What: What to wear at the track – literally, everything, including underwear in some cases.
If I knew then what I know now: I would be way more comfortable (and safe) at the track.
Check out: Your local or online outdoors stores such as Cabela’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and of course, Amazon.
There are two thing to look at here: Paddock clothing and driving clothing.
They are not really to many differences with paddock wear over driver gear. there are a couple specific items that are not good for both tasks. The major one is foot wear. Head wear is also greatly different. You should also always review your track event rules as well. Some clubs allow shorts and a tee shirt, while others require long pants and sleeves. Weather is also something to take into consideration. Never good to be caught in the rain with no coat. Layers are your friend. One other thing. your cloths will take a beating at the track and working on the car.
Outerwear
Pants, shirts, socks. I have found that most work wear and outdoors/ hiking gear translates well to the paddock and driving. Modern outdoors pants are great. A lot of them are made of a combination of canvas and fire hose. This makes them rugged and allows for an element of stretch to the fabric.
Pants – Outdoor Research is local to us and makes a product called the Deadpoint Pants that we have been using in both driving and crewing for a few years now and I am on the same pair. They also happen to be SPF rated for the sun.
Shirts are kinda open. Tee shirts are good for pit work in the paddock. They tend to get thrashed pretty fast. having a nice breathable over shirt is nice to have so you done have to look grunge all day. Again outdoor/ hiking gear works great and also available SPF rated.
Having good sun shelter for long hot days will help keep you from getting beat down by the sun rays – checkout our blog post on tents for more about shelter.
For socks we once again travel to the outdoors section for some Smart wool socks. The moister wicking and the thickness help you stay comfortable on your feet. Also with no synthetics fire risk is lower. There are lots of good company’s that sell great work wear and outdoor wear. Carhart, Dickies, Patagonia, Outdoor Reasearch, Filson, Outdoor Emporium/ Sportco, Cabels are companies I have used items from at the track for extended amounts of time.
Footwear: Good driving boots are terrible for standing around. Good shoes for walking and standing usually are cumbersome to drive in. It is best to bring two types of shoe to the track. If your not willing to do that you should find a shoe that works for you for doing both activities.
Places like Keen shoes, Lems shoes, Addias shoes, Piloti shoes make decent dual duty shoes. If you are hip to the two shoes shuffle then any shoe you find comfortable to stand and walk in is highly recommended. Remember to always take the weather into account, you don’t want to have wet socks all day.
Driving boots have a sole role in life. To give you the best feel to the pedals while giving you the best access for space in the pedal box due to the compact size without all that padding that makes your paddock shoes so soft. Being able to move your feet around help the ability to heal toe down shift easier, left foot brake, and get on and off the dead pedal better. Most are also fire resistant, not all but most. All the good driver safety gear company’s: Addias, Alpinestar, OMP, Sparco, Simpson, Momo, Oakley, and OMP and Sparco have budget minded brands like the OMP Sport line.
Headgear. Another item that differs a lot depending on application. Lets start with helmet. There is one bottom line here. Don’t cheap out on your life. Get the best helmet you can afford. I tend to stick to a couple brands. I am familiar with their quality and fit. Arai is my absolute go to for motorsport driving. The way it fits and feels, the weight, the visibility works the best for me.
There is one bottom line here. Don’t cheap out on your life.
The others on my list (motorcycle, biking, ect) are Stilo and Bell helmets. You should make sure to try on a couple different brands. The helmet shell shape play a roll in how it may fit you. The brands listed above all sell different pad inserts to help them fit person to person better on most of the motorsports lines.
An associated item to consider is a head and neck restraint system. If you are running racing harnesses in your car this is a highly recommended item. They help support the weight of the helmet and limit the motion of your neck in the case of a heavy impact.
Hans has been the standard for years. Necksgen is another company that has developed a quality product. There are ones now that work with a 3 point safety belt as well. I haven’t tried one yet so i can’t comment on that yet. just remember safety is never over rated. As far as paddock gear goes again review the weather and think sun shelter. This is pretty basic, just trying to keep the elements at bay.
