Interesting article oriented on folks considering getting into the sport. Give you some insight into the $$ side of folks trying to climb the ladder.
The costs of racing
smithk3933
#4
all of those options are cheap. I heard at the end of the F1 race on Sunday that Jenson Button had cut his salary in half to help the busted Honda now Brawn team stay afloat. Only going to take $8million/season and this from a guy until yesterday who hadn’t finished in the points in two years!
DaveF
#5
As a (potential) newbie to racing, and hopefully Spec E30 at some point, that article is sobering, to say the least. I know it’s not cheap, and my mind had sort of budgeted $1000 per month to run perhaps 2-3 weekends every 2 months (not including the up-front costs…a car, to prep the car, and to actually do and complete the whole DE bit first). That would be $666-$1000 per weekend of racing. Is that a reasonable cost for Spec E30? Stuff like hotel, travel, food, entry fees, car consumables, repairs…
Maybe I’m just speaking too soon, as I haven’t even started DE yet. Then again, my plan is to find a decent E30 in the $2000-$3000 range to do that, so I don’t risk my daily driver.
Okay, y’all reassure me that I’m smart to get into this. I admit, I’ll think to myself, “WTF am I thinking?”, then I’ll think about how fun it is.
laz
#6
DaveF wrote:
I keep expenses in a spreadsheet. Last season and I’m at $968.68 per race weekend. This is opex, and doesn’t include the base car, tow vehicle, and trailer costs. It does include unexpected parts (rebuilt head, used trans, new clutch, etc), gas, tow gas, tires, brakes, food, tow vehicle maint, etc. Just about everything I can think of . I realized today I’m not including tow vehicle registration/insurance, but my tow vehicle is cheap.
I’m a cheapskate. I sleep in my ambulance at the track when possible. I pack a lunch. I buy used parts, pull parts from junkyards, and do my own labor. I run the cheap chinese brake rotors. I use endurance brake pads (PF06). I use r888’s when they’re slow but still have tread. That said, I’m sure I’ll get one-upped in cheapness by one of the East coast racers 
csrow
#7
Not including crashes, if you can keep the racing cost below $1000 per weekend (2 days) then I think you are doing great. I think the estimate of $1000-$1500 is more realistic for most people. Endurance on top of that will add $300-$500 at least.
Even as an instructor, my HPDE weekends cost me $500-$600 not counting the cost of the car (and assuming free school fees). If you are a student then there will be additional school fee of $200-$500 depending on the school.
DDO
#8
Now I am connvinced that Scott has really lost his mind. This is “don’t need to know” information around my house.
Two years of careful, methodical programming up in smoke…
ctbimmer
#10
No, it’s actually a pretty cool read. And, if you really want to get depressed that you weren’t born into the Dupont family fortune, read the 4-part series on the cost of racing in ALMS, at
http://lastturnclub.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=7&id=45&Itemid=1
Just don’t let your family know anything about the slippery slope that you’re standing at the top of!
thornton
#12
Chuck,
The good thing about that link (great read, by the way) is that my mind doesn’t actually think in numbers that large!
My wife’s probably does, but NOT when it comes to racing budgets!
Ranger
#14
Fred42 wrote:
A line like that would be only mildly funny from anyone else but is hilarious when it comes from a pshrink.
Fred: "But I'm not a pshrink, I'm a psychologist." Scott: "Your a pshrink. Get used to it. And whatever you do, don't look at your gas gauge when approaching turn 1".
DaveF
#16
Ranger wrote:
[quote]Interesting article oriented on folks considering getting into the sport. Give you some insight into the $$ side of folks trying to climb the ladder.
I decided to revisit this topic. I had some free time last night, and for some reason, I was thinking to myself “What if I had $100,000 for racing, how far would it go?” or something like that, so I did what any geeky engineer would do…start a spreadsheet.
Now remember, I haven’t even done my first DE yet, so I wanted to see, if I “did it right”, how far that $100,000 would carry me. I’ll post the results below, and I’m curious how realistic this could be.
First assumption would be to go SLOW…do three years of DE, reach spec racing in year 4.
