cost of stock/super stock racing?

[Jeff Lee]

I started with my daily driver which was a mint '87 Daytona Shelby Z I bought for $4,500. I'd always wanted a class car and figured owning one that was capable of running under the index would never fit in my budget. I had a cat-back Mopar Performance exhaust, a Mopar Performance ECU nothing else. I decided to try it one day. It spun the Radial T/A's and was about .400 under the index. From there I added a exhaust cutout (because it was still my daily driver) and 20" diameter slicks. I set the B/FS record. I then rebuilt the engine, basically balanced & blueprinted with gapless rings and set the A/FS record. When the fun was over (because I wanted a fast RWD car), I sold it for $5,000 in the late '90's. So there you go, I bought in for $4500 and had a little more than $500 in it in improvements when I set the B/FS record. I sold it capable of re-setting the A/FS record for $5,000. You could have been the buyer on the front end or back end with about $5K and had fun. And I think it could be duplicated today for about the same money.

Then I bought my AMX and spent more money. One of the things I've done to make the car faster is to spend the money on the car and not the rig. I've always had an SUV daily driver as tow vehicle and an open trailer I paid $1800 for. Others have a $25K (plus / plus / plus) tow rig & a $10K (Plus / plus) trailer.

Although I would love a dually and enclosed trailer, I live in an HOA that isn't really friendly about that kind of stuff and that's my choice. And I don't want off-site storage for security and cost reasons. So that's how I arrive at the races. Nothing fancy! I cringe at being on the road and hotels but have the car heavily insured for some piece of mind. But heck, many have had their race cars stolen while hidden in an enclosed trailer.

I think one needs to determine how fast (ET) of a car they want first. If your OK driving a slower car, then FWD or the V/SA type of six cylinder or heavy V-8 cars is the way to go for a lot less money. $10K will probably go a long way here.

If you want a faster ride (say 12.5 or quicker), then you need more money. I'd suggest not being brand or model specific and shop for the best deal you can find on a used operation. It's when you get specific that it will most likely drive the cost up. Pass on the "popular" cars as they are the most expensive buy-in and hardest to keep up with the Joneses. $25K will go a long way here.

If you want to build a muscle car into a Stocker, consider the cost of a relatively nice restoration (body / paint / chrome / interior / suspension) first and then the cost of the drivetrain / wheels / tires / and other race accessories. Just a light restoration might be $10K plus, and the initial purchase might be $5K plus. So $15K goes by quickly. After that, you could easily spend another $15K on the race parts. It ads up quickly!

If you buy used, buy it at the return road of the track after witnessing a satisfactory run.