Unfortunately, I don't have video from my Sunday race (described below), but here are the highlights of Saturday. I had a terrible start but the BMWs that come by are from a faster class. The red Porsche is Mike, the white and orange one Brad, and it took me a while to work my way back to the front.

1. carl tyler05/21/2009 01:58:54 AM
Homepage: http://www.iminstant.com

Love this stuff. Would love if you would share how much this hobby costs.

2. mdm-adph05/21/2009 02:18:41 PM
Homepage: http://mdm-adph.blogspot.com

@carl

Cost of car + cost of getting it up to safety specs + cost of membership fees (I'd imagine).

Looks just like playing Gran Turismo from that cam.

3. Scott Good05/21/2009 03:15:34 PM
Homepage: http://www.scottgood.com

@Carl,

The truth of the matter is I don't really (want to) know exactly what it costs to do this. I can tell you it is vastly cheaper to buy an existing race car than to build one. That's "vastly" as in "possibly an order of magnitude." Prices are all over the board depending on the car, the condition, etc. It's possible to get a reasonably competitive car in some classes for under $10K, so it doesn't have to be crazy money to get started.

There are a lot of one-time charges, like getting a helmet, race suit, etc. If it's a full race car, you'll need a trailer and something to pull it with. You'll need some tools. If you're not going to race, but only want do do Drivers' Education events (where you learn to drive on a track at race speeds but have controlled passing areas) you can probably get away without a lot of that stuff (and can use a street car which removes the immediate need for trailer and tow vehicle).

Assuming you don't wreck the car, the on-going costs are mostly service and consumables. The car will need a disproportionate amount of work for the mileage you're putting on it because, let's face it, you're running it mighty hard and that wears things more. I typically have my car gone over at the beginning of every season and it's usually a few thousand dollars (although this year it was pretty cheap!).

On a per-race basis, it's tires that are the single biggest budget item if you're in a class like mine that goes through them quickly. Some classes use spec tires; tires that everybody in the class has to use and which are usually harder and longer-lasting than the ones you have to use in our class if you want to win. Last year I went through a set of tires per weekend. This year I think I can get two weekends out of a set but figure that each of my tires is about $300 and you can see it adds up.

Offsetting that are the contingencies. In my class, for instance, Hoosier will give you two tires for a win and one for a second (assuming at least 5 cars are in the class for the race). That has been a HUGE help with the budget this and last year. Huge. So far this year, I've won 7 tires and used half a set, so I'm nicely ahead of the game. As long as I can continue to win (which is, after all, the plan), I can pretty much race on free tires.

There are other contingencies out there, too, from people like Hawk Brake pads (you get a discount), CDoc (you get money to spend toward merchandise...see the nice video camera on my roof that brought us all the great shots above as an example), etc. Some contingencies are specific to certain racing classes, others to anyone.

Entry fees are a component of the budget but in the grand scheme of things aren't usually a deal-breaker. Figure $250-400 per weekend for entry fees.

If you go to tracks far from home, there's gas and such to get there plus hotel, meals, etc.

I've done a lot to try to reduce my costs. Winning has helped that a lot, because of the contingencies. I took on the job of Series Director for GTS in the NASA Great Lakes region in part because it pays my entry fees. I traded web site development for suspension parts a couple years ago and have a few in-kind sponsors who don't necessarily give me money but who give me parts or provide services.

The bottom line is you can spend a lot of money if you have it and want to and you can also race for a pretty modest amount if you're careful about it (and don't wreck the car). I know guys I race with who probably spend $20K or more a year in running expenses and others who spend a small fraction of that.

You can be a LOT more economical if it's not critical for you to win. In a class like mine, winning means having the right tires, right suspension, right weight (which in my case means fiberglass, Lexan windows, etc), and so on. If you're willing to run in the middle of the pack and have a great time, you can cut corners on all of those things and still really enjoy the weekend.

There are a number of classes out there that have been specifically designed to be cheap(er) to get into and cheap(er) to run in and usually they also have great racing. If I were doing this again from scratch and trying to cut corners, I'd look really hard at Spec Miata. Also, 944 Spec would be on my short list. Actually, if I didn't have a group of guys I specifically wanted to race with (I do), I'd look at those classes regardless of budget.