Could use some advise from GRM - Stumped on how to start recreational track days in CA.

It is a life long dream of mine to get out and autocross and do track days. 

I am having a hard time figuring out how to get started. I am located in Ventura county, CA. There use to be autocross somewhat near me at the Camarillo airport however I don't believe they put it on anymore. I am pretty sure there are  track days at Willowsprings that one can bring their street car. 

It looks like my local Porsche club puts on driving events however I do not drive a P car. 

Do I join SCCA and see if there are events close by?

Just wondering if anyone had some suggestions on where to start. Much appreciated!

Good news, you're in one of the easiest places in the world to get on track. Joining the SCCA and checking for nearby events would be a good start to autocrossing.

Here are the upcoming events on Willow Springs:

http://www.willowspringsraceway.com/calendar.php?month=09&year=2019

And here are a list of the clubs that run events there:

http://www.willowspringsraceway.com/page.php?id=18

Try calling one of the clubs about one of their scheduled track days, it's not clear what all of the events are but this looks like a general-purpose track day:

http://www.willowspringsraceway.com/event.php?id=3970

GameboyRMH , thank you!

Also, don't worry if you don't drive the brand of car that a club represents. I've taken a variety of Mazdas to BMWCCA events, and was welcomed. You'll find the odd snob, but most of the people there are just car guys. You don't need anything special as a car, just a well prepped car in good condition. Hell, I did a 2 day HDPE event in a box stock Honda Fit (it's a long story). Other than the corner workers dubbing it the "Mis-Fit", I had a ball.

Bottom line - do it! You'll wonder why you didn't start sooner.

Just sign up for Motorsports reg and go. SCCA just moved over to that platform and most of the other orgs there are on it as well. There are so many options the area that it's just grab one that works and go. 

Not that far away , I think they still have autocross down in San Diego at the foot ball stadium , 

There was a big Euro meet there yesterday with show and drag racing but no autocross

I'm originally from SoCal and ran AutoX with the Guldstrand Racing Assn (GRA). There were a number of guys from up Ventura area in GRA and we ran events from San Diego to Bakersfield. 

Here is a link to the SoCal SCCA AutoX group https://forums.solo2.com/viewforum.php?f=6

I knew this was the right crew to ask - Thanks to all of you!

Don't forget BuRP (Buttonwillow Raceway Park,  just off I5 and Lerdo Highway

You might also consider hooking up with a 24 hours of lemons team as a driver.

More expensive than a track day, but a LOT more time on track and actual racing happens.

SCCA is a good place to start for autox, but for track days I would look elsewhere.  They have Track Night In America (TNIA), but personally I'm not a big fan of it.  I would recommend starting with a well-run track day school, rather than just jumping in and driving.  You're less likely to learn bad habits that way.

From your username I'd guess you're driving a BMW?  If so then the natural group to suggest is BMWCCA -- I have never attended one of their schools but they have a reputation for being very well run.  They also offer car control clinics (you might have to do one of these before the school) and autox events.

As far as track days go, your closest tracks are Willow Springs, Buttonwillow, and California Speedway in Fontana (or whatever it's called now). Fontana is probably closest, but it's an oval with an infield road course, so there are some big nasty concrete walls around.  (Fontana is where the SoCal TNIA is run)  A little further afield, there's Thermal and Chuckwalla out in the desert near Palm Springs, Laguna Seca in Monterey, Sears Point in Sonoma, and Thunderhill about 450 miles up the 5.

Personally, I would NOT recommend LeMons or other "crapcan" endurance racing until you've done enough track days to establish a good baseline for track driving skills.

Yes, the AutoX's at Camarillo are dead (they no longer have any events on the runway displaced threshold).  That group now host track days at Willow Spings (Streets of Willow I believe).  I am in Ventura county also.  The only (sort of) local AutoX events areas seem to be California Speedway (which is actually a pretty good drive) and Santa Maria (at the airport), also a bit of a drive, but probably easier.

I used to help out with the local Corvair club AutoX's at Camarillo and we certainly allowed all comers and I think most groups are like that (giving the club member priority of course).

BTW (for others) driving the San Diego for the day is way out of reality these days (way to much traffic).  I used to drive down to Irvine (which is dead now) and that would be ridiculous now.  They also use have events at Hollywood park (not in Hollywood BTW), but that is now going to be the new NFL stadium, so that is gone also. Sadly, there is very little AutoX activity in SoCal these days.

For AutoX, I would look for events in Santa Maria and for track, I would look at Willow.  One obvious note on Willow, you probably want avoid this time of year, it gets STUPID hot up there in the summer.  If you are in Ojai, Santa Maria and Willow are not that bad of a drive.

LA resident here too and I’ve been hoping to start autox’ing soon. There was a SCCA event at Santa Anita last month but as far as I know it was a trial run to see if they want to start a regular event there. I couldn’t make it as I’m in between cars but I’m hoping to start soon. 

Willow is a great place, my FSAE team tested there regularly. Cool people and a nice track but I haven’t been back since. 

Does anyone know why the Camarillo autox shut down? That was at the top of my list. 

Oh man you never took me up on my offer I made in one of your other threads! :)

I live in Santa Barbara and have been attending autox and track days out here for a while.

Motorsportreg.com is your best bet. The Santa Maria autox groups are on there (central coast Corvette and Porsche clubs). That's the closest autox you'll find. They welcome any make of car. The Porsche club has a couple more events before the end of the season. Might be too late to sign up for this Saturday.

The Camarillo autox ended a while back because (I believe) the airport decided to build on the runway they were using. This was a very well run event and I miss it. As mentioned earlier that group (Speed Limit Racing) now does events at Streets of Willow.

Also look into Jim Hall Racing in Oxnard. They might have closed down though.

Some friends and I plan on doing a Buttonwillow trip in Oct. Should be much cooler temps.

Find the local Alfa club- they have track events, too, and I know they don't require Alfas.