Quote Originally Posted by CraigS View Post
Autocross as much as you possibly can. While track days are not wheel to wheel racing, I think this old saying still applies; only race it/track it if you can afford to total it. Screwing up in an 80 mph turn is a whole different thing than screwing up a 30 mph turn in the middle of a large lot.
I agree with Craig 100%. You will learn what you and the car can and can't do by autocrossing. If it is not your thing, I still would recommend doing three. If you haven't spun the car, you haven't done everything you need to do. You can go 10/10ths autocrossing.

I also agree that if you cannot afford to write the car off, don't put it on the track. Unless you purchase special track day insurance, you are uninsured (you are at autocross too BTW). I know someone that tracks his Cobra several times a year. He was able to reuse the frame after he rolled it on a track day. Everything else went in the trash. He didn't know about arm restraints. That cost him three years of therapy. Know your safety equipment for an open top car. Listen to Gumball if you are going that way. Get an instructor, and never go 10/10ths.

The BIG thing for when you first go out, is that you cannot treat the gas pedal like you do in anything else you have driven. Smooth on AND OFF the throttle is important. Until you learn the car, don't even think about getting on it unless you are pointed completely straight. If it breaks loose, back off to neutral throttle, don't completely lift, which is the natural reaction. You can see people on Youtube doing that all day long.