Anybody here race for a living?

[The Archer]

So I want to become a race car driver once I leave school, but I have some concerns.
- I'm 17 years old and have no racing experience whatsoever. I don't even have a license yet.
- Where do I start? Books? Racing school? Get on a pit team?
- How expensive is racing anyway? Surely racing school is cheaper than college?
- How important are sponsors?

I'm clearly at a pretty big disadvantage, I know most pro racers are raised with racing in their childhood, and frankly, I wasn't.

Any and all advice is appreciated!

[kilyung]

There are some amateur/semi-pro guys on here who may be able to give you advice. I was in AMA and SCCA before throwing in the towel. As a privateer, racing is pricey so finding sponsors is critical if you want to be competitive. The factory racers always seemed to have the best of everything. Talent can only make up so much ground.

[NYC6]

Many if not most pro racers get their feet wet when young with this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kart_racing

[77T]

Getting from zero to a top-level funded ride will cost you more than college. Track time alone is measured in $$$ - an hour on the track can cost $200 or more.

IMHO, Plan "A" should include college, and get involved in Formula SAE to learn some of the engineering while you also begin to compete on weekends in some local events to build racecraft cheaply.

You can make a small fortune in racing...problem is you must start with a large fortune and then stop while you still have the small fortune.

[RACER_X]

At 17 you're too old already , lol

Most f1 drivers start at about 5

Do your parents have lots of $?

Just cuz you play great on gran turismo does not mean you'll be an ace driver, lol

[Pix]

Some teams have a ride you can lease for a series, (SCCA) all you do is show up and drive. Some prices are around 25k for a weekend.

[The Archer]

Some excellent responses, it's good to know what I'm getting myself into...

To clear some things up:
F1 doesn't really interest me that much, nor does NASCAR. Touring car racing, on the other hand...
I already have a car I could use, I figure with a bit of tuning it'll be competitive.
As far as money goes, we're not what you would say wealthy, but we're not poverty stricken either... I believe with some sacrifices, maybe, just maybe, I can make this work.

[drockadam]

I've always followed F1. Probably would of been best to do Kart Racing, when you were younger. I've always stuck to F1 on the Ps3 with no assists and manual everything!

[rowdy3]

These days you need money. You could race in the rolex 24 for $30,000 in a GT. I would start doing go-karts, late models or the SCCA. I would email companies about sponsoring you. Maybe make a video of you racing and send it to companies.

[RACER_X]

You know how to make a little bit of $
















Start w a lot an go racing!

Btw are your parents on board for supporting your hobby?

[GradyPhilpott]

Michael Schumacher and many others have said that kart racing is the purist form of motor sport, or words to that effect.

It may look like kid stuff, but all the essential elements are there, I am told.

I have no experience of my own.





Crashes and Smashes

[77T]

Originally Posted by RACER_X

At 17 you're too old already , lol

Most f1 drivers start at about 5

Do your parents have lots of $?

Just cuz you play great on gran turismo does not mean you'll be an ace driver, lol

Not so fast there sport. Have you not read about this year's phenomenal dual top 10 LeMans results from 2 guys who got into pro racing by playing Gran Turismo and winning a ride with Nissan via the GT Academy.

Former Le Mans winner Martin Brundle made good his return when he came home in eighth place in class with his son Alex and GT Academy winner Lucas Ordonez.




The second GT Academy winner Jordan Tresson made his Le Mans debut, impressing the Signatech Nissan team with his professionalism as he powered to ninth place alongside Franck Mailleux and Olivier Lombard.




Lucas also won his class at 24 Hours Nürburgring.

To the OP: It is a long shot but read up on the GT Academy...
http://us.gran-turismo.com/us/academy/2012/faq/

[77T]

Originally Posted by The Archer

I already have a car I could use, I figure with a bit of tuning it'll be competitive.

I would rent first - or share a car already built to race.

If you must own your race car - sell the street car. You would take much time & money to develop it into a competitive drive.

Use the money to buy a sorted and developed purpose-built race car that you can use to focus on building skills (that is if the GT Academy thing doesn't fit you).

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by The Archer

I already have a car I could use, I figure with a bit of tuning it'll be competitive.

There's a HUGE difference between being competitive and top 3 finishing which is what you'll need to get a ride or sponsors. Tough sport but good luck!

[77T]

Originally Posted by kilyung

There's a HUGE difference between being competitive and top 3 finishing which is what you'll need to get a ride or sponsors. Tough sport but good luck!

+1000 yep

Did that "development curve" and sorting stuff for many years - chasing the podium and the ruleset - until I got smart and bought from right teams.

Mike - you know JimBob in your neck of the woods?

[liuk3]

Start with racing go-karts. You'll know soon enough whether you are any good or not.

[T-Rip]

I used to race 600cc street bikes in the AMA...semi-pro sponsored team out of southern California ...

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by 77T

+1000 yep

Did that "development curve" and sorting stuff for many years - chasing the podium and the ruleset - until I got smart and bought from right teams.

Mike - you know JimBob in your neck of the woods?

Jim Leithauser? I only know him by reputation. I haven't done any racing (lapsed my SCCA membership) since moving to Denver... I'm a Northeast transplant).

I'm thinking of picking it back up if I can get my hands on my dream toy!

