Best/most affordable race series

So my situation has started to improve to the point were I'm starting to take a look at trying to get into motorsports. Sometime in the next 5 years. However I'm trying to take a look at all the angles and go slow and steady. No jumping in, trying to rush, like I had been.

So I'm looking at different series again. The main ones I'm mostly considering are Spec Miata and Spec Racer F. I've thought about Spec E30 or E36, Spec 944, or Spec Focus, but decide those series feature cars that are too old, too expensive, or not what I'm looking for (sue me for having an opinion). I'm not set against anything, just some initial thoughts.

What do you guys think a good entry level race series is (for someone who lives in Florida) in terms of cost, on track competition, and performance.

F500 - or since you're in FL and snowmobile knowledge is harder to come by, the similar F600 sister-series. When you look at lap times over the years, there's nothing out there that goes that fast for as little money. And the cars are so light, you can realistically tow one on an open trailer with a medium sized car (a local auto-x guy tows one with his WRX).

I love me some Chumpcar action. $600 or so will typically rent you a seat on someone's team, arrive and drive with 2hrs of seat time. Tough to beat that value.

What about Formula V or similar?

How much is affordable?

Karting, or mini-sprints on dirt.

While its obviously not full size car racing, nothing will give you the amount of seat time/competition per dollar as karting. Sure, your raw speed isn't as high as road racing, and you don't get the same wow factor when you tell everyone what you do, but its easily just as fun, and sooo much cheaper.

You didn't say road racing or not. It would be hard to beat Stinger/Hornet/ whatever they are called at the local oval track for cost basically front wheel drive cars with no windows and the like.

Vintage racing a Midget or Spitfire can be cheap if you don't want to run out front.

Overall costs on the B-Spec series will be interesting to examine. The build cost looks like it will be close to what you would have to spend to build a front running Spec Miata. ($25-$30K)

93EXCivic wrote: Vintage racing a Midget or Spitfire can be cheap if you don't want to run out front.

That's pretty much my plan once I a bit more seat time in my Miata and feel comfortable making the jump from HPDE.

I'm maybe in a similar situation and am seriously thinking about formula vee. They have a real race car-ness about them that is lacking in production based cars (to me) I'll see what the racing opportunities are in 3-5 years when I'm ready to jump in, but older open wheeled cars really do it for me.

SRFs are affordable - 13k to 20k for the car isn't really cheap - but they are easy on the wallet to repair, feed, and shoe compared to anything in the road car category. They are real race cars to start with - no spending to convert suspensions or remove weight or engineer around geometry. They are also small to store, easy to tow and easy to sell for around what you paid to get in. It is a spec series so no horsepower or aero races to break the bank. It is well populated here in mid-atlantic. I have a buddy who races them that offered me a chance to try his car out this season in a bid to woo me over. I plan to take him up on it in May at Summit Point because it ticks all the right boxes on paper. Stay tuned.

When faced with this decision I chose Spec Miata and was sure glad I did. Cars are reliable, stout in a wreck, reward skill, and have no vices. I think issues with contact have been dealt with long ago. Spec Miata offers awesome growth potential. SRF now has a pro series if you have the skill. The budget won't be affordable for any pro series.

David

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: SRFs are affordable - 13k to 20k for the car isn't really cheap - but they are easy on the wallet to repair, feed, and shoe compared to anything in the road car category. They are real race cars to start with - no spending to convert suspensions or remove weight or engineer around geometry. They are also small to store, easy to tow and easy to sell for around what you paid to get in. It is a spec series so no horsepower or aero races to break the bank. It is well populated here in mid-atlantic. I have a buddy who races them that offered me a chance to try his car out this season in a bid to woo me over. I plan to take him up on it in May at Summit Point because it ticks all the right boxes on paper. Stay tuned.

Another vote for Spec Racer Fords. They're fun to drive, cheap to maintain and built like tanks.

If you have no previous experience in motorsport I'd suggest attending a school or two before investing in a car; you'll probably need to go to school to get a license anyway, so you may as well try it out and see if you like it enough before you spend a lot of money.

stuart in mn wrote: If you have no previous experience in motorsport I'd suggest attending a school or two before investing in a car; you'll probably need to go to school to get a license anyway, so you may as well try it out and see if you like it enough before you spend a lot of money.

I guess I should have said that - you need to be able to drive at the advanced level before you even take a race school to be able to get anything from it. If you have a 5yr plan - be doing DEs now. Start with the BMW Club - they really do beginner attention to detail well. Once you are solo - then do anyplace you feel comfortable to acquire seat time. NASA is good - TT is fun for a while and there are open lapping days going on all over. Once people get to trust you aren't a risk they will invite you with just an introduction.

One thing to avoid - don't mod your street car and go looking for a place to race it. That is the best way to blow a lot of money over time on an uncompetitive car you can't afford to drive hard enough. Save a wad and either acquire a race car for a class or build one with the rule book in your hand once you know what you want. If you can afford to - race a rental for a weekend in the intended target class.

Chumpcar/LeMons

I was pondering this same question a few months ago and thought the honda challenge looked like a really affordable series. Only downside is it's all wrong-wheel-drive...

