Club History

Lakeshore Sports Car club is one of the founding members of the Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs.
In 1958, a number of racing clubs found that rising insurance and track-rental costs were making individual club racing programs prohibitively expensive. To counter this they joined together to form the Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs to set competition and licensing procedures, and to coordinate race dates in order to facilitate the participation by the drivers of all member clubs.
Our consistently high levels of well-matched competition owe much to our innovative approach to racing classes. In 1965, the council pioneered Showroom Stock Classes so that the driver with a roll bar in their going-to-work sports car or sports sedan doesn't have to compete with their fully modified brethren.
From the beginning, Lakeshore Sports Car Club has helped build Midwestern council racing into the fun, friendly alternative to "big time" racing that it is today.

Road Racing

Road racing is the primary activity of Lakeshore Sports Car Club. Many Lakeshore members participate in Midwestern Council road races as race drivers, pit crew or race staff. If you're interested in getting involved in road racing, then Lakeshore Sports Car Club is your connection.

The first step in becoming a race driver in the Midwestern Council is to join a member club such as Lakeshore. Then you must pass a Midwestern Council Competition Driver's School. To enter the school you must have a race car, an approved helmet, driver's suit and proper medical forms. If you don't own a race car, it's possible to rent one from various sources.

The driver's school consists of both classroom and on track instructions. The classroom work covers driving techniques and procedures, track etiquette and the rules. On track instruction consists of "station wagon" runs, individual instruction, observed practice, practice starts and novice races.
After successful completing the driver's school, you will be issued a Midwestern Council Novice Competition License. This license will enable you to compete in all Midwestern Council races, and for a possible class championship. Successful finishing in six races will allow your novice license to be upgraded to a Full Competition License.

The Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs hold approximately 10 race events each year. Most of these races are held at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in Rockton, IL. Other race locations are Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, Grattan International Raceway in Grattan, MI and GingerMan Raceway in South Haven, MI.
There are many race classes in which you can race, depending upon the type of car you drive. Some of these classes are Showroom Stock, Improved Touring, Production, GT, Sports Racing, Formula Vee, Formula 440, Club Ford, Formula Ford, Formula Atlantic and Formula C. There is even an unrestricted class if your car does not fit any of the other classes.

If driving isn't what you're looking to do right now, another way to get involved is by crewing for a driver. Crew members help keep the car in top running condition as well as recording and displaying lap time. There are other small but significant duties the crew members do. They all contribute to that victory lap with the Checker Flag!
Lakeshore Sports Car Club believes that through it's commitment, along with other member clubs, Midwestern Council road racing will continue as a fun and friendly alternative to the win-at-all-cost attitude of larger racing organizations.

Autocross

For the motorsports enthusiast who likes to drive fast with reduced risk and expense, Lakeshore Sports Car Club offers the Midwestern Council Championship Autocross Series.
Autocross is a fun, high speed test of skill where you can fine tune your high performance, competitive driving skills. It's also a good way to find out how fast your Porsche or Escort can go without risking the loss of your drivers license. By driving solo on an open track, you race your car (street or performance) one lap at a time against the clock.
Midwestern council also offers autocross schools each year. In these schools, a competition licensed driver will teach you good driving techniques and the proper "line". All this to help you drive safer, faster and have more fun.

Vintage Historic

A number of years ago, with the increase in popularity of Vintage/Historic racing, Midwestern Council started to add vintage/historic groups at selected race weekends. V/H is aimed at the drivers of older cars desiring to race with less exposure to damage that that offered in current era wheel-to-wheel racing.
V/H cars do not race to win; the joy is found in driving a classic car at speed. In V/H, overaggressive driving is unacceptable, and penalties for causing an incident can be severe. Spins or off-track excursions will be rewarded with a black flag and a talking-to by the stewards.
Midwestern Council accepts most other V/H group's licenses, and instruction leading to a MC license is available at ever MC driver's School.

Race Staff

Race staff is another way to become a part of the action. Race staff workers are always welcome at Midwestern Council events, whether you're a first time worker or an experienced race staffer. No matter what your specialty or interest is, we can find a place where you will definitely feel useful. The specialties of race staff are Flagging & Communications, Tech Inspection, Starters, Safety & Rescue, Timing & Scoring, Pit & Grid, Sound Control and Impound.
Race staff can be a great way to start your involvement in racing. No matter what your interest, your friends in Lakeshore Sports Car Club can help you become an important part of the action.