Introduction to Vintage Racing in 2011

The term ‘Vintage Racing’ has been applied to a wide spectrum of automobile events ranging from ‘social gatherings where an occasional race breaks out’ (actual quote from a local race Chief Steward) to events that feature some of the most competitive road racing in the country with professional racecar preparation and both former and current professional drivers competing in front of thousands of racing fans.

Here is a look at the world of vintage racing in the USA from our point of view.

The Competitors

In major national vintage racing the motivation and dedication of the participants are not unlike those found at any major SCCA or NASA amateur road racing event. The joy and thrill of racing and competing is pretty much the same, but the fields in major national vintage racing are typically much larger and the social aspects are on a bit of a higher plane. The demographics are a bit different in vintage racing as well, as the average vintage driver is in his or her 50’s.

In a typical 50-car field there will be usually be 3-5 competitors prepared to win; 10 who hope to have a shot at a podium finish (top three), and 35 guys who are satisfied participating in and competing in a spectacularly exciting racing event. Those who come to win are typically well funded and experienced. In vintage racing that experience is often measured in decades. In every form of racing, vintage or otherwise, there is at least some conflict between those who have professionally prepared cars and those who don’t. That’s just racing, and it is no different when the cars and competitors are both vintage!

Why Vintage Racing?

In every venue of professional racing, from NASCAR to Formula 1 to ALMS to Grand Am, including Trans-Am; each group’s cars look pretty much alike. They all run in the same air, so they all end up looking about the same when they get out of the wind tunnel. Engine technology is such that each sanctioning body’s engines sound about the same. About the only time you see different cars on the track at the same time is in the endurance races where GT2 cars are being lapped by Prototype cars; not exactly exciting stuff.

Aerodynamic advances in the modern racecar create downforce, which along with modern tire technology have made road racing a bit less exciting to watch than it used to be back in the day.

Vintage racing takes us back to the days when Porches, Jaguars, Corvettes, Cobras, Camaros and Mustangs ran against each other. Rear engined prototype cars raced against front engined prototype cars, and everyone competed on treaded bias-ply tires. Brakes and tires had to be nursed to the end of a race, and power had to be applied judiciously. The cars drifted around every corner, running on a fraction of the tire patch of the modern car. Vintage cars had aero lift that reduced at speed their already small tire patches. Today’s modern cars have downforce that plant new, sticky compound tires firmly on the track.

Road America, considered by many to be the greatest road racing track in the USA, hosts a summer vintage race that is their biggest event of the year. Every year they host other vintage events along with the SCCA June Sprints, an SCCA Trans-Am race, the SCCA National Championships, a NASCAR Nationwide race and a round of the ALMS series. The July Kohler Brian Redman Vintage race at Road America draws bigger crowds and more participants than any other race on their schedule. That’s generally the case with all the major tracks. The high end of vintage racing is at the high end of all road racing, both here in the US and around the world.

Getting Started

First you have to ask yourself what you expect in return for your considerable investment of both time and money in vintage racing. Racing on any level is expensive, and at the highest level operating a vintage race car can be almost as expensive as operating a modern racecar in a professional series. About the only operational savings are tires; vintage tires are as much as 50% less expensive than modern race tires. Also, vintage cars tend to appreciate, rather than depreciate. Modern race cars can lose half their value as soon as something better comes along, or the sanctioning body changes the rules.

Expenses of a vintage racing effort are dependant on travel costs, type of car, the sanctioning organization you chose to race with, and your goals and expectations.

Generally speaking costs are lower if you race with a local sanctioning body in a small-bore car and your goals are to just enjoy the experience regardless of where you finish. Obviously costs are dramatically higher if you want to race at the greatest racetracks in the country in a big-bore car, and you want to be able to compete for the win.

If you have never held a racing license, your first step would be to schedule a road racing course at a professional racing school. The Bob Bondurant School in Phoenix has a three-day curriculum that will wear you out. With a Bondurant certificate, most racing organizations will allow you to run an event, and if that works out you will get a license from that organization. Generally that license will be recognized by the other vintage racing organizations.

Logistics

Most competitors at the national level of vintage racing operate on an ‘arrive and drive’ basis. Companies like ours take your car along with others to the racetrack in large transporters and provide trackside service. We assign one mechanic per car, and perform all the maintenance functions necessary including tire changes, fueling, damage repair, etc. For major repairs we can put everyone on one car to get it back on track. Our trackside service includes driver aids like GPS tracking software, in-car video comparisons, etc.

