7. Go 4 It Racing Schools
go4itservices.com // (303) 666-4113
Louisville, CO &
Multiple Locations

We are open seven days a week, year round. We are an SCCA Full Competition License issuing school offering driver coaching, corporate events, transportation, vehicle development, and arrive and drive solutions. We operate at multiple tracks and utilize championship-winning racecars – or use your own. Since 1985, our mission has been to be the best in quality private instruction for cars, motorcycles, trucks, and RVs. We specialize in basic instruction through full competition, utilizing one-on-one instruction and teaching you “the sequence” and strategy that the top drivers in the world use, at your own speed.


8. Porsche Track Experience USA
porschedriving.com // (770) 290-7000
Barber Motorsports Park, AL

• The most intensive and comprehensive curriculums available: Participants are exposed to the most refined training methods and technology available. We offer introductory courses up to advanced racing classes.
• Professional Instructors: Learn skills from past and current champions experienced in all aspects of the sport. All instructors are top professional drivers, certified by Porsche and led by racing legend Hurley Haywood.
• A fleet of over 50 new Porsche vehicles: the program offers the opportunity to experience all currently available Porsche models, including the 911 Turbo S.
• More track time: We believe the best place to learn is behind the wheel.
• Barber Motorsports Park: The exciting and challenging 2.38-mile race track offers 16 turns and over 80 feet of elevation changes. An excellent classroom!


9. Primal Racing
primal.racing // (770) 233-7856
Atlanta Motorsports Park, GA

Primal Racing is an SCCA-accredited racing school offering beginner and advanced programs showcasing the power and the performance of the Radical SR1. Based at Atlanta Motorsports Park, the USA’s premier training facility, Primal Racing offers drivers the unique opportunity to hone their craft on the country’s most technical road circuit while enjoying world-class country club hospitality.

 

10. Skip Barber Racing School
skipbarber.com // (866) 932-1949
Lime Rock Park, CT
Road Atlanta, GA
Sebring Raceway, FL
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, CA
New Jersey Motorsports Park, NJ

Skip Barber Racing School has been creating racing champions since 1975. Offering a fully integrated system of racing schools, driving schools, and corporate events, no other organization delivers the same high quality instruction, equipment, facilities, and memorable experiences. Perfect for the casual enthusiast or racers seeking their SCCA Competition License!


Spring Mountain Motor Resort & Country Club
springmountainmotorsports.com // (800) 391-6891

Spring Mountain Motor Resort & Country Club is a state-of-the-art racing facility and exclusive motorsports country club located just 55 miles west of Las Vegas. With more than six miles of challenging race track and resort-style amenities, it’s the home of the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School, Cadillac V-Performance Academy and SM Racing.

Spring Mountain delivers a world-class experience to driving enthusiasts of all levels.


Driving School, RACER 299, Spring Mountain, RACER Stuff

 

Buy 2 Get 1 Free! Deals like this don't come around often, if at all! Book any 3 Day






Deals like this don't come around often, if at all! Book any 3 Day RallyPro course and only pay the price of a 2 day class; your 3rd day is FREE! That's a savings of $1000, 25% off the normal 3 day rate! You can book now for any open dates in the future.


Save $1000 Today!



Save $1000 Today!
__________________

 

AMP Kart Racing Safety Video - Presented by Nearly Racing

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Atlanta Motorsports Park
Published on Sep 14, 2018



Check us out on Facebook - .facebook.com%2FAtlantaMotorsportsPark&v=4x9wkwGX2aY&event=video_description&redir_token=l8WXy8Csbe8I-FnNagTm8-yFGDZ8MTU2NDc5MjQxOUAxNTY0NzA2MDE5 You can also check out Nearly Racing over at their Youtube Channel.

 

AMP Rental Karting: Amateurs, passes, and close calls

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MrTGUK
Published on Dec 28, 2014



This was some of my most entertaining footage from 5 sessions at Atlanta Motorsports Park on December 27th, 2014. The track was totally full with lots of kids and amateurs so it made for some good traffic practice and some sketchy moments.

