What got you started in racing?

[1SlowFormula]

I didn't want to take Ralph's WHAT DOES EVERYONE DO thread off track but in the same spirit of that thread I was wondering what got everyone into racing/car hobby...


Here's my story...
My parents split when I was very young, my father was a mechanic/tow truck driver, who worked for my uncle who owned the shop, but also a complete screwup of a dad. The only time I spent with him was when my mom had car troubles and he was always the hero in that case. My dad was teaching me different things about cars for most of my childhood, I think so that I would take care of my moms cars so he didn't have to deal with it. I saw my dad build a few race engines for another uncle who was into racing as well as car shows and such, that uncle was in the car stereo business and had a few car stereo shops. In high school (Elkton, MD) I became friends with the car guys and bought my first mustang an 86 GT, and the guys from school told me about cruising in Newark. A few time cruising through Newark, and then the street racing started, and I sucked at it. Like the first time I raced I heard that you need to do a burnout to get the tires hot, and thought you just went with the tires spinning, so I was lined up at a light against a guy with the light being the signal, and things were getting ready to go, I reved the engine and dumped the clutch and was doing a good 20 second burnout before the light turned green and just let off the brake when it turned. After completely loosing, embarasingly, I was invited to go to Cecil to see how it was suposed to be done. After that first run down the track I was hooked, and worked with my dad to make that car faster on a teenagers budget...

From there I have been playing with cars ever since, and going to Cecil almost ever friday night I could since. Outside of a few local club track rentals, last year was the first time trying something other then a friday night at Cecil racing when I joined the Ram Racing series...

[REDGAR]

My story is not so interesting.  Did not have a car growing up so learned nothing.

At a client my good buddy shows me pictures and videos of him racing his Vette and he says to me I should get one of my own.  When I could, I did and the rest, as they say, is history

[badbee]

although my dad sees my racing as a waste of money, he had some of the baddest cars in the neighborhhood as i was growing up.  plus we own a repair shop and had gas until the late 80s.  my dad had four speed falcons with 5somthin gears with high windin 289s and tunnel rams,  a 1969 ss 396 nova that used more oil than gas,  and the baby of the bunch was a 1970 super cobra jet torino.  429 4 speed and 4.30 9inch.  he would probably be more enthusiastic about racing but kinda lost all interest when the car got stolen in 1984.

saw my first car pull a wheelstand on the street in the early 80s, i put 20 of super in a 69 chevelle one of my dads friends it was a wild 454 4 speed 5.13 12bolt with slicks  he pulled out onto the road and dumped it about 5 grand and up came the tires.  i was like dam.    kinda hooked since i was old enough to pump gas.    my dad had the older local kids pumpin gas when i was in my ealry teens.  and they all had cool cars.  66 nova 327 , 4spd, 5.86 gears/ 68 mustang fastback 390, 4 spd 489 9 inch/ 77 trans am 455 blower and big tires/  77 lemans 400 auto/  67 nova tubbed out 454.  man i miss the 80s.  when the bigger the stuff was hanging out of the hood the cooler you were.

went the track the weekend of my 17th birthday and havent looked back.

what i remember most about growing up in the 80s was everthing had a four speed almost.  even my first mopar was a 69 charger,  440 4sp dana 60 car.  which was totalled at atco by a drunk driver.

[pokadot1]

