I want to join nasa so i can do some track racing after my car is done. Has anyone done this or is anyone doing this racing?

how is it? i understand you start with an instructor and move up and all that. however, other than that, i dont know much about it

 

Sounds like you're talking about HPDE vs actual W2W or TT. You have to get seat time to work your way up even in the HPDE group. As far as acquiring a competitive license, I'm in the dark there...surely their website has some info.

 

I got my competition license through NASA. Their HPDE program is a great way to learn because you are in your own car and you can move up at your own speed when you are comfortable. You meet a lot of great people in the process of moving through HPDE and most of the time can find someone to mentor you through the process of getting your license.

 

is it anything like scca track racing or is that different somehow?

 

I think all the info is on the NASA site. Just google NASA HPDE or something.

 

wow thanks for posting

 

I instruct for NASA and race with the SCCA. I began with HPDE 1 and moved my way up to 4 by doing many track days and Skip Barber's racing school at Laguna Seca. Then, I raced for a year and became a NASA instructor.

To get to racing through NASA's system, start with HPDE 1 and work your way through the ranks to Group 4 and become comfortable and consistent on track. Then, take your competition license checkout. If you pass, you can then race wheel to wheel. It will take a minimum of about 15 track days before you are ready to move on to wheel to wheel racing and it can take as long as 30 or 40 days depending on the pace that you learn and any experience you have already.

I race with the SCCA and love the competition but I believe that their "3 day racing school" makes it too easy to get into a race. Just because you can be racing doesn't mean you should be racing- if you are not on pace and do not have the situational awareness to deal with being passed at a high rate of speed, it is better to stick to trackdays.

PM me with any specific questions, I'll try to help.