Would you race against a 14 year old?

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

How much seat time does he have in a car?

Very little on a track, 1000s of miles on our 300 acre property. He’s driven everything we own, got his first Porsche at 12, taught himself how to drive a standard at 8, cut and baled almost all of our hay this year…

[KFC911]

No experience whatsoever with racing .... but I have a phone wif a keyboard .

Case by case basis imo.... for every child prodigy (with maturity, etc.) there are thousands of "the rest of us" .

Given some extra scrutiny and a bit of "prove it to us", by experienced racers beforehand ... why not?

Good luck UB!

[jhynesrockmtn]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Very little on a track, 1000s of miles on our 300 acre property. He’s driven everything we own, got his first Porsche at 12, taught himself how to drive a standard at 8, cut and baled almost all of our hay this year…

Sounds like a great kid. Can you adopt me, 50 years ago?

[Captain Ahab Jr]

I'd race against any 14 year old but only if their parents don't get upset if I nudged their kid off the track to make a pass stick

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

Sounds like a great kid. Can you adopt me, 50 years ago?

I'll call him Uncle Dad right now

I won't bale hay .... nevermind

[GH85Carrera]

No doubt most of the F1 drivers right now, when they were 14 could out drive me or most of the drivers on the planet as adults. It would be humbling to have a 14 year old Max or Alonzo pass me in a equal go cart.

My only real track experience is driving my 39 year old 200 HP 100% analog car on tracks at a DE type of event. No racing and only passing with a wave past. At my last track day a Cayman GT4 passed me and drove off in a major hurry. A 911 GT2 passed me like a blur, but with 701 HP it was no contest. I managed to leave a 993 behind me, but it was his first DE.

There is no right or wrong answer to the OP. It all comes down to the talent of the 14 year old. And the legal and liability of the car's owner. Personally, no I don't want a 14 year old on a track with me. And the rules of every DE is have a valid driver's license, so it will not be an issue for me.


Ozark International Raceway should be a bucket list track for anyone that likes a 4 mile long track through the trees and beautiful countryside.

[cockerpunk]

sure.

the biggest problem ive found with young racers, is not considering the long term cost/investment in a class. ie, kart/sim kids are on there way to trans am or IMSA, mx5 cup etc, and are doing a few seasons in club racing ... they dont care what apple cart they **** up in the mean time. those kids are dangerous.

but a young kid, who wants to stay club racing, is committed to the class/community, sure all day.

safer than 90% of the old guys, and usually more polite on track.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Eric Hahl

I raced a national motorcycle race against Ben Spies when he was 14 or 15 and I was 30. There were probably 40-50 bikes in the class. Ben won and went on to be AMA multi time champion and then on to MotoGP.

Great story!!!

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

I'd race against any 14 year old but only if their parents don't get upset if I nudged their kid off the track to make a pass stick

This is actually an excellent point; how hard do you race a 14yo? (And I guess the answer will probably turn out to be as hard as you would any other driver after sharing the track with him for a while and figuring out his style and skill level)

[911 Rod]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Very little on a track, 1000s of miles on our 300 acre property. He’s driven everything we own, got his first Porsche at 12, taught himself how to drive a standard at 8, cut and baled almost all of our hay this year…

Growing up we had land with a cabin about 1/2 hr. from the house. From 14 years old and up my dad would let me drive, and then I would drive the trails and field there pulling out firewood and hunting etc.

The first week I had my license I lifted on a corner in my mom's Corolla and put it backwards into the ditch. lol

I had no racing carting experience though.

[cockerpunk]

how old is connor zilisch?

he must only be 16 or 17. raced against him at runoffs in indy. he didnt even win spec miata, pardus walked away with it, and he just won a rolex at daytona ... 17 years old, already won a 24 hour race.

[unclebilly]

This past summer, we were at a kart 'test and tune' at a track I used to do time attack at. On the Friday night, they were letting karts run. We brought his Rotax kart and my Rotax Max kart. He was the only kid there.

He went out in his Mini Max and was faster than the adults in their 4 strokes.

Then we sent him out in my Rotax max (his first time driving it). He had towels and a jacket padding the seat and I lowered the steering column for him. He was over 100 lbs under legal weight for Rotax masters... he decimated the adults in shifter karts. It was hilarious, a few came by to chat with him afterwards and said it was obvious he was a seasoned racer. Despite less power and old tires, he also had way less weight so he could pull them coming out of the corners... and in the corners despite the janky seat setup. The other other guys were just mad.

The next night I won the time attack in my Spec Miata in the Extreme Class (I had race tires). I want to hand that Miata over to him this summer.

[rrental]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Well there is no requirement to prove nationality. No requirement to bring a passport to the racetrack…

No but they will ask these questions when you apply for the license.

Hey, I am just sharing what I experienced in my years. Would hate to see your kid go through the driving school and being turned away at the track.

[Dixie]

People like to amplify their accomplishments by making it harder for those behind them, especially if those others have talent.

Young professional up-and-coming drivers are emancipated for a reason.

[unclebilly]

Well… it happened.

Kiddo completed his SCCA licensing school today.

We plan to race the weekend after next in SM.

I know there will be haters but we’re doing this.

He was running 1:58s in a rented miata the owner felt *might* be capable of 2:00 laps with the tires on it… he brought it home with no damage (apart from a broken door mirror that fell out on the grid). He still has that racer’s instinct to dominate on the starts which will serve him well in a spec class.

It’s going to be a fun couple years.

[unclebilly]

9 years ago today he got his first kart…



Today he got his SCCA license…

[A930Rocket]

Great story! Keep us updated.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Well… it happened.

Kiddo completed his SCCA licensing school today.

We plan to race the weekend after next in SM.

I know there will be haters but we’re doing this.

He was running 1:58s in a rented miata the owner felt *might* be capable of 2:00 laps with the tires on it… he brought it home with no damage (apart from a broken door mirror that fell out on the grid). He still has that racer’s instinct to dominate on the starts which will serve him well in a spec class.

It’s going to be a fun couple years.

Outstanding! I wish you both well and tons of fun!

[3rd_gear_Ted]

With all due respect he needs a coach right in his ear while on track with W2W GT level car racing experience. Managing mental bandwidth is something he needs support with. Even the pro's get told to "look up" all the time, that's what a good coach does. His skill set getting leveraged by a good coach is how its done.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by 3rd_gear_Ted

With all due respect he needs a coach right in his ear while on track with W2W GT level car racing experience. Managing mental bandwidth is something he needs support with. Even the pro's get told to "look up" all the time, that's what a good coach does. His skill set getting leveraged by a good coach is how its done.

I don’t really understand your perspective on this.

He does have a learner’s license and is legal to drive on the road.