In the future, I was thinking to attend some SCCA events when I got my driver's license. But, I find that there are not that many racing circuits around in New Hampshire or Massachusetts. That's not my point though, since I'm young and just want to race (legit as stated before, mind you) as a hobby, I am wondering if there is any way to enjoy actually racing, but without going broke. Keep in mind that I am not exactly rich, and the US economy doesn't really help.

As far as my research goes racing is not there in cheap way at least not here

Quote from GTR_Yuni :

Keep in mind that I am not exactly rich, and the US economy doesn't really help.

This comes from a guy who lives in one of the richest countries in the world...

Quote from PLAYLIFE :

This comes from a guy who lives in one of the richest countries in the world...

And that automatically means that he is rich, too?

I'd say start with Skip Barber. Spend a couple of hundreds in the racing college and it'll send you straight into their Skip Barber racing series (formula or Mazdas) granted it's not the most exciting thing. But it is something.

If you do manage to get a racing license the best thing to get into would probably be Formula Mazda. The cars are very cheap (in sales I saw in the forums I saw standard FM cars go around 30-50k). Formula Mazda Pro on the other hand goes for about 80-100k which is still cheap for a race car.

Closed wheel racing is something I couldn't get much information for. Perhaps the SCCA would be a viable option but I've heard that Grand-Am KONI is accessible as well.

Stock Car wise there's the NASCAR Camping World Series which is for amateurs and semi-professionals alike.

You are probably not interested in dirt oval such as modifieds, sprint cars, late models etc so I wont go there and i have no idea bout the world of rally in the US

So it really depends on your route. Open or closed wheel, tarmac or dirt, road courses or oval? Personally I'd like to get into SCCA or the Camping World. But I wouldn't mind FM at all and I've heard that the Mazda route is the best way to go for amateurs

Here's Star Mazda: http://www.starmazda.com/

Skip Barber is only good value compared to other forms of racing, still looking at thousands an event.

If you can't afford racing and want something with a competitive element then look at sprints, road rallies and auto solos. All of which you can do in a standard road car with nothing else for a pretty nominal club sub and entry fee. Alternatively there is some quite good non-contact short oval circuit racing in the UK, I'm sure there will be plenty of production classes in the US at low cost.

Quote from GTR_Yuni :

In the future, I was thinking to attend some SCCA events when I got my driver's license. But, I find that there are not that many racing circuits around in New Hampshire or Massachusetts. That's not my point though, since I'm young and just want to race (legit as stated before, mind you) as a hobby, I am wondering if there is any way to enjoy actually racing, but without going broke. Keep in mind that I am not exactly rich, and the US economy doesn't really help.

Also keep an eye out on where your parts come from. I would reccomend doing some karting but if the dollar does what it is expected to do (crash) then importing Italian (where most karts stuff comes from) goods could become difficult. People are trying to create some firm of ultra cheap karting to bring people i however.

It's still worth looking at karting though because it is by far the best bang for buck in motorsport today, and you get the chance to race some of the best drivers on the planet. Dan Wheldon and co were racing at the SuperNats just last weekend up against average Joes like you and me (and NO they didn't win)

Quote from Intrepid :

Also keep an eye out on where your parts come from. I would reccomend doing some karting but if the dollar does what it is expected to do (crash) then importing Italian (where most karts stuff comes from) goods could become difficult. People are trying to create some firm of ultra cheap karting to bring people i however.

It's still worth looking at karting though because it is by far the best bang for buck in motorsport today, and you get the chance to race some of the best drivers on the planet. Dan Wheldon and co were racing at the SuperNats just last weekend up against average Joes like you and me (and NO they didn't win)

Ignore karting if you can't afford other forms of wheel to wheel racing. The only way go karts can compete at £20 + petrol level is 30 minutes in a rental kart, not exactly the same thing. The same money will buy you a day of competitive motorsport in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere in a car rather than a souped up lawnmower.

Quote from ajp71 :

Ignore karting if you can't afford other forms of wheel to wheel racing. The only way go karts can compete at £20 + petrol level is 30 minutes in a rental kart, not exactly the same thing. The same money will buy you a day of competitive motorsport in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere in a car rather than a souped up lawnmower.

I actually was being honest with this kid and warned that the price of karting in the US could go MAD because the over dependance on Italian manufactured chassis/engine. The dollar is going to crash big time, and that extends to any motorsport that has a reliance upon imported goods. And that problem is already being felt in the US, AND the UK!

Quote from Intrepid :

I actually was being honest with this kid and warned that the price of karting in the US could go MAD because the over dependance on Italian manufactured chassis/engine. The dollar is going to crash big time, and that extends to any motorsport that has a reliance upon imported goods. And that problem is already being felt in the US, AND the UK!

Where ever you go in the world you are not going to be running a kart on £20 a weekend.

spec miata an option?

A fully race prepared Spec Miata goes for 7000 USD and up, sounds a bit expensive, but not as expensive as going for an open-wheel series. Skip Barber doesn't seem to be really an option, as I don't see any support nearby the state I live (checking the website).

As for preference of what I want to race in, I honestly do not mind racing in any disipline, so much as long as the yearly cost is under 15000 USD (assuming I don't wreck my ride, obviously). However, I'm not the biggest fan of ovals.

Autocross sounds like a sensible option then.

Quote from ajp71 :

Skip Barber is only good value compared to other forms of racing, still looking at thousands an event.

I think it was $4000 for a 2 day single seater session at Road America. A great learning experience coudl be had, but nothing that would last.

Quote from Osco :

spec miata an option?

