Those looking to get on track for wheel-to-wheel competition have many options to obtain a racing license
If you’ve been autocrossing or participating in SCCA’s Track Night in America or NASA HPDEs and are looking to move to wheel-to-wheel competition, there are several options for obtaining a racing license. While both organizations have their own routes to obtain a competition license, the easiest and quickest way is usually through a third-party racing school.
SCCA and NASA generally recognize the same schools. For SCCA, there are three tiers of schools – some that will allow you to earn a full competition license, some that will earn you a novice permit and event credit, and some that will earn you credit for a school and a novice permit. Often, those schools are the same, and what you leave with depends on which course you take.
Some schools have a home-track base, and that’s where all instruction takes place. These include BIR Performance Driving School (Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota); Bob Bondurant School (Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz.); Bridgestone Racing Academy (Driver Development circuit at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada); MSR Houston (Motor Speedway Resort Houston in Angleton, Texas); Pettiford’s Go 4 It Racing Schools (High Plains Raceway in Deer Trail, Colo.); Porsche Sport Driving School (Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Ala.); Simraceway Performance Driving Center (Sonoma Raceway in California); and Spring Mountain Advanced Driving School (Spring Mountain Motorsports Park near Pahrump, Nev.). Others travel around the country, visiting a variety of racetracks. AMG Driving Academy, Bertil Roos Driving School and Lucas Oil School of Racing are some that visit a variety of circuits. Chances are there’s a school that makes its home at a track near you, or a school will visit one nearby.
If you want to go to school in a Mazda, you have many options. Bondurant uses Formula Mazdas for part of its advanced racing programs and MSR Houston has some Spec Miatas for use in its schools. LevelUp, a new school running courses around the country, uses Advanced Autosports Spec Miatas at its Midwest schools and Atlanta Speedwerks and Winding Road Racing NC MX-5s in the South, Texas and possibly California. Plus, several schools allow or require a student to participate in his or her own car, including MSR Houston, Go 4 It, and Waterford Hills. And, while its Formula cars may not be Mazda powered, Allen Berg Racing Schools utilize Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as its home base.
Whatever your desired level of driver education, wherever you’d like to go to school and whatever car you’d like to drive, from Spec Miatas to high-powered GT cars to formula cars to sports racers, there’s a school that will fit the bill.
SCCA Accredited Racing Schools
Full competition level
AMG Driving Academy
(888) 604-1766 amgacademy.com
Bertil Roos Racing School
(800) 511-7606 racenow.com
BIR Performance Driving School
(866) 511-7606 birperformance.com
Bob Bondurant School
(800) 842-7223 bondurant.com
Bridgestone Racing Academy
(905) 983-1114 race2000.com
MSR Houston
(281) 369-0677 msrhouston.com
Pettiford’s Go 4 It Racing Schools
(303) 666-4113 go4itservices.com
Porsche Sport Driving School
(888) 204-7474 porschedriving.com
Simraceway Performance Driving Center
(800) 733-0345 jimrussellusa.com
Spring Mountain Advanced Driving School
(800) 391-6891 springmountainmotorsports.com
novice permit / school and
event credit
Bertil Roos Racing School
(800) 722-3669 racenow.com
Bob Bondurant School
(800) 842-7223 bondurant.com
Bridgestone Racing Academy
(905) 983-1114 race2000.com
Lucas Oil School of Racing
(561) 200-7223 lucasraceschool.com
Pettiford’s Go 4 It Racing Schools
(303) 666-4113 go4itservices.com
Pro Drive Racing School
(503) 285-4449 prodrive.net
ProFormance Racing School
(253) 630-5130 proformanceracingschool.com
Simraceway Performance Driving Center
(800) 733-0345 simracewaydrivingschool.com/
novice permit / school credit
Allen Berg Racing School
(888) 722-3220 allenbergracingschools.com
Bobby Cee’s Racer’s Edge High Performance Driving School
(562) 714-1799
bobbyceesracersedge.com
Danny McKeever’s Fast Lane Racing School
(888) 948-4888 raceschool.com
Demonte Motorsports
(631) 482-8875 demontemotorsports.com
EXR – Exotics Racing Series
(702) 802-5662 exrseries.com
LevelUp Racing School
(920) 838-6612 levelupracingschool.com
Pro Drive Racing School
(503) 285-4449 prodrive.net
Sports Car Driving Experience
(800) 453-5506 corvetteracingschool.com
Spring Mountain Advanced Driving School
(800) 391-6891 springmountainmotorsports.com
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
(877) 226-7223 theracingschool.com
Waterford Hills Road Racing Inc.
(248) 623-0070 waterfordhills.com