Some competitors bring their own racecars to the races and perform these functions themselves or with their buddies.

Sanctioning Organizations

In 2011 there are at least a dozen ‘major’ vintage racing organizations, but only a couple are at the top of vintage racing at a national level. There are at least 50 smaller clubs and other outfits that also schedule vintage races on a regional level.

Every vintage racing organization has its own rules and its own philosophy on what constitutes a vintage racecar. One rule common to every vintage racing organization is ‘No aggressive driving!’ but even that is interpreted differently by different organizations. It is safe to say that all vintage racing organizers deplore fender to fender or wheel to wheel contact among competitors. Violators face penalties ranging from stern warnings to being banished from vintage racing for 13 months or more. Reciprocal agreements between the major national organizations honor these sentences, so if expelled from one organization you are prevented from racing elsewhere for the duration.

I think it is fair to say that all vintage racing organizations are run by well intentioned people who have a passion for racing. All are continually trying to refine their format and deliver a satisfactory product to their paying customers which almost always means you, the competitor. Only the biggest national events are significantly funded by spectators.

Some sanctioning bodies insist on mandating old, brittle and rare head castings and other parts that cost a fortune and don’t stand up to racing stresses, all in the name of being ‘period correct’. The problem is, back in the day replacements of the brittle parts were readily available and when you needed a replacement part you got it off the shelf at your local dealership. Now because of these ridiculous rules, new old-stock cylinder head castings are bid up on eBay to 20 times their original values or more, making racing significantly more expensive now than it was back then.

Our local vintage racing sanctioning organization in Texas requires a 9.5 inch maximum wheel width for big-bore production cars, even though few wheel manufacturers make 9.5 inch wide wheels in the diameters and offsets required for our cars. A competitor is forced to narrow standard 10 inch wheels or run a smaller standard wheel.

Enlightened vintage racing organizations attempt to maintain parity and keep expenses within reasonable parameters by allowing all competitors to use durable race-tested parts that are widely available. These parts reduce costs dramatically and improve the show by reducing mechanical failures.

Two of the largest national sanctioning organizations, HSR and SVRA, until recently were owned by the same people. In 2010 they split up and SVRA is now under different ownership. These two organizations represent distinctly different interpretations of vintage racing. HSR runs with a more liberal rules package, while SVRA is more technical and holds to a tighter 1972 standard than does HSR.

In 2010 a new company emerged that could someday become a factor in big-time national vintage racing. Bobby Rahal’s Legends of Motorsports ran only 4 races in their inaugural season, and has scheduled only three for 2011. Rahal’s races are promoted as ‘lifestyle events’, and include a lot of non-racing activity that will no doubt appeal to a segment of the market. The Rahal group advocates rules more along the lines of SVRA. The one Rahal race that enjoyed a really good turnout was their last event in 2010 which was run at Sebring on HSR’s traditional date, the first weekend in December.

How long will it take and how much will it cost?

If you approach vintage racing as a hobby and start at Bondurant, race locally and tow your small bore car to a local track, you could probably plan to race 4 times a year and spend as little as $1,000 a race, excluding of course the cost of the car, your personal safety equipment, etc.

At the upper end of the scale, vintage racing is best approached as a passion, rather than as a hobby. Taking the first step at Bondurant, figure it will take two to three full seasons of racing the best equipment in the highly competitive big-bore classes to get on the podium of major national vintage racing events. Costs are highly dependant on the type of car, but total costs in big-bore production racing with professional preparation will be in the neighborhood of $8,000-10,000 a race, excluding the cost of the car. Costs include race prep, transportation, crew expense, lodging, entry fees, air fares, rent cars, race tires, race gas, brake pads, repairs, engine overhauls, etc.

Consider the analogy of learning to fly. If your goal is to get a private license and go up occasionally in a Cessna 172, you have got yourself a hobby not totally unlike that of the small-bore part-time vintage racer.

At the other extreme, if you not only want to learn to fly, but you want to fly jets in combat, that’s a different mission. If this is going to be a late life second career, at a minimum success will require both passion and commitment.

Alan Sevadjian