eddyt Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 I've raced in auto-x events for a while now and im now looking into building a car for club racing. My main question is what expenses can I expect when I actually get to the track, as in garage fees, event entry fees, etc. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasaregistrar Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 I've raced in auto-x events for a while now and im now looking into building a car for club racing. My main question is what expenses can I expect when I actually get to the track, as in garage fees, event entry fees, etc. Thanks. budget about 800-1000 a weekend and you should not blow the budget too bad.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renntag Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 (edited) depending on what you are building....you can cut that nearly in half if the car isnt real needy and you dont need luxury accommodations. I spend 500-800 per weekend total. Some weekends more, some less. This does not include tires purchased for use over many weekends. This also does not include luxury accommodations for when my family comes to VIR. VIR garages are 100$/day with 2 day minimum. All of this depends on where in the free world you are calling home, how big of a rig you have to fuel, and what you expect for sleep arrangements. Many of us rough it and camp out to save money. Edited January 20, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce L. Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 pick up the book "Go Ahead Take the Wheel" by Gran - it is a good introduction as to what to expect, and ways to do it on a tighter budget. bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renntag Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 .. what expenses can I expect when I actually get to the track, as in garage fees, event entry fees, etc. Thanks. Gate fee could be 15-25$ 35 for electric 100/day garage fee (limited numbers of garages) food and fuel if you dont bring your own. photography. $$$ to bribe officials. weekend entry fees are usually paid BEFORE arriving to the track. So your expenses, when you actually get to the track will be minimal. As you crunch the numbers look at this. auto-x entry fee/minutes of driving time. Open track entry fee/minutes of driving time. You may find that although the entry fee is much higher, your cost per minute of driving is much less. Auto-x is still important for developing a well rounded driver, just keep in mind the costs can be comparable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasaregistrar Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 $$$ to bribe officials. or food or beverages.... Actually remember to make a point of hooking up any corner workers/EV personnel since without them, nobody gets to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renntag Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 $$$ to bribe officials. or food or beverages.... Actually remember to make a point of hooking up any corner workers/EV personnel since without them, nobody gets to play. Agreed. We certainly need to show these guys a good time. I already support one corner worker and know first hand how much they appreciate the open acknowledgment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddyt Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 Allright, thanks. Yea, I'm not going to have to fuel anything that could be remotely considered a rig lol, try a jeep with a trailer. I also heard that you need to have some sort of telemetry installed in your car, is this correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getfast Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Transponder, not telemetry. To get on the session results, and for lap times. $250-$400 depending upon new or used and hardwired or rechargeable. http://www.amb-it.com/sports-transponders-c-22_24.html It's a one-time purchase that you don't need until graduating to TT or comp licensing school. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renntag Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Allright, thanks. Yea, I'm not going to have to fuel anything that could be remotely considered a rig lol, try a jeep with a trailer. I also heard that you need to have some sort of telemetry installed in your car, is this correct? Your tow vehicle with trailer could be loosely referred to as "your rig". But bottom line is that what ever you want to call it....it needs fuel to tow your car. I bet it uses as much fuel as a diesel pickup towing 2 cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granracing Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 You'll find that there is a wide range of budgets people race on. When I first started, I used take-off tires obtained at race events or bought from wheel-to-wheel racers, drove the car to the track, camped, and tried hard to resist urges to spend money on go-fast parts. That is one area I found challenging cause there are so many cool goodies. It can be done relatively inexpensively. Now I'm silly and want to have a front-running car. My budget exploded (according to my perspective). Fresh tires often, more are more go-fast parts, ect. I will tell you that a faster car and winning races is not necessarily any more fun than running mid-pack. Bruce, thank you for your continued support!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renntag Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 ... want to have a front-running car. My budget exploded ... This is unavoidable. There is an expression about cubic dollars.... ...a faster car and winning races is not necessarily any more fun than running mid-pack. This all depends on your perspective. I love running at the front of the pack. It is more fun to me. For someone who is just happy to be on track in any form, sure it is just as fun then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granracing Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 What makes running towards the front truly more fun for you? Think for a few minutes before answering that and recognize that maybe there are some downsides to it as well. When I was running mid-pack, my car was in a class where it was a tweener and had no chance of winning. There were people who I raced with that had similar budgets and car prep; you never could have told me we weren't racing extremely competitively and we were merely happy to just be out on the track. A fellow racer (we since have become good friends) constantly qualified within .01 of a second to each other. There were also a few other drivers who where in the same vacinity and we all developed quite a rivalry. We knew that we couldn't afford to have a car competitive with the front runners (Anthony Serra who now runs a few GrandAm cars had in excess of $30 - 35,000K; many others were in the $25 - $30K range too. I've heard higher estimates when taking into consideration all of the dyno tuning.) In between sessions, we'd simply walk around and enjoy talking to others. Our race budgets were low, and we were having a blast! Then my car was reclassed and now had the potential of winning (after being built very well). I had a pro motor built, a high end suspension, bunch of custom made items, ect. Now in order to run up front, it's necessary to have fresh Hoosiers every other race weekend. Now in between each session, I'm evaluating data acq information and other work on the car as well as myself. As you know, it takes work to continually run up-front. I think back to the races I've won and when I really take time to compare those emotions to how I felt when I beat my friend Jake (although just a mid-pack win), I'm not sure my smile is truly any bigger although my wallet surly is thinner. Now, I've had the taste of winning and probably like you would find it tough to go back to being a mid-pack driver without a huge fight. I've also felt some new pressure as other people now expect me to run up-front; I also put that upon myself. Maybe it's just me and I'm unique to feeling this way, but I it does make me wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renntag Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 What makes running towards the front truly more fun for you? Think for a few minutes before answering that and recognize that maybe there are some downsides to it as well. cars close to 20-25K and above dont exist in my class in our region. Perhaps there are some on a national level. So first off, it doesnt take the monetary commitment that you describe. We dont need new tires every other weekend either. We run RA1s as a spec tire and they have great performance through out the useable life. (Until they show cords). I enjoy riding the jagged edge. Looking 2 corners ahead and planning where my car is going to exit. Planning a pass several corners or even a lap or two in advance. Developing mental focus has enabled me to run smarter and thus faster. I enjoy chasing the podium. Unlike yourself, I have not won a race in my class yet. When I first started I had a blast in the middle of the pack and at the back at nationals. If I had the chance to run at the back of a grand am field, I would LOVE it. What I truly enjoy is getting the most out of myself and my equipment. I dont claim to do that consistently yet, but I am getting closer. THAT is what I truly enjoy. If a $50,000 investment in my car was necessary to compete on a regional level....I would chose another class. Simple. If my only option was to bring a knife to a gun fight....then I would make a plan and bring the best fight I had. When I said that its fine to run further back if you "just like getting on track"....what I meant by that is, everyone does this for their own reasons. Some people like the community, some just love the competition, some only want to win, there are some that race for the glamour, some just enjoy being on the track in the spirit of competition driving at 9/10 and having fun. I see myself eventually racing just to be out on track for a green and a checkered regardless of my finishing position. I ran my best race last year starting from dead last and working to a third place finish. It was exhilarating. I understand what you are trying to say. I believe that everyone has different motivating factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granracing Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 It's really not that important, but I thought I should clarify that my car isn't nearly that expensive now either. It's probably a $10,000 car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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