This is from a Matt Marks post and from his in car video from the Spec Foc race at the Mid-ohio Nationals. Thought some of you Spec Focus hopefuls might enjoy.

All,

Finally uploaded my video of the 1st three laps of the Championship race. Shows from the green flag through lap 3 where there was a nice punt (er...pass) for P2. Others have commented on this elsewhere on this forum and on youtube regarding the incident, but here's the wide angle perspective of what happened. As I said in the youtube page, check the other videos and make your own judgements.

Otherwise, enjoy some cool Spec Focus video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Puc8nkpzUmU


Black Car - Craig Capaldi
Yellow Car - Lowell Marx
Red Car - Jack Baruth
Video car-Matt marks

WOOT spec focus racing!

That was awesome...

Foci look like they have trouble in "Madness" though. Of course, they were dicing it pretty well.

Cool video! [thumb]

Wow, had no idea Jack was such a bad driver. Glad he was got demoted. If he wouldn't screw up caroussel and keyhole every lap he could have gotten a proper run on Lowell.

Thanks for posting!

too bad all i own is betty. she needs a race version to sit with her in the garage

jesus...whoever was drivin the red c-dan was agressive as hell!! surprised he kept it on the track like he did. looked like he even bumped the yellow zx3 off the track.

What exactly does it take to do this? I've heard of this, but never knew the restrictions.

"he gets in my way......i put em in the wall!!!"----lol love that commercial

That red driver should have heeded way to the car in front going into that last corner in the vid. The car in front should have let him pass long before.....blame them both.

Wish I could turn my DD into a race breed lapping machine like one of those!!!

What exactly does it take to do this? I've heard of this, but never knew the restrictions.

Money. Then maybe some more money.

Figure 8-12k for a fully prepped race car with all the safety gear. Then another 1-2k for your personal safey gear. Track fees are probably $500 weekend plus gas/tires/brake pads. You need a tow vehicle and trailer. And probably 8-12 weekends to get your competition license.

that was an awesome video cant believe that the red sedan bumped the yellow hatch off the track...wow

What exactly does it take to do this? I've heard of this, but never knew the restrictions.


You can always rent one for a day or weekend and give it a try before you decide?

You can always rent one for a day or weekend and give it a try before you decide?

Where at? That Might be a fun idea.

Red dude sucked.

Someone sponsor me i'll show you guys what's up.

Damn.........that looks like soooo much fun!

Where at? That Might be a fun idea.

I think they took away some of my access here so I can not pm you but you can email me at tech@capaldiracing.com and I can forward you the info.

Does NASA accept sign-offs and run group designations from other organizations, or at least from instructors that instruct NASA as well?
I'm seriously thinking about working towards a once-a-year race rental (maybe treat myself to the VIR weekend), running my car in HPDE's to work my way up.
Just wondering if I need to concentrate my experience in NASA events (my local club puts on great track events).

Does NASA accept sign-offs and run group designations from other organizations, or at least from instructors that instruct NASA as well?
I'm seriously thinking about working towards a once-a-year race rental (maybe treat myself to the VIR weekend), running my car in HPDE's to work my way up.
Just wondering if I need to concentrate my experience in NASA events (my local club puts on great track events).

I do instruct with NASA Mid-Atlantic, though I'm not officially a "NASA Instructor". My experience has been that they will assess your experience and the organization(s) that you've run with in order to place you in a correct run group. It will be pretty apparent to the instructor if you've been placed in group 2, but belong in group 4. They'll get it straightened out in a couple of sessions. When in doubt, shoot the regions Chief Instructor a note ahead of time, and he'll give you a feel for where he thinks you should be classified. If you disagree - you can dialogue with him before the event.

Mid-Atlantic is running 3 or 4 weekends at VIR in 2008 -all full course [clap] so you'd have lots of opportunity to excersize your car. Also should be some CMP dates with the Southeast region as well.

When you're ready, the NASA Comp School is the best $300 you'll spend (ever!) on your car. It is truly mind-opening about what it takes to race, and how much you can make the car do that you never thought possible.

I'll be at VIR with my SF car (#111) in February, so hopefully we'll see you there.

That was awesome...

Foci look like they have trouble in "Madness" though. Of course, they were dicing it pretty well.

