I'd be interested in having a mentor. There has always been an excuse for me not to race - be it work, fear due to lack of knowledge on how to get started or worry about the financial aspects of racing.

I've been spending a lot of time this year just going to SCCA events in Nor Cal to watch a recently made friend race. Prior to meeting that friend, I'd go and walk around during a race weekend and strike up conversations with people in different series. Its hard to know who to approach. Some people are easy to talk to and helpful. Others are busy. Others are just not easy to talk to and don't communicate effectively. Gathering sufficient knowledge to feel comfortable is a long process - at least to someone like me.

I've been doing HPDE since 1988 on and off depending on how busy I've been or how crappy my car was. I stopped for a while to race karts which was a great learning experience. I now feel too old to race karts (my back isn't what it used to be) and recently acquired a free Miata that is being transformed at my leisure to a race car. My current plan is to do some HPDE NASA events to get familiar with the car and slowly get it prepped. Target for my first race is late 2010 or early 2011. I'll probably be too busy with work in the first half of this year. Having someone I can talk to (not just exchange messages on forums) would definitely make it easier.

I think I've read every book on the topic. Hopefully this is my year.