The NASA rulebook mentions “racing room” no fewer than 10 times. In official terms, it is defined as three quarters of a car width when passing or being passed on track.
On track, I am happy to leave racing room for my competitors so we can avoid contact and take our cars home in the same condition in which they arrived. The people I race with are friends, and if I can avoid contact by giving them some space, I do.
I remember one race where I was dicing back and forth with a racing buddy. He went four off at the exit of Sunset at Buttonwillow Raceway — not uncommon — and he straightened it out and stayed on the gas at full throttle — also not uncommon. He wanted to get back on track as quickly as he could, so I moved over a bit so he could get at least two wheels back on the pavement. I would have been in the right not to have moved at all, but we were having so much fun I wanted to keep it going. I didn’t want contact, and I’m certain that wasn’t his goal, so I gave him some space to come back on track safely. We went after each other all race long.
Recently, “racing room” has taken on new meaning for me. My family and I recently moved locally in an effort to “downsize” a bit, but one of the requirements for our new house was that it had to have enough room for a racecar. I don’t need much. A simple two-car garage does the trick, and I’m happy to report the house we liked most had enough room for the racecar. It’s a bit smaller than the last one, but it still works well enough.
But the term racing room encompasses more than just garage space or things that happen on track. Being involved in racing means making room for it in your life. One of the more astonishing things I learned early on is that you can essentially create a second full-time job out of racing once a month during the season with NASA. With all the time required for wrenching and car prep, you really do need to make room for it in your life.
Another aspect of its definition came as I was chatting with an HPDE student. He had a new GR Corolla and a speedy new Mustang in the garage at home. He talked about going racing, but wasn’t sure how to go about it, how to afford it among other questions people ask.
He seemed a bit surprised when I suggested selling at least one shiny new car to get a decent used truck and trailer so he could get a racecar and go racing. If you have a fixed budget, that’s what it takes to go racing. You have to make the commitment. You have to make room for it.
It was a similar scene with a buddy of mine from our old neighborhood. We had been going to cars and coffee events with him in his NB Miata and me in a silver NC I picked up on Copart. When I explained to him that I was taking my MX-5 off the road and making a track car out of it, and I wouldn’t be taking it to any more cars and coffee meets, he seemed puzzled.
For me it is simple. There is nothing more primal, rewarding and mentally stimulating as driving a car at full song on racetrack. Granted, I no longer have a nice little sports car to bomb around town in, but I’d rather make room in my life for a racecar. Even though it means I don’t get to drive it as often, I do get to drive it in a manner for which there is no substitute.
For many of us NASA drivers, the tradeoff is worth it, and something we are happy to make room for in our lives.
