does anyone have any tips for my first national race
Which event?
Think about what you would do to improve your club program and apply it to your national program.
Really the lines are very blurred between local\regional\national, so it may not be that different from what you’ve done already.
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Full gas 
Don’t be intimidated, don’t try to win the race on lap 1.
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I assume it’s USPKS at GoPro.
Stay humble, realize that this competition will be higher than what you’re used to. So if you find yourself further back than you’d like, keep your chin up and just try to learn and absorb as much information as possible to improve. Drive within your skill level and don’t try too hard and make mistakes. Too many drivers (kids especially) set their expectations too high and then get discouraged and frustrated when they aren’t doing as well as they had hoped. It’s good to have confidence going into the event, but just know that it will be tough racing and it’s okay to not podium first time out. Just gotta stay positive and keep working all weekend.
The best way to get better is to keep going to higher levels and getting your butt kicked a little until you can hang with that group.
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Oh I wanna add. Good on you for going for it and keep us posted,
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@tjkoyen’s advice is so useful at almost every level of racing. It’s always important to know that there are always drivers who have more seat time, better setup are just more comfortable than you.
Just focus on learning, and making marginal gains step by step. (Also, ignore the peanut gallery. They’re always loud when you’re in the back, and then those same people are suddenly cheering when you’re in the front! 
)
There is always another race, and we are always learning.
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the uspks race of the carolinas at gopro motoplex
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ok thanks ,and ya its uspks at gopro
I have a different perspective for you. The pace of the schedule at a national event often overwhelms people. Tech forms, tire pickup, tire scanning, new tires for happy hour if you want, tech seals, all sessions at specific times, major changes, something might break and throw you off, buying fuel etc. Be as prepared as possible, study the schedule, see if some racer nearby with a lot of experience can be on standby to help you stay ahead of all these things. Once you get behind it is hard to recover, and will make focusing on your racecraft almost impossible.
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Jim’s advice seems really sound to me. I can only imagine the personal & schedule logistics of attending a national event. I can’t imagine negotiating it all going solo.
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ok thanks for the advice
Do you have someone helping you at the race?
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yes im going out with a small team
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Have fun and go fast! Good luck and go get those apexes!
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there’s only one approach really.
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new chassi whats the worst that can happen
That’s the spirit! I like your approach.
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So, did the event happen yet? How did it go?
Happening today through Sunday, today is practice day with racing tomorrow and Sunday.
You can follow live timing on Race Hero app. Looks like Oliver is finding his feet right now but getting quicker each practice session.
W00t. Have fun y’all and don’t bend too many parts.
Cool, Oliver gets to race against Thomas Annunziata who is a very fast young man who was pals with my tent mates. He’s worth watching, Oliver.
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