Cheap driving schools?

[2o6]

Sporty's thread got me thinking about signing up for a day or two of track stuff. Any reasonably priced driving school programs that ya'll know about?

[Laconian]

BMW Track Days

[r0tor]

Yea, the M Track days are good to get your feet wet.  A little classroom time and some follow the leader stuff.  No real car control activities though.

There are several HPDE event companies out there that host events are will require you to have an instructor with as a novice...  Fairly cheap but your supplying your car

All of the professional schools are $1-2k per day unfortunately but with the upside of not using your car and being at facilities with skid pads and other courses designed to teach actual car control techniques.

[SJ_GTI]

They do classes and open track days at the local racetrack here but I never seem to get enough ambition to actually go and do it. I looked up the pricing and it seemed reasonable though.

Instruction by Skip Barber Racing School.

Event will run rain or shine.

Registration and Tech Open at 7:00AM. Driver's Meeting is at 8:00AM. Hot Track is at 9:00AM

Experiences:

Paced Laps - $25
If you are looking for a taste of what the track looks like from a driver's point of view paced laps is for you. Come experience the drivers meeting and go out for a 20 minute ride behind the Official Skip Barber Pace Car.

Progressive Paced Laps Beginner - $195
The Progressive Paced Laps experience is for those who want to experience the speed of New Jersey Motorsports Park, but don't have previous on-track experience. Drivers will take part in a full day of performance driving education including classroom instruction and (4) 20-minute sessions on track, led by the official Skip Barber pace car. Each session will build on the previous, progressively increasing speed and frequently exceeding 100 mph by the end of the day.

Progressive Paced Laps Intermediate - $195
This is for drivers who have attended a Progressive Paced Laps experience before. Put the skills learned as a Progressive Paced Laps Beginner to the test at slightly higher speeds. Drivers will take part in a full day of performance driving education including an increased level of classroom instruction and (4) 20-minute sessions on track behind the official Skip Barber pace car. Much like Progressive Paced Laps Beginner each session will build on the previous, progressively increasing speed and frequently exceeding 100 mph by the end of the day, but will start at a faster pace.

Progressive Paced Laps Experienced - $215
The fastest and most experience Progressive Paced Laps group. This group will be made up of students who have completed the Beginner and Intermediate paced laps experiences above. Drivers will take part in a full day of performance driving education including now even more technical classroom instruction and (4) 20-minute sessions on track, led by the official Skip Barber pace car. Again, each session will build on the previous, progressively increasing speed and frequently exceeding 100 mph by the end of the day. In this group we will introduce "Leap Frog" passing as an introduction to safe, cooperative track day passing.

Hot Laps - $295
This program allows for advanced passing rules, meant for tenured drivers to hone their skills and instructors to take their students for instructional rides. Also a great place to shake down your car or test for an upcoming event. Participants must wear long pants and closed-toe shoes, in addition to a helmet rated Snell M or SA 2010. Helmets are available for rent on a first-come, first-serve basis. Caged cars must have full racing gear.

HOT LAPS RIDE-ALONG - $50
This ride-along experience is for those looking to ride shotgun with a qualified instructor as they tackle New Jersey Motorsports Park at speeds over 100 mph. Experience adrenaline-pumping laps from the right-hand seat of a performance car driven by an experienced instructor. No special gear required – just bring your courage! NJMP will provide a helmet. Participants must wear long pants and closed-toe shoes.

[Rich]

$40 at an autocross, a lot of the older guys are good and will instruct for free.

[MX793]

$40 at an autocross, a lot of the older guys are good and will instruct for free.

Seat time is limited.  There are autocross EVO schools where you get more seat time and the emphasis is on education/instruction rather than merely getting some pointers during a small set of runs.  You'd need to attend quite a few autocrosses to really build a skillset.

[Xer0]

My local autocross group runs a two day event at the beginning of the season to bring new people in.  You run a truncated version of a typical course (about 25-35 seconds to complete, depending on car), get TONS of seat time, some valuable in class time, and plenty of chances to ask questions of people that have been doing this for a few seasons.  The cost isn't that much either.  I'll have to find the actual link and share it here, but i'm sure other groups have similar programs that are very very worth it.

Edit:  Here is the link http://scca-chicago.com/chicago-scca-solo/the-learning-curve/

[CaminoRacer]

http://evoschool.com/

There are a lot of insanely good drivers who instruct for Evo. A lot of whom are local to the Ohio/Kentucky area.

[r0tor]

Auto-x is like blowing up on the launch pad in bed... As soon as you get into it, it's over