Inexpensive Wheel to Wheel Racing

Hi guys
I have 100+ days on track during HPDE and want more. I would love to do Ferrari Challenge racing but I’ll never be at that level. Economically, I’m at best able to do spec Miata racing, but just don’t have an affinity for the miatas. What are other economical racing series/classes are popular and cost effective to make the shift from HPDE to wheel to wheel racing? I’ve heard good things about the Spec E36 series and wonder what else might be out there. Thanks!


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There is nothing like w2w. If you want to run at the front end of any grid it will cost you even in spec miata. I think the best spec for budget amateurs is spec corvette. The cars reasonably modern and fast with cheap parts compared to BMW motors. You can also find more people to rebuild motorsvand gearboxes in vette than foreign cars. I just sold my mustang gt racecar and looking for a place to go myself. So many decisions!

 

Thanks for the insight I never considered spec corvette! What year or generation corvettes are in the spec series?Which series is most popular, SCCA, NASA, or another?


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If you are in great physical shape you should get into Go-Karts.

The performance of these things is ridiculous. They redline around 14,000rpm, pull more than 3G’s in the corners and can get to 75mph in no time.

I bought a 125cc Compkart TAG Senior kart and was blown away. Driven at the limit, it was all I could do to last 15 minutes on track.

I’m in my mid 40’s and I’m fairly decent shape. I was also tracking my 991.2 GT3 at Watkins Glen very often. I had the Porsche dialed-in with Hoosier R7’s and could turn sub 2 minute laps at Watkins Glen for 45 minutes at HPDE’s without a problem.

I spent a summer in my kart, finally got back in my GT3 and it felt like a damn school bus compared to my kart. So much so that I sold the GT3 a month later.

Go-Karts can get expensive if you’re a top National racer but if you are happy doing local/regional races you simply cannot beat the bang for the buck that karts offer.

There’s a reason why Formula 1 drivers get in their karts during the off season to stay sharp.

 

I used to race a C5z06 vette in SCCA T1 and T2. I know the guys who started Spec Corvette as an offshoot race organizer because they were nor happy with offerings of many groups. They race around the country at different venues in random local venues like Speedventures in California and nationally in NASA and SCCA run groups in mixed class racing. They are not an SCCA national class for example to race at Runoffs but the Spec car can run in T2 for points and then race at Runoffs if that's your thing. I did that for about 6 years when SCCA moved the Runoffs to iconic tracks around the country. I liked doing that. SpecCorvette has it's own points system to crown their champ.

https://www.speccorvette.com/

 

Folks also like Spec Boxster racing for its bang for the $$. 986s are cheap to buy and reasonable to run.

 

I think a lot of it depends on what racing is going on in your area. I'm in the same boat, regarding HPDEs - after a while it's not that exciting. So I'm looking to get into Spec Boxster racing with the Porsche Owner's Club in socal, and Las Vegas. There is typically an event once a month, with at least 30 spec boxsters racing. So no matter your skill level, there's a good chance you will have someone to race against. There's not much point getting into a racing series where there are only 2 or 3 guys in your class, especially if they are at the pointy end of the field.

 

No offence, but there is no such thing as cheep racing ..lol. @NYFAIM and the other posts are great suggestions. Who near you has cars, tracks, available parts, etc is a good way to dive in. Karting is super fun, fast, and expensive too. Here in new England, there is more oval racing then sports car racing. I got started in SCCA and the path took me to Pro racing in IMSA and NASCAR here in the states and Canada. You can follow my trail of broken parts, harts, and banks..lol. Racing is a very selfish and intoxicating thing. If you become infected, it will test you and your relationships and drain bank accounts faster then a hole in any boat. So choose wisely.

 

Very true but it's all relative! For my first year of Boxster racing, including acquiring the car, I'm budgeting about $100k.

 

Very true. Racing around the country just doing a year of scca clubracing and runoffs made my kid's annual college tuition and luxury single apartment look cheap.

 

I am looking at the MARRS series run by SCCA and they run SSM (showroom spec miatas). It is popular here with 30-40 miatas and they only run at two local tracks. I can rent a SSM Miata for the full season for $1500 per race weekend and spend max $10k out the door for a full first season of racing with no traveling, no maintenance, no cost of ownership, etc. I think this might be the way to go to dip my toes into racing. Thoughts?


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No racing is cheap. Ran my own race shop. The upfront costs look attractive. The then overuns kick in. Try looking at several types of racing. Karts can be reasonable. But how much you spend can change rapidly.

 

3Gs? I have no reason to doubt you, just wondering if it's a typo. If not, that's incredible!

 

Noticed you are on the East coast, do you have LotusCupUSA series? Relatively cheap W2W unless you bust a clam.
Otherwise, I have done SCCA in the SRF series…fun times!
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Nope. Not a type-o. These karts are legit. Makes driving everything that’s not an open wheel race car seem boring including Porsche Cup cars, Ferrari Challenge Cars…etc.

These karts are like little Formula 1 cars and be had for $10K. Running costs are a fraction of tracking street cars.

 

I bought a Pro Mazda about a year ago. The car was $33K and the spares package was $6K. I’m not going to race it, but if you like open wheel cars, Pro Mazda is the best bang for your buck for a track day car. They race against a large field of various cars.


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Check out cycle karts
Looks like fun if you're a builder/racer

 

After a lot of research it looks like SCCA Spec Racer Ford is the most inexpensive real racing that is not a Miata.

I’m attending an SCCA competition licensing school this weekend and will be racing the Spec Racer Ford (SRF) class.

I can rent one race prepped with crew for $1800 per race weekend….this is less than $10k a year to be able to race in a cool race car that is not a Miata and everything will be taken care of, maintenance, etc. for less than the cost of buying an SRF and doing it myself. No brainer! Can’t wait.

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You’re gonna have a blast!!


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What I love about SRF is that in my region the average field is about 15 cars, which is perfect


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After spending the day in an SRF3, my 458 leaving the track heading back to my hotel felt like a Toyota Camry. I have so much desire for that raw racecar experience now…makes me want to sell my 458 and buy a 360CS or a 430 Scuderia. I won’t do that because I enjoy daily driving my 458 which can’t really be done in a CS or a Scuderia, but man, that’s where my heart is right now.

Assuming all goes well, I’ll have my SCCA provisional competition license tomorrow afternoon and I’ll plan to race in the SCCA Midatlantic Road Racing Series in the SRF3 class. After my first 3 races (without incident) then I’ll apply for my full competition license.

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