Second assumption was buying a DE car for $5000, then spending $2500 to get it DE-ready. Then, spending $5000 to get it ready for comp school (roll bar, other safety stuff) Then…when it’s time to spec race, buying ANOTHER car (either already built, or going step by step) for $15,000. So, that is $27,500 of the money right there.
Third assumption was driving the DE car the first year to events, but buying a tow vehicle and trailer after that first year.
Initial Purchases
Car for DE $5,000.00
Updates for DE $2,500.00
Safety Equip (helmet, fire suit, HANS, etc) $2,500.00
DE Weekends (1 of 3) (Year 1)
First 10 weekends (total for 10)
Entry fees $4,000.00
Consumables (brakes, tires, etc) $2,000.00
Lodging, meals (for 6 of 10) $2,400.00
Contingency for problems, year 1 $3,500.00
After first year
Tow Vehicle $15,000.00
Trailer $4,500.00
DE weekends (2 of 3) (Year 2)
Second 10 weekends
Entry fees $4,000.00
Consumables (brakes, tires, etc) $2,000.00
Lodging, meals (for 6 of 10) $2,400.00
Contingency for problems, year 2 $3,500.00
DE weekends (3 of 3) (Year 3)
Ten weekends
Entry fees $4,000.00
Consumables (brakes, tires, etc) $3,000.00
Lodging, meals (for 6 of 10) $2,400.00
Contingency for problems, year 3 $5,000.00
Comp School
Prep car for comp school (cage, etc) $5,000.00
Comp School (fees, incl lodging, etc) $1,500.00
Spec Racing
Purchase a Spec racer (or update current vehicle) $15,000.00
Year 4 (spec racing)
Entry fees $4,000.00
Consumables (brakes, tires, etc) $4,000.00
Lodging, meals (for 6 of 10) $2,400.00
Repairs, etc, total for year $5,000.00
Year 5 (spec racing)
Entry fees $4,000.00
Consumables (brakes, tires, etc) $4,000.00
Lodging, meals (for 6 of 10) $2,400.00
Repairs, etc, total for year $5,000.00
And there you have it, folks…a tick over $100,000 in 5 years. That starts to get into real money at some point, doesn’t it? You could buy a pretty nice street car for that kind of cash, and after year 5, it’s still yours. But it’s not nearly as fun, and you don’t risk speeding tickets this way.
So…what do you think? Is this realistic? Am I crazy? Note…this is NOT my prospective budget. It’s just fantasy budget, but at the same time, this is an exercise toward starting my own budgets.
laz
#17
DaveF wrote:
Don’t forget depreciation and insurance on your $15k tow rig. When making a budget for this stuff, you should also price out arrive and drive if it’s an option in your region. It’s not as expensive as you think when you honestly add up the numbers. Also, when I’m at the track putting belts on my tow vehicle in the dark it sounds much more attractive
Steve_D
#18
DaveF wrote:
I think I should have stretched my DE career out longer than 7 months. I think your numbers are shockingly realistic. Usually it costs about $100,000 to buy that kind of education. :ohmy:
If you did that calculation and are still interested in DE events, yes you are crazy. Welcome to the nuthouse. You can do it much cheaper (see Al’s post http://spece30.com/component/option,com_kunena/Itemid,86/func,view/id,27887/catid,31/) or more expensively. HINT: don’t assume you motor is why you are slow, don’t build new cars, don’t crash, etc.
laz wrote:
Well, technically, he should have included depreciation, maintenance and insurance costs, but then deducted the residual value from the $100k at the end…
Steve D.
IndyJim
#19
I’m firmly convinced that if you start looking at this logically you might as well get addicted to heroin and h00kers. Its along the same lines just more socially acceptable (slightly).
csrow
#20
DaveF wrote:
It’s close. If you are a student, a DE will cost $800-$1000 per weekend (2 days). If you are an instructor, a DE weekend will cost around $500-$600. In the beginning it will cost less since you won’t be using up the tires and brake components at an alarming rate. But then later, as you tax your car, all the other stuff will start breaking.
As for racing, I have been told $1000-$1500 per weekend.
Steve D wrote:
[quote]HINT: don’t assume you motor is why you are slow…
[/quote]
Yes, it’s not the motor. The true answer is the Diff. 