ADVAN_EVO

Hey guys,

I have been trying for years to go pro, but life keeps screwing me and stuff (car blows up, lose job and can't find another, etc.....) and am starting to think that I'm way too old to bother trying to go pro anymore.

I am 23 and was wondering if anyone could confirm if I am too old or not to bother. I figure if I push insanely hard, I might go pro by 26, but that seems like an even worse age. So should I change my focus now or is there still a chance?

I'm hoping that the average or even a good number of pro drivers scouted are in their mid 20's, but I have a huge doubt on that one. So any responses would be greatly appreciated. Positive and negative are sought to give me an average of the situation.

AlwaysinBoost

iTrader: (17)

what kind of qualifications do you have currently? What kind of racing do you do? How do you intend to get "picked up"? are you racing or have you raced in any nationally recoginized org's?

SmokingTires

I'm not sure people really get "picked up" these days. There is no shortage of great drivers around. It mostly seems like a "Know somebody that knows somebody" thing. When you read about people like Randy Probst, they do it through years of racing and meeting people, and making connections. Not that they aren't great drivers, just that there is a lot of networking that is involved.

In the states we have some series anyone can drive into like the TDI Cup and MX-5 Cup that can work your way into possible sponsorships or onto teams. But it doesn't seem like there are just people sitting out there at local race tracks waiting for the next big driver to fly by.

Even people with minor sponsorships have to show constant performance, improvement, or have a market they are looking for. There has to be value in someone backing you that is different from others,

JDMevoBOOST

iTrader: (37)

I think you have a lot to learn. Even most drivers that win at the club racing level and want to go pro are asked to put up their own money. Very few get full ride sponsorships. For 99.9999999% of us will NOT make a living off of racing. At best you might be able to get someone to sponsor your tires etc. and even that would be really lucky.

As the saying goes. You need a lot of money to make a little bit of money in racing.

http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2949731

You can start reading here. But what you will find is that there are many "amateur" drivers that are faster than "pro" drivers. The difference is the money to pay for a seat in a race car. That amount will vary depending on the series you are trying to get into. But it will certainly cost in the 5 digits to start playing.

Kevmac3685

iTrader: (7)

Im in the same boat as the OP. I would love to get sponsored and race for a living but now a days it seems like it's not really attainable. The best bet is to do a few HPDE (High Performance Driving Education) events, Time attacks, etc, etc, and make connections that way.

JRitt@essex

As mentioned by others, it's unfortunately all about the $ and connections. There are loads of fast, young drivers out there, and many or most of the 'pros' are paying for a seat every week.

For reference, a seat in a decent car in a series like Grand Am Cup or World Challenge, is about $25,000 out of pocket per race. It only goes up from there.

It's a shame, but reality. Your best bet would be to align yourself with a sponsor that has unlimited funds...although those are not exactly growing on trees!

Bueller

iTrader: (1)

Should i change my focus now or is there still a chance? Maybe its just me, but the way youre asking your question makes me feel like im actually going to be responsible for your future. Before i respond i have a few questions...

1. Exactly how much/what sort of experience do you have?
2. Do you know what its like to be a "pro" driver? I ask because if you actually have no idea what its really like to be a "pro" driver, maybe you wont like it when you find out.

JDMevoBOOST

iTrader: (37)

Right on the money. A lot of the work in being a pro driver is NOT about driving at all. It's about your people skills and getting people to throw down large amounts of dollars because you are marketable/likeable. Driving skills alone won't do it.

You need to be the total package much like a music artist won't get by on singing alone.

I think you'll find it very rare to see a person that is actually making enough money racing to not have to have a normal day job.

apex electric

If your resume does not say karting national champion at age 16 then it's not going to be too easy.....unless your a trust baby.. and forget about sports car driving, in this country its NASCAR that coporate sponsors pay attention to. I just met a young man who started late model stock car racing when he was a teenager. He was picked out by a Bush North car owner and got a ride for a couple seasons. Then he drove for a Camping World team for a season. He had no ride for this year. There are a lot of drivers to compete against off the track.....Then there are the guys sleeping on sofa's looking for dirt track sprint car rides all across the nation! Follow your dreams and don't quit!

Musker

Still no response from OP...

ADVAN_EVO

Sorry for the tardy response, I've been busy with some things.

My experience basically is about 2 years road racing and Solo2 at stuff like the ATTS and Sigma Time Attack (usually in stock or stock modified) and I've just lately started up in rally since I finally joined a club that exposed me to where the rally stuff goes down (although I've always preferred rally over road racing). Beyond that I've been going up north to the winding tarmac and gravel roads since I was 19.

But you guys definitely hit on the 2 things I don't have: money and people skills. I tend to be shy (yeah even at 23) and some people say I come off as "sketchy". But when I talk to people at these events I try to act confident and the sort, but I guess that they can sense the phoniness and they don't warm up to me much. As far as I understood though, a good starting point for a competitive car was in the 6-digit bracket.

