"Run what ya brung." Kit car enthusiasts prefer "race what you built." The skill one must have to construct a racing replica that's up to the demands that a racetrack, autocross course, and quarter-mile dragstrip put upon it is quite high. The car must not break. Careening around an apex or blasting down the front straight at top speed is mighty different from wheeling a show car off an enclosed trailer and into place at a show 'n' shine.
During my years spent covering street rods, European classics, musclecars, and custom classic trucks, I witnessed few automotive enthusiasts who drove their prized possessions, and none who raced them. Therein lies the difference. From what I've seen, all kit car constructors drive their creations, and many of them race 'em like there's no yesterday, let alone tomorrow.
Driving and racing something you created with your two hands, or even with your savings account, is pretty special. Still, it's not quite the greatest part of the kit car hobby. If you don't already know what the most magnificent aspect is, you haven't participated at the Run 'N' Gun, the London Cobra Show, the Western States Cobra Bash, or some of the other events across the land. It's the camaraderie. I've never covered a high-powered street rod show where there are prestigious awards up for grabs where one hobbyist will help another who is in contention for the same award.
To the contrary, when a racer's harmonic balancer grenaded at the 2006 Run 'N' Gun, other drivers were falling over each other ready to help. At Thunder Hill racetrack in Northern California later that same month, a GT40 driver had a freeze plug pop out the side of his Ford small-block, dumping coolant on the front straight. Buddies drove to the nearest open auto parts store, secured some coolant and a freeze plug, made it back to the track, helped him repair the car, and had him racing that same day. I've especially witnessed this sort of esprit de corps among replicar racers. In my days of being around racetracks as a crewmember for my brother with amateur racing and watching vintage races, there wasn't even the same comradeship. It's exclusive to the kit car scene.
I wonder why this is so. Perhaps other forms of racing are more competitive, which precludes cooperation. The stakes are higher. Just as with the big car shows, everyone's vying for the same prize. The whole intent of kit car racing is to combat gravity and test your skill against the clock, a sort of man and machine vs. Father Time. There's a kinship that must be formed among combatants who are all striving for their best.
Being included in this kinship as an innocent bystander while at the '06 Run 'N' Gun was way cool. How neat would it be if I were racing my prized possession, go pedal on the floorboard and suspension in concert with the laws of physics? Man, I can't wait until we get finished with our project and take that camaraderie from the garage and out on the road and track!