Lining up a few 2013 Rentals!

Nearing the end of 2012 I started inquiring about rental for the 2013 season.  I've gotten a lot of information from a lot of different individuals, teams, etc with a range of price structures and cars.  Matching up the offers, inquiries, prices, cars, sanctioning bodies, travel plans and a host of other variables with my available schedule and what I would actually want to drive takes some time! 

In a nutshell, a car that is going to be more competitive (ie; with a proven race history or team prep history) is going to cost a bit more.  And of course the old adage; you gotta pay to go faster - meaning renting a 400hp Mustang is usually going to cost more than a 120hp Miata.  And higher sanctioned series like NASA or SCCA with stricter prep levels cost more than say a Lemon's or a Chumpcar seat.  In addition, splitting an Enduro seat with any group is more economical as you can split the costs multiple ways; sometimes up to 5 drivers. 

One thing I wanted to do was start early!  Winter sucks.  And I've only been on the track once since July 1st!  So I looked hard at Feb/March alternatives including return trips to VIR (once in 2009) and Road Atlanta (once in 2012).  Then a much closer opportunity opened up at Gateway that I pounced on involving a NASA prepped car by a friend of mine.  After that another early opportunity for a 2-day Lemon's race was offered.  I have never drove in Lemon's, but a friend of mine has a car that usually does very well - meaning they finish!  So there's 2 early race weekends already in the plans.  More details about each to come as things solidify.

March 23-24 - NASA Central Region - Gateway Motorsports Park in STL - PTE Miata rental
April 20-21 - 24hrs of Lemons - Gingerman Raceway in Michigan - 1986 Volvo 245

Izzy's Custom Cages - Cage Complete!

Got word from Scott at Izzy's earlier this week that the cage is now officially complete.  He was able to squeeze it into the 3.5 week timeframe with about a 1/2 week to spare!  So no worries about making my NASA event at Gateway Raceway Park this weekend, then to Autobahn next weekend - April is always busy!  I'll also be completing my Competition Licensing school (aka COMP school) this weekend at Gateway which I'm very excited about.  Also with some classroom and written exams, we'll have on-course exercises emphasizing driving off-line, passing, when to surrender the 'line', etc and wrap up with practice rolling starts! 
Below are a few final pics of the cage wrapping up: