DID YOU KNOW:
...That the Ford Mustang was just declared the America’s Best Selling Sports Car — again?
...That rubbing a raw onion on your windshield will prevent it from freezing up while you drive?
...That maintaining the proper tire pressure will not only extend the life of your tires but improve fuel milage as well?
Of all the questions we get asked you’d be surprised how often the question of how to become a professional racing driver comes up. It is by far one of the hardest questions to answer. Unlike most stick and ball sports, there is no clear ladder system for breaking in to racing, much less at becoming a professional. I get this question because for five years I made a living driving race cars, but I want to make clear that I only made it to the second level of pro-racing. There were cars and drivers above my status, though I was blessed to be driving for factory-supported race teams and enjoyed a paycheck a person could live on.
Age and locale play a big role on the best way to break in. Kids today, like in Europe, start in go-karts and work they way up through those. Trust me, they learn a lot of race craft in doing so. The speeds and competition are great and to stand out there with any hope of getting noticed is a tough task. Sadly, karting is not cheap and the faster you go the more it costs. Tighter budgets and and the requirement to use your daily driver will see a lot drivers start in slaloming. Generally, it's less expensive and a good way to learn car control with risking either the vehicle or yourself.
Making it harder to break into the top ranks is the number of forms and classes of racing: Drag racing, Stock Car racing, Road racing, Rally racing and now RallyCross add to the list and harder yet are the number of sub-sets within each of those forms of racing. Two things will required no matter where you start or in what form of racing you select:
Money
Self-promotion
Today, most top level professional racers bring sponsorship to the team to help or even totally cover the cost of racing. You must become great at self-promotion, like a lot of really talented drivers, this was my weakness. Bringing money to a team will accelerate your progress amazingly. Learn to find money and will you get the chance to learn to be a racer. Be prepared: racing, especially professional racing, is hard work. Dig in, stay focused and learn not only to race but how to promote. Good luck!
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