Great advice, and quite inspiring.

i never could see my self a racer or drifter because i get nervous easily and nervousness and racing/drifting never ends well, but my dream job honestly is to work in either a lemans team or a FD team

If someone has ambitions of becoming a professional race driver, where do they start? Is "Race School" a necessity? Or does one simply take their street machine to a track day and hope to impress someone important that can take their game to the next level?

RotaryNissan Chances are, you're going to impress nobody at a 'track day' unless you happen to be there on a day that a race team are there doing some testing. Really I'd say you need to find a way to get in to competition, even at a low level in order to get recognised. Track days are none competitive and rarely timed (at least here in the UK) so it's hard for you to really show yourself. Against a grid of the same/similar cars, you can make a name for your skills. 

I'd start by looking for some local, grass roots competitions in your area and field of motorsports (drift, drag, grip etc.). Get along to them, and like Charles has said, start learning and preparing.

Dude...you forgot about $$$!

Thank you!!! Great words of encouragement.
-@proracerwill

Im 16 and I would really love to get in to racing. But I havent got any money to start and i cant really even earn any. Also I have absolutely no contacts. Only thing i have is the will to race. I also live in a place with no racetracks and I havent even got garage to work in.

@NoChance same :/

It's not easy to enter the competition world, you definetly need contacts, and then you have to start from zero. Also there's the money issue, you need money no matter what. 
This year I'm part of the organization of the WRC in Spain this october, it's a volunteer job, but at least I can get close to the teams, pilots, and the competition itself.

@NoChance where there is a will, there is a way

Some of you guys who leave comments regularly on the stories here might have read a few msg from me as well from time to time. Do not be fool by my comments Im a huge fan of speedhunter and what this guys do nothing wrong with that. But what you guys don't know including speedhunter is that Im a former Pro Motorcycle Race Driver, so I think im qualified also to answer some of the questions of this great article. You might not know me and there's a good reason for that. 1) When I use to race Fb, twitter, instagram and youtube did not exist. Back then we actually talk person to person live and a bit of chat via ICQ at speeds of 56k. 2) I the hate media it really bothers me. So i've been very lucky and fortunate to keep my work under the radar. This days I don't compete anymore its a long story. But I still drive or ride as a PR&D ( Project Research & Development) Test Driver for various people or companies that I won't get in detail because of certain legalities & cause is not relevant.
Were to star...for those of you that love cars I believe the easiest way to star is Karting is fast is great and it will truly refine your skills. From there keep climbing the ladder.
I come from the motorcycle route..so Most of the guys that I know that are in this business star racing as soon as they could jump on a bike some at 3yrs some at 4yrs. From there once you get a bit bigger and had skills you can get in Pocket Bike racing or motocross and or switch to road racing in classes like 50cc,125cc, 250cc and star your way up...for me it was different as I grew up in a shitty country that has no circuit tracks and no leagues. Only crappy Drag Racing tracks that takes you nowhere that I tend to despise because of that...sorry guys. So I star by getting into a particular Motorcycle Racing Cup. Depends on the country you live or you move to, like in my case I move to europe...you might need to get a license to compete...they have a procedure to get it..once you do you need to buy the particular bike model...in my case was a Road racing Kawasaki Cup. It was a great way to get spotted by scouts cause everybody was on the same bike same lite mods so it was about rider skills and talent. Contrary to a car a motorcycle requires a complete different approach and skills and you can physically see the rider working hard on the track so I believes it helps to get spotted by scouts more easily than on a car. But talent alone will not get you where you want to be not anymore in this times. Along the way you will meet a lot of people. Keep those cards and those numbers cause that is key. Keep yourself humble but hungry and focus on your target. Do yourself a favor and buy top of the line safety gear, get in front of a mirror and ask you how much you love yourself? I hope you answer a lot so don't use cheap stuff that can hurt you even more, cause guess what, accidents happens and believe me you will crash that is for sure. Learn as much as you can. Racing is a team effort the rider don't win alone. Educate yourself study mechanics or engineering the more the better something that relates and help you communicate with the team also cause it will help you understand they way your equipment work and why it behaves the way it does, and how is prepare to go racing, also cause you won't be racing forever so you need a backup plan and cause Its useless is you are fast and have no mechanical knowledge to gave feedback to your team or understand what is going on with it. Also don't be a douche. No matter how fast and talented you are, if you are not a team player you are going nowhere, understand that there's always someone faster than you so you better have other skills on the table like a team player or immense knowledge...why you think so often you see a veteran with a young rookie as teammates? The veteran for experience and fast development and the rookie for sheer hunger to win all balls little brain. In that same line of there's always a faster guy or women than you remember that almost everybody at least once can win a race, consistency is what win championship and is better. You guys have social media now a good tool when use right, remember guys at the end of the day you are there to promote a product, names,brands, company's etc its a business...so you guys have to learn to sell yourself to the teams and sponsors. Please guys Do not hired a agent that will get 15% or more from hard earn $$ for getting you contracts that you can do yourselves is not rocket science. At some point you guys will find that they did not choose you not because of lack of talent. They choose the other guy cause he will bring good sponsors meaning he will bring more cash flow to the team that equals better equipment better chance to be competitive. Unfortunately is a cruel reality of the sport. So keep in mind that is not personal just good business. So do not let that stops you use that as a motivation to be better and beat that guy every time. Most country's have leagues and championships all the way from amateur to the Pros is all about doing your research and prepare for the discipline you wanna star and get in route to where you wanna be. Yes it cost money. Yes its hard, yes there will be pain, but is not impossible. Will is Power my friends. And the reward of being there on sunday line up in the front row with the best of the best in front of thousand of fans waiting the red light to go off to get on the throttle is priceless and is all worth it.
Hope this helps a bit.

RotaryNissan I don't think race school is a necessity but doing a race school will allow you to make connections with the coaches, and they are usually ex racers or most of them have good connection to race teams. You might be able to find some leads from there onwards. Track day was where I started, don't underestimate seat time. Plus as I said, you never know who you'll meet at a track day. I met my first financial sponsor at a track day.

Y'know, I take inspiration from the fact you didn't get into it until you were 25. I'm 25 myself and starting to compete in motorsport, and whilst I would've liked to get into it earlier, I don't necessarily regret it. My family would've supported me and all (my dad used to race, back in his day), but they weren't in a position to throw money at karting, and if they had we would have had to sacrifice in other areas of life. Friends I know had parents who sacrificed a lot for their motorsport, and like so many it came to nothing at a certain point. I also feel that I now really appreciate it as I've worked for the cash to make it happen.

I admire what you've achieved given your later start to those around you, and feel what you've done is even bigger because of that. I'll keep following your career and hope you have many more achievements!

Sure! Even some F1 drivers have side jobs. A good financial backing, whether it be your own hard earned salary, family money or sponsorship money, is the key stepping stone to living a long Motorsports career.

Thanks Charles you have boosted my spirits and made me push my self even more !

I would like for your company to sponsor my car. I am in the process of building a 2000 subaru impreza rs. I could get your name more out there when I go to meets/shows and post about my car I could bring your company up