I ran my 63 ford galaxie conv. at york US30 when I was 16 Blew the motor on the way to school. parked that car till 88 for me my brother put a used /bad motor in and he parked it to.  no drag racing  after high school I ordered a 1972 Ford Ranchero with a 351CJ and a 4 speed great car low 13's with headers gears and tires. Sold it during the gas embargo of 74.
  In 1974 I went dirt racing had a bad a$$ Buick GS 401 with  2 4's and a power glide. Tow it to the track with a 1955 Dodge truck with a 440 6 pack, auto installed. Rolled the Buick on turn 4 going for the lead,,, No more dirt racing.  I went Drag racing with the tow truck. It was more then a year before the 12.00 truck ever one a round. Old man Raser told me the middle line, the 4th line across the track was the finish line. they had two sets of three line across the track as the had moved the starting line before concret came to be. with that key info I started winning rounds. I was  street, heavy, and pro class championship and overall track champion once through the 80's and early 90's  
 I Found NMCA in 1992 I won Maple Grove in my Rampage. I was 1993 NMCA world Champion in EFI with my only loss that year was in the finals at Maple Grove, OUR Ram Racing Karl Beat me. and I still can't forget that great race. i wish I had winning  races against him to talk about. I think he "owned me"
 I was twice King of the hill at the Mopar Atlantic nats. at E town. First win in my rampage got me a job wrighting for a Mopar mag. they were empressed with my skills If they only new. I had a crould around me all day then kicking butt wit a FWD turbo. The last time I did it in my 17.00 NYG Neon  No one cared that I kicked Butt with a FWD But I did kick buttttttt. beating the home track delay box car was "it" for me  He wanted a rerun case "he had something wrong in the box. I was .020 on the tree and would have run dead on, no rerun from me. Both race's took 9 rounds to win. I wish I could do that in Ram Racing AMI but , ,  , I'll try.
 Old Cliff
 Just on the down side of a great racing Life
Come and get me

[1SlowFormula]

Wow great stories...

No wonder I always feel outgunned going up against Cliff... 

[85SALEEN]

I got hooked when I was young lets say 1980 My Dad started to take me to Capitol Raceway man I thought that was the coolest stuff. Loud cars wheelies pop had and still does to this day a 1964 Dodge Polara named BIG YELLA. Back then everybody named there car. It had a 383 and a push button 727 trans. My uncle had a Plymouth Satellite 440 4speed car BAD ASS.

My parents split when I was young but I use to force my mother to take me to his shop. He owned a body shop here in Glen Burnie. I think that kept me interested cars. Continued to go racing with my dad until I could drive and then I bought a 85 Mustang GT 5 speed car. I remember the first time I took it to the track. It was Mason Dixon Around 95 I think. Dad was racing that day so I said why not I entered into trophy class. Went 4 rounds and got me one of them trophies.

After that I got into street racing not to much stuff at the track until 98 when I built my first real race car. Raced it every weekend for 4 years till 2002. Cut back some got a divorce in 04 picked back up racing in 2005 and now I'm here ready to try my luck at AMI with Ram Racing.

[Brian C]

My dad had a 64 Falcon Sprint in the early 70’s he raced in D/Modified Production. It had a 289/ dual quad set up, top loader 4 spd/9” rear with like 6.00 gears or something ridiculous! I loved that car! Our good friends Lon, Don, & Dave Raser also had a pair of 427 66 Fairlane's that they raced in A & C Stock back in the day They were called the Tornado and the Hurricane. Dave won Indy in the C/Stocker. I can still remember Lon sitting inside the engine bay at a points event (he's little like me!) tearing into the engine between rounds. I remember going to York US 30 as a young kid up until they closed in 79 or 80? I also remember going to the Dutch Classic at MG and watching guys like Larry Kopp, Carl Miller, Garley Daniels, Heffernan & Kaiser, Tex Miller, Al Corda and so many others. I love the sportsman classes. I was instantly hooked on drag racing. Dad put the Falcon on the street and sold it when my sister was born. The guy he sold it to totaled it. I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve learned a ton from my dad. I can remember wrenching on his race car at 4 years of age.
I began racing in 87, yeah I’ve been at it for 20 years now. I raced a 78 Mustang II, hey don’t knock the Pinto Mustang’s. I won a lot of races with that car! I remember my dad registered me for the points series at Maple Grove and I didn’t even know what I was registered for. Maple Grove has 3 qualifying sessions for the Div 1 bracket finals. I earned enough points in the 1st session to qualify for the finals. I was walking around like, ok that’s nice? Dad can you explain all this to me? I then qualified again in 88& 89(MG), 90 (Cecil), 92(Cecil) and 93(MG) if my memory serves me well. I sold the 78 in 93 so I could buy the Mustang (the one I own now) brand new. Never did real well at the finals until 2000 when I won the DOT Street Eliminator championship at Maple Grove, went to the bracket finals at Delmar and won the Race of Champions. What a year! Made it to 7 final rounds and won 5 of them that year.

