I'm thinking about getting a late model dirt track stock car.... anyone on here ever dab into car racing? seems like it would be a blast.
IT is AWESOME! And much cheaper than you'd imagine. A lot more work than the bikes unfortuantely. Dirt is the only way to go if you are doing it for fun. One set of tires lasts for ever. I raced a DIRT STOCK type car. The late models are just too expensive to be competive. You can be competive in a good bomber for about 6K.
From what I can tell from a local forum, the dirt stock class is basically a street car with the windows taken out, some race prep, etc, throw on the track.. while late model stock is basically the gp bike of dirt track, specialized frame, specialized body, etc... looks like a good used late model is around 12k, and a dirt stock will run 4-5k..... seems odd, you'd think a street car would be more than that...
Re: Re: Anyone on here ever race cars? Also, where does someone start, and go up to???? Like starting off in WERA, and if you're good, moving to AMA...... I would hate to be on some forum for the AMA of dirt track racing, asking questions.... I know I've been to the MACS site, and the USAR "Hooters" Pro Cup site.... I'm just guessing you don't buy a car and enter into the hooters series....
Re: Re: Re: Anyone on here ever race cars? Theoretically you could! If you had the money. Bill Conger can answer this better than I of course but I think as long as you can qualify for the race you are solid? It's funny The car is my father's so I just race it every now and then. But you just show up. Pay $20 and tell em you''re the driver. Drunk? We don't care. Got an actual operators license? We don't care. Ever seen a racetrack before? We don't care! Ain't got $20...WE CARE! Car safe? We don't care. Are you cheating? We don't care. On the final note any car can be claimed(As long as you finished within 3 spots of it). At my dad's track a guy can take your rolling chassis for $500. Motor and all $1500. Course you better NEVER show your face there again cause the rednecks would kill you! That's the Hillbilly Grass Roots Shit that makes NASCAR so popular. Bristol this past weekend is EVERY Saturday Night at Lawrenceburg Speedway.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Anyone on here ever race cars? SHIT, $1500!!!!! That would suck major donkey balls!!.... cool though, I'm defniately interested in trying it out, just lurking on some of their boards now to try to figure out what kinda class is good for beginners, what kinda car to get, etc..... looked at a few classified ads, and the cars don't seem that expensive, no more than a newer generation 600cc sportbike .... Hell, the full blown hooters cars were only like 15-20k... and that series is nationaly televised, hell they get more airtime than AMA...... what's your opinion on which is better, dirt or asphalt?
Zeb...This is an area that I have a fair amount of experience in. My advice is this...find a team that will let you work with them for a season or so...learn as much as you can...then do your own gig. Today's late model chassis are very high tech and require a lot of knowledge of chassis dynamics. If you are talking full blown late model and if you want to do it right you can expect to spend $30k + on the car minus engine and tranny, this is what CJ Rayburn was charging just a few years ago, a good engine will cost $20k+. Most people don't understand how much it really cost. If you want to win you better be preparred to buy a bunch of new tires, like a set every week during the summer months when the track is taking rubber. If you want to race full blown late models, and if you want to race a traveling series you can expect to spend $200k + per season. If you just want to race on Saturday night at your local bull ring then just run a limited late model type of class, these cars still have the full tube chassis, but are limited on the type of tire that you can run and the engine is typically limited to cast iron block and heads and maybe even a 2 barrel carb. You can put together a very decent car for about $15k, but you will still need a lot of tires. Like the old saying goes..."do you know how to make a small fortune racing? Start with a large fortune". Not trying to scare you away, because it is a ton of fun, and it is very intense, but it does cost a bunch of money and time. I love it, since my son is racing karts I have been away from the late models for a few years, but prior to that I lived it.
Check out the 4cyl classes (pony or mini stock at most places). They are mostly 2.3L mustangs. Tons of fun, not too much car starting out. Ours made 190hp, which will keep from being bored for a season or two. If you have to start out in something faster, try the hobby class. You can go 1/2 a season on tires in both these classes. Try to buy a car with plenty of spare wheels and tires, hard parts like tie rods, radiators, fenders - you will be replacing a lot of these. Or buy a couple of complete parts cars for ~$300 - that's what we did. I wouldn't recommend late model or even limited late model staring out. Late model - too expensive and you will be chasing you ass ALL the time trying to set up a car. Limited - you can get in a decent one for 8,000 - but you will easily spend at least that much after a few weekends from repairs. See "c superbike novice" for a comparable class, except about 10X's as bad. Don't know where you live, but if its north of the mason dixon (or even a few speedways in the south) you can check out IMCA modifieds. Tube chassis, V8, fast, trick car - but competition is generally cleaner because you have no fenders. Which speedway you race at will have a huge bearing on which class is best and how much fun you will have. If you want to try it out without jumping right in, several speedways now have schools. Ours (http://clevelandspeedway.com/school/) has 2-seater late model school cars. Don't know about cost, last I heard it was ~$800?
stock fours I've raced what are called stock fours on dirt......(small Fords, Pontiacs or Chevy's) They are a lot of fun!!.....The biggest thing for me was to learn to slide in and out of turns. You can get some great straightaway speeds even on short tracks. Somene mentioned late models. These are high powered (500 hp.....7000 rpm) machines that are quite expensive (75k) to run and maintain. If you want to have some fun, get an old Mustang and set it up as a stock four. If you want to get serious then a late model is the way to go.
There are no traxxion's or thermosman's in dirt track either. Most guys are pretty closed mouthed with the local track set-ups. You can read BBS's all day long talking about set-up and never figure out how to go faster at your local track. Purpose-built race cars are much more complicated than bikes. You'll have to set camber, caster, toe, springs, bump and rebound damping, weight jack, weight distribution, sway bar, ride height, brake bias, air pressure, stagger etc... etc... Get a "stock" car and you can pretty much set the camber and adjust by stagger and air pressure and be fine.
The local oval (Flat Rock Speedway near Detroit) runs what they call "enduro" racing a few times a year. The cars are basically glorified demolition derby cars (with a few "street stock" ringers thrown in). Knock the windows out, put a Johnson outboard motor gas can where the back seat used to be, strap the battery down where the passenger seat used to be, and go! The track can claim the winning car for $1k. 100 cars, 250 laps, no yellow flags (green and red only). It's total redneck carnage but a colossal hoot. Back when I was in high school (half a lifetime ago) I built a fleet of these things with my dad and his buddies. We had an Eldorado that was unstoppable until the track outlawed FWD cars. This track also runs school bus figure 8 races once a year.
You have to have a TREMENDOUS amount of energy to run AND maintain a dirt car. You have to thrive on going to bed at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning several times a week. You need to have some dedicated buds to come over and do the late night thrashes with you, you can't keep up with it by your self. You can easily tear up at least one tire and rim every race. You knock off one of the corners at least 2 or 3 times a season. I have never driven a dirt stocker, only a midget. Out west they have more open wheel classes which is what I would prefer. There used to be a pretty active mini-sprint series in the SE. You learn a ton about car control driving on dirt. Ray
If it were me I'd look for a mini-sprint (which is what DOC was asking). The ones here use a 250cc dirt bike motor on alcohol (the car, not the driver) and a complete set up can be found for around 6500. You won't need a huge hauler to get to and from the track.
