National Auto Sport Association

This is where you begin. This is one on one guidance from experienced instructors, as you learn to control your car and yourself. Your instructor will provide you with guidance as you learn to drive at the limit. You will address how to approach a turn, the fast way around it, what gear should you be in, how to brake, and how to exit. The session generally includes a lead-follow session. Passing is very limited in the Group 1 Sessions.

Your instructor has determined you can drive on your own and with less supervision. You apply what you learned in the Group 1 sessions to get more practice. Group 2 is often mixed with Group 1 and is for those drivers that want some more Group 1 seat-time, but do not need an instructor.

You have progressed to the world of high performance driving. The passing rules in group 3 are not as strict. You must learn to share the track at high speeds with others.

This is only for the more experienced drivers. No passing restrictions, except those of good judgment and rules of the road etiquette, apply. You and your peers are now experiencing the joys of doing it right in a relatively safe and controlled environment! You can now enjoy high performance driving at its finest.

The Porsche 944™-924S™ spec class is a class for those individuals that wish to race a Porsche in a competitive series with limited expense and low cost of operation. The spirit of the class is for all cars to be equal in weight and horsepower and be competitive with one another. Eligible models include 1983–1988 Porsche 944, normally aspirated, 2479 cc, eight valve engine and 1987–1988 Porsche 924S, 2479 cc, eight valve engine.[4]

The roar of a V8 at full throttle is irresistible, and it's what gives the American Iron series so much of its character. The series enjoys a virtually unlimited supply of donor cars because it is open to any American-made sedan or coupe from 1960 forward, and the power-to-weight ratios keep things simple. Sandwiched between the wide-open rules structure of American Iron Extreme and the more limited Spec Iron series, American Iron provides racers a lot of room for creativity when building a car, and provides close competition on track. “Those older cars with the right driver can be just as competitive as the newer cars,” said Rob Capetz, series leader for the Southern California Region. “That’s the beauty of the power-to-weight ratio.”[5]

Created for the kind of racer who loves American muscle and the freedom to create obscene amounts of horsepower within an open rules set, American Iron Extreme is the pinnacle of NASA's American Iron series. Given the chassis capabilities the aftermarket has created and horsepower potential of American V8 power plants, American Iron Extreme is a showcase for the possibilities of an American muscle car built and set up for road racing. It is as much a series for engineers as it is for drivers to try to control all that power, set fast lap times and capture checkered flags![6]

If you thought Camaros and Mustangs were strictly for stoplight derbies and quarter-mile racing, think again. Camaro-Mustang Challenge stages the timeless pony-car battle on road courses in your region. The rules are pretty buttoned down in terms of the modifications you can make, so there is no need for high-dollar engines, which keeps fields tight and costs in check. If you crave more track time, CMC cars fit nicely into Super Touring 4 classes and even E1 endurance classes.[7]

NASA created its endurance racing series to provide drivers more options and an additional challenge in the realm of amateur motorsports. Endurance racing is a team sport, with races that are timed in hours rather than minutes. To be successful, your team must exhibit coordination, grit, polish and poise, and, of course, a little luck never hurts. With races ranging from two-and-a-half to six hours to the difficult, season-capping 25 Hours of Thunderhill, NASA's endurance racing series is the gold standard of amateur racing. If you can win here, you can win anywhere.[8]

The German Touring Series is wide-open in terms of its rules structure and the variety of cars that can compete in this class. To find out more, we spoke with GTS National Director, Michael Gershanok. He pointed out that E30 BMWs and Porsche 944s are great candidates for GTS1, but Volkswagens, modern Minis and Audis also can run in GTS1. In GTS2, the BMW E36 M3 likely is the most popular choice, and even then it has to be detuned a bit. In GTS3, a detuned E46 M3 is a go-to car, however, no car is permitted to drop more than one class from where it would be classed naturally based on factory horsepower and curb weight. For example, a BMW M3 with an S54 engine naturally falls into GTS3, so it cannot be classed lower than GTS2 regardless of how detuned it is.

By the time you get up to GTS4 and GTS5 and even GTSU, the game escalates with a field of modified E46 M3s, E90 and E92 M3s, and Porsche GT3 Cup cars.[9]

Honda Challenge offers a tight rules structure for close competition among a variety of donor cars from which to choose. Honda Challenge consists of H1, H2 and H4 classes, in “Limited Preparation,” “Factory Preparation” and “Restricted Preparation” vehicles, which are open to Hondas and Acuras. There is a lot of variety in the horsepower and weight of the different cars eligible for Honda Challenge, so even though the rules structure is tight, you still have the freedom to build the kind of car that either you prefer or the kind of car that excels on tracks in your region.[10]

The primary goals for the SEBECO NP01-EVO NASA Prototype were simple: Create the world's most affordable closed-cockpit prototype racecar that offers the highest performance per dollar spent. Make it fast. Make it fun. Make it safe. The NP01-EVO does all that, and it puts a huge smile on the face of anyone who drives it.

