When it comes to the big kid race cars, you have your choice of Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, Mini-Stocks, Super Stocks, Modified, Super Modifieds, Sprints, Winged Sprints, Jr. Sprints, Outlaws, Dwarfs, Midgets, Sportsmen, Super Trucks, and Late Models just to name a few. Sounds like a lot to choose from, but if you're dying to go racing on dirt, then I highly recommend just going out and visiting your local track and seeing what classes they race there. The options may be narrowed down to just three or four depending on what's available at your local track. Chasin Racin Race Track Locator can show you exactly what is in your neighborhood.

One of the largest organizations for dirt track racing is the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA). Established in 1915, they are actually the oldest auto racing sanctioning body in the United States. Odds are your local dirt or clay track is an IMCA member, and you can find out more about them at www.imca.com.

Sticking To The Pavement

When it comes to racing on asphalt, you first have three basic options to choose from - left turns only, left and right turns, or straight line. Left turns only involve hard-surfaced ovals. Road courses, autocross, and drifting generally make left and right turns. And, of course, drag racing is a one-shot, high speed acceleration race straight and fast. Here are some more details.

Left Turns Only

Paved ovals tend to offer many of the same classes as their dirt oval counterparts. However, since dirt or clay is a less expensive track surface than asphalt or concrete, the paved oval tracks are fewer and farther between. For the entry-level racer, it really just boils down to what type of track is close to you.

If you plan to be a weekend-warrior who races for the fun and friendly competition, support your local racetrack whether it is dirt or paved. Of course, it should be a track you like and the track owners provide for fair competition among racers and quality entertainment value for the race fans.

For those NASCAR-aspiring race car drivers out there who are looking to make their way up to a NASCAR Dodge Weekly, NASCAR Regional, or ARCA RE/MAX Series, most of those races will be on paved circle tracks. Of course, once you've reached this level, you will be traveling well beyond the scope of your local track as you make your way through each racing season.

Left, Left, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, Right, Left, Left, Right Turns

If you are wanting to turn left and right while you race, then you will have the most choices when it comes to the different types of cars you could race, as well as the types of race courses available. There's even a few options where you can get out there in your family sedan or sports car.

Road Racing

First, let's start with road courses. You may want to open up Chasin Racin Race Track Locator while you are reading through this to get an idea of the tracks in your area. Okay. Road course tracks can be raced in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. They range from half-mile racing kart tracks to full-scale road courses anywhere from 1.5 to 3.0 miles in length on average.

Some road courses are stand-alone tracks, while many coexist with the pro-level speedway ovals across the country like Texas Motor Speedway or California Speedway. Usually the "speedway" road courses utilize a portion of the big oval and then break off to make a number of left and right turns on an in-field track.

Many Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) club races utilize these facilities throughout the year. So, yes, it is possible to race at one of these famous tracks even as a brand new race car driver. The SCCA, the mother of grassroots road racing, has a fantastic website you may want check out as you are researching and deciding on which type of racing you want to get into.

Next, what kind of car can you race on road courses? The answer - pretty much anything. If it has four wheels, it has been raced on a road course somewhere at some point. The key for you though is what interests you the most within your budget, of course. The basic car categories include:

• Open Wheel Formula - These are your Formula 1 and Indy-style racing cars. And yes, there are "beer budget" open wheel race cars you can buy or rent.
• Sport Racers - Open cockpit, full fiberglass body purpose-built road racing cars
• Touring and Improved Touring - Modified, high performance street cars
• Grand Touring (GT) - Highly modified production cars
• Production and Showroom Stock - Slightly modified and straight showroom stock cars
• Spec Car Classes - Specific cars (such as Mazda Miatas) racing with a specific set of modifications for the whole class
• Legends cars - Really cool little 5/8-scale models of late-1930's vintage racers
• Vintage - Anything and everything that used to race and has been resurrected

Solo Racing

Want a really, really low cost entry into the world of motorsports? Try out some SCCA Solo events (known by many as autocross). You can use your own car, don't need a competition license or roll bar (just a helmet), and you can get out and race against the clock and fellow competitors. The course is typically set up using cones on a large parking lot, airport, or racetrack. It's one car at a time with the fastest car winning. For the cost of a helmet, it's just about the fastest and cheapest way to get into racing.

Drifting

Another inexpensive motorsport (in relative terms) that is fairly new here in the United States is called drifting. The essence of drifting involves maneuvering your car in a controlled power slide through the corners of a course similar to solo or autocross. The difference is that you are competing on the basis of style and control versus speed.

