Need some serious advice.

If you're not in it to win it, find something else that captures your imagination.

 

Karting is your best bet and your only 19 so who can say you started too late, I don't think so. Only natural talent and results will get you noticed, what have you got to lose? Just make sure you graduate ie have a backup plan .

 

+1.

Becoming a professional racer is all about winning. If you don't care about winning, no one is going to care about sponsoring you.

If all you want to do is drive, there are plenty other ways to do that. But it is going to be expensive and it is going to have to come second to whatever it is you do that will finance the driving.

Once you have a TON of experience in actual competition, you could potentially become a professional driving coach.

 

if the "it" you're in to win is relentless self promotion, I would agree.

to quote Lyn St. James, "in order to be a successful racing driver, one need not race cars".

the drivers I've seen that make a good career in motorsports are part time racers and full time marketers, with lots of consulting gigs, personal service deals, driver coaching businesses, etc.

if you don't like managing your own website and updating facebook and twitter a dozen or more times a day, you're probably not going far in modern professional motorsport.

a great example of this is James Hinchcliffe...great driver, just like a dozen other guys looking for an Indycar ride; but he got the Andretti Autosport/GoDaddy ride based largely on his social media guerilla marketing campaigns.

good luck out there. racing, like pimpin', ain't easy.

 

I would be willing to bet that fewer than 250 people in the world actually make money as professional drivers and of those, fewer than 50 do so without close sponsorship relationships that allow them to bring money to the team that effectively pays them. Every single one of these drivers can count championships won in feeder series, and won against many other hungry, talented and aspiring professionals.

My approach has been to work hard and make enough money to club race, and do the odd pro race. I am way too old to get paid and while a competent club racer, probably lack that last bit to consistently win at the pro level.

If you want to race for a living, you have to want it so badly that it consumes you and on top of that you need to learn how to market yourself, as sponsorship is where the money comes from and unless a sponsor thinks you bring value to their brand, you'll have to be so good that you can beat everyone all the time. So you need to make that call and dive in headfirst or get a solid education and career path and then race when time and funds permit

 

LOL

We've got a "social media racer" here who literally has a tenth of the Twitter followers, Facebook friends and fans that I do. Still, he's a promotional whore to the mainstream media outlets, so he's earned that crown. Cracks me up.

 

but that's the way to do it...thousands of guys have the talent to be at the top levels; it's talent plus money, or access to money, or good ol' fashioned nepotism.

as to the OP, what about being a motorsports photographer? sure there's a lot of those out there too, but it seems like that might be a) a good combination of two interests, and b) a way to stand out using existing skills/talents instead of trying to develop new skills late in the game (as you said, you're about 10 years too late to start racing).

 

GuyIncognito & kverges are spot on.

Motorsports 101: Racing cost money...any and all racing. Money trumps all in motorsport.

I believe that if you work your tail off you can accomplish anything-including being paid to drive. It's a supreme longshot, but possible. That being said, you're best bet is to make your money elsewhere so you can afford to go racing.

I have a lot of friends who drive in the ALMS. The pinnacle of sportscar racing in America, right? Well, unless you drive for a factory team, chances are you're cutting a check for AT LEAST $30K per weekend out of your own pocket. Just to get the level of an ALMS driver you'll need to spend big dollars cutting your teeth in a lower series. For example, my buddy started racing in his 30's after he was bitten by the bug at a weekend driving school. In short order he was running Star Mazda which cost him over $300K per season. He then bought himself a seat in P2, then P1 & has stayed there for the last 10 years out of his own pocket. That's the common theme up and down the grid. Do the math, its a lot of money to follow your passion when it comes to racing.

As to sponsorships, you need to provide your client value for his dollar - plain and simple. If you ran your own business and are looking for avenues to advertise it, would you choose Star Mazda, IMSA Lites, any SCCA class, etc? The answer is "no" because its essentially flushing money down the toilet as there is no visibility within those platforms. I can assure you that the sponsorships you see on the feeder series cars are probably from a family business or some type of B2B deal. There's very little, if any money being generated from those deals. You need to be able to fund yourself.

Your best bet in terms of sponsorship is to get some racing credentials under your belt and try to forge a long term personal relationship with the owner of visible company. That's how its done. Scott Sharp became buddies with Ed Brown of Patron who has in turn funded him for many, many years.

Again, make your own fortune and you can buy any seat you choose. Hey, you live in Reno - take the money you have, say a Hail Mary, put it all on Black and hope for the best

In all seriousness I wish you the best of luck.

 

Q. How do you make a small fortune in auto racing?

A. Start with a large one.

The cheapest racing you'll find will be karting, as mentioned above. The $500 P.O.S. LeMons and Chump Cars are next, followed by club and SCCA I would guess. Even a competitive LeMons team is a few thousand, divided among four or so drivers.

In racing, you also have to stick to the organizer's calendar. One of the reasons I like HPDEs (track days) is that I can pick the track and date to fit my schedule. The costs can be very reasonable -compared to racing- and you can use your street car.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

1) That is a problem - as repeatedly and accurately posted by many - racing is EXTREMELY expensive and anyone who is fortunate enough - including the big boys (and girls) in F1/NASCAR/ALMS etc. that are now making a lot of money generally have a great deal of personal or family financial backing as well as major sponsorships. If you truly want to make a living racing you need to finish your education, make sure you have a means of sustainable income and then maybe take some risks but calculated ones. You also need to make sure you are marketable, personable and have some business and public speaking acumen.

