what got you into cars/racing?

[Budski]

I was curious how everyone got started...

for me it was my dad's old hot rod mags, by the time I was 15 I picked up a 65 Ford Fairlane. With lots of reading and help from my dad I had welded up my own chassis and build an engine from scratch. From there it was downhill and in 6 years I build 2 hot rods and 2 imports (drift cars).

I got into racing because of Time Attack and my Subaru. After watching RTA 2 years ago I wanted to get out on the road course, but had to first start auto-x. Sadly its taken backseat to taking photos and trying to get the car built a little better for SM. I did actually start out drifting before that, but after every fan boy wanted to try I gave it up. Oddly enough drifting taught me balance and control while autox taught me how to drive..lol

[Kris@T.A.F.]

My dad was always into cars mostly classic american cars and while growing up he had 68 camaro RS convertible, and currently has two 1959 Caddys. He really was never into racing that I fell into when I was 16 and found the joy of Hondas. My first import was 95 civc Ex coupe, and I did everything possible to the D16 single cam ...lol ... at the time I thought it was fast since I could beat cobra mustangs, but I look back now an laugh. Since then my interest in motorsports jsut grew more and more as I was exposed to them.

[Ryan@T.A.F.]

I fell into cars by chance. I'm so glad I did because it's made a huge impact on my life and actually saved my life (long story). The only negative is the amount of money spent on the damn things.

I originally was planning to buy a 2-door Explorer as my first car, but couldn't find one I liked. Somehow I ended up buying a 2-door Civic HX (the slowest model). It was automatic and slow, but I put wheels on it, lowered it, etc. One day I saw an S2000 driving up the street and fell in love. I bought my first one when I was 17 with the down payment from the money I was saving up for a motor swap on the Civic after it was totalled. Three S2000s, an STi, and a Fit later...still enjoying losing my ass on cars.

[ZR8D]

For me it was...what crazy sound system could I put in with a limited budget. Than it became a hobby, installing stereo systems for my friends. After that, I was into the lowrider S10 trucks. That faded after a couple of years and I went to a Jeep Grand Cherokee and did my loudest system w/ video ever. It was over 5,000 watts! Thats when I started modifying other parts of the vehicle to make them look better. Than I bought an RSX Type-S and the budget thing went away and I lost control. Sold that for my 350Z and now I'm selling the Z because I'm moving back to Japan. There I'd like to pick up a Nissan Silvia S15

[spazegun2213]

Started wrenching on a 79 K5 blazer with my father when i was 10 or so. That was the biggest rust bucket ever, but i loved it more than my father did. We sold it when i was 14, and swore I'd buy it back. But I've always loved to watch racing, I can remember seeing the Mercedes flipping end over end at Le Mans, and some really cool trans am battles!

When i did turn 16 i was broke and had no car. My parents bought a newer truck when i was 17 and let me drive my fathers old Jeep Cherokee around. 4.0L, 5sp and the only things powered were the mirrors. I leaned how to power slide, hop curbs and scare the shit out of anyone in that thing. Took it to college and decided that I wanted a 4.6L stroker, so instead of paying housing, I built that. I came home the summer of my Jr year with that, and instead of putting it in I sold it and went to germany to study. When i came home I was sold the motor, and put a down payment on a 2005 Sti.

I thought i was hot shit, and took it back to school with me. Less than a month later I was on track with her (putnam park) learning to tear it up. In 2006 I was at the track more than 30 days, went to my first time attack, and learned that tracking a $30K that i still owed money on was not a smart deal. I took everything off the car I put on, and bought a 944 race car. What a POS, but in 2007 that car took me to 6th place in my first race. Now a few cars later I own a 96 bmw, and a 98 corvette (race car). I do 90% of my own work, and consider myself one of the best amateur mechanics around.

Do this day my father still wonders where i got my interest in cars, and I remind him about me sitting on that vinyl seat in the '79 and pretending to drive it around.

[Homemade WRX]

started with bikes and building RC cars and then started working on my dad's 80 corolla SR5 with him when I was 11...generally shade tree mechanic stuff...WRC got me into subaru's and then since the wrx came here in march of 01, I picked up an engine from a wrecked car in april of 02 and did the swap...all downhill from there...Formula SAE in college, a little craftsman truck and grand am help...NASA windtunnel/motorsports internship...and then drove me into a deep developement in IC engines. Senior design project worked out (95hp from 250cc 4-stroke with a 19mm restrictor) and the theory has been carried over to Subaru's where I first designed it.

So now I'm starting a company around the subaru engine platform and a few others of interest....

so naturally going from Formula SAE to Timeattack was a natural progression...well with passing on "real" race jobs in california and pennsylvania...

[Kris@T.A.F.]

Originally Posted by Homemade WRX

started with bikes and building RC cars and then started working on my dad's 80 corolla SR5 with him...generally shade tree mechanic stuff...WRC got me into subaru's and then since the wrx came here in 02 I picked up an engine from a wreck car and did the swap...all downhill from there...Formula SAE in college, a little craftsman truck and grand am help...NASA windtunnel/motorsports internship...and then drove me into a deep developement in IC engines. Senior design project worked out (95hp from 250cc 4-stroke witha 19mm restrictor) and the theory has been carried over to Subaru's where I first designed it.

So now I'm starting a company around the subaru engine platform and a few others of interest....

so naturally going from Formula SAE to Timeattack was a natural progression...well with passing on "real" race jobs in california and pennsylvania...

LOL I was big into RC cars too prior to getting my lic ... use to have a RC10 and RC10T

[Homemade WRX]

Originally Posted by Kris @ T.A.F.

LOL I was big into RC cars too prior to getting my lic ... use to have a RC10 and RC10T

yeah, I still have mine...they just sit like relics and collect dust

[GT Motoring DC5]

My senior year in college, I had an International Comparative Economics semester-long independent study. I chose Japan’s post-Tokugawa economy all the way past WWII and up til early 2003. Along the way during my studies I became fascinated with the boom in technological developments in the automotive sector during their “bubble economy” of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Cars like the NSX, GT-R, Supra, Fairlady Z, Evo and Impreza really interested me. I would usually work on the project late at night and started flipping channels when I came across SPEED’s coverage of the JGTC and WRC, which got me really interested.

Around this time I was also still living downtown Milwaukee with my ex-girlfriend who I was a sucker for…and I let her take my car all the time. One day I went to jump in the Olds ’88 and it didn’t work. Missed out on two interviews that day and it was the final straw. I didn’t have much money but I had a lot saved up between the 3 jobs I worked while in school. I decided to get a manual transmission car because I knew she couldn’t drive it…even though I didn’t either. My mom had to test drive the cars. Eventually I bought an RSX and learned to drive stick on my first day driving to my new job after graduation…that same RSX is the GT Motoring RSX that you all know today 

I tried to mod it. Didn’t know what I was doing. Broke a few things. Took it to the dealership and to make an already long story short, the Acura Parts & Service Director at the dealership felt bad for nailing me with a high labor rate because of how bad I messed the car up. I found out he builds GT-spec NSXs previously for the Speed World Challenge and for SCCA racing and he was an instructor at a driving school, so he took me out to Gingerman (on his dime) and showed me the ropes for a day.

I got hooked.

[kognition]

I have always loved being around fast cars, and for the most part i just designed aftermarket
electonics products for the market. But the first GT Live event with the JGTC cars back in 04'
put me in the mindset to want to race and produce parts for track.