Track days and HPDE: how they work.

High Performance Driver Education (HPDE) events let enthusiasts drive their own cars on road courses with instruction. NASA says there are no speed limits in any of its groups. SCCA runs track days too and is explicit that they are not races. Car clubs such as the Porsche Club of America run their own driver education events through their regions, each with its own rules. What follows is NASA's and SCCA's published structure; the event you enter may differ, and its rules and drivers' meeting govern.

Run groups

Drivers are split into groups by experience, and each group has its own sessions and passing rules.

Groups are not identical everywhere. A NASA-affiliated regional page describes stricter criteria for Groups 3 and 4 than NASA's national page does; we could not confirm which applies where, so ask your region.

Instruction

NASA says certified instructors are included in the HPDE entry and that HPDE 1 drivers must have one. A 2025 NASA Speed News article says the instructor gives in-car feedback on line, braking, steering, gear selection and track awareness, and that sessions are followed by classroom debriefs NASA calls "downloads". Students drive solo only once an instructor judges them ready.

The 2026 SCCA Track Day Rules give novices classroom sessions on the rules and procedures, regular debriefs and observation by a Novice Coach, and keep them in the novice group until they have driven on track with flag and point-by procedures. Intermediate and advanced drivers are guided by a Driver Coach. At Track Night in America, Winding Road reports, the novice group's first session follows a pace car to learn the line.

Sessions and passing

The SCCA Track Day Rules say a run group's session should not exceed 20 minutes of continuous track time. Passing is controlled by the point-by: SCCA Time Trials describes it as the lead car's signal permitting a following car to pass, normally an arm out of the window pointing to the passing side. SCCA's 2026 guidance is:

• Novice: pass only on the longest straights, with a point-by.
• Intermediate: pass in designated areas, with a point-by.
• Advanced: pass anywhere, with a point-by.

NASA says its first two groups focus on the line and car control rather than passing, which begins in Group 3. Its 2019 guidance for HPDE 1 and 2 puts responsibility for a safe pass on the overtaking driver, strongly encourages point-bys and says the rules given at the drivers' meeting override its general advice. Flags at SCCA track days are mandatory: yellow, black and chequered at every event, blue where passing is allowed, and they must be obeyed immediately. See flags and passing and racecraft.

Who can take part

• NASA HPDE: NASA membership, a valid state driver's licence, and age 18, or 16 with parental consent. Passengers must be at least 18 (CCR section 4.6).
• SCCA Track Night: a driver's licence, an approved helmet (loaners are often available) and a safe car; SCCA says no extra licence is needed.
• SCCA Track Days, under 18: drivers aged 17 or younger must contact officials in advance and provide parental consent, a minor's assumption-of-risk acknowledgement, SCCA membership and a valid driver's licence. Passengers must be at least 12.

Tech inspection

Your car is inspected before it goes out. NASA asks for a completed HPDE Tech form brought to tech on the morning of your first event, and says well-maintained modern cars usually pass. It requires working mufflers (sound limits vary by track), working seat belts and rollover protection on convertibles, and discourages trucks and SUVs.

The 2026 SCCA Track Day Rules require an inspection to Safety Level 1, covering:

• Seats and three-point belts, and an interior cleared of loose items.
• Brake pad and brake fluid condition, tyres, and lug nuts torqued.
• Play in the suspension and steering, fluid levels, a tied-down battery and a throttle that returns.
• Padding on any roll bar section a helmet could hit.

The same rules exclude vehicles taller than they are wide, require proper mufflers, and say cars need not be road-licensable. Convertibles have their own section: an aftermarket roll bar is highly recommended for all of them, and the rules for what is required differ for cars built before 2006 and from 2006 on, with T-top and targa cars not counted as convertibles. Read that section in full if you drive one. As one regional example, the SCCA Milwaukee Region's 2025 tech form asks for clear brake fluid with a full reservoir (it recommends DOT 4), pads less than half worn, and a battery secured without bungee cords, and makes the driver sign that the car was prepared. More is on track day car prep.

Helmets and clothing

The two NASA sources name different ECE versions (22.10 and 22.06), so confirm with NASA before relying on an ECE helmet. SCCA, by contrast, said ECE-rated helmets would not be accepted in any SCCA programme after 31 December 2022. Winding Road reports that Track Night helmets must meet one of the two most recent applicable Snell, FIA or SFI standards, which is stricter than the SCCA Track Day Rules list above, so the sources disagree. Single tracks can be stricter still: SCCA's 2026 Track Night listing for New Jersey Motorsports Park accepts only Snell SA2020 or SA2025. Some independent organizers are stricter: AutoInterests says it requires Snell SA2015 or newer and does not accept DOT-only or M-only helmets. Porsche Club regions have set their own rules too; one region's 2023 event, for example, cited a then-new PCA rule requiring an approved head-and-neck restraint for anyone using a racing seat with a 5-, 6- or 7-point harness, which we could not confirm at national level.

For clothing, the SCCA Track Day Rules require shoes that cover the whole foot and recommend natural-fibre clothing. In cars without a windscreen they require full-face helmets with impact-resistant shields, and in cars without a DOT windshield, impact-resistant face protection rather than ordinary glasses.

Insurance

NASA and SCCA both warn that ordinary car insurance often excludes driving on track, and both mention optional Hagerty track coverage. NASA notes that it covers physical damage to your car, not liability. Read your own policy before the event.

After HPDE

NASA says that after HPDE 4 a driver can take its rules test for a provisional racing licence, and that HPDE 4 is also the step before a Time Trial licence. See licences and schools.