The SEBECO NP01-EVO NASA Prototype is a fully tube framed, composite body racecar designed from the ground up to achieve all those goals. With emphasis on affordability and durability, the NP01 EVO is more cost-effective to campaign than many production cars converted for racing, and it's faster than nearly all of them. And by the way, the cars that outperform the NASA Prototype often cost tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars more.

Designed and built to compete in NASA Prototype racing series, the NP01-EVO also is eligible to race in NASA's Super Touring category, so you'll always have a place to race.[11]

Imagine leaping over high mounds on gravel roads and tossing your car into a hairpin turn using the time-honored “Scandinavian Flick” technique as you march toward the top time of a stage and ultimately to victory in NASA Rally Sport.

Nothing broadens a driver's skills and enhances his or her bonafides like finding grip and speed on a surface where there is hardly any to be found. That's NASA Rally Sport, and there are rallies taking place all across the country. You can get in on the action, too.[12]

One of the most economical ways to race a BMW in NASA is Spec 3, a racing series that uses the 1993 to 1995 BMW 325. It's the most restricted series in NASA in terms of which cars can be used as donors, but because of that, it's also one of the most competitive. Spec 3 races are always close! If that's something that interests you, find out more below.[13]

You would be hard-pressed to find a better example of spec-series racing than Spec E30. This series is consistently one of the largest at NASA Championships events and it has a loyal and dedicated following of racers who just love Spec E30. The series enjoys a broad knowledge base, so any mechanical problems you might encounter are well known and solved without too much trouble. The cars are robust and reliable, affordable and widely available, and the racing is as competitive as you will find in any NASA series.[14]

Spec E46 is one of the newer series in NASA racing, but it's catching on in a big way. Field sizes are increasing in many regions and Championships fields have soared from virtually nothing in 2015 to double digits in recent years. BMW sold a great deal of E46 cars, so finding a donor shouldn't be too difficult.

Initial build costs will be greater than some other spec classes, such as Spec Miata, Spec E30 or 944 Spec, and the required parts aren't inexpensive, but that was known from the start. The series was devised to produce a good racecar, not necessarily a cheap one.

Once the initial build is done, the cars hold up well. Cars with as many as 200,000 miles on them still make viable racecars and run strong enough to set lap records and win races. What's more, because of an aggressive weight target, just 2,850 pounds, the cars are easy on tires and brakes. Running a Spec E46 registers in the bottom half of a NASA race field in terms of cost, but in the top half in terms of fast laps. That's where the value lies.[15]

Spec Iron was devised to give late-model Ford Mustang enthusiasts an affordable series in which to race. It represents a step above Camaro-Mustang Challenge and a notch slightly below American Iron, making it a viable go-between offering with all the cost-containment benefits that spec-series racing has to offer. If you're a die-hard Ford guy, and reliable, affordable racing is appealing to you, Spec Iron might be the series you've been looking for.[16]

The Mazda Miata is the most-raced car in North America, and for good reason. The platform itself is compliant and predictable, which makes it a great car for learning to drive well. At the other end of the learning curve, it takes every last ounce of technique and error-free driving to get the most from the car, and if you watch some of the videos at the end of this feature, you'll see what that looks like. If you're on the fence about racing in Spec Miata, read on to find out what it's like. Then come join the fun.[17]

NASA has 12 spec series, many of which involve momentum cars that accentuate every mistake you make behind the wheel. Spec Z was introduced in 2012 to offer participants an affordable way into a faster series — and the formula is working. Spec Z rules offer the cost-containment benefits of a well-thought-out spec racing series, but do so with a faster platform. Let's delve into the details of Spec Z, a series that has begun to come into its own.[18]

If you're looking to race in a series that lets you build the car the way you like, then Super Touring could be for you. With an open rules structure, Super Touring/Super Unlimited gives you the freedom to build the car you like using the parts you choose. The amazing part of Super Touring/Super Unlimited is how close the racing is despite the open nature of the rules set. With classes from the no-holds-barred Super Unlimited to the more sedate Super Touring 5 and Super Touring 6 classes, you are sure to find a suitable place in which to race.[19]

The Thunder Roadster is one of the purest racecars in all of NASA's racing series. They are designed and built solely as racecars to adhere to a strict set of rules. The result is an affordable racing series with competition that is as close as you can get anywhere. They are rugged and durable, easy on consumables and affordable to buy, race and maintain. This series is about the driver, perhaps more demonstrably than many other NASA series. Thunder Roadster championships fields are growing and there's close racing throughout the entire field no matter where you are. And isn't that why we race?[20]

NASA introduced its newest series, Team Racing Endurance Challenge, to create more opportunities for people to go racing — just for the fun of it. With no competition license required, TREC racing was designed to be open to everyone who wants to compete in an endurance racing format, with a simple rules set that focuses on safety and fun. Because endurance racing is a team sport, TREC allows for several drivers to share expenses, which helps make motorsports more affordable.[21]