Although you don't need any special race car for drifting, a rear wheel drive car is better suited and balanced for this type of controlled "oversteer" driving. However, many people do use front wheel drive vehicles as well. Thus, once again, you can jump into this type of racing with your own car. Also, like autocross, parking lots are commonly used to set-up drifting courses allowing for the opportunity to go drifting in just about any city.

If you would like to learn more about drifting
start with DriftingStreet.com for more
on the art of street drifting.

No Turns

If the only turning you want to do is at the end of the race to get back to the pit area, then drag racing is for you.

Drag Racing - Carrier Launch With No Water Necessary

When it comes to the ultimate top speeds and acceleration in racing, nothing comes close to the upper echelons of drag racing. A quarter mile in under four and a half seconds and over 300 mph makes for an exciting ride.

Your basic drag race involves two cars going head-to-head on a straight-line 1/8 or 1/4 mile course. An amber, green and red set of starting line lights, the "Christmas tree", are used to control the start of the race. The amber lights lead up to the green light that signifies go for launch for the two racers. A driver "jumping the gun" will get a red light and is disqualified.

Racers are timed on their response time to starting at the green light and their time and speed across the finish line. The main objective, of course, is to cross the finish line ahead of the other car. Sounds simple enough - floor it and keep it straight.

Just a couple of minor issues to deal with though. When you are trying to launch off the green and thousandths of a second count, and you've got several hundred horsepower or more that has to be transferred to your rear wheels with just a few inches of right foot travel on the accelerator pedal without spinning all over the place, and then finally keep that beast going straight down the track under full power, you have got your hands full for sure.

Although the majority of drag racers will never see the insane performance levels of a top fuel dragster, most of your basic street rods and dragsters that show up for a Saturday night race at the local drag strip will still plant your head into the back of the seat. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

So, for more info on drag racing, the two main sanctioning bodies are the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA). Usually your local track will be associated with one or the other, but both web sites provide a great deal of info on the sport. Also, for a drag racer's paradise: 80,000+ drag racer listings from 1950 to present, 10,000+ links, photos, stories, video clips, a friendly, flame-free message board, free classifieds, and much more, make sure you check out DragList.com, one of the most comprehensive drag racing sites on the web.

Jr. Drag Racing - Don't Forget the Kids

For those who have a son or daughter wanting to get their start in drag racing, both the NHRA and IHRA have Jr. Dragster programs. The typical racing league is for kids ages 8 to 17.

A basic Jr. dragster costs around $3,000 and is a half-scale top fuel replica normally using a five horsepower motor giving a top speed of around 85 mph. The Jr. dragsters use a 1/8 mile run with a handicap starting system used to keep the competition even. Check out the NHRA and IHRA links above for more details on their program particulars.

Off-Road Racing - Were We Supposed To Take That Left Turn In Albuquerque?

All four wheels off the ground and hauling butt with rocks and dirt flying. That's what most people think of when they envision off-road racing. If you are an off-road fan, you've probably heard of the Baja 1000, seen video of the airborne Lucas Oil Championship Off Road Racing truck, or watched an FIA Rally race on the Speed channel.

However, if you are looking for entry-level off-road racing, once again, check out the SCCA. Of course, you can always hop into your Jeep or four-wheeler and head off into the wild, but we're talking about racing on a little more structured level. The SCCA has several types of off-road rally events available even a newcomer to the sport can participate in.

First, you can get your "rally" feet in your own car by participating in a Road Rally. This is a controlled contest of precision driving and navigating on public roads. Normally, you have the driver and a navigator just like in a real rally race. The difference is that you are not racing. Cars are launched in one-minute intervals and you are graded on following a designated course using instructions in a route book and passing checkpoints at a calculated time.

You are penalized for arriving early or late at each checkpoint. One checkpoint to the next is one leg of the course and each leg is graded independently. The winner of the road rally is the team with the fewest cumulative penalties for each leg - kind of like adding up your score in golf.

The SCCA also has more challenging versions of the road rally as you gain experience. Then, once you are ready, you can head off-road in a SCCA Rally Cross or CircuitRally race. Go to the SCCA site for more info.

Ready To Go Racing Now?

So, you've got a good idea of the types of racing out there and you're ready to get behind the wheel of a race car. You know exactly what kind of racing you want to do. You've done a little research on the Internet. You've been out to a local track and chatted with the racers. And you're ready to go.

Before you take the big plunge; however, let's get you some seat time - let's have you take the ultimate test drive. That way you know exactly what racing is really like before you make any huge investments. You can first Start In A Kart, or if you're looking for a full-size car, then hop on over and Take The Ultimate Test Drive.