[Perfectlap]

I grew up in a kart (also had a motox bike). But no helmet for either.... Safety was a different story back then! Some guys I knew continued down more formal racing avenues (beyond our empty parking lot races), a few with success while others ran out of money too soon. When it came time to earn my driver's license it was second nature (although I remember that right foot braking felt WEIRD). One friend upon obtaining his learner's permit had his father take him to the autocross to learn how to drive! LOL ... Talk about pressure.

But autocross has always been by far the best route for a late bloomer. Formal driving courses with professional instructors are loads of fun but are also typically super expensive and only a natural driver can absorb all that instruction over the course of a day or two. It's very difficult to mate what the eyes are doing with what's happening in the cockpit and do so without hesitation. Seat time is required of most mortals, and plenty of it. Tricky with autocross because of the limited running, getting the feel for the dynamics of an abruptly moving car is a long journey. Even after many years of experience only a really small % of drivers looking to go further with racing ever really tap into that extra sense that can keep a guy alive when pushing for that last bit of speed at the outer limit. Or simply the ability to shave off that half of 1% on the time sheets and live in that zone at each new track. It's pure instinct of innately sensing where your tires have the best grip before you even get to that spot on the racing line. I think that skill is something that is honed at a very, very early age, and that's assuming the kid shows that ability to build on that early on. There have been some been big exceptions, Damon Hill comes to mind and I think former Jordan GP driver Tiago Monteiro didn't step foot in a racing car (Porsche Cup) until he was in his 20's and Vitaly Petrov formerly of Lotus F1 had no karting experience at all.

p.s.
I was at Daytona last weekend and what strikes me about the pros isn't their speed but their ability to avoid lethal mistakes in a split second moment, time after time after time. And how awful NASCAR are at spectator track safety!!