My wife gave birth to our daughter in 2001 and racing has taken a back seat to fatherhood. I don’t go nearly as much as I used and finding the time to work on the car seems nearly impossible. I still love it just as much as always, tinkering with the car, finding ways to make it go faster (on a strict budget) and I still get pumped every spring to get out there and race!

[defbob]

A friend invited me to the Mopar Atlantic Nationals at Englishtown about 3 years ago.  was a fan of Lemans, Baja, and WRC before that.

[10secBu]

My dad has always been into cars, just never ever driven one down a race track. 2 weeks before graduation, dad won a brand new 57 Chevy at Manchester carnival. He says it was the only luck he ever had in life. LOL

He then was living at home and in '63 wanted to buy an Impala. His dad wouldn't let him have two cars, so he sold the 57 Chevy for $800 to buy the Impala. He really regrets ever letting that '57 go and cannot find where it has gotten to.

Dad still has the '63 Impala which is a Super Sport with a 250 hp 327, 4 speed, white with a blue interior (hardtop). The car has 93,000 miles and I hope to some day have enough shop space to do a frame off restoration on the car for dad. It's sat in his garage covered up ever since I was a teenager.

Anyway, as a kid dad and I would go to Super Chevy Sunday at Maple Grove. We enjoyed the flea market, car show and drag racing. I think seeing the racing there sparked my interest. I got my first car at 13 years old which was a beat up '67 Camaro. I spent alot of money on that car, but never was able to finish it and it eventually got sold off in pieces. I drove a '86 Honda Civic Si through college and took it to the track once or twice to see what it was like. It wasn't till after I got married and we had a house that I had space to build my own play toy which is the Malibu I have now. it's the first car I ever built by myself start to finish, well a project that will never be done as it's always being changed in one way or another.

[beaker300]

my dad is cliff sebring lol ............ do i need to explain more?

[pokadot1]

my dad is cliff sebring lol ............ do i need to explain more?

Yes     More more info How about your first day in a Jr Dragster I ajusted you throttle to fit you, and the throttle hung wide open in the pits and you kept circling back to us to shut it off.
 Or the Time I made you change your dial quicker at the braket finals costing you  the High School Race. your .00? light to his .10? and you could not run the number  and he was dead on.  Its must be fun having me for a DAD.  Hang in there  someday I may just do something right.
 POPS

[racecarpop]

I didn't start racing until 1987. Before that I played college basketball at Villanova, AAU basketball for the state of Arkansas, and a whole lot of semi-pro ball until my kids were grown enough and my body said it was time to quite basketball. I picked up drag racing because I always had a love of cars and I had worked most of the jobs before and after college in the auto industry, so I knew them pretty good. I wanted to stay in a competitive but friendly sport. the rest is 20 years of history. My car has won a bunch of races and car shows and has been on the cover of a major magazine. 

[johnkuhn]

Next door neighbor took me to US 131 Dragway here in Mich. in 1964. Been going there ever since! I can still tell you about the cars I saw the first time I was there. Thats the kind of impact you can make on a 12 year old. We took my dads 50 Ford pickup there in 66 and raced. Flathead V8 and it ran in the 19s. Dad was pretty embarrassed when he had to take the wheel covers off! He only painted the very edge that showed with a brush. He had 3 different colored wheels, not COOL.
 I made my first pass down the quarter when I was 16. Othere that taking 15 years off to go boating I have been doing it ever since. Great fun.