Making a profit in drag racing ????

[G Schenck]

Whatever class your big sponsor wants you to run. That is the only way you will be in the black.

Greg

[John Kelley]

This thread could get interesting !
That leaves a motorhome out, and no 80 foot rigs !!
Perhaps a S/ST and lots of bracket racing ? You could put a S/ST car together fairly cheap and with a pickup and open trailer like Beard has it could be done. But I'd have trouble sleeping in a tent :-) !

[RACER1530]

How to make a small fortune racing
START WITH A LARGE ONE!!!!!!

[Jim Woods]

I would build a low budget crate motor or gt stocker and bracket race it as often as possible at decent paying events.and hope for the best

[Philip Saran]

Originally Posted by John Kelley

This thread could get interesting !
That leaves a motorhome out, and no 80 foot rigs !!
Perhaps a S/ST and lots of bracket racing ? You could put a S/ST car together fairly cheap and with a pickup and open trailer like Beard has it could be done. But I'd have trouble sleeping in a tent :-) !

John, add a 8 ft cab over camper to the truck, then you have a bed,
small bathroom, and kitchen. Difference in gas milage is not much.

[John Kelley]

Originally Posted by Philip Saran

John, add a 8 ft cab over camper to the truck, then you have a bed,small bathroom, and kitchen. Difference in gas milage is not much.

That sounds like a a racer from the LA area back in the old days. A guy by the name of Phil Cameron, he had a header outfit called Overseer Headers. He raced a lot with a pickup,camper & open trailer ! Every car he raced had a For Sale sign on it the first time he took it to the track. He was a regular at OCIR,Irwindale, Ontario and Famoso.
He was a FRUGAL racer for sure ! :-)
I believe he had some half brothers that raced also,seems like one was Brian Pierson.
I can't remember the others name right now.

[Andys dad]

Top Fuel pays $10,000 to qualify but I think that is a drop in the bucket

Simply put there is no class which can provide income without a sponsor

Ask Dan or Mark or Tobby or David

[Wade Mahaffey]

A dragster is the supreme drag race vehicle. They have a superior advantage aginst door cars in the bracket format. You can race Top Dragster and/or Super Comp/Quick Rod and be just as competitive in either. You can't do that alone, with any other classes. You can race a stocker in S/S, but not as competitive. All you have to do is look at Scotty Richardson, Peter Biondo, etc. or go to any big money race. If it was just about the smart money...you would be in a dragster. Now if you can build the car, engine, transmissions, sell race parts, that is the way to make a profit in drag racing. Be your own sponsor, showcase your product on your own entry. It's sweet when you go to a race and transport a product for someone...and get paid! That's how you race in my book, bring home more money than you left with! If you put forth the effort in any career, that you put forth in racing....You would be a rich SOB. I like racing for the competition value, and I'll be in a little 60 Corvette SS/LA because that's what I like. I don't always like what's best for me. LOL. Sometimes fun is worth more than money.

Wade Mahaffey

[X-TECH MAN]

[QUOTE=Wade Mahaffey; Sometimes fun is worth more than money.

Wade Mahaffey[/QUOTE]

BINGO ! I think the fun factor is the most important thing. If your NOT having fun then you should find something else to do.

[Michael Beard]

>> A dragster is the supreme drag race vehicle. They have a superior advantage aginst door cars in the bracket format. You can race Top Dragster and/or Super Comp/Quick Rod and be just as competitive in either.

The level of competition is also higher in each of those classes, due to electronics. Higher risk, higher reward (and only a higher reward at big money bracket races, only because Box cars typically have more opportunities to race for big money) You're more likely to want an enclosed trailer for a dragster, too, so there's added expense in the initial outlay as well as reduced fuel mileage.

>> You can race a stocker in S/S, but not as competitive.

That may be true in NHRA, since they have lowered the indexes, but I would otherwise disagree. I drove a legal Stocker in IHRA Super Stock for 1 year, finished 6th in the World, qualified for the All-Stars race, etc. Greg Rowe also won in SS with a Stocker, despite a limited schedule.

>> Be your own sponsor, showcase your product on your own entry. It's sweet when you go to a race and transport a product for someone...and get paid!

That, I agree with. My graphic design and printing business is inseparable from my racing operation, as I rely on word of mouth, and my customer base is strictly drag racers, tracks, and promoters.

I think there's some misconceptions about "sponsorship", too. I think a lot of folks would consider sponsorships "cheating" in this little mental exercise, but that's thinking about "grubstake" sponsors, where someone gives you something for the sake of giving it to you, rather than a "marketing partnership". Sponsorships take effort, and it can be as integral to your racing operation as checking the air in your tires. It's about building brand awareness, and generating sales leads, if not direct sales. Overlooking this as a natural part of your racing operation is like short-shifting on a heads-up run.

It's already been proven that a dual-purpose Stocker that can be bracket raced (aka, built to last) is a viable way to go. I run 55+ events a year, and since I've been double-entering at so many races this year, it's like going to that many more. I've already been through two drums of fuel this year! I think a Super Stocker would be too costly to maintain. In terms of initial investment, I think you can probably still buy a turnkey car cheaper than you could build it, even if you could do much of the work yourself. Those are skills that you could use to *maintain* it, though.

No, I can't do nothing *but* race for a living, but it's a good "part-time job", and moreover, my "regular" business would not exist without the racing operation aspect.

$.02,