 

How To Drive Atlanta Motorsports Park Like a Pro - Xtreme Xperience

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Xtreme Xperience
Published on Nov 10, 2016

We stop at 18+ tracks each year, and one of the most technical and rewarding tracks we get to drive is Atlanta Motorsports Park. Filled with elevation changes, and blind turns, this track is tough to master. Fortunately for us, our lead instructor calls this his "home track". Here's Cal DeNyse dissecting AMP with a future supercar driver at Xtreme. Watch as he gives turn-by-turn instructions from the driver's seat of our track prepped Mitsubishi Evo X.

 

What Are You Waiting For?

Have you been dreaming of racing, or just pushing your Mazda to the limits? Get off that couch and find an event – it’s easier than you think

Whether that Mazda is an RX-7 or a Miata, a Mazda3 or 2 all the way up to the 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF, thousands of Mazda owners are participating in dozens of different motorsports events every weekend. Those events may be competitive, such as road racing or autocross, or simple track day events where owners can experience the agility designed into every Mazda in a safe, educational environment.

If you’re reading this, there are two things that likely describe you: 1. You’re a Mazda owner or fan; and 2. You are a motorsports enthusiast. If you haven’t already, it’s time to combine the two.

“In this day and age, it’s actually easier than ever to get on track,” explains Tom Long, a professional racer and coach whose roots in the sport start pretty far down the ladder. “You don’t need a bona fide sports car in order to do it. A good, safe car that’s track worthy – meaning everything’s been gone through from a safety standpoint – is all it takes. You can easily get on track with multiple organizations, with one being the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) Track Night in America program. It’s a really educational program takes place in an afternoon at a racetrack near you.”

Deana Kelley is a nationally competitive SCCA autocrosser who has also done some road racing in a Spec Miata. She echoes Long’s comments about Track Night in America, which is an informal program that usually takes place on a weekday afternoon and evening during the summer. Participants are placed into one of four groups that range from absolute novice to someone who’s quite comfortable on the racetrack.

“Track Nights are relatively inexpensive for track time,” says Kelley. “Just bring your everyday car out to the track and have fun with it in a safe way. They’ve got different groups, including a novice group, and they’ll teach you about the track and proper track etiquette. It’s just a good, fun way to play with your car with other people who also like to play with their cars.”

But Track Night is one of many available programs. There are a multitude of organizations hosting track events that allow people to experience racetrack driving on everything from club tracks to the same circuits the pros race on. Some people, though, are all about the lap times, so if there’s not competition, they’re just not into it. For some of those, road racing calls. Others, meanwhile, are searching to get started in something more budget friendly or with less risk. To that end, autocross – a lower-speed, timed event conducted on a course marked by traffic cones – may be the best bet. That’s a topic Kelley knows a lot about. Her suggestion for stepping off the sidelines is to take a ride.

“Go for a ride along with somebody you feel comfortable with, not necessarily somebody who’s going to go wicked fast and scare you,” Kelley advises. “Get in the car with somebody who you’re comfortable with and who goes the same speed your brain can process. See what it’s like, and if the area you live in has autocross schools, go to one of those in order to log a lot of time in your car.

“In my region, we have an autocross school in the fall, and it’s a really good place to come and learn,” Kelly explains. “These schools are low pressure, somebody will help you navigate the course and learn what your car does, and they’ll get you started in the right direction.”

For those who hear the call of road racing, there are many options, from SCCA to the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) to endurance racing organizations such as ChampCar, World Racing League and American Endurance Racing. And for those serious about racing with their eyes set on becoming a pro, there’s the Mazda ladder and scholarships available to winning drivers.

Tristan Nunez has climbed the Mazda ladder and now races the Mazda RT24-P Daytona Prototype international in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, so naturally he’s a big fan. “One of the great things about Mazda is its grassroots program, and it’s something that you can do,” Nunez explains. “It’s the most affordable starting point. There’s amazing Spec Miata racing, which gives you the basis of racecraft. You need to be a hell of a driver to win a Spec Miata race.