SCCA Improved Touring....I'd say ITB or ITC.

Or.....NASA Performance Touring, probably in the PTF or PTG category

In either case, there's lots of little cheap, sturdy cars in these classes....and you can have a great time for little cost. Also: I've raced both FWD and RWD. Honestly, it's sort of irrelevant if you're a hobby racer.

Having gone through similar research several years ago, I settled for Spec E30. Not settled in a "it's the best I can afford" way, but in a "this makes the most sense" way. I was no BMW fanboi until I started racing one. I don't think you can race in a competitive spec series for less. The cars are cheap to buy, cheap to build and cheap to race, but you'll still tie up 10 grand in one. That they are ancient doesn't really bother me. The shell is just a device to attach all the good parts to. The next best series would be Spec Miata. A competitive car will be more money, but the fields are typically huge and there are plenty of pre-built cars out there.

Honda Challenge looked like a really good idea, yet I see it struggle a bit to gain racers. I think there are too many categories and perhaps too many allowed modifications to cull people from other series. I also considered American Iron but the running costs (tires, brakes, etc) are WAY more with a V8 car.

Any open wheel series with popularity is going to be more expensive. The F440, etc series was nearly dead when I was looking at different choices. Two car fields were not unusual. I also don't think I'd want to start in an open wheel series as racing those is vastly different than a typical tin-top style car. I feel that's something you move up to.

SRF was an expensive entry cost to me (10-15 thou for the car right up front) but in hindsight it's probably not that bad if you can afford to stroke one check vs building a car over time. What I don't care for is there is adjustability to the suspension so you have to become a bit of an engineer, and that's not what I wanted in a "spec" series. It's worth considering depending on your desires. IT classes require you to be a car builder/engineer as they are not a spec class. The low cost of inclusion is tempting, but if you pick the wrong car or aren't a very good tuner you'll be relegated to the back of the pack. Vintage racing was too expensive unless I wanted to race a pedestrian LBC, and if you think E30s are too old, you won't be happy racing an ancient British or Italian sports car. Also, the race schedule that I could reasonably attend was very limited.

It's also important to race with a group you are most comfortable with. I attended both SCCA and NASA events over the years and enjoyed my NASA experiences much more, so chose a class that ran with them. Others have found the opposite. Regions of the country may be different in regards to these clubs or BMWCCA, HSR, etc. You really need to spend time at the track and decide which organization is the best fit for you. This will make the experience far more pleasurable.

Chumpcar/LeMons et al are good fun I'm sure but I don't view them as anything more than motorsports entertainment akin to school bus racing. I'm sure I'll be called a snob or worse, but I don't want to go into T1 at 100+ surrounded by a bunch of former junk driven by people with questionable credentials. My racing pals in large part have built tremendous cars and I can trust all but a very few to be inches from me and not create a wreck. That's important when you have 10-15 grand tied up in your car, maybe not so much when you're rolling in a $500 crapcan.

ddavidv wrote: .........Chumpcar/LeMons et al are good fun I'm sure but I don't view them as anything more than motorsports entertainment akin to school bus racing.........

+1

I did it. Once.

It was an interesting diversion from the wheel-to-wheel racing that I've done for over 30 years.
To each his own........but I'm not motivated to do it again.

Jamesc2123 wrote: While its obviously not full size car racing, nothing will give you the amount of seat time/competition per dollar as karting. Sure, your raw speed isn't as high as road racing, and you don't get the same wow factor when you tell everyone what you do, but its easily just as fun, and sooo much cheaper.

This. Some karting is easily 70+MPH, it's very inexpensive, and can be highly competitive...

mguar wrote: Other classes can be affordable too.. GT 1 for example

I must admit that I did not take my own advice - I run C-Modified with BMW and GTS with NASA. It isn't a route that many people can do on a budget and it would be bad advice for me to say anyone can - but this board is made up of people with above average fab skills so...

I am able to field an "almost" (had the speed - but not consistency) competitive car for what a lot of people think is chump change. I have about $10k in the car, 2.5k a year in tires and pads and whatever development happens over the winters. This is only possible because I spent money on tools, books and mistakes instead of with a real shop and because I enjoy the work. I finish ahead of cars costing 5 to 10 times my financial commitment. I'm trading time and blood for proper shop time essentially.

I still think the right advice is to buy a complete race car, learn to drive it well and then race it but you can do it the hard way if you trust your welding skills enough to strap into something with control arms you welded up in your garage.

aeronca65t wrote: SCCA Improved Touring....I'd say ITB or ITC. Or.....NASA Performance Touring, probably in the PTF or PTG category In either case, there's lots of little cheap, sturdy cars in these classes....and you can have a great time for little cost. Also: I've raced both FWD and RWD. Honestly, it's sort of irrelevant if you're a hobby racer.

I was expecting you to come in and talk about how cheap you did your Midget for vintage racing.

He mentioned a lot of modern cars.
So I figured IT / PT classes in SCCA and NASA are probably more appropriate.
If I had a lot more money and time I'd race vintage AND and an ITB car.

Is there something like dwarf/legends or do Dwarf/legends ever race road courses?