I'd like to go racing, and check off a big box on the bucket list, but how do I do it? Options

[Type 47]

OK, I know you need to have a huge fortune to go racing so you can make a small fortune; but I don't have either.

from the time i saw my first SCCA showroom stock race I wanted to race. That was in the late 70's and at the time was thinking about the rent, not race tires.

Fast forward 30 years and I don't have to think about the rent, but racing is still super expensive.

I discovered tracked events (car clubs call them HDPE's) around 95' and have been doing them ever since. Not racing, but close. Kind of like qualifying with some rules.

So I've done track events on 13 different tracks. I started out at Gateway, in St Louis the track closest to home, and have about 2k miles on the 1.6 mile track. I started to go to Road America in 2001 about twice a year, so got about 5k of hot lap miles there. Autobahn, Road Atlanta, Barber Park, Heartland Park, Indy GP, Putnam Park, NCM, Ozark, VIR, Spring Mountain, and MAMP (what a shit hole). About 14k hot lap track miles over the last 22 years.

So now, every time I buy an $800 set of brake pads or a $500 set of scrub tires I'm thinking this is the last set and them I'm hanging up the helmet. Problem is...when the tires start to get used up, I've got a half set of pads left and buy more tires, then more pads. Been doing this for a couple years now.

So is there a path to do some racing at some level (PCA, SCCA) without blowing my retirement savings?

[GregAmy]

Having done "this racing thing" for over 35 years (amateur, pro, vintage/historics) I'd like to offer that, generally speaking, this takes some serious financial commitment, and in a lot of cases, significant time commitment.

If you want to touch your toes in the waters, Charles' suggestion to rent first is a good one. You can do that, basically, one of two ways:

- Rent a Chump/LeMons ride. Those are somewhat-affordable and the barriers to entry are lower (driving gear, which will cost you $1000-$2000 or more, depending on how fancy you need), and
- Renting a Spec Miata or Spec Racer Ford 3 to go through SCCA driving school ($2000 or more per weekend, depending on the renting org).

What you really DON'T want to do is begin spending money building (or buying) your own race car and all its supporting infrastructure (car, tools, parts, service items, wear items, truck, trailer, renting spaces to keep it all) and then find out it's not right for you.

Racing tends to be a "you're in, or you're out" kinda deal. But there's way to figure that out before you fully commit.

BTW, I started my "career" in the 80s with Showroom Stock and Improved Touring, and have been doing it since. But I have traded off a lot in my life to have had that experience.

Racing is a disease. How you mange those symptoms is in your hands. - GA

P.S., a mini-rant: with current level of driver aggression and disrepect increasing, I'm finding myself more and more pulling away from wheel-to-wheel competition and migrating more toward time trials (where you work together for best lap times) and historics (where the focus is more on demonstrating the cars and less on the competition). Those are both different attitudes. But neither scratches the "W2W" aggression itch particularly well...and I'm Ok with that.