2) You need to immerse yourself in it and make as many contacts as possible - that may mean moving to an area where there are major racing events and a major track or tracks to frequent. Perhaps get a job at the track or volunteer as a marshall or worker. It is all about exposure to opportunity, having the talent to take advantage of an opportunity and the financing to create opportunity.

3) This is the least of your problems - Check out Tracy Krohn's bio or many of the guys/girls running in ALMS or comparable series overseas - many of them dabbled in racing until they were in a financial position to make it a full-time and in some cases profitable venture. Granted - you hear all the stories of F1 guys who were driving karts as embryos and that is all neat but don't let age discourage you at all.

Good luck and remember all the people you admire and hero-worship were probably thinking the same things you are at some point and still made it so while it is defintely a long-shot and a frustrating and expensive one don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. Just be realistic and smart about it and realize that making it or not making it is not necessarily something you can control.

Cheers

 

Sorry, lemons/etc are NOT racing. But the OP doesn't actually sound like he has the fire so lemons may be just the itch to scratch. It's exposure anyway.

To the OP: it helps if your family is rich. Doesn't sound like it so you need to become well off (at minimum) or make good friends with wealthy folks. It'd help if you're very gregarious and can find a job for yourself that puts you in contact with the right folks. Hell, exotic car detailer (photographer?) might be a good starting point, I dunno.

Talent is required but you can acquire enough of that easily enough. Without money you can forget it these days.

I think you left a word out? Or an extra one? If it's easy to get a stable position as a photographer, that's not a bad start, as long as you have extra hours in the day to pursue your real dreams.

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably finish school (2 years, ugh, but required) then move East where there are more tracks. Start your own trackside photo business and also see if you can do official photos for teams. Charlotte, NC area is your best bet and you can get by on a normal income in the greater Charlotte area . Go from there.

 

If you plan on racing formula cars its essential. Or any road racing.

No. Not unless you lap the instructors; not going to happen.

Racing made me want to be a business owner to pay for racing.
So I finally got the business.
I do racing now for grins.
As it should be.

 

+1,000!

 

The only way to make a living at Motorsports is to marry Penskes daughter....if he has one

Karting to learn skills without question that are needed.
Even with resources and a great shoe those guys are very fast at pro level.
Local racing is fun but ends up lacking any real competition.
Regional racing adds to cost and only increases competition by one to five good drivers.
National racing adds a large chunk of cost per weekend and shows you how good you are for sure. Or how bad you are

To showcase yourself on a ALMS weekend in a Mazda Patron Cup or other grids you will have to win 3 of 4 races to even get the larger teams to notice you exist. Not to sound negative but this is a 25-40k a month minimum investment.

Track time is the only way to win. It's not about fast it's about lap after lap of cutting 1/8th of a second out of each corner. Proper mechanics, tire use and PERFECT throttle response following flawless braking will get you top 5 at best in a small series like the Patron Cup filled with like stock (lol) Porsche Cups.

Racing cups I would recommend to anyone. It was easily the most fun I've ever spent in a car. While the weekends in the concrete jungle eventually got tiring the 2 race weekends were always great fun.

Just make sure 25k a race week is in your budget.

Stay in school and kart. Great racing and won't break your bank.

 

I have little bit different opinion on this matter. Might be you wont like it, but anyway. You are only 19 years old. You are just starting your mature life. For sure it is great that you have different interests including racing. You may have a few others. Understanding all difficulties you have to achieve your goal, you should consider other more valuable for your life things, which in farther can help you to achieve your dream. My personal understanding is that every man should have a profession. You can be a good racer, but you are only dreaming about it and yet did nothing to be a good racer. So, it is already late a little bit to be a part of professional racers world. Maybe you can become a good Lawyer or economist, perfect manager or smbd else. Now when you are 19, it is time to go for education, choose good college or university, get good education. You can be a good lawyer or economist, perfect manager, doctor or somebody else. Get profession, earn some money and let your dream become a reality. You can race in 25, 30, 40. What will you do if your understanding of life will be only racing and you will not get the top? or if you be disappointed in some time after, What will you do? I don't think that people chatting here are mostly racers. I'am sure that most of them have professions, successful people, people doing some business, having possibilities tho have nice houses, nice cars and as a result their dreams became reality. Sorry for my English. It is not my native. Good luck!

 

Hey Temuri - Your English, spelling and grammar is better than many "natives" - Cheers sir

 

Here, here! I am showing my age but I am generally appalled at the spelling, grammar, and malaprops that abound on the interweb and it is such a breath of fresh air to see some care and though go into the written word. Anything worth writing is worth showing this kind of clarity and pride of expression

 

Well said.

I make money at racing, but I certainly don't make a living.

 

*Hear, Hear.

Be careful what you're appalled at.

 

)))as I understood you didn't like what was written in my post? Or I'm wrong? Well, you may have your own opinion for sure. Every man has it's own truth and always has a choice. Everything what was written in my post is my choice. You are the decision maker of your life. Did I insult anybody?

 

Agree - Especially from someone whose native language is not English - I certainly could not post something even close to proper Russian!

Cheers

 

Temuri - I believe our resposes were complimentary on your use of proper grammar and spelling despite you stating that English as not your native language. All complimentary sir.

As far as the content in your post that is your opinion and I feel good insight to OPs orignal post - regardless of whether people agree or disagree. Differening opinions and insights are what make FChat entertaining and informative.

Cheers Tumari

 

Ugh! Then I misspell your name!! Apologies - Temuri