[91Firebirdv6]

So I thought my dad was cool with me racing but apparently he isn't. He's even asked my what class I was racing and we've talked about it for some reason it's a problem now. He thinks I'm going to break something. Yes my car is old, but I keep up with maintenance.

What would be some good reasons why he should let me race?
There is an autocross on sunday so I've got a day to convince him.

[CrashTestDummy]

Make sure he knows it is a timed event and you are competing against the clock. Most people don't know that. Parts do break, but a lot fewer parts than with drag racing, IMHO, and I have run stock-class and prepared-class cars.

Learning car control is the other important message.

As the others have said, a picture is worth a thousand words. Take him with you. He'll see. I don't think my dad approved of me autocrossing either, but I never bothered to take him with me. Wished I had. You should, too.

I am reminded of our Tour even last weekend. After the event started on Saturday, someone told me there was a guy from Progressive sitting outside the entrance taking down license plates. That infuriated me. If I had known he was out there, I would have walked out, smacked him on the back of the head, and said "What do you think is going on in there? People are learning and practicing car control. If you don't think that will lower accident rates, you need to get into another line of business!"

[jensend]

Make sure he knows it is a timed event and you are competing against the clock. Most people don't know that. Parts do break, but a lot fewer parts than with drag racing, IMHO, and I have run stock-class and prepared-class cars.

I am reminded of our Tour even last weekend. After the event started on Saturday, someone told me there was a guy from Progressive sitting outside the entrance taking down license plates. That infuriated me. If I had known he was out there, I would have walked out, smacked him on the back of the head, and said "What do you think is going on in there? People are learning and practicing car control. If you don't think that will lower accident rates, you need to get into another line of business!"

Just as a point of information, most insurance policies state that coverage is voided if you participate in any form of timed motorsport event. The Progressive guy was probably going to check his list of cars against his listing of policy holders. That's a slimey thing to do, but increasingly common in today's insurance climate.

Last year at an import drag event at Englishtown, there was an OEM manufacturer of turbo charged performance cars that went through the pits collecting vin numbers in order to void warranties! The dealership that I bought my '02 Z28 from voided my warranty at 1200 miles and placed a note in the GM data base to that effect because I changed from the stock stamped steel torque arm to an adjustable tubular arm!

The reality is that involvement in any form of motorsports today is a complex proposition. Most of the time you have to assume that all the potential liability is is your own- regardless of insurance. That being said, you have to decide how much your personal freedom is worth to you.

As for your father's concerns, I am the father of two boys (19 and 22) and fully support any interest they have in performance driving and skill building under controlled conditions in a safe and legal environment. I'd much rather my sons learn car control skills and experience in a reasonably safe circumstance rather than have them have to try to learn them in a crisis situation on the highway. Living in NJ they have to drive on the Garden State Parkway daily. It is a much less controlled and less safe environment than any autocross venue or road course they could drive. Performance driving serves more purposes than simply providing thrills and using up tires.