Was checking out the Skip Barber site and came across this. Looks cool. Wish I could find out about these things before they happen, would be awsome competing for this (even if I can't drive that well yet)...

[paste from www.skipbarber.com]

Skip Barber To Air On MTV Fast Enuff Challenge Presented by Dodge

The MTV Fast Enuff Challenge is scheduled to air Saturday, December 7, 2002 at 1PM EST on MTV. The program, which was put together using the resources of the Skip Barber Special Projects Group, chronicles MTV and Dodge and their nationwide pursuit of 15 aspiring racecar drivers. After thousands of grueling interviews and driving tests in race-equipped Dodge Neon ACR sport-compacts, driver candidates were selected.

The show will highlight the competition for a new 2003 Dodge SRT-4, as well as the chance drivers will get to to compete in a real race. The 60 minute show follows all contestants from the Skip Barber Racing School to the qualifying races that will narrow the field down to five finalists for the ultimate showdown: a tag team race with five Real World and Road Rules cast members.

Check local listings to confirm that time and broadcast in your area...

 

So what did you think about the show? It was actually filmed in Homestead, FL, not too far from you.

 

I caught the end of the show...Let me see, free drivers school, some free wheel to wheel racing...sounds like a great opportunity to me!

autoxEX is being very modest here, he was one of the finalist's on the show. Congrats...just think if you had won, you could have replaced your S2000 with a new Neon.

 

Not bad. I wanted to see more of the driving and instruction, less character development. It was cool, tho.

AutoxEX - Where you in the show? I thought one of the characters, maybe Ching, mentioned something about Salazar racing. If that was you, your partner, ahhh... sucked. She spun.

Homestead is a decent track, modern facilities, I had my S2000 there with several others in October. Easy track to learn.

Everyone kept saying what a great driver Chris was, but they Never showed an In Car looking out the front; never got to really see anyone drive. All the in-car shots were from the side, looking at the driver.

 

jvils,

Keep in mind that this was an MTV/Dodge program. Alot happened that week and I wish we had another hour to really show more instruction and the racing portion of the show. The final race had plenty of cameras around and a helicopter that flew over us during the race ala Magnum PI style. Our classroom discussion only touched the surface of Skip Barber's Going Faster book. However, I think the classroom scenes weren't entertaining enough for the show as no cameras were ever around. And yes, my partner did suck, did you see my face when I picked her name out of the fishbowl? She had only learned to drive manual 3 days before the race. Nice.

The Homestead track was first rate, it was clean, had nice facilities, and plenty of runoff room for the newbies. There were quite a bit of spinouts during the lapping sessions, a combination of turn 9 (lifting in the turn) and turn 10 ( I have no idea why ppl spun there). After driving the s2k, the Neon ACRs felt so easy to drive, very neutral.

All in all, it was an awesome experience especially with MTV/Dodge forking the bill for our flights/hotels/ and skip school. We had quite a bit of track time to practice our skills, although I would have liked to learn more about passing. I'm also eligilble to apply for my regional SCCA license too.

Ching

 

Saw the show, and was pretty disappointed. They made it up to a one hour real world-like episode with the trumped up drama and emotion. Wish they would have focused on the racing more.

I thought your driving was excellent Ching! It was wild to see you get the inside, and just side swipe that one dude. Was it the brakes that were lacking? Did you really think you were going to make it? Or was it a last ditch effort to win? I would have done the same thing man, haha, GT3 style.

We know you could have won! But hey, MTV likes the underdog, not caring, adolescent immaturity. Anyways, it was cool.

 

it was pretty fun to watch some of the stuff you guys got to do. i cannot believe the drama that emerged regarding the 5th race entry. how much would you say your driving has improved since then, and how much of your skills can be applied to a RWD car like the S2000?

would you recommend this course considering the actual cost?

 

Thanks for the insight. Yup, saw you face when you drew the name, and when she spun. You took it very well, considering.

How did you get involved in this? Did you go to a Skip Barber school or something?

It was tuff to tell what happened with your "incident." Looked like you got the inside and the other guy didn't see you and drove across your line. Either way, it looked like first rate fun.

 

Secret AP1, it all depends on what experience you have driving/racing and how much understanding you have of car control. I had read Skip Barber's book, Going Faster, and I think it really helped me get the fundamentals down. I also autox in my area which helped with feeling the car at its limits. Thus after taking the class and having plenty of seat time, that really honed my skills to make me a much better driver, regardless of what car you drive. I won 3 1st place in class, autox events when I came back from the school. If I had the money, I would definitely do this again, especially with the open wheel cars (mid engine, RWD).

Jvils, I heard about the MTV Fast Enuff challenge on the s2ki boards actually. Someone mentioned something about a casting call in Richmond and Philly so a friend and I decided to try out for it. I was pretty surprised they called me back saying they were interested in me. The program took about a week to film and I wish all our fun activities got to make it, but we only had 43min. of show. After watching the pass I made again, I SHOULD have turned in a little later for the turn and I would have avoided him. After reviewing the footage of the race, somone told me that Ken's rearview mirror had flown into my car.