5 Reasons to Love American Endurance Racing [VIDEO]

"FORCORNERSTV" (forcornerstv)
11/04/2014 at 14:47 • Filed to: None

Car racing is awesome. It's not too expensive and you don't need a dozen karting championships to get started. Here are five reasons you should seriously check out American Endurance Racing if you want to go racing...

Full disclosure. I went to the AER race at The Glen and shot some video and drove a race car as hard as I could until it ran out of gas. It was a dream come true.]

Reason #1: The Cars

All of your favorite performance street cars from decades past are here ready to race. Old RX-7's and VW Rabbit's. Plenty of BMW E30's. A Mustang Cobra. Audi Quattro. Miata's. What's great about this series is that it allows you to take these cars you see everyday at the used car lot and turn them into the best versions of themselves. Mean, loud, stripped out, screwed down versions with all the cool racing shit in them like detachable steering wheels and 5 point harnesses. AER accepts almost any spec road racing car and that keeps the racing close, fun, and cost effective.

Reason #2: The People

Pro drivers Mike Skeen and Randy Pobst were there all weekend happy to chat strategy, tell stories, and turn ridiculously fast laps. I spent time warming up between stints in someones X5 with famed car builder Speedy Cop - proud creator the Upside Down Camaro and several other WTF race cars you might have seen around the block. I got to share back to back stints with Jalopnik's own Travis Okulski, who hung my lap times out to dry each day. The best part is that everyone at the race is approachable. From the organizers, to the teams, to the fans, everyone is here to race and have a good time doing it. This is not Formula 1. This is not Nascar. If you show up you can get as close as you want to the action.

Reason #3: The Tracks

Watkins Glen International hosted Formula 1 Races throughout the 1970's. Let that sink in. The greatest drivers from the most bad ass decade of F1 raced here. And now you get a chance to literally experience the same corners? NASCAR also still races here, and the drivers are always quoted saying how much they love this road course. For 2014, AER is also set to race at Lime Rock Park in a few weeks. Another storied track with some serious american road racing history that you'll get to experience.

Reason #4: The Racing

There are a lot of cars on the grid and once the green flag drops, there is a lot of close competitive classes mixing it up out there. Thanks to the open rules it's quite a bit like Le Mans, so expect plenty of passing going on. Expect hot pits with drive changes and refuelling. Expect the weather to change throughout the weekend, or even throughout your stint . From my experience the drivers on track were all very professional, happy to race, but also respectful enough know when to move over and let a faster car pass. An endurance race is not won in an instant, but everyone knows it can be lost in one.

Reason #5: The Podium

Yes there are trophies and pride to be won. You'll stand on the same podium as Jimmy Johnson, or whoever won the NASCAR race this year. Travis and I even won our class on Sunday in our little white #1 AER BMW E30. You take home bragging rights and a laser cut trophy that one team decided to literally weld to their rear deck of their car so everyone could see it. Yes, it's cool to win, but it's more cool to get to race for three long days without stopping. My hat is off to all the hard working people who put this race on without a hitch. And to all the hard working gearheads that somehow keep these old, awesome road cars running to the redline relentlessly for three days straight.

Reason #6: (BONUS) The Driving

Yes, you can get behind the wheel of these race cars. The entire series is designed to be as approachable as possible. And that includes getting plenty of seat time. There's a video below of me driving one lap of my one and a half hour stint . And because its an endurance race, everybody gets stints like this. Drive the wheels off a race car until you basically run out of gas? Yes please. There are plenty of teams looking to fill seats, so go check out the AER forum on facebook to get involved. Want to see AER for yourself? Then come out to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, CT on Nov 21-22, 2014.

DISCUSSION (35)

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 15:20

Kinja'd!!!

So much life hours spent at that track.

GTiceman > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 15:23

Kinja'd!!!

Dave Flogaus checking his phone not paying attention

GTiceman > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 15:24

Awesome. I had many friends in this race and only a few finished ... but all had an absolute blast.

Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 15:30

Travis, this hasn't anything to do with American Endurance Racing, but i found it and it needs punishment. Lamborghini Countach Fail for 16,000.

Kinja'd!!!

