Auto Racing: driving, part time jobs, monster trucks

Question
ive been interested in racing for years now.  dale sr. has always been my favorite driver and the whole idea of driving fast just catches my attention.  im 16 years old and i would love to race either pro-street or indy.  how old do you need to be and how much racing expirence do you need to get into either of these?  i am also a female and that is a rare thing when a girl gets into these catagories.  i love anything to do with cars and how they work.  i am in 10th grade and next year i am going to go to a technical school for automotive.  i also thank you for doing this because some people have so much knowledge about things and dont put it out there for everyone else to learn.  thanks alot
shauna
also, if you kno anything about monster trucks and they independant suspensions, that would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Shauna, and thanks for an interesting question !

For a beginning race driver, there is no more valuable 'education' than to get involved in GoKart racing. Usually most communities have something close by, and it's not too expensive, but you will need to work hard at part time jobs to pay your way.  Some parents are willing to support a child in their racing efforts, and some are not, mine wern't.

However, the most important thing you can do is STAY IN SCHOOL for as long as you can. For one thing, more schooling means better pay,  Period ! Try desperately to get into college. There are bunches of opportunities for female engineers and technicians. Don't forget to get as much computer education as you can stand. Almost every job now requires some ability.

Now the other basics.  Go to your local library and ask for the book "High Performance Driving" by Bob Bondurant, then read it at least twice. Bob was a famous race driver in the 1960's and still runs the best driving school in the US. He's raced, andn won,  all over the world and in some of the most prestegious series in the world.

You asked about age requirements,  and it varies from one type of racing to another.  Most require that you hold a valid drivers license from the state you live in. Most also require that you have your parents permission until you're about 18 or so. I race in Sports Car Club of America road racing, and we have a program that encourages young people to join us, and with parents permission you can begin racing at 16. With us thoufh you must either own your own race car, or rent one wich is pretty expensive.  On the other hand, you can race nearly anything like a small sedan. You can race something like a Chevy Camaro, but by the time you get to that level, you have to be more than a little wealthy to afford it.

Finally, I know nothing at all about monster trucks, that is more of a show than anything to do with racing.  And the subject of independent suspension is WAY to complicated to discuss in an e-mail.  It's more like a course in school.

I hope this answers some of your questions, and if you have others, please feel free to write again. I enjoyed answering you and look forward to more.

Sincerely,

Dan Liddy
Sarasota, Florida