“Moving up, you can go to Battery Tender® Global Mazda MX-5 Cup,” Nunez notes. “Really, Mazda is the only brand in racing that has such a strong grassroots program. It does take a little bit of money, but it’s definitely the most affordable way to get started and climb the professional racing ladder. Mazda still does have a really good ladder and they’re very loyal to their champions.”

Whatever an enthusiast’s venue of choice, there are many options, and getting a foot in the door will help you explore opportunities. One road can lead to many others, and the motorsports community is more than happy to help along the way.

“There’s always track days you can start at if you want to get straight on the track,” adds Nunez. “Autocross is huge in the Mazda community with RX-8s and RX-7s and Miatas. The good thing about Mazda is they’ve spent a lot of time making the chassis better; the balance of the cars is just amazing. And the Mazda racing community is very inviting and will welcome you with open arms and guide you in the direction of your choosing. What I love about this brand is the family atmosphere of it.”

One of the best things about any of these activities for Mazda drivers is the support that comes from Mazda Motorsports. Mazda offers contingency prizes for many competitive programs, and everyone who participates in a Mazda is welcome into the Team Member Support Program. No matter what avenue an enthusiast chooses, there’s something for everyone.

“Part of the beautiful thing about the sport is it’s good for all ages and all talent levels,” says Long. “If you’re not an aspiring race car driver, that doesn’t mean you can’t drive on the track with your sports car and enjoy it. It makes you a safer driver and a more aware driver. Utilizing your eyes and the skill sets you pick up in track driving can absolutely correlate to making you a better driver on the street as well.”

 

Can driving schools help experienced racers? Yes!

Images by Jeff Zurschmeide


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By: Jeff Zurschmeide 5 hours ago


Are driver schools useful for experienced SCCA racers? Terry Earwood says the answer is yes

Terry Earwood has a racing resume that few can match. He’s not only in the Drag Racing Hall of Fame, but he’s a champion autocrosser, too. He drove in the Firehawk series back in the day, and he won the IMSA National Touring championship. He’s been the chief instructor for Skip Barber since 1984, and he’s taught performance driving to more than 30,000 enthusiasts. In addition to everything else, right now he’s an assistant chief steward and driver coach for the SCCA Pro Racing Trans Am Series. Consequently, when Fiat invited SportsCar to a one-day Skip Barber Racing School refresher school, where Earwood would be the coach, we couldn’t resist.

Image by Chris Clark


The vehicles we piloted were the Fiat 124 Abarth and Fiat 500 Abarth at The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Wash., but, as Earwood points out, the cars are simply a means to an end. “A car’s a car,” Earwood explains. “I don’t care if you drive a cop car or a Fiat 124 to school.”

Simply put, Earwood believes in mastering the fundamentals of performance driving and, as a result, his one-day school is pretty much the same for novices and professional racers alike. The day begins with a chalk talk that starts with the basics of grip, radius, and speed. Earwood understands that everyone is eager to get in a car, so he keeps it moving, and the classroom session is no longer than necessary.



“We’re going to start the morning off with [the] skid pad and autocross,” he explains in the classroom. “We’re working on knocking the rust off. We do a heel-and-toe exercise so you can work on proper downshifting, and then we go out on track and do lead-follows and just keep the pace up.”

The sequence is important, however, and the reason for it is simple. “It lets us ride with you for a few minutes and see where you’re at and work on your habits, good or bad,” Earwood says. “If you haven’t ridden on a skid pad with a coach, you don’t know what you’re going to do.”

Out on the wet skid pad, Earwood presses each driver to increase speed until the car loses traction. “We practice the CPR system,” he explains. “That’s Correct, Pause, and Recover.”

 

Earwood and his team spend as much time as needed working with each student on skid recovery, then we head over to the autocross course for the basics of line, apexing, and eye placement. An exercise in heel-and-toe shifting is also part of the basic curriculum.

“No matter whether you’re staying for three days or not, you need that first day,” Earwood insists. “You need the skid pad, you need the autocross, you need the heel and toe, you need the lead-follow around the racetrack.”

The afternoon session included driving both the rear-wheel-drive 124 and the front-wheel-drive 500 on the Ridge’s 2.47-mile, 16-corner circuit. The format is lead-follow with sessions of about 10 laps, so the instructors can observe each driver’s line and technique individually and offer coaching. After several sessions, speeds come up and each driver works on personal details.