Cool video! [thumb]

That's why I left my e-brake functional = reduces understeer on tight slow corners[woot]

Where at? That Might be a fun idea.

You may rent a Spec Focus racer from Leo Capaldi Racing. (LCR)

He is near Detroit MI, When you rent you get the car, all the prep, support before, during, and after the race. Go to LCR's web site or give Leo a private message.

You of course have to have a comp licence to race. If you want to do HPDE you would need to discuss your abilities with Leo. The cost would probably be the same as a race day. I would think you would be a Group 4 and /or TT type.

I rented from LCR twice this year. First in August for two races (NASA two race weekend) and then for the four days of the NASA National Championships. What did he say,? "I had the time of my life"

I'm hooked, and will be renting more days next year, 2008. Renting is a great way to see if you want to race and build your own Spec Focus.

spec Focus racing is competitive, and way fun.

The other easy/quick way to get licensed is to do the SCCA race school with your local region or Wash. DC region at Summit Point. You'll still need to come up with a car (many local racers rent theirs out), but they will take anyone with or without track experience, and at the end the weekend - presuming you don't hit anyone *too* hard, you'll have an SCCA license that NASA will honor. Most regions do a spring and a fall school. Cost is also around $350 or so.

For a rental figure between $750 and $3000 for a weekend depending on what type of car you're going to rent and what you're looking for (just a car, full trackside support, strippers and trophy girls!?!) and what you agree upon regarding damage. [driving]

Of course, a medical form (physical exam) is needed for either NASA or SCCA licensing. NASA is better as you don't get the "fingers". [bootyshak]

For a rental figure between $750 and $3000 for a weekend depending on what type of car you're going to rent and what you're looking for (just a car, full trackside support, strippers and trophy girls!?!) and what you agree upon regarding damage. [driving]

Strippers??? Leo has strippers with his rentals??[clap]

I do instruct with NASA Mid-Atlantic, though I'm not officially a "NASA Instructor". My experience has been that they will assess your experience and the organization(s) that you've run with in order to place you in a correct run group. It will be pretty apparent to the instructor if you've been placed in group 2, but belong in group 4. They'll get it straightened out in a couple of sessions. When in doubt, shoot the regions Chief Instructor a note ahead of time, and he'll give you a feel for where he thinks you should be classified. If you disagree - you can dialogue with him before the event.

Mid-Atlantic is running 3 or 4 weekends at VIR in 2008 -all full course [clap] so you'd have lots of opportunity to excersize your car. Also should be some CMP dates with the Southeast region as well.

When you're ready, the NASA Comp School is the best $300 you'll spend (ever!) on your car. It is truly mind-opening about what it takes to race, and how much you can make the car do that you never thought possible.

I'll be at VIR with my SF car (#111) in February, so hopefully we'll see you there.

Great - thanks for the info! Hopefully I'll see you at VIR [cheers]

What exactly does it take to do this? I've heard of this, but never knew the restrictions.

see matt's cost break-down on his car. http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139271 (http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139271)my costs were a little less since i already had my SVT and it was paid off. you can check out the spec focus website for all the rules http://specfocus.drivenasa.com/

I do instruct with NASA Mid-Atlantic, though I'm not officially a "NASA Instructor". My experience has been that they will assess your experience and the organization(s) that you've run with in order to place you in a correct run group. It will be pretty apparent to the instructor if you've been placed in group 2, but belong in group 4. They'll get it straightened out in a couple of sessions. When in doubt, shoot the regions Chief Instructor a note ahead of time, and he'll give you a feel for where he thinks you should be classified. If you disagree - you can dialogue with him before the event.

Mid-Atlantic is running 3 or 4 weekends at VIR in 2008 -all full course [clap] so you'd have lots of opportunity to excersize your car. Also should be some CMP dates with the Southeast region as well.

When you're ready, the NASA Comp School is the best $300 you'll spend (ever!) on your car. It is truly mind-opening about what it takes to race, and how much you can make the car do that you never thought possible.

I'll be at VIR with my SF car (#111) in February, so hopefully we'll see you there.

Another quick question - Can I run my car in the NASA race school if it isn't fully caged? I'll be adding an AutoPower 4-point this winter, but that's as far as I plan to go with this particular car.