OUScooby > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 15:35

It's not too expensive? What kind of budget would you need for a first time entry?

You mentioned lime rock and the glen, where else does it go? Do they come out west?

BKRM3 > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 15:36

Yet another reminder that all my friends drove this race and I didn't. Thanks. I really need to get on the ball for next year... Everyone is head over heels for AER.

Dream Theater of the Absurd > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 16:01

Reason #2 is a great reason to get involved with just about ANY sort of amateur racing. It's a great place for a gearhead to meet a large number of kindred spirits.

DaveM3Fan > GTiceman
11/04/2014 at 16:05

LOL

Malforus > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 16:11

Just so we are clear, that is a horn button on your wheel right? I imagine endurance race horn ettiquette has to be very different.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 16:14

My buddy Anthony drove with Skeen (old friends from their NASA SpecE30 days). He said he had a balls ton of fun

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Dream Theater of the Absurd
11/04/2014 at 16:18

That basically sums up a ton of the amateur racing scene in the USA

metros11 > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 16:22

The concept of qualification and grouping based on those results does appeal to me, as does 3 days of racing. Looking forward to the 2015 schedule, we already went through our funds for 2014.

Dream Theater of the Absurd > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
11/04/2014 at 16:23

Yup. You come for the racing; you stay for the people.

Kaufmania: Mark Webber's Stunt Double > BKRM3
11/04/2014 at 16:25

Excellent icon

Dream Theater of the Absurd > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 16:26

Funny you should mention Mike Skeen and Randy Pobst. Every year, SCCA San Francisco Region hosts a four-hour enduro as the final event of the season, and both of them have participated in it, though not at the same time. Randy came to play with us about five or six years ago, if memory serves, while Skeen ran in last year's event.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Dream Theater of the Absurd
11/04/2014 at 16:27

I can thank people like you and me (if I can be so bold) and most of all of us.

One time I helped a man do a clutch on his Integra because he had killed it on track earlier... I didn't even know his fucking name then. We're friends now

GhostZ > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 16:28

Kinja'd!!!

What the fuck is this. Why not just put the actual goddamn video here?

Kaufmania: Mark Webber's Stunt Double > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
11/04/2014 at 16:33

I hope you are not suggesting this is a bad thing.... :-).

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Kaufmania: Mark Webber's Stunt Double
11/04/2014 at 16:37

No not at all. Greatest thing ever.

BKRM3 > Kaufmania: Mark Webber's Stunt Double
11/04/2014 at 16:41

Thankya. BMW + boobs is a recipe for success!

STANDARD6SPEED > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
11/04/2014 at 16:47

This. I once drove 10 hours for a Pro Solo event. I co-drove my friend's car and we used mine to get around so we could leave the R-Comps on. Well mine decided to pop it's harmonic balancer, and a couple of my competitors helped me fix it on the tarmac and I was able to leave the event and get home without any delay.

Racing Archivist > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 16:58

Do you need to be a member to get into one of the AER races? I would love to watch and hang out next time your at WGI

Anthony Miller > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 17:55

Kinja'd!!!

Speedhole

ScottB > Racing Archivist
11/04/2014 at 18:00

Nope, spectators are welcome and free. Come check it out. As they said in the article (see Reason #2), you have access to everyone and everything (pretty much) and everyone is very approachable at the AER events.

Racing Archivist > ScottB
11/04/2014 at 18:02

Wow if I had known that I would have come up for that weekend. I heard it was interesting.

ScottB > OUScooby
11/04/2014 at 18:11

We won in a $500 Chumpcar so anything can be competitive with their format (run what ya brung), as long as it meets SCCA or other safety requirements. 2015 AER schedule is looking like Watkins Glen, New Jersey Motorsports Park, Lime Rock, Summit Point, and Mid Ohio.

Spitfi-r > Racing Archivist
11/04/2014 at 18:31

I spectated on Saturday...aside from the freezing weather it was great. I spent time in the pits, chatted up Randy Pobst etc.
Next year I hope to be driving!!!

Spitfi-r > FORCORNERSTV
11/04/2014 at 18:38

Here's a video (not mine) of some great racing from AER at Watkins Glen: