What is professional racing? Is the guy that pays out of his pocket to race an Indy Car a pro? What about the Spec Miata driver that gets free labor at the local body shop; does that sponsorship make him a pro? From the outside, it's hard to say who's real and who's not.
Then there's the racing organizations, some claim to host pro races, but what makes a series professional? There are certain things we associate with pro racing-TV coverage, spectators, sponsorship, and, of course, champagne spewing trophy ceremonies. But, in reality, it all comes down to money. Not how much you spend, but how much you earn. By definition, a professional racing series is one which you can race and earn money. Those oversized checks up on the podium are not just winnings, they're taxable earnings. Take one to the bank and you're in business. Brake pads, motel rooms, and corn dogs all become deductible expenses. Congratulations, you are now a professional racer.
The potential for tax write offs make it tempting to choose pro racing over amateur club racing. Unfortunately, the costs associated with fielding a car in a pro series are usually astronomical. Transporting a car and crew across the country just once can cost as much as a whole season of local club racing. The winnings don't offset the additional costs of playing with the big boys. This reserves the tax advantages of pro racing for the extremely well funded. There are exceptions though.
The United States Touring Car Championship (USTCC) is NASA's pro racing series. They offer everything that you'd expect from a professional organization, but scaled down to a club-racing budget. The entry fee for each event is a few hundred dollars higher, but every finisher gets at least $300 back in prize money, and First Place gets a grand. This cash flow satisfies Uncle Sam, but the advantages of running with the USTCC don't stop there.
Their spec tire program is the best that we've ever heard of. Each racer gets a free set of Nitto NT-01 tires at their first event of the year, and another pair of tires at each event after that. For most drivers that completely eliminates their tire budget, the most expensive cost of racing. There's also TV coverage, sort of. The staff puts together a half-hour telecast after most of the races. The show airs on various local stations and can be found online as well. Those are just a few examples of how the USTCC organizers do everything they can to promote the series and support its racers, which is sort of how I ended up sneaking in for a race.
Opak Racing, the exclusive importer of Spoon Sports products, has been fielding cars in the USTCC for several years now. They proved their competence in their first season by winning the '05 championship with Dave Brown behind the wheel. Following that, they held a driver search, which led to a driver development program. The team wasn't satisfied with just producing the best equipment. They wanted to bring up new drivers and learn to work with them. The program not only included mechanical support, but also a professional driver's coach. Several familiar drivers have worked with the team, including Tyler McQuarrie, who landed on the podium in all three of his races, including one win.
It all sounded too good to be true. Most aftermarket companies don't invest that kind of money and time into racing programs. Not unless the owner is the one out on the track. But then one Wednesday in April, the guys from Opak passed by my cubicle during a visit to the SCC offices. The owner, Edmun Laurea, casually inquired, "Hey Andy, nobody is driving our car this weekend. Would you like to come and try it?"