My Dream

My dream is to race at the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring. It's been my dream since I realized that normal people can race cars... But in order to race at the 24hrs you have to qualify thru shorter races. So I rented a seat from Rotek Racing for the RCN race on April 5 at the Nurburgring. I'll be driving with American BTCC driver Robb Holland in a Audi RS4... in less than 9 days. 

I only found out about this opportunity a week ago and have been scrambling to get my paperwork and licensing in order which finally happened today! So I wrote this campaign up in a hurry as I only have a week or so to raise the funds. That's why the intro video is simply the interview of me on the Drive Channel. Also, if you're not familiar with the 24 hours of the Nurburgring check out this video that Tim Hahne made called Chasing The Dream. 

I'm not asking you to fund my race. I'm paying the car rental fee. I'm asking you to help me document my dream and make it even more awesome. I could use some help with the two practice days and bringing a friend over to shoot video because I can't document this myself. I also should hire a pro video guy on race day that knows the track and how it works.

So the video will also cover us living in Nurburg for a week while I attempt to learn the track. Then there are two days with the other drivers which should give us a good behind the scenes look at what it takes to attempt to learn the Nurburgring. Especially because you can't properly learn the Nurburgring, let alone explain learning the ring during the tourist sessions. Or at least I'm pretty sure you can't. We'll find out soon.

We're going see some of the local race shops that are scattered around the track and check out the amazing bed and breakfasts and smaller hotels that you don't always hear about. We're going to take a look at why "Save the Ring" is so important and the cool community that has dedicated their lives to helping people learn and race at the track.

But most importantly I'm going to show you how I went to Germany to go race at the Nurburgring. From renting a racecar to getting the my FIA race license to learning the track. I'm going to interview some other drivers and then on April 5 I will take one giant step towards my dream and I will race at the Nurburgring! If things go well we could qualify for the 24hr this summer. Or at last that's the plan. I know I'll come back with something awesome. And that's usually been pretty entertaining.  I just hope I get these perk things right and you guys support my dream and project.  

There are two MAJOR things to keep in mind. 

1. Things happen in racing and there is a possibility that something could go wrong and I could miss the race. We will still produce a video about what its like to try to learn and race at the Nurburgring and I will go back and race again later this summer. It doesn't end with this one attempt. Or at least it better not...
2. The other thing to keep in mind is that I'm not bringing a pro video crew. I'm bringing my friend Wyatt Knox who is also a 2WD US Rally Champion. I don't want to look back on my dream and remember sharing it with strangers while making a movie. I want to remember it as the time of my life with my friends in the beautiful green hills of the Nurburgring. This means we will make mistakes and the video might not be what you expect. But it will be REAL. It will be AUTHENTIC. But it will NOT look like the video above called Chasing the Dream. 

This also means the video will less highly produced than you will probably expect. But I promise it will be real and I promise it will be fun. We are going to go eat hot rock steak at Pistenklaus and take some laps with some seriously fast world class drivers. We'll learn a little about German food and beer and a little about what its like to live at the Ring. 

I'm going to shoot it my way and in my style. That means I'm going to interview Wyatt(cameraman) about stuff we missed on film. We are going spend our off track time exploring the various rental options for the tourist sessions and maybe even talk to some of the race schools that operate at the Nurburgring. But most importantly I hope to show how difficult it is to learn this track and race on it. I will be producing and editing the video myself. Here's a video I recently put together for Road & Track:

Who am I? How Did I Get Here? 

My name is Bill Caswell and I started my car adventure 15 years ago or so with a blown motor in 1986 BMW, a Chilton Manual, and $150 worth of Craftsman tools from  the local Sears. I swapped out the broken engine in my old college E30 BMW and then took it autocrossing and eventually to the track. After a few years with BMW CCA I started racing wheel to wheel in 2003. 

Except somehow I went to business school instead of racing school, and became an investment banker. So a little over 4 years ago, I quit that job and started racing cars. I then got lucky when I entered the World Rally Championships 9 months into my unemployment. The story did so well that I sold my life story to Hollywood and now they are turning it into a movie! We are working on a TV show that hopefully gets picked up. But I want to race at the Nurburgring 24hr. And this is the first step. 

Since then first race I've been trying to hit all my dream races as I work my way up to the Nurburgring. From WRC Mexico to the Pikes Peak Hill Climb to building my own off-road BMW on the floor of SEMA to entering the Baja 1000 just 14 days after the first weld. I somehow got all the way to Targa Newfoundland and finished 2nd and have been fortunate to drive for Crawford Performance in their 500hp Turbo BRZ but also in their 850 Hp STI that I've only ever driven in the video game Dirt3.

So the last 4+ years have been AWESOME! With some luck and some help from you guys I might get to keep doing this.  

Use of Cash

I'm hoping to raise $10,000 to support my dream of racing at the Nurburgring. I believe my total cost for this trip will be closer to $20,000 but I don't think its fair to ask you guys to fund the full amount. Here's where your cash will go:

Video Guy, Airfare, etc $4,000

Practice Car Rental $2,000

Practice Tires $2,500

Pro Video Guy on Race weekend $1,000

Cost of Crowdsourcing: $900

If I raise more than the $10,100(after fees) I will offset some of my other costs and apply the rest to my next race at the Nurburgring. That means either the 24hr or another RCN or VLN race this summer. I will then shoot Part II of My Green Hell.

Perks

Let's be real about this. The Perks are a memento for your gift supporting my dream of racing at the Nurburgring. The primary reward is free access to my video My Green Hell. But I also tried to find some cool stuff that we would all use but are still easy for me to make and ship. We have a little over a week to raise the funds. If you simply want to send me cash thru Paypal and have no interest in a perk, my Paypal email address is caswellmotorsport at gmail. If you have a better idea for a perk, please contact me at the same address. 

Other Ways You Can Help

I understand some of you guys are still in school or recently left your job. Don't send your cash. You might need it. Instead send this campaign to 10 of your friends that are in a better position to help. Or maybe you you know someone at company that might want to participate in a more formal way? Send them my campaign or contact details. Every little bit helps. Without you guys supporting me and pushing my efforts forward I wouldn't be here. It's because of you guys that I get to live my dream.

Thank You!

Bill Caswell

Photo Credit: Flying Lap Photography