I was out racing this weekend, and won my first national race…

Congratulations Greg! I’m curious — how did you get into that? Have you been a car/racing fan for a while? [Wrinkled Paper]

Thanks Patrick!  I’ve always been into cars, and since I could drive, I always wanted to know what it felt like to drive at the limit of a car’s capabilities (I was, ahem, familiar with both sides of that limit, but not the limit itself!).  With that in mind, I finally (2 years ago) talked a friend into going with me to Bob Bondurant’s racing school, where we learned about high-performance driving and road racing techniques.  After that I was hooked…on my instructor’s recommendation, I called the LaRue’s (of LaRue Motorsports) and rented a race car for a day, just to see if I liked it.  Two days later I entered my first SCCA race in the rented car; after that weekend I bought a car, and have been racing ever since.

It’s been an amazing experience; and it’s certainly had its ups and downs.  It hits the extremes of exciting, frustrating, rewarding, dangerous, and expensive.  It makes you explore the limits of not only the car, but yourself.  I never really appreciated the skills and conditioning of race drivers before I tried it myself.  If you’re a car guy/girl, I highly recommend trying it (a school would be the best way, or just renting a car for an open track session); it’s something you’ll never forget.  :-)