High performance driving school? N NJ

I sold my '12 Mustang GT and put myself in an AP2 Honda S2000. I love it and I want to learn to drive at it's limits before I go modding it... like putting Hoosier slicks and a bigger front sway bar on it.

I am from Flemington, NJ. Hunterdon County. Northern NJ.

I am interested in any high performance driving schools or events where I can get instruction and learn to drive my car at the limits. I'm also guessing I should pursue my SCCA license since I can use this almost anywhere to race (like the road course days at Englishtown's Raceway Park). Low pressure is good. The idea of being next to other cars kind of scares me right now. I really just want to test out the limits in a safe environment.

Does anyone know of anything? So far the only lead I have right now is that Porsche Club of America is lenient on the roll bar thing (to get the Boxsters running) and that they are open to any car. What else should I be looking for? What should I Google?

Thanks!

Woah, slow down there. You're getting way ahead of yourself with talking about a "racing license". As an instructor, let me rein you in a little bit.

1) The S2000 will need a roll bar. Period. I won't get in one without it. Most any organization will require a roll bar in a convertible (unless it has a factory device like a roll hoop).

2) It's admirable and wise that you want to learn the limits of your car, but there's a big difference between what we call "High Performance Driving Experience" (HPDE) and "racing". HPDE is where you should start. NASA, Car Guys, Trackdaze, SCCA and several others hold HPDE's at various tracks. NJMP is probably the closest track for you, or maybe Pocono.

3) Beginner HPDE's will have a limited number of cars on the track and very restrictive passing rules (such as only on the straights) in the beginner levels. Once you learn and can show you have good car control and situational awareness, you can move up to another group with less restrictive passing. It's a graduated system and helps beginners progress in a safe manner.

4) Wheel to wheel racing is not for street driven cars, and I also believe a driver should do several years of HPDE's before even considering going W2W racing. It's a whole other level of driving.

5) I'm not a fan of people buying fast cars to learn track driving. I'd rather teach a guy in a Miata than a guy in a Shelby Mustang any day, unless the Mustang guy has been doing it awhile. The more power, the more it can mask flaws, and also the faster you can get yourself into trouble. The S2000 is a nice car, but needs to be driven with a level of respect. I've seen plenty of them wrecked at the track by guys who didn't. Which brings us to:

6) Any car you take to the track, you should be prepared to walk away from. If it's your only car, and you owe a ton of money on it, don't take it. Most insurers will no longer cover you if you car is on a "racing surface", even if it's a "school". Bad things can happen at the track that aren't always under your control. All it takes is one broken radiator hose on the car ahead of you to dump coolant on the track, and off you go...into the tire wall.

It's a wonderful, addictive and very expensive hobby. I believe everyone should try it at least once, but do it intelligently.

In addition to what ddavidv said... there are a few things you can do to help yourself before your first track day.

1) Go over the car and make sure everything that carries coolant or oil and all your suspension and brake bits are tip-top. Track time is $$$ and an ill prepared car can ruin your own fun and potentially everyone else's too. Cleaning oil off the line takes time. Cleaning off cars that crashed in it takes even longer.
2) Learn to heel-toe downshift and practice at every single stop light until you don't think about it anymore. You don't really need this to do your first event but you will eventually - and it is easier to learn when you aren't trying to master other things at real speed.
3) Do a couple auto-x events with an instructor to learn basics of control and recovery to get your feet wet in a safe, inexpensive environment. Also not required - but first timers with some auto-x experience often have a bit of a leg up on day one.
4) Purchase and read the book "Going Faster".
5) Plan to attend more than one school in quick succession. Don't spread one or two out over a two year period. Jam one or two a month in for as long as you can afford. Seat time and muscle memory is very important to progressing.

Does the NJ Turnpike count as high performance training?