The benefits of a one-day refresher school are real, even for licensed racing drivers. Many in our class had never experienced a skid pad before, while the autocross exercise forced students to focus on precision and planning. Likewise, driving the two dissimilar Fiats on the racetrack forced every driver to adapt to each car’s unique performance characteristics and driving requirements.



“What we have for the advanced driver, someone who’s SCCA-licensed and has been racing for at least a year or so, is our two-day advanced racing school,” Earwood says. “We still kick off with the skid pad and autocross, but then we go straight to a lead-follow session and a stop box session where we stop every lap and get feedback. The next day we go out as instructors in other racecars and we spoon feed you traffic. They’ll pass us in one turn. We’ll pass them in the next; we stay out all morning working on traffic.”

Earwood also emphasizes the value of a school day to learn a new track. “If you just need to knock the rust off, a one-day school is a good answer,” he notes. “For guys who know what they’re doing but just need a little more coaching, maybe the next step is to come and learn a new track, like Sebring, for instance. We offer that at every track where we operate, so you could go to New Jersey or Road Atlanta or Sebring or Laguna Seca.”

Whether you choose a Skip Barber school with Earwood (and you should meet this guy – he’s great) or a school near you, receiving coaching with planned exercises is one more tool to help you perform at your best come race day.

 

One with the Car, Part 2

Seating position is critical, but sometimes it’s going to be a compromise

We present more thoughts on the matter, and discuss those times when you’re sharing a car and need to make compromises.

In that first installment, Mazda racer and coach Tom Long expounded on how to get the correct seating position for control and safety. There are a few other things to consider as a driver arrives at the correct arrangement:

Pedals: It’s not just important to reach the pedals; you need to be able to run them through their full range of motion. “You need to be able to push the clutch all the way in,” says racer and coach Joel Miller. “I see it a lot of times where people reach for the clutch and they get halfway down. Same with the brakes. In a lot of the coaching I do, some students have no idea how hard they have to press on the pedals so they don’t sit close enough, and when they do need to press on the pedals hard, they are out of throw. I work on the legs and making sure we can get all the pedals. From there we work on the back of the seat.”

Rake: Rake is how far the back of the seat is angled. For some, especially drivers with shorter legs or long arms, it may be a necessary tool to get the feet and hand placements right. For others, it’s a matter of preference and can also be a safety factor. “I personally like a seat that’s very raked back; I feel it holds me in the seat better and I feel like I can feel things with the butt a lot more,” says Battery Tender Global Mazda MX-5 Cup racer Drake Kemper.

Adds Miller: “You usually want a bit of recline. The reason for that is when you hit the brakes, you don’t want to submarine – slide under the steering wheel. So you need under the butt tilted a little bit more so when you hit the brakes, you’re actually forcing yourself into the seat versus forcing yourself into the sub belt.” That can be key especially for anyone autocrossing or tracking a car that has OEM seat and seatbelts vs. racing harnesses.

Sharing: If you’re competing in endurance races, swapping drivers during an autocross, or just otherwise sharing a car, there’s probably going to be some compromises in seat placement. With stock seats and belts, the range of adjustment in seat and wheel make it much easier. With a fixed racing seat, though, it becomes a challenging task.

Harry Tincknell is fortunate that, at 6-foot 1-inch, he’s usually the tallest driver in the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P. That means he sets the seat for himself, and the other drivers are molding inserts to make the seat fit them.

“As an endurance driver, it’s a team effort and it’s all about the car going as quick as possible, so everything has to be a compromise whether it’s setup or seating position,” Tincknell explains. “I make the base seat because I’m generally the tallest driver in the car, and then from that base seat the smaller guys will make an insert to fit. You have to compromise to find a position where everyone’s comfortable, but everyone still has enough support. There are other tricks you can do – we have an air pump to add some support.”

Another option, if the rules allow it, are seat sliders specifically made for racing. Not every sanctioning body permits them, though, so check the rules before you decide to use one.