The TAJ team that runs a Mustang GT is occasionally looking for a driver. I know LD raced with a team that has 2 Paseos? sp. I dont know if they are looking for drivers.

The cost per event is about 800 to $1000 per driver. Our last race was $250 in entry fees and licenses, then about $600 in consumables. But thats including the hotel, Fuel for tow vehicle etc..
We usually driving a 2 hour stint each day.. so 2 days. or Sebring will be 2 hour drive then 6 hours off then another 2 hour drive. And 2 or 3 of the drivers will also be able to do Night racing.. Something that is a different experience.
Most of the teams have a well established base of drivers they use - rotate. Depending on schedules and funds.

 

Careful with that... you get what you pay for. It's not like a Miata... if you buy a race-prepped Miata, pretty much as long as they didn't butcher the cage install and it hasn't been wrecked you can fix or replace anything else on the car pretty readily without a lot of money or time investment.

If you go with a more "race car" type of race car, especially a home-built one, there's a lot more that can go wrong. The worst part is probably just that unlike a production car, you might not have a service manual to refer to!

If you want to go open-wheel or other "kit" car, stick with the known entities. The Stalker is a good platform, all GM parts (LS V8 if you want it, but the V6 is plenty IMO... the car only weighs about 1200 pounds!). Something like a Factory 5 Cobra would be good. Or even one of the popular Miata-based "locost" Lotus clones. But, with any of them, you're dealing with a kit car, so you need to be sure that it was well-built.

So much depends on what your intentions are, though. Casual track days? Casual racing? (don't care if you win, as long as you get the chance to dice it up with somebody) Serious racing? (win! win! win!)

Your choices matter a little more if you're out to win, as you have to choose a club or series to race in, then choose a class, and then choose a car that can be competitive... and prepare it competitively. For casual stuff, all you really have to do is please yourself and your wallet.

 

Professionally built "spec legal" and COMPETITIVE engines are more on the order of $7k. If you just want to run, you can run with an $800 salvage engine. If you want to run with the big dogs... that probably won't cut it. The difference can be on the order of 20% more HP to the wheels!

A heavily raced Miata will probably consume over the course of a season or two: clutch, clutch slave cylinder (a weak point on the Miata), brake pads/rotors/calipers, axles (CV joints and/or bearings), front wheel bearings, spark plug wires, and tires. ANYTHING else can give up, though... it's a 20-year-old car and you're racing it! Clutch/brake master cylinders, clutch/brake hoses, water hoses, belts, transmissions, differentials, radiators, alternators, water pumps, ball joints, tie rod ends, bushings, etc.

Regarding Lemons/Chump costs, plan on spending $1000 for a weekend of racing and you usually won't be disappointed. That's entry fees, transportation, food, lodging, car expenses and everything. $700-1000 usually does it, and you'll get about 3-4 hours of quality racing time out of it.

 

It all depends on how competitive you want to be. If you just want to run a car then you can run in the lower 1/3 of the field for pretty cheap. If you are looking to be competitive then prepare to spend big bucks. Crate motors are roughly $3k but you will not keep up with that motor. Would be totally screwed with a junkyard motor. If you get just a race head, be prepared to spend $1200-$2000. With that, an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, and taking it to a shop for them to "tune it" you can get pretty close to the front in terms of power. Full pro motors are $5k and up and require rebuilds every 40-70 hours.

I really have a love/hate relationship with racing a SM. I love it when I am able to beat out some of the "pro built" cars, but I hate it when every other weekend someone is wrecking you and making you spend extra thousands of dollars. I would also take a look at Spec-Racer Fords (SRF). The initial buy cost is about $5-10k more, but the consumables are farrrrrrrr less. The cars are much closer to being truly spec and they are about 500lbs lighter so they go through far fewer consumables.

--L.D.

 

I was trying to bid on this Subi today but they closed the bidding early......
Subaru : WRX - eBay (item 280710216190 end time Jul-22-11 14:21:34 PDT)

Good rallyX and AutoX car with factory power. Still lookin' ... can't do a Miata....yet.

 

Yeah I'm not looking to really be competitive; I dont see myself running many SM races at all. I'd mainly be getting into an SM just for the low cost reasons and do DEs with some AutoX events in between. I like the idea of buying a car already sorted out for the track. Plus, everyone that I've talked to says to start with a low HP car if you want to really learn how to drvie, and I'm thinking that is the route I want to go. I've only done about 4 DEs so far and about 10 autoX events, so I definitely consider myself a novice.

L.D., shoot me a PM with how much you charge for rental; I rode shotgun in one at Sebring but never drove one.

 

Why not look into getting a lotus exige? Look for the first production year of the Exige S as they offered a non-supercharged motor (I believe it was 2005). It's a toyota 1.8L so it's damn reliable and makes 190hp. Also only weighs 2000lbs. That's going to be relatively cheap to run as well on the track and it will be far faster than a miata. Then after a few years, you can always add an aftermarket supercharger. Instead of only bumping you up to 220hp like the factory supercharger, you can go to 240-260whp.

--L.D.

 

arent they a bit pricey? from what ive seen just browsing the lotus forums, theyre over $30k. I'm trying to stay with a car that is $25k or under. If it is in the $20-25k range, it's gotta be a dual purpose car that I can DD as well. My budget allows for something like a $6-8k track only car and then a DD that I can use as a tow vehicle. Plus, that would add an additional $200 to each weekend since I wouldnt feel comfortable running the car at the track without insurance.

thats what I like about the SM cars, if I put it into a wall, I'm only out $6k or so, considering I could probably salvage some parts, so that'll save me from the insurance $$ I usually buy for the events.

 

240sx - Might be the only car with parts as cheap as a miata.
Link - prodracing.com • View topic - E Prod 240 SX for sale

 

Since you like Cadillacs...
Link - 2002 Cadillac P1 Race Ready Spec Sheet