Welcome to Texas Spec7
Home of the Texas SRX7 Road Race Series
Hello all, thought you may be interested in the newest potential racer in your midst. My name is Brian out of Mansfield, TX and I am in the process of securing a Spec car (the #70 car). I seek your advice and guidance to get from where I am now to out on the track with you all. It may be awhile, but you gotta start somwhere! My track experience at this point is limited, I have run my DD 09 WRX in a few NASA HPDE, SCCA AX, and Tx Time Trial events, that plus 3k+ miles/month in my car has me comfortable with the limits of that paticular machine but like many others, W2W is not going to happen in my new DD car. I have signed up for the next FAAST drivers/certification school (not til December) so I probably wont see any of you until after that. The car needs a freshened engine, I have talked to Rotary Performance but am open to any suggestions here, maybe one of you could use the $$ to do a rebuild?? Anyway, once I set my mind to something it usually happens so please help me get out on the track! Do any of you race with NASA, maybe ITA or is SCCA Spec 7 the way to go? I'm not sure at this point what my class/organization destination should be. I need a trailer.....
Nice to see SRX7 get a new driver. Why don't you do the NASA TWS Aug and ECR OCt HPDE/TT to work on your license? The results will show that this group runs NASA mostly. RP, while good in many regards, is not the place you will probably want to go. There is a guy name Buddy who you will probably have do your motor. Ted has a nice and newer open trailer for sale since he's moving to the beach, he may chime in or many here can get you in contact. You've picked a good group to race with.
- FC who shares space with many SRX7's
Hey Brian,
welcome aboard! you will find we are a great group and help our fellow racers anyway we can. Mark and Lance are correct, Rotary Performance is a great shop, but they are geared toward drag racing RX7's and not road racing them. Buddy Boswell in Fort Worh is a local Master Mazda Tech and guru. He is an encyclopedia of knowlege. He has built just about all of the Spec7 motors in our group. His contact info is in the links section of this site. If you have any problems reaching him, call me at 214-642-8278 and I can get you in touch with him. Also, yeah don't wait until December for school. NASA has comp license school at every race weekend. The next race is at the end of July in College Station.. You can do two weekends with NASA and have your race license. The NASA TX link is on our site.. You can register on-line. If you can't get the car ready in time, come on out anyways and meet the rest of us.. Who's car is the #70? Depending on when it last raced, you may need to make some rule updates to it. Let us know and we can tell you if you need to add anything (its all safety related)
Travis
Here's a possibility: "I have a 1984 RX7 we were stripping down to restore but my buddy moved away leaving me with the dash out and interior pulled. I have everything including the 12a motor with 60k on it. The car runs great with aftermarket headers and carb on it. We got it running and then took the interior out and was working on the outside when he left. If you know anyone that would want this car with all the goodies let me know. I have clean title. I would trade something for it. I just want 1000.00 and you can have everything. I have extra transmission and other parts if you want also."
Hey all, just browsed through here tonight and saw I had a few replies.I haven't finalized the deal with the seller yet, he's been busy racing! Many of you probably know him but I don't want to talk too much smack yet before the deal is done. The # 70 car belonged to his friend who sadly passed away some time ago. I was not aware of the NASA liscening option during race weekends. There's no way I can be ready this month, I dont have the car yet, the engine needs rebuilding, safety updates. and I dont even own a firesuit , etc. I'll keep progress updated here if any of you can help me speed this up, the seller told me about this other guy that builds engines and also reccomended him over RP. Stand by!! Thanks for the encouragment, I need it. Never easy to just "squeeze in" a little racing career between everything else if you know what I mean....
Any advice on a gameplan would be appreciated.
I believe this is Bob Cain's old car, so it hasn't been run in a few years. It was a front runner in it's day though. You should come out to see what you might need - additional door bar on the passenger side, head restraint (net or arm piece - I would go with the arm since it never get out dated like the nets). Forget what is SCCA versus NASA mandated, so better peruse the rulebook before your annual tech. Glad to see you coming on board!
I think RP is also focused on 3rd gens and RX8s now, so Buddy is a great way to go.
Yes, I think you are right though I did not know Mr. Cain. The net is there but it has a spring loaded clip that needs replacing, we'll get that figured out. Hopefully get this thing under the wrench this month! What are the dates of all fo the upcoming NASA licensing schools?
