circuit racing

[ricergribbs]

well i wasnt really sure which forum to post in so i just posted here hehe. ok well i really want to get into circuit racing. im not even sure where to start so if someone could help me out with that itd help a lot. i live in teh chicago land area so if anyone knows of any places to do it aroundhere plz help! well pretty much i was wondering what kind of car/setup would be good for this? should i buy a completely seperate car or can i turn my daily driver into a circuit racer? i wouldnt be getting too seriously into it but for fun on weekends. so i dont know, if anyone has any info plz post. sry for being kinda generic, but i want all the info i could possibly get on this topic!

[tc3]

SCCA club races or maybe solo 1, where you race on track against clock

[ricergribbs]

cool thnx. yeah that looks like what i want to do.

[JWatson]

I sure hope you have a lot of money to burn

Have fun!!

Jeff

[Zgringo]

Originally Posted by JWatson

I sure hope you have a lot of money to burn

Have fun!!

Jeff

Nice post and to the point. It do cost and without sponsors better have deep pockets.

[BlitzKeg]

anybody here have a sponsor?!?!?!?
I'm interested in road course racing myself and hope one day to have my own racing team along with my own performance shop.

I'm attending automotive tech school right now, I figured it would be a good place to start.

I'm aiming for a acura NSX as sponsor bait, I plan to sup it up inorder to attract a sponsor, along with attending racing schools.
If anybody has a sponsor, whats the best way to get one.

[sracing]

Originally Posted by BlitzKeg

anybody here have a sponsor?!?!?!?
I'm interested in road course racing myself and hope one day to have y own racing team along with my own performance shop.

I'm aiming for a acura NSX as sponsor bait, I plan to sup it up inorder to attract a sponsor, along with attending racing schools.
If anybody has a sponsor, whats the best way to get one.

Yes, We have sponsors, (we also sponsor), we road race and own a performance shop.
We have raced Pro (USAC, SCCA, etc) and Club.

In club racing "Sponsorship" is easy, if you want cheap product or contingency. (Some free Oil, a few sets of sparkplugs, 20% off a set of tires etc.) If you want more it will have to be via contengency. IE. You win races using their product with decals, prove good exposure and you might get a few hundred bucks and some more product. Get on the phone and call all the potentials to find out who to make your requests send you promo package to.

In pro racing you can get all the above and if you have a good sell package, lots of TV, Radio, Newpaper, Magazine exposure, you might get a few real dollars. You will almost require a fulltime person on the team whose job is doing promotion and solicitation.

BTW, in our first year we finished 4th in the USAC F2000 Pro Series, we spent about $200K and got back about 100K in winnings and sponsorship support. (and all of our races were televised.) You can make a small fortune in racing,.. If you start with a large one.

We still race a lot, but it's now a big tax write-off against the shop and our engine build program.

The point is you first need to have a healthy budget, a car, win some races (Club at least) and then start promotion. Any real pro series (media coverage) will require at least a 1/4 Million start-up and then you need to do well to get/retain any sponsorship.

You can club race with little or no sponsorship for fun for as little as $10K to $20K per year.

Jim
SR Racing

[ricergribbs]

do u need a sponsor? isnt there something like open-track day like they have at the quarter mile tracks or something? im not looking to get into it too seriously, just once in a while.

[sracing]

Originally Posted by ricergribbs

do u need a sponsor? isnt there something like open-track day like they have at the quarter mile tracks or something? im not looking to get into it too seriously, just once in a while.

No, you don't NEED a sponsor for any form of racing. You can run in SCCA through FIA Formula One without sponsors as long as you pay all the expenses.

Every year there is a guy or two who runs the IRL Indy 500, with no sponsor at all. They just happen to have lots of money. Or like Steve Knapp, who mortgaged his house, and rented a car/crew for the race. He finished 3rd luckilly, so he made back the money. So can you.

Jim
SR

[ricergribbs]

hold on, u dont need a sponsor to do open night at the track. u can just go, pay, and do a few runs to see what ur time is. its like $20 for a full night/unlimited runs at some places.

[SabreKhan]

Usually, the SCCA and other organizations will hold events at local tracks. They cost a little bit, but usually you can get in pretty cheap and run your car around.
Licensing: Often, though, you have to be licensed, which means you have to go to a driver's education course (an SCCA, Skip Barber, or other known racing organization... not just the DMV course to get out of a ticket) or a car control clinic. Actually, in many cases you have to go to three or four to be licensed.
Cars: You can club race for extremely cheap (tires, oil, fuel, and entry fees) once you have the car, but the car will be a major expense. You can run the showroom stock class in rental cars if you have a bolt-in rollcage that's easy to install and remove. You can also rent racecars at some places to see if you like it.
Racing is easy to get into if you get involved in the SCCA or some other local organization. Expensive, but easy.