any suggestions on explaining to me how to race someone properly, there is more to it then pressing the gas.

 

Fair question from a 17 year old. Here is my answer, not on the street! There certainly is much more than just pressing the go pedal.

You are at an in between age. You are in between bicycles and cars, boy and man, high school and the rest of your life, living at home and having to provide one, etc, etc.

As for racing, at 17 I don't think you would be allowed to drive at a track day, but not sure. If by "the valley" you mean the San Fernando Valley, there is Willow Springs and the Streets of Willow Springs. They hold many driving school.track day events there in relative safety. HDDP can help out with this. He runs a race prepped NASA certified Crossfire at this type event.

While street racing may have a lot of excitement, it is totally illegal, and dangerous. In SoCal the police are confiscating the racers cars and crushing them. They did this on the news in the last few weeks. At 17 we have a tendency to think we are immortal. Too often we are proven wrong.

Don't get me wrong, racing can be fun AND instructional. Going to a high performance driving clinic even teaches an old dog like me some new tricks. A powerful car is like a loaded weapon. In skilled hands it is (mostly) safe, but in an inexperienced hand it can be lethal.

I hope other members of the forum can suggest some safe and controlled driving events that even a 17 year old can participate in. Patience is not usually a youthful virtue, but it just might allow you to age into an old fool.

 

Step 1: Go to the track.


Once there, talk to anybody you can. Most people there will be more than happy to show you the path to enlightenment.

 

I recommend that you look into the SCCA Solo II also known as autocross. I know that SOCAL has a many excellent clubs with thousands of members. There are many members at each track event that will support you in learning to work the extreme limits of your vehicles capabilities. There will be plenty of racers there of all ages, age does not equal ability when it comes to racing. Autocross is safe and inexpensive timed events with only one car on the track at a time, so there is little chance of you damaging your vehicle. The Crossfire is an outstanding performance car and their are racers on this site who can give you basic starting points to help prep your car for an event, look in the racing thread under DS preps. The SOCAL SCCA clubs also have planned track days so you will be able to get time at different tracks in the area. If your more into 1/4 or 1/8th mile racing check out the last few links for street legal racing events. I know that SOCAL police ran a free 1/8th mile racing event known as Speed Freaks at the Chargers Stadium but I can't find the link.

The most important thing is to "Keeping it off the streets"!!

http://www.solo2.com/

http://www.sfrscca.org/content/view/4555/32/

http://www.scca-sopac.org/

http://www.team-socal.org/

http://www.ulv.edu/comms/lvm/winter_2007/racing.htm

http://www.koaa.com/community/listen...?TOPIC_ID=3847

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...4/ai_n11811919

 

What kind of racing - straight line, or round curves?
Little different strategy.

 

I have the perfect answer to your question http://www.nasaproracing.com. There is a region near you that teaches new drivers called HPDE (High Performance Driver Education). They also teach you that racing on the street is like giving an automatic weapon to someone having an epileptic fit...