[T.O.Dillinder]

WARNING THIS MAY BE A LITTLE BIT OF A READ.

My Grandfather use to race with the Thunder Valley Motorcycle Club in the 40's and 50's. The formats were primarily oval, hill climb, and trail.
My Father in the 60's drag raced at Union Grove (WI) and Byron (IL), and in the 70's he raced short track at Rockford (IL) Speedway. However My father would always make the yearly trip for the June Sprints at Road America.
Myself, I did karts in the 80's, AMA Motorcycles (Road Racing) and AutoX in the early 90's. Even earned a Comp Liscence that I ended up not using.
There is a whole list of people that have helped in some form or another along the way. I would have to say the biggeset and closest names that have been Dave Watson, Ray Irwin, and Gerre Payvis. As mentioned there have been others that have given support such as John Eberhardt, Bob Denton, Steve Butzen, Rick and Jill Peters, and Phil Daus.
I just wanted to thank these people for their assistance, advice, and friendship.
what I love about road racing is economics, seat time, and the variety of makes and models that are involved.
Economics:
If you were to fiqure what it cost for every minute you are in the seat, road racing comes out being cheaper than circle track and drag racing combined.
Seat time:
20 to 30 minute practice session, 20 to 30 minute qualifing session, and a 30 minute race each Friday and Saturday.
Your HPDE has 20 to 30 minute sessions, and that is usually three sesions per day for each group.
road racing provides tons of seat time.
Different makes and models:
No matter what kind of racing you do, we all have one common factor. They love of the automobile.
A road racing event is like a car show with the added benefit to see those cars perform.
Sorry for the length, but now you know a little about me.
So, what got you hooked?

This post has been edited by T.O.Dillinder: Nov 18 2007, 04:47 PM

[firehawkclone]

I don't know, it just came natural to me, since no friends or family is like me! The first day out driving by myself I went up to Hicks Rd. in San Jose Ca, and drove 4 tanks of fuel out driving the 30 something miles up and over the mountain. I't just took me 18+ years to get to the track!

[cccbock]

I'm really a Camaro nut turned racer. Long time ago, a friend of a friend took us for a ride in his 68 Camaro (which was 5 years old at the time) and I was hooked.

Became friends with another guy a couple years later while going to college. He had a Firebird Formula 400 (with a 454 transplanted) driven on the street. That was a killer car, but he traded it for a 69 Camaro (454) dedicated drag car. We won the SE Div Bracket championship with that car. We later determined that the car started out life as a COPO 427 car, which would now be worth huge money had he not cut it up.

I got married and fell out of the car hobby for about 15 years but was driving by a local car dealer one day. He had a 69 Z/28 on his lot (his personal car) which I had to have. I bought it for the outrageous amount of $12000. I rebuilt everything on the car and painted it, drove it, and sold it 7 years later for $25000. Its probably worth $50000 or more now. I took this car to the first NFME and was too scared to race it in RR, but made a few drag runs. The next year I took it and ran Road Course at NFME. Thats why I think NFME is so great...you can participate as a total newbie.

I was HOOKED.

Long story short 12 years later, I now run a Modified 96 Camaro in SCCA, starting out slow in AX then most recently graduating to time trials. A/C still works... ha ha must not be a race car.

Cool thread.

Bock