What is  Vintage Racing?

Vintage racing, is a unique form of amateur motorsports.  It's where the passion for classic cars meets the urge to compete and enjoy them at the limit.  Unlike competitive club racing, Vintage and Historic racers drive hard, but with respect and a focus on preserving their cars, and honoring their history.  Vintage cars are also very pure.  Given most clubs accept cars as old as the 1920's, up to the 1980's, they will have no ABS, or stability control and are wired right to your brain/  With no "nanny". managing your throttle, brakes or steering... nothing is more rewarding to drive than a drifting, sliding vintage car.  If you need a break from your regular life, there is nothing else like it.  

Vintage racing is also unique in that it is the only form of motorsport, where an amateur driver with the means and experience can race a Formula 1, TransAm, CanAm, Indy Car or Historic Stock car.   At a vintage race you will see cars from the 30's up to the 70's and 80, you will see cars worth $30M dollars and cars worth $8000.  The range in value and complexity may be high, but all the cars in the paddock are treasured bits of history and lots of fun for their drivers.

How do people get into Vintage Racing?

The key thing to know, is that everyone in the sport is a mere mortal.  Almost everyone has jobs, families, responsibilities, limited budgets.  The sports does not requires huge budget and lightning reflexes, rather passion, a sense of adventure and camaraderie leads people to racing.  Some experienced drivers come to it because they are looking for a more relaxed, focus on the fun, less on the- win-at-all-costs approach of much of racing.  Some are track-day and HPDE drivers who want to take another step.  And some are car enthusiasts with no racing background, who were mentored or invited by a friend.  But no matter how you find your way here, the destination is always the same.  You get.. 

• A community of like-minded people sharing a passion for cars and sport

• A season of events that gives us all a shared purpose and plan

• A sport where the challenges are always there, personal improvement is always possible, and the cars can always be just a little bit better.

Important things to know

• It's not just a rich man's sport. Racing is not cheap and yes there are $30 Million cars; but there are also $9,800, $20,000 and $30,000 cars. There are guys that run their tires to the cords, and that run new ones every chance they get.

• Safety gets a big focus. These are not the state of the art cars, so we approach them and the racing with that in mind

• There is always someone to race with, so stay comfortable and within your limits. The fields are big so there is always someone to have a great time with.

So take a look around

This site, brought to you by CSRG Racing ( www.csrgracing.org ) has a lot of the information and advice to help you get started.  It covers three main steps, cars, training, clubs and resources. The other rich source of inspiration is to come to the races, and talk to the drivers, the shops and fans; everyone will have helpful advice and a useful point of view.  So whether you are a novice or an experienced racer, browse around and come see us at the races.

Photography courtesy of Andrew Wait, Kurt Joerger, Peter. Peter Darnall