Thing of racing Spec 30

#1

Hi, I am thinking of racing Spec 30. I have built and raced an e30 in ChumpCar and am thinking of building a Spec30. My ChumpCar e30 is too gutted and battered so I will need to start a new build. It looks like the car counts are still high in the SE, I live in NC, but what is the trend for the future? Used parts are getting much harder to find in my area these days. Has there been a significant migration to Spec3 or Spec e46?

Secondly I will need a NASA Competition License, I am hoping that my ChumpCar experience and a 3 day Skip Barber school certificate will help. I am hoping to not do a bunch of DE days just to qualify for Race School.

What are your thoughts on the future of the series? Have I missed the boat? It seems that a lot of the forum topics are several years old.

#2

You definitely haven’t missed the boat. There’s quite a few new builds going on in the Southeast now. We easily have the highest car count which is between 15 and 30 depending on the track. The group of racers in the Southeast is also a really fun/crazy group to hang around. I would say the future is bright for the series. I don’t see a fall off anytime soon. Spec 3 seems to be a Mid Atlantic thing and that series hasn’t really taken off. Spec e46 has a pretty solid future with Jason Tower and Evan Levine coming over from E30’s. I’d say come check out one of the race weekends and see for yourself. Southeast spec e30 racing doesn’t disappoint. You will always have someone to race with against no matter what your skill level is.

#3

I think this spreadsheet will tell you all you need to know:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Yu8N7V0RPADbCRqtHaz_F6Y2PRfv73NPBqKgDRXsVQ0/edit?pli=1#gid=0

Scott McGay is good for a chuckle as well. That is 45 racers that have participated in at least one NASA Southeast SpecE30 race weekend. That probably beats any NASA class in any region in the East. Don’t take the older topics in this forum as a lack of interest. There is just more interest in the SpecE30 and Regional SpecE30 facebook groups. My thoughts are that SpecE30 is still the best series to go Spec racing in by far.

#4

Living in NC you could easily do comp school in SE or MidAtl. The two regions run their schools differently. It’s harder to get into the SE school, but people rarely fail. It’s easier to get into the MidAtl school, but people routinely fail.

Another variable is your familiarity with a track. Doing comp school at a track you’re not familiar with just adds unnecessary stress.

Some race weekends have comp school and some don’t, so it also depends on what weekends you’re available.

Decide on how you want to attack this and I’ll put you in touch with the right guy.

#5

[quote=“Ranger” post=81940]Living in NC you could easily do comp school in SE or MidAtl. The two regions run their schools differently. It’s harder to get into the SE school, but people rarely fail. It’s easier to get into the MidAtl school, but people routinely fail.

Another variable is your familiarity with a track. Doing comp school at a track you’re not familiar with just adds unnecessary stress.

Some race weekends have comp school and some don’t, so it also depends on what weekends you’re available.

Decide on how you want to attack this and I’ll put you in touch with the right guy.[/quote]
I’ve been racing my e30 for three years (approx 15 races) now so I hope I am competent enough to pass. I’ve raced several tracks in the east. VIR (all three configs), Summit Point, Charlotte, Daytona, Road Atlanta, AMP, Sebring and also did a couple of HOD events at RR.

Do I need a compliant SPEC30 for the school, or can I use my ChumpCar? Do you need two seats in the car for school?

#6

Your car just needs to pass NASA race tech and therefore get an annual tech sticker. It doesn’t matter what kind of car it is.

I think that the next available comp school is at Roebling in Jan. That means getting by Jim Pantas, the NASA-SE Regional Director, who screens the people who want to go to his comp school. I would ID those that have raced with you to see if any of them know Jim well. I’d also compile some paperwork that shows your participation in the races and the Barber event that you mentioned. My suggestion would be to attempt to put together a case for being allowed to the SE comp school based on your experience. Failing that, you’ll probably have to do a DE or at least a track day or something with NASA-SE. That way you can set up a situation where someone that Jim knows well can say “I’ve seen this guy drive fast laps. He knows what he is doing, he’s safe, and he’s predictable.”

Don’t let it bum you out. After I did BMWCCA comp school, I still had to do NASA comp school in order to race with NASA. These days there is more reciprocity than there was in '07, but I’ve not heard that it extends to Chump.

#7

Your car does not need a passenger seat.

If you decide to do a SE comp school, I’d be happy to help guide you thru the comp school process. If you decide to go to a MidAtl comp school, you should contact Andrew@DriveGear, the MidAtl SpecE30 director.

#8

[quote=“Ranger” post=81954]Your car does not need a passenger seat.

If you decide to do a SE comp school, I’d be happy to help guide you thru the comp school process. If you decide to go to a MidAtl comp school, you should contact Andrew@DriveGear, the MidAtl SpecE30 director.[/quote]
Thanks for the help. I don’t mind doing a school at all. I just don’t have a great way to do a DE that requires an instructor on the car. When you say “fast laps”, how fast is fast enough? Looking at the Spec30 track records, I won’t need to worry about where to put all the hardware for awhile. At RR, I can turn 1:27s in the Chump e30 on 200 treadware tires and cut springs. I would think a properly setup E30 and race tires would take a little time off. Is that quick enough to not be a hazard? Last thing a want to do is come out and look like a complete idiot.

#9

In NASA DE1 has to have instructors. This isn’t an issue of potentially having an instructor in your car.

Don’t obsess over fast laps. It’s not a matter of being quick enough to not be a hazard. Comp school isn’t about showing how fast you are. It’s about showing that you’re safe, predictable, and don’t get spooked when other cars are in close proximity.

I mentioned fast laps only in the context of the scenario where maybe someone that knows your resume well, might also know Jim Pantas well. It wouldn’t be useful, for example, for your DE1 instructor to speak up for you. But someone that did several races on your Chump team might be handy.

#10

Sorry to ask so many questions. Do you have to start in DE1 with an instructor? My racecar only has one seat with no provisions for a second. I do have a Honda Civic but it is an automatic so that would not be great.

I will work up a racing resume and check to see if any of my Chump buddies know the NASA directors. I also have onboard race video that may help show my competence around other cars.

#11

Based on the background you described, I would not expect that anyone would suggest that you belong in DE1. You start in the group that you can talk your way into. DE4 is mostly instructors. If you can’t talk your way into DE3, you’ll never talk your way into comp school.

The video is not an ideal solution unless somehow it clearly shows that it is you. Documentation of you completing the Skippy school would be handy. Unless you have a way of documenting your participation in the Chump races, you’ll want someone that has first hand knowledge speaking up for you re. your Chump experience.

Alternately, you could talk to Jim about signing up for a DE3 weekend but spending the first session with an instructor doing a check ride. Maybe do that in a street car. The purpose of the checkride would be a confirmation that you are good enough for DE3. Then spend the weekend in DE3 as proof you are ready for comp school.

#12

Re. the Honda Civic is an auto therefore wouldn’t be great. In the scenario where you are doing a checkride for DE3, it sounds like the Civic would be perfectly workable. It’s a checkride, not a test of your ability to shift gears. The harder part would be getting both Honda and the E30 to the track.

It’s premature to worry about a checkride tho. Put together your track resume and see if you can’t talk yourself into DE3. If that fails, then we’ll do some scheming re. the check ride.

#13

I believe I found a donor car. It is a 1989 325i couple with an LSD. I also signed up for the HPDE at RR in Jan. I will send my racing resume to the CD and figure out a path forward. I hope to meet all the Spec30 guys at RR and hopefully can look at the cars to figure out the subtle details of the class. See you all in Jan.

Warren