3 mmmm

 

Aside from a racing license and car, what's required to race in NASA? I have track experience, i.e., FCA events, but would like to get into competitive racing (in a way that's not too hard a hit financially). Would NASA be an appropriate program, maybe in the Miata or some other uniform spec class? Do you need a "crew" for maintenance during the race, or do you fly solo without making any stops? How many laps/how long do the races go? What are the costs involved? Are there many racing newbies involved, or is it generally more experienced drivers? Thanks for any information you can provide.

 

100% true! I think NASA will be the club to be in, in the up coming years.

 

NASA and SCCA are at two extremes.

NASA makes it very easy to get on to the track and hassle free (good quality) but once on the track saftey and organization is not even close to SCCA's standards.

The reverse is true of SCCA. It's a royal pain in the a$$ to get onto the track but once there saftey and organization are untouchable.

At most SCCA weekends in my region you stand in line for registration for hours, then move on to tech which takes a while, and then there is more paperwork and things to get done. At some events all this is done the night before to allow time the next day for the important stuff.

By contrast NASA has race group Liason's for each group. I literally showed up race morning and got my required arm bands and tech stickers from our Honda Challenge directors. It took all of 10 mimutes and I was ready to go racing.

the flip side of this I mentioned earlier is flagging. I am used to SCCA flaggers (not used in the NASA Mid Atlantic or Indiana/Ohio Regions at most tracks). Each corner station at an SCCA race at Summit Point is manned by at least two to three corner workers. In between these stations sit more corner workers with firebottles. At a typical SCCA weekend at Summit there are close to 25 people on track watching over your saftey.

At the same track on a NASA weekend there are corner stations which aren't even maned. There are literally no in between workers and at most there might be 7-10 corner workers.

I have been in very dangerous and compromising postions that weren't handled very well by NASA flaggers (which tend to me HPDE particpants in my region).

NASA is also very lax with tech inspection and cheating in my opinion.

Both organizations offer something different but neither has the whole package. I think both extreme's are moving toward the middle but both are a ways off.

I started in SCCA, after a brief stint with Skip Barber (race series not the school). I race with NASA for two years because my car was competitively classed in Honda Challenge bit I am now back with SCCA for a number of reasons on of which is competition.

This week is the opening round of the SCCA MARRS Series. We have 29 cars in ITA and nearly 50 split between two race groups (ITA/ITB). The competition will be close to Speed World Challenge levels.

Regards,

JK

 

"At most SCCA weekends in my region you stand in line for registration for hours, then move on to tech which takes a while, and then there is more paperwork and things to get done."


Jon, I think all this lining up is unnecessary, even ignorant. As a "customer," it's a strong incentive to take my $$ elsewhere. I love the Glen Nationals, but the requirement that one register for the entire weekend on Friday morning has made it pretty unpleasant.

I suspect NASA will have have to become more like SCCA - at least where the rules, tech and protests are concerned - as it grows. People who can't win on the track will always want to try to win in "court."

 

"Aside from a racing license and car, what's required to race in NASA? I have track experience, i.e., FCA events, but would like to get into competitive racing (in a way that's not too hard a hit financially). Would NASA be an appropriate program, maybe in the Miata or some other uniform spec class? Do you need a "crew" for maintenance during the race, or do you fly solo without making any stops? How many laps/how long do the races go? What are the costs involved? Are there many racing newbies involved, or is it generally more experienced drivers? Thanks for any information you can provide."


Check out nasaproracing.com - the site explains how to go racing, as does the scca's site.

Not directly answering your question, but: if I were getting into racing, I'd seriously consider the Skip Barber or Panoz race series. The costs seem high until you've owned and run your own car for a while - add up car + race prep + tow vehicle + trailer. One of the great benefits of Panoz and Skippy is the limited liability for crash damage - I've paid to fix my own cars, and I've paid the max to fix a Skippy car, and I like their number better. Just my 2 cents.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the info.