[rainman_16]

Racing requires an enormous amount of dedication and money. Building your own car is more expensive than buying one already sorted.

Familiarize yourself with the local sanctioning body and begin with a basic grassroots series like autocross - there's plenty of competition, the cost is relatively low, you can learn a lot about car control and without committing much financially you'll be able to decide whether you're willing to pursue things further... all while competing in the car you currently have, with little to no mods necessary.

Investing in your driving skills (not performance mods) is what will give you the greatest ROI.

If you can afford it, try working at a racing school for a season like Bondurant. You'll learn a lot about working on cars, you'll receive professional car control instruction and maybe even race in a mechanic's series if they offer such a thing.

edit: Just one more thing you need to be aware of. If you're not a paid driver, you better be prepared to walk away from any investment you make in your machine because anything can happen on the track and usually does at least once in one's racing career. Take this accident that happened at 140 km/h backing into a wall at the half way mark of a 60 minute race. The car was a write off however I've been building a replacement with many of the drivetrain and suspension components from this last car for the last 12 months.

[77T]

Originally Posted by kilyung

Jim Leithauser? I only know him by reputation. I haven't done any racing (lapsed my SCCA membership) since moving to Denver... I'm a Northeast transplant).

Yep - he's Asst. RE there and ay have some contacts to get you back in.

[The Archer]

Alright, some good news: I'm scheduling my driver's license test tomorrow, and I'm going to see a race next week, nothing major really, just a dirt track and some riced cars...
To the person who asked about my parents: They're a bit skeptical, but they've got my back. I think I'm going to give karting a shot,it looks like a decent place to start.
I really appreciate the insight!

[ToyCollector]

I have done amateur racing and am now an instructor as well as a motorsports photographer. Your biggest expenses when you get good (without a sponsor picking up the tab) will be travel/lodging and tires. Even at an amateur level with cars (for example Porsche Club/SCCA racing), it is not at all uncommon to go through a set or more tires in a race weekend. I used to budget $2,000 for a weekend. And that's if nothing broke, etc. It is not a cheap sport, even at the cheapest levels. Karting is a great place to start and learn. I would also say you are jumping in too late to make a career of it. The budgets and money even being spent at amateur levels has become nauseating. It takes time AND money. Exceptional talent is the only short cut. Most of the top guns start at age 4 or 5 and have family and sponsor backing already at a young age. There is no substitute for seat time and being immersed into the whole racing experience.

[jolimont]

You need $$$ and sponsorship to be able to compete

Similar to tennis

[MoBe]

Learn how to drive a car first and see if you`re cut out for driving a car fast.

If you can drive fast and learn fast you may have what it takes.

If you have what it takes you will need luck.

If you`re lucky you need money.

Good luck

[RACER_X]

Originally Posted by The Archer

Alright, some good news: I'm scheduling my driver's license test tomorrow, and I'm going to see a race next week, nothing major really, just a dirt track and some riced cars...
To the person who asked about my parents: They're a bit skeptical, but they've got my back. I think I'm going to give karting a shot,it looks like a decent place to start.
I really appreciate the insight!

COOL, my friend bought his 3 kids "pro" level carts, about $5k ea, also has a mechanic show up to every race to keep the cars at the top of their game. the kids are all under 10 y.o.

[Gagebuilder]

Good luck, I never could afford it.

I autocrossed a Neon back around '88-'89, and even that was time and tire expensive. Spend 10 hours on Sunday for 5-10 minutes of actual on course driving. I think I went through 4 sets of tires in 2 years, too.

It's not all it's cracked up to be, spending 3 days at the track, for maybe 2 hours of track time.

My friend's cousin campaigned a Mustang, for 1 season seriously, around 10 years ago. Even w/sponsors, he'd admit to $50,000 out of pocket for the season.

He also lost money when he sold his motorhome and trailer.

That said, I just helped a friend modify his Grandson's kart so he can drive/race it. He's four.

Good Luck!

[gwalker]

I tracked my Vette a lot before I just sold it. Even friendly weekend races are crazy expensive. I just mostly drove the tracks and never raced. I would still spend $1-2k on tires every few weekends if I ran hard plus whatever I broke on the car. Most pay for it out of their own pocket. Getting into to pro requires tons of skill, luck, getting to right breaks, etc. Some of the guys I used to track with spend $200k year on their weekend "sport". I've seen weekend warriors wreck $100k cars almost every weekend I'm at the track. If you want to start cart racing is the way to go. Even those can be $5-20k plus expenses and fees. There is no cheap way to do it. Even with a ton of mods and tuning whatever street car you have isn't going to get into the pro and semipro circuits and be competitive (unless you have a $250k supercar. Even the pros don't make that much money and without sponsors it's nothing but a huge money pit. I'm usually all for one chasing a dream but you need to do some serious research before really considering this endeavor.

Edit: You don't even have a drivers license yet? Most get into the racing world way before they are 10. You are really behind the ball but if you can get your parents to go for it good luck. Personally I'd just ask for a new AP or gold Rolex and call it even.

[77T]

Originally Posted by gwalker

Even the pros don't make that much money and without sponsors it's nothing but a huge money pit.

True - until I retired, hung up the helmet and sold the cars, trailer, hauler and race junk I'd never be able to pull off the Rolex addiction.

There are a few, maybe top 2%, of racers worldwide for whom money is no object. That's the dream.