(RacingWire) - He's 15 years old and he's fast. Tyler Vance was the first 15 year old to race in an SCCA Club race. Vance, who turned 15 last September, finished his driver schools and competed in his first regional race in January.
He's one of eight drivers taking advantage of new rules allowing 15 year olds to compete in SCCA Club Racing, but make no mistake, despite his youth he's a seasoned racer. Vance was eight when he first tried his hand at karting.
Karting was something he and his dad could do together. "He and I karted together for the first 18 months and then when he started to show some progress I sold my stuff and worked on his kart and helped him move forward," said Tom Vance, Tyler's dad.
Like all racers Vance took his lumps. In some cases, quite literally. He had a few big wrecks in karts, breaking his leg in one incident. After breaking his leg he decided he didn't want to race any more so dad sold his karting gear. It didn't take long for Tyler to realize he couldn't stay away. "Then three months later I couldn't stand not racing and I got really serious and we started racing Spec Miata."
Vance's rookie year has been quite impressive. He has eight wins, 10 poles, 10 top-fives and four track records. 
As of June he was 100 points ahead of second place and had virtually locked up the Cal Club Regional Championship. He has also done quite well competing in west coast NASA events.
Vance and fellow 15-year-old Sean Rayhal received their National License on the same day in April, becoming the first 15 year olds to acheive that goal.
Rayhal beat Vance to the first National by a week but that didn't keep Vance from continuing to impress. In his first race he finished third and in his second race he won the pole and finished 2nd.
What makes this young driver tick? Just like his eight counterparts Vance has an extensive history in karts and a family that supports his racing efforts.
The success of these eight teens gives credence to the SCCA's decision to lower the age requirements. To date the only complaints from older drivers are that they don't enjoying being beat by the youngsters.
All of these teen's had to have prior racing experience before they were issued their novice permit. So in essence these young drivers have greater credentials than most novice permit holders.
As an adult the only requirements for receiving a novice permit are having a state issued driver's license, a physical and enough money to buy the permit. There is no prerequisite racing experience. If you've attended an SCCA driver's school you know there are some very novice drivers.
Lowering the minimum age also helps keep kids from goint to other series to get seat time. SCCA President and CEO Jeff Dahnert explains, “We had kids coming out of karting and they couldn't race with the SCCA until they are 16 and you had that year in there where there was downtime where you heard stories and you were afraid they might pick up with someone elese and we might loose them.”
Looking at the big picture opening up club racing to 15 year olds could bring SCCA racing back into the discussion when it comes to breeding young road racers.
IndyCar driver Graham Rahal knows all too well what it takes to get to the top level of professional motorsports. Rahal is the youngest SCCA National Champion. He won the Formula Atlantic gold medal when he was just 16 years old.
Rahal started karting when he was 10 and ran Formula Renault when he was 13. He explains some young drivers beat the age rules by having family foot the bill for track time in test days.
If your dad bought you a Formula Renault or Formula 2000 and and let you run private testing, I don't think anybody can stop you from doing that. That is what is hugely popular in Europe. The guys who are really good racers are the guys who's dad's or family purchased a testing outfit for them and they went and drove cars constantly. I know that was the case for (Nelson) Piquet, Jr. - That's what he did all the time.
Many open wheel and sports car racing enthusiasts lament the lack of American born talent in the premiere professional racing series. Some attribute the lack of Americans to lack of opportunty. Other say it's because American kids aspire to race in NASCAR.
Rahal thinks opportunities for kids to race at a younger age will help but he thinks the problem runs deeper.
"I think it's down to work ethic," said Rahal. "I think the difference between the American kids versus the kids from South America or where ever they may be. Those guys have to work very hard to ge to the top. There are a lot of people fighting for those positions. In the states I think often Americans, they feel they should be an automatic shoe-in. The work ethic doesn't seem as strong. I don't know why, I don't have a good reason for it. I feel like Americans think they should be automatically be given a shot, be given a ride because they are American."
Asked if he had any advice for kids who want to persue a career in professional motorsports Rahal had this to offer. "Never feel that the world owe's you anything, what I mean by the world is people, a team, a sponsor, anybody in general. You always have to work extremely hard because you may have the ride but there are hundreds... thousands of driver's worldwide who want your ride. It's too easily to be replaced."
As Tyler comes up on his 16th birtday two things are clear... he's a great example of this program's success and if the work ethic is there it looks like Tyler's talent can take him a long way toward reaching his goals.