Quote from GTR_Yuni :

A fully race prepared Spec Miata goes for 7000 USD and up, sounds a bit expensive, but not as expensive as going for an open-wheel series. Skip Barber doesn't seem to be really an option, as I don't see any support nearby the state I live (checking the website). .

Spec Miata is going to be your cheapest W2W racing IMO. To be competitive you are probably looking towards $20,000 for a car Nationally, but you can still have a ton of fun running an old Miata in the spec class with some very close racing and fairly large grids IIRC, IIRC all you need is Mazda's suspension and a rollcage with slicks. Sounds like a blast to me! =) I would do a bit more work than that, but but it's an option.

The cheapest would be AutoX in a production class but this is time attack only.

You could do high speed time attack which you are on an actual track, but again it's not W2W. Sprints are the same with the exception you are using a bit of road instead, usually up a mountain.

Go karts are not an option really IMO, for the cost to run you could almost run the Miata spec class, and you would have a lot more fun in the Miata IMO.

Autocross, Spec E30, Spec Miata - probably in that order of cheapness.

Spec Miata has larger fields, but will ultimately cost you more (than SE30) if you want to be running near the front. ~$20K for a top running car with a "pro" motor is about right (but keep an eye out for sealed spec miata/SSM...could be cheaper due to hp restrictions on the motor that is sealed). ~$10K should get you into a pretty competitive E30 last time I checked. Not sure what the numbers are in SM, but running costs per season are/were on the order of $6-7K in SE30 not counting potential collision damage repair. I don't know of any cirtuits in immediate vicinity of NH, so you may need to travel a bit. Still, the North East SCCA/NASA division fields have plenty of cars in both series, so you should be able to get decent racing out of it if you go ahead.

All that said, I'd rather start in auto-x to learn car controll a bit better. Heck, start w/ a Miata or an E30 in stock class and convert it into a race car later on!

I've been doing trackdays getting ready for racing on 2 wheels. I started off on a 1990 Kawasaki EX500 (aka Ninja 500) and just last week switched to a 2006 Suzuki SV650. This weekend I did a wet trackday (my first truly wet one) and dumped the SV. Twice. It's going to be a fairly simple and cheap repair, though.

As a general rule, bikes are cheaper than cars, but it's also a lot more physically demanding and you have to really like bikes. Small mistakes can also have much more severe consequences on a bike.

The best form of professional racing on the cheap... Go VW Jetta TDi 2009 Season YO!!

^ I think that series like the TDI Cup, Star Mazda, etc. etc. are low low low ladders of professional series that you can't just show up and drive at. The teams hire you, and you bring sponsorship money to pay them.

Unless your Dad or close friends are already racing and can give you a seat in their ready prepped car, I think your best bet as a young guy on budget is to do exactly what Speedy Pro says.

BTW, the SCCA runoffs are being show on SPEED again. Do you see now those guys bump and grind and spin!? LOL I wouldn't want to do that with my own car.

Quote from Mattesa :

^ I think that series like the TDI Cup, Star Mazda, etc. etc. are low low low ladders of professional series that you can't just show up and drive at. The teams hire you, and you bring sponsorship money to pay them.

Unless your Dad or close friends are already racing and can give you a seat in their ready prepped car, I think your best bet as a young guy on budget is to do exactly what Speedy Pro says.

BTW, the SCCA runoffs are being show on SPEED again. Do you see now those guys bump and grind and spin!? LOL I wouldn't want to do that with my own car.

Teams don't hire drivers in entry level series, the driver/sponsor simply pays the bill any idiot can go and buy themself a drive in such series (in Europe at least) buy a copy of Autosport and you'll see plenty of drives available in just about anything for scary amounts of money.

^ Where's the romance in that!?

Mmmm you see 14 year olds on the track.. for the 2008 season, It is very newb oriented. So as long as you can drive, you get into qualifying then you start to go up against the best of the nation.

Quote from ssm :

Mmmm you see 14 year olds on the track.. for the 2008 season, It is very newb oriented. So as long as you can drive, you get into qualifying then you start to go up against the best of the nation.

I dont think it's that easy. Especially since it's SCCA. I mean from what it sounds like there's a grid limit? Also wouldn't you need an SCCA license?

I may be wrong but Spec E30 and Spec Miata sounds a heck of a lot cheaper and easier to get into

(i want to race professionally as well I so I'm carefully watching this thread).
Dont get me wrong, racing that new TDi really does sound sweet, but I dont think it's easier to get into than Spec E30 and Spec Miata (i could be wrong if you prove your point with sources)

Tdi Cup sure sounds nice, but AFAIK, it's not a "bring-the-money-and-drive" type series. I don't know what's the deal with 2009 drivers, but for 2008 VW evaluated 54 drivers (of the ones that were deemed worthy to evaluate) and picked 30, based not just on driving skill, but marketing potential as well. According to this link, it costs $35K/season just to do drive it. Add in the travel expenses, etc. and you end up with waaay more that you'd spend in a Spec Miata even if you go to runoffs. Oh, and with a Spec Miata you can actually own the car.

As Mattesa duly noted, the runoffs are shown on Speed, and with a relatively well-known (and fairly well regarded) series like SM, the front running guys do not go unnoticed by the people in higher series. I think the prize for SM championship this year was a fully sponsored drive in the Playboy Mx-5 cup.

From what little I learned by reading online, it only takes a few sanctioned trackdays/HPDEs to get a SCCA or a NASA licence to race in SE30/SM/Spec944 etc.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do and keep us updated.

http://www.emraracing.org/

And I know someone (me) with a prepped track car ready to go. Not that I'm advertising or anything.

Hmm the EMRA sounds good (since I am in the East Coast now). Although I'm worried about budget for the cars and to run a full season.