Vintage racing is not cheap, especially if you want to race at the greatest tracks in the country in a big-bore car. But if you start at a track school and race your own small-bore vehicle, you can get into the sport for about $1,000 a race.
Mazzoni’s wreck is a reminder that, no matter how nostalgic, vintage competition is demanding and dangerous. And time isn’t frozen at the track either.
What is Vintage Racing
Vintage racing is a thriving and growing sport at the intersection of collecting, preserving and race-car driving. Drivers are motivated more by a passion for a marque or an era than by the desire to claw their way to the front of the pack. The field is inclusive, accommodating everything from a $1M Jaguar to a $7500 Formula Vee.
What qualifies as a vintage car is defined by various sanctioning bodies, with some organizations limiting eligibility to cars older than others. For example, the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) defines vintage cars as those built through 1979. Meanwhile, the Historic Sportscar Club of America (VSCCA) defines vintage as cars built through 1959, while other groups set the cut-off point even further back.
Nevertheless, newer racing cars are slowly gaining acceptance in the hobby. For instance, the SVRA recently held its inaugural United States Vintage Racing National Championship at the Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas, and saw 500 cars competing in twelve classes. The event was a success, and it’s an indicator that modern-era racing will continue to grow within the sport like Age of War, especially for the hyperwealthy who are interested in exercising recently decommissioned front-line factory race cars at staggering cost. Fortunately, most vintage races are open to the public, allowing spectators to get up close and personal with the historic machines in the paddock.
How to Get Started
One of the first steps to becoming a vintage racer is attending a racing school, which are usually offered by most road courses. They are a great way to learn the fundamentals of driving in an older car and will give you direct feedback from a professional. Many of these schools also offer three, five and seven-day programs that will teach you the basics of road racing and allow you to participate in a race, making it a great way to find out whether you really want to pursue this hobby.
Next, research which groups compete in your area. There are a number of helpful magazines that cover the sport, including Victory Lane and Vintage Motorsports, which will give you the names and contact information for different groups. Once you’ve contacted the organizations, attend a race to get a feel for the atmosphere and check out some of the cars. Many drivers will be more than happy to talk about their cars as long as they’re not busy getting ready to hit the track.
Finally, purchase the necessary equipment. You will need a triple-layer fire resistant suit, which runs from $300 to $800, a full face helmet that meets current safety standards and some odds and ends like gloves and boots. After this, it’s time to find a car.
Rules and Regulations
There’s a wide range of cars that compete at vintage races, and rules vary from one group to the next. Some groups are strict, demanding period-correctness down to the tires and signage; others are more relaxed. Some have age requirements; if your car is on the cusp of eligibility, check with each group.
SVRA, for instance, limits its fields to sports cars and sedans manufactured through 1972. That’s the same period that triggered the founding of the Kendall group, which held its inaugural race at Sebring in 1978 and launched a vintage-racing hobby that’s now more robust than ever.
Most of the national clubs offer racing schools as part of their charter, and certified race drivers earn a competition license. The license is recognized by other clubs, which in turn get national sanction from the VMC.
Besides allowing participants to earn a license, the racing schools also serve as a way for newcomers to learn how to drive historic cars on modern-day circuits. In addition, they offer an opportunity to make friends in the paddock. This is one of the great things about vintage racing: It combines the fun and friendships of club racing with the excitement of driving fast, historic cars. Almost every weekend, at tracks from Eagles Canyon to the Circuit of the Americas, men and women strap into vintage racecars and bring automotive history back to life.
Venues
Vintage Racing takes place at a variety of venues across the country. Most of the organizations are membership clubs that offer renewable annual memberships for nominal fees. Members participate as spectators, drivers, mechanics, car preparers and engine builders, flagging specialists, track workers, photographers and other support people.
Unlike competitive club racing where the goal is to claw your way up to the front, vintage racers choose to drive their cars because they love them. They have a passion for a specific marque or era and race them to honor the cars’ history. As such, their driving is generally more relaxed and fun than a typical weekend of club racing.
While the majority of vintage races are held on road courses, many clubs also hold events on dirt tracks. A few of these are large, multi-day events with practice sessions and multiple 30-minute sprint races. Other events are more low-key, like the CSRG David Love Historic Car Races in Beloit, Wisconsin, which is open to all entrants with cars from 1972 or before.
Wicked Good Vintage Racers is a small, local organization founded in 2001 to bring back Nostalgic racing with recognizable cars that can be identified by the masses. They organize local races with simple rules to make sure the cars are as close to the original, as-raced, specification as possible so that any on-track advantage comes down to the driver and not the car.