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What’s the difference between Race Experience, Regional, Majors, Super Tour, and the Runoffs®?

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What’s the difference between Race Experience, Regional, Majors, Super Tour, and the Runoffs®?

Because of how many racers and events the SCCA has, we divide our Road Racing into a few different levels.

Race Experience is the low-key/non-championship form of road racing. This is a level to focus on fun and not be too worried about where you finish or what your class is. Regional Races—often part of divisional championship series—are a little more serious than Race Experience, but not as competitive as Majors or Super Tour. Regional racing is the first level that you need a Novice Permit or Competition License to participate in.

Majors races are divided into Conferences and give an opportunity for more serious competition than Regional events across larger geographical areas. Majors events require a full competition license and are the path to qualifying for the National Championship Runoffs. The Hoosier Super Tour is a set of showcase Majors events held across the country every year, focused on concentrating on the best competition at the most popular tracks and including a National points championship.

The SCCA National Championship Runoffs® is the annual festival of SCCA Road Racing where drivers, officials and SCCA members and fans from across the country gather to celebrate our Road Racing. There are social events throughout the event, and it finishes with winner-take-all national championship races for each of the National SCCA classes. To qualify for this as a driver you need to do a specific number of events in the class you want to qualify for and have a Full Competition License.  

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Road Racing
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Can I try racing without owning a car?

If you’re looking to go racing, there are several rental options on our Prep Shop page. If you’re just wanting to get a taste, show up to an event and you might be able to meet a racer and offer to be on their crew, or this is where our Trackside volunteer program is perfect.

Every position at an SCCA race — from the people who line up cars on grid, to corner workers, to the officials who make the top decisions at a race—are SCCA members who volunteer for those duties. If being in the car isn’t for you, or not what you want to do at this time, you can join in the events to ensure cars are safe (scrutineering), use the flags to signal drivers (corner workers) or operate the event from the tower (Stewards).

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Are there crashes, and what happens if I have one?

When it comes to pushing your car as hard as it will go and trying to go faster than others, crashes will happen. It’s why the rules are very strict on car and driver safety gear, as well as on-track procedures during the event.

When a crash or incident happens, corner workers will use flags to signal to other drivers what has happened and how they should react. For the driver who has had the incident, every event has emergency services including ambulances and fire-fighters on site to respond to the incident. Drivers learn what to do during these situations at their drivers schools and introductory events.

After an incident, the drivers involved will often be counseled by the officials and have opportunities to lodge complaints (called protests) against drivers if they feel there needs to be further review or action taken by those officials.

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Is Vintage racing different?

Yes. Vintage events run older, often irreplaceable classic and historic racecars, and the on-track etiquette tends to be a little more gentlemanly given what’s at stake if metal gets bent. 

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How are cars classed?

For SCCA Road Racing, there are different categories. Spec, Touring, Super Touring®, Production, Grand Touring are for cars that resemble or started life as a car at a dealership, and Formula Cars and Prototypes are for purpose-built race cars that don’t look like street cars at all. From there, cars are put into individual classes in each category based on performance potential and modifications. To give an example, Grand Touring (GT) has six classes, Super Touring (ST) and Production categories have three classes in each. Touring Category has four classes, and Spec Category has six classes. To give an example, a 2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata can run in Spec MX-5 (SMX), Touring 4 (T4), E-Production (EP) and Grand Touring 2 (GT-2) depending on modifications to engine, suspension, chassis, bodywork, etc. By taking this approach, the SCCA is able to create the best potential for competitiveness at multiple levels of budget and desires for each car.

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What does Road Racing cost?

This is a difficult question to answer because there are different types of costs associated with going racing. There are the administrative costs—membership, license, and for some an SCCA medical approved by a doctor—which are a few hundred dollars. Next there are event entry fees which range from $400-$700 for an event depending on the track. Following that, if you own your own car, you need the car and most likely a truck and trailer and running costs for each event. If you rent a car from a Prep Shop, you’ll still need to get yourself to the track and of course decide where to stay (hotel or camping) and what to eat (packing food or going to restaurants).

At the very economical end of the spectrum, budget $15-$20,000 for your own car/truck/trailer, and at least $1,500/event to enter and run the car. Vehicle rental typically costs between $2,000-$5,000/weekend but you still need the entry fee and your personal transport.  Of course, you can spend a lot more depending on your choices of race car, tow vehicle, trailer, lodging, etc.

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Do I need my own racecar?

SCCA is a club, and that means our members are typically hobbyist who own their own cars or rent them from special businesses called “Prep Shops.” The SCCA does not provide cars for people to race. You will also likely have to get your own drivers gear, though a prep shop or other businesses might have some you can rent/borrow.

To find a company that rents and prepares race cars for SCCA events, browse the SCCA Prep Shop Directory.

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What if I’m not 18 yet?

Minors as young as 14 can race with the SCCA, with prior experience, in most states.
The age of minors can vary based on the state an event is held: under 18 in most states, under 19 in Nebraska and Alabama, and under 21 in Mississippi. A minor’s age also plays a role in what waivers are required and whether a sports physical (SCCA medical) is needed.
Minors 14-15 will also need to have prior racing experience (karts, quarter midgets, and similar) and an interview with their Divisional Licensing Administrator.

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What is Race Experience?

The SCCA Race Experience program is a low-key, easy-access racing program designed to be more fun than competitive, and has driver coaches to help those who are just starting out or want to brush up on their skills.

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What is a Drivers School?

An SCCA Drivers School is a special region-hosted school held over multiple days which can bring a driver from “never have I ever driven a car on track” to “ready to race” in a single event. There are also Accredited Drivers Schools—professional drivers schools accredited by the SCCA to be able to assign school and license credit—and Alternate Drivers Schools, single-day opportunities for a driver with experience elsewhere to get their drivers school credit.

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Do I need a race license?

The answer to this is, “it depends.” For events like Drivers School and Race Experience, unless you’re a minor without a driver’s license, a driver’s license and annual SCCA membership are all you need. For our upper levels: Regional, Majors and Super Tour series – those do require various grades of licenses which you can earn by starting out at Drivers School or Race Experience.

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