“Rookie To Racer” Program

We get quite a few enquiries about how to go road racing, what car to race in, how much racing costs and other sensible questions about getting into the sport. We have many articles about this subject here. We still recommend checking those out.

But we also realized that besides the complexity of figuring all of this out, some confusion for new racers comes from the "it depends" aspect of the questions. Where do you want to race? Do you have a brand preference? How much do you care about learning? Can you work on your own car? Do you own a truck? Trailer? Etc., etc. There are so many variables that it is hard to be clear about the answers.

We decided that one way to address this was to have a packaged solution. We call this program "Rookie To Racer". We include the essentials you will need to go racing for about a year. We also include coaching so that you develop habits and ideas that will support you for many years of progress.

"Rookie To Racer" includes:

• Spec Miata rental for 5 event weekends
• Car setup
• Transport of the car to and from the track
• Mechanic services at the track
• Post-race inspection
• 5 sets of tires
• Fuel and fluids
• Data analysis
• Coaching
• Entry fees (we recommend using one of your entries for a school or licensing weekend)

Basically, the idea is that you simply get yourself to each event and Winding Road Racing takes care of the rest. You don't need a tow vehicle or trailer or tools. You do need your own safety gear, club membership/licenses and you have to arrange your own travel, hotel and food.

We offer this program in Texas and California. In Texas, "Rookie To Racer" costs $32,000 running with NASA (SCCA costs are $2500 more). In California the costs are slightly higher. Some customization is possible, but we wanted to come up with a standard program so that clients had a baseline for thinking about going racing. You can more information from Luciana at [email protected].

Savanna Little has signed up for "Rookie To Racer" and we'll be following her progress through the season. During her first event weekend, Savanna commented "The team is taking great care of me and the car feels great. I've learned a ton from the coaches and looking at my data vs. more experienced drivers." By the end of that weekend, Savanna had shaved 5 seconds off her early lap times. She said "I beat the goal that the team set for me for this weekend…self-improvement is really rewarding."

Now comes the hard part. Check back to see how Savanna progresses through the season.