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?

[jhynesrockmtn]

Vintage racing, at least in our area, is going through a sea change. Car counts, from when I started in FV are down quite a bit. The days of seeing 15+ 356's and a bunch of 911's running around are gone. A few of the bigger "teams" (rich guys with big car collections) have either gone on to other things or spend their time at bigger events.

They recently updated car rules to make post 1970 cars eligible. This has allowed 914s in, along with a bunch of other cars like early Miata's. It sounds like some of the larger orgs like SVRA and HSMA are healthier.

I started with HPDE in the early 2000's in a 911 SC. I started wheel to wheel in vintage FV, which is the cheapest way to go racing. You have way more experience than I did when I started.

I bought and updated a tribute GT 6 914 a few years ago. It was a former time trial car that needed some wheel to wheel safety upgrades. But with a fairly recent type 1 diabetes diagnosis, and other life changes, I've decided to retire after a few events.

You already have some of the big stuff. Track time, a truck and trailer. I'm not sure you'll find vintage, for example, a ton more expensive than HPDE in a Z06. Especially if you go with a lighter car like a 914 that is easier on tires, brakes and gas. Heck, a FV can run a few seasons on a set of tires if you want and brakes? I'm not sure I ever changed out the shoes in 6-7 years.

If I were you, I'd scratch the itch by buying a developed 914 4 or 6 and start in vintage. If you really catch the bug and want to do non vintage events, you can approach that later with the same or a different car. Life is short and changes quickly. Do stuff that excites you! Best of luck!