Paul P. is giving that car away, you can not go wrong.
Every NASA weekend includes HPDE, TT and racing. http://www.nasatxracing.com/
Read the rules to find out how much track time you need before you can get your license. It is different for NASA than SCCA, once you get one you can get a waiver on the other.
Brian,
you will need a new door net and you now need a right side head net as well, unless your seat has the built in head restraint. You also will need to add the second door bar to the passenger side door. I've seen that car and can't remember if it has it or not, but you will need a kill switch. Also you need a HANS device and new seat belts (get FIA, they are approved longer). That should get you up to current safety specs
Our schedule is listed under the schedule page.. After the race at the end of this month, we have two more scheduled in Denton at Eagles Canyon.. If you can make the drive down to TWS this month, you can check out our cars and see what all you need etc..
Ok, thanks that's good to know and about what I thought. Its going to take awhile to get the car ready, so I'm trying to figure the best gameplan to get licensed. My understanding that outside of the licensing "super schools" I would have to progress through all teh DE classes, who knows how long that would take with all the time between events, a couple years? I thought I would continue with the DE events, do the school in Dec (in the meantime getting the race car ready), then start W2W. I would like to do to the July 31 event, but dont really want to thrash my poor WRX anymore, it is very powerful and eats tires, rotors, pads, etc for breakfast when I track it. How about a Budget rental car?? lol, itd be cheaper that the $400 for the Miatas they rent at TWS. I need funds to complete the RX7!!
you don't need to progress through all those DE classes etc. Sounds like you have track time already so if you contact NASA (not sure who) Clifton can probably tell you. I would imagine you can go straight into comp license school and within one weekend (depending on your current experience) or by two weekends, you will have your license. If you want to rent a car, Tony Lee has extra Spec7's he rents. Let me know and I can put you in touch with him.. If you got your fire suit and helmet, you could do your first license school at TWS in July in the rented Spec7.
OK, thanks. Yes, I would like to check into the deal for the Spec 7 rental. My email is williams3280@gmail.com
Welcome Brian!
You'll never look back.
I raced against your car many times when Bob Cain was at the wheel, Hopefully we will be doing the same soon.
Keep going forward. There is NOTHING like going wheel to wheel, you know and that's why youre doing it.
Good Luck, any help you need just ask.
Chris Taylor wrote On the bright side, SCCA has fewer rules regarding personal safety. Not that they're lax, they actually have a better safety record, but you won't have to buy window nets every 2 years and you can save the $800 on the HANS device. 2nd door bar and kill switch are still required.
Why are you misleading the new guy?
NASA requires a halo seat or right side net, SCCA does not. That's it. One rule.
As far as a HANS, while the most common, a HANS is not required but an SFI rated HNR. Anyone racing without an HNR doesn't care about their life. Read the Jan 2010 Fastrack, SCCA is requiring. As far as window nets, the rule speaks for itself.
The window net must be in very good condition and carry an SFI label indicating a date showing that the net is less than five (5) years old.
MOTION: To mandate the use of Head and Neck Restraints certified by SFI or FIA in Club Racing as of 1/1/12. (Creighton/Allen) PASSED, Opposed: Sauce, Lybarger, Langlotz, Gordy and Introne. Abstention: Noble
Where can I find the safety records for NASA and SCCA so I can determine myself who has a better record?
Excellent Brian,
Tony will give you a good car and take care of you.
Just for the record I ain't against SCCA, they are both filling a niche and they both do it well.
Brian, if you know your way around a track and don't screw up you'll be fine. Keep 4 wheels on the track, drive UNDER your ability, they are looking for safety, if you look like a crazy man on track you'll get nowhere, if you're smooth and safe they'll love ya and pass you much sooner. And learn your flags.
When you learn the flags ask about the Swiss Cross in particular (NASA) then tell the rest of us what we're supposed to do... LOL!
It is easy to do the License school. When you register for the DE, there is a comp license option to select. You really should do at least a weekend or two in the DE to get used to the car and the track. It's um, different than your WRX! But it is incredibly fun, and you won't regret it! the best part for me is that these cars are so tough, and require so little maintenance. You can really focus on driving and having fun. Good luck!