This IMSA.com Contributor Explains How Fans Can Become Racers
By Godwin Kelly
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – You can do it … in sports car racing.
Let’s say you go to a Major League Baseball game and you dream you are on the field, bat in hand ready to smack a fastball over the center-field fence. And then, of course, somebody spills an ice-cold beer in your lap at the stadium and you’re abruptly brought back to reality.
In all likelihood, you will never set foot on an MLB diamond, unless you are chosen for a foot race with the team mascot or selected for a hot dog eating competition between innings.
That’s the case in a majority of professional athletic categories with one huge exception – motorsports, and specifically sports car racing. I don’t have statistical data to back up this claim, only chit-chat comments from the garage area, but I’d dare say one in three of today’s IMSA competitors likely experienced their first sports car race watching from the grandstands or from an infield perch.
Some of these folks enjoy the experience so much, they start looking at ways of becoming a participant, such as attending a high-performance driving school or entering a local autocross. Suddenly, you’ve moved from your seat in Turn 1 to getting behind the wheel of an automobile for competition.
For those who fall completely in love and have the necessary, unwavering ambition, there is nothing stopping them from competing at the highest level; yes, even for those with an AARP card in the wallet.
There are several paths to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, or in baseball parlance, the “Big Show.” The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a common route with many ways to quench that desire to get behind the wheel. The Skip Barber Racing School offers chances to really hone your skills. Both the SCCA and Skip Barber have formed partnerships with IMSA to fuel interest in motorsport at all levels.
Of course, there are financial considerations that come into play and the need to realize that you’ll sometimes be competing against or paired with the professional racers who’ve spent years perfecting their craft to reach that level of “factory driver.” Many of those pros, though, likely got their start by pursuing an early dream of their own and attending a racing school as well.
One IMSA team is an example of an organization that has embraced and connected the dots in the stepladder racing approach.
Wright Motorsports, led by team owner John Wright, has devised a one-stop driver development program that offers customers a ride in one-make series all the way up to the powerful Porsche 911 GT3 R race car used in the WeatherTech Championship.
“The number of entries we have this year across the various race series is a testament to not only our program, but sports car racing as a whole,” Wright said. “We’ve always prided ourselves in our ability to work with drivers on an amateur level all the way up to the big leagues. Our program this year shows our ability to give drivers the tools, resources and opportunities to race their way to the top all within the Porsche Motorsport pyramid and all with our team.”
While Wright Motorsports competes in races organized by two sanctioning bodies, the team preps cars for three IMSA series: Porsche Carrera Cup North America, Michelin Pilot Challenge and the WeatherTech Championship. Long based in Ohio, Wright expanded the team’s reach by opening a second race shop this year in Stuart, Florida. The new digs measure 4,500 square feet and are designed to prep and support Porsche factory-built race cars.
“This second shop has been extremely beneficial. It allows us to continue the expansion of our operation,” Wright said. “With the amount of cars we have racing across North America this year, this additional location gives us the ability to run two top-notch operations at the same time, while also cutting back on the time lost in transportation between events. This has been crucial to our growth this offseason. We now have a strong ladder system in place, utilizing various series to help race car drivers grow in their development.”
So the bottom line is this: Yes, YOU can do it.
For those with the “Wright stuff,” you can come down out of the grandstand or hillside and give this road racing thing a go. Who knows, in a few years you just might find yourself on a driving roster for the Rolex 24 At Daytona.