Never having been a pro driver, I can't say I know exactly what it's like. But I know about the insane hours, sacrifices (time, money, social/family, etc...) from speaking with other drivers and team owners. I know alot of people and teams, but none seemed to warming towards me, so I couldn't get further inside the fold to learn anymore.

That's about where I stand now. I just finished my first navigational rally ever and ranked 10th. the second one is coming up this Saturday so we'll see what happens. Hell, we zeroed a couple of sections (my co-driver and I) and came within 13 seconds of our goal time. Car zero finished the day at 16:30:00, and we finished at 16:48:47, where our goal time was 16:49:00.

Dallas J

iTrader: (1)

The thing you gotta understand is even though you have good intentions and ambitions, you just don't have anything special to offer. Fairly new to racing, 2 years is basically nothing compared to cart racers who start at 4.

Then you say you aren't very sociable, well that is actually 90% of it. You have to be able to present yourself to sponsors and make them like you and think of you as an investment. If you really want to get into racing, get either a fabrication or Engineering degree and come up with some amazing parts.

Bueller

iTrader: (1)

Id say do your homework first. You dont want to dedicate your life to something to only find out later that its not something you want to be doing. Especially now with the Senna movie out, im sure there are a lot of people out there that have this dream of going pro and they think they can hop in a car and win. But they dont have any racing experience, and they dont have any clue as to what it actually takes to race regularly just on the amateur level...year after year. Other than that, if youre looking for a place to vent and get some basic feedback, this is one way to do it. But keep in mind that the Evo community isnt full of guys that "race". At most there are a handful of us that race, at least somewhat regularly, that actually post here every now and then. Im one of those guys, but im new, ive only been racing for 3yrs. So its not like we have a whole bunch of experienced racers here that will pour into your thread with feedback. Beyond that, its not like there are pro team owners watching all the forums on a daily business, especially Evom, waiting for that one special thread that peaks their interest. Sure, anything is possible, but its highly unlikely.

There are thousands of drivers out there that have been racing for a long time. And theyre not racing in some dead class or in some dead region. There are guys doing 20+, 30+ races a year. These guys have dedicated years upon years of blood and sweat...and their own money. And some of them could care less about going pro. So why would a pro team give you a seat when there are proven drivers out there...National champions and front runners in some of the most competitive classes. And some of them have money or they have big sponsors on top of their experience. You said you know a lot of people and pro teams, so then you obviously know all this already. Ive spoken with pro team owners that have picked drivers not because they were the fastest out of the bunch trying out for that seat, they were picked for the overall package...which included big money sponsors.

You can always go pro on your own also. WC and Grand-am is definitely possible for club racers. A lot of club racers can, and some have actually gone that route. It comes down to what you want. But not everyone wants to go pro. Believe it or not, there are plenty of experienced/proven racers who prefer club racing over pro racing.

And your experience, it doesnt sound like you have any real experience. Most people, especially on the forums, throw around a lot of terms that give the wrong impression...like racing, or road racing. To some people, racing or road racing is the same as HPDE. They lump everything together. They say theyre going racing, but theyre actually talking about doing a HPDE this weekend, or autox, or TT/TA. To some guys, saying youre going racing or road racing means...youre going racing. Because of that type of misrepresentation on forums i dont know what you mean when you said..."My experience basically is about 2 years road racing..." Do you mean youve actually been racing with NASA/SCCA, or do you mean HPDEs, or do you mean something else?

To sum things up, do your homework. Figure out first if this is something you actually want to do. And will you be able to actually earn a living? Beyond that, youre going to have to spend your own money one way or another. For instance, that VW series, and a few others like it. And if its something that can work for you, like Dave said, follow your dreams and dont quit.

EvoJoeRacing

iTrader: (2)

Never take no for an answer and never give up. When someone says you cant do it, work your *** off to prove them wrong. Just keep racing for the love of it and believe that one day you will become pro. You will be surprised at what can happen. You may not be the next NASCAR star making millions but you could have sponsors paying for parts or paying for entries into your races. To many of us that is what we are looking for anyway. But just remember, nothing in this world is free.

ADVAN_EVO

Ah hell. Well Bueller, you hit it on the head with the HPDEs and the TT/TAs. I haven't actually done many grid races. On top of that, you're all also right with the not much experience thing as most people I talk to have decades upon decades of experience.

But the idea of starting a shop and building pro cars and taking them to races is an idea. That put's a twist on my backup plan if I failed to go pro which was open a machine shop and use my education to make parts and build cars (I am both a CNC programmer and a millwright by trade). As simple as it is, it never crossed my mind to merge the ideas in any way.

PS: what Senna movie? And Dallas, there's one thing I don't agree with: 91 Galant VR-4 (862/2000) -- Winter ****. No like. that thing should be in a bubble filled with a preserving jelly and placed in a Fort Knox clone.