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.

[Jeff Goss]

I could write a book about getting into Super Stock racing with no money.

It starts with getting to know Stock/Super Stock racers. Without their help, you will mis-spend money.

I started bracket racing a 64 Malibu SS in 1992. Bought the whole car turnkey for $5500. Ran low 11's, high 10's.

Got the bug to go Super Stock racing from a good friend, Mr. Jim Ezell-who raced a SS/HA 67 Camaro. (I liked the wheelies)!

Found a great guy, Rod Stults, who had a 64 Chevelle Wagon. It had been a Super Stocker since the mid '80s. He gave me the deal of a lifetime on it. Sold the Malibu and bought the Wagon. I did a lot of homework, and built a legal 327/Powerglide for it-and ran about .3 under. Had the good fortune of winning my second Divisional I ever entered.

I had about $7000 in the whole car. Add $1100 for the open trailer (thanks Mr. Ezell) and $5500 for the 84 Chevrolet dually (thanks Mom and Dad)-I had a racing operation.

Soon after, I was introduced to Mr. Gary Rouse, who had previously owned the Wagon. He had no reason to help me, but graciously gave me great advice in every aspect of Super Stock racing. Gary is a former Division 6 Champion-running a deadly 4 door Chevelle. He has since retired and sold the car. He knows my Combo inside and out. He even let me use his best cylinder heads-and ran .7 under.

Short story long, I have finally spent a bunch of money to upgrade the whole car. Here it is...

Motorhome $20000
24' Enclosed trailer $3500 (great deal)
Wagon $17000 with new everything

It still needs a paint job, but as Rod Stults says "It will still look good in the winner's circle"!

In the end, get to know the racers and ask lots of questions. These guys are the best at giving you the shortcuts you need to be successful.

I am so thankful for the people I have met in my process. I owe them everything.

Good luck!

[Rose Racing]

Very good info here thanks alot fellas and I hope more folks can chime in

[skills]

Thank you all for your replies. I am a mopar lover and would like to push one to the winners circle. Wow a Daytona turbo z used to love those. Hoping to start a new business so hopefully in the future this can be my hobby. You guys are all my hero's for everything you do. Maybe the hra's need to realize what it takes to compete since they remind people of the cost for fuel racing.

[Bobby Brannon]

Julie, u sound like a CPA lol. Simple 1,000,000.00 more or less 2 cars Stacker big motor home and parts. And life is having fun and what u can spend. My kids what is left over is theirs lol love my kid and all 4 grandkids

[Joe Toller]

Search for the 'Dime Rocket' thread, alot of great combos there for not alot of money. Some could be done almost completely off ebay/CL/slavage yard.

Don't make the mistake I did and start on a car and give up on it without some "real" tuning time. I started building a V/SA Fairmont, decided I hated how it ran even though I was nowhere close in prep (or dollars, only had $1100 in it, thank you craigslist), and sold off what I had done so far. Now I'm back at square one, with a different (sure to be more expensive) car, shooting for Stock and my feet at the same time...

Billy Nees and Mark Yacavone, two great guys to gather info from. I'm sure I've frustrated Billy a time or two on here asking tons of questions and doing silly things lol...

[Julie Jordan]

Originally Posted by Bobby Brannon

Julie, u sound like a CPA lol. Simple 1,000,000.00 more or less 2 cars Stacker big motor home and parts. And life is having fun and what u can spend. My kids what is left over is theirs lol love my kid and all 4 grandkids

Yea, hard to get the bean counter out of the ole girl! lol We educated our kids, helped them buy houses, now we're doing our thing. If we die with something left over they can fight over it. lol

[Mike Meier]

If I may chime in, aside from buying the assets (car, truck, and trailer) I've found that racing my Q/SA (somewhat of a dime rocket at a cost of $7,500 when I bought it) costs about $400 - $500 per divisional race including $75-$150 gas to get there depending on distance, $170 entry, $65 per can of race fuel, $100 in food costs whether you bring your own groceries or buy track food. Then throw in the cost of a hotel at $70-200 per night (I stay in my truck or trailer instead). Even taking the car bracket racing costs about $150-$200 per outing.

And that's not even considering wear and tear.

[SS Engine Guy]

Easy answer. Start out being a "gear head" at age 12. Haul water and wash cars/ramp trucks and do all the tasks that your "heros" don't or won't do. Work butt off for 40 years in machine shop. Eat, sleep, breath horsepower. Learn how to do your own stuff because you learn the hard way that sometimes nice expensive race motors and trans are built out of someone else's used parts. Work 14-16 hour days at least 6 days a week. Vacation consists of going to races. Bottom line: learn how to do as much of your work as possible and develop the theory that nobody can do it as well as you because you will spend any amount of time it takes to get it "right" and make sure all the details add up. As you are learning, surround yourself with the "best" people in drag racing, whether it is a manufacturer/supplier, an employee or just beer drinking buddies. Don't ever pay an entry fee at a racetrack that when you pull thru the gate you aren't sure that you have a better chance than anybody there to win. (winning attitude). Along the way you will find out that some of your heros were actually more BS than action. If you ever feel like "doing it the easy way" quit racing.
Somewhere along the way you will find that you have collected the knowledge and skill to do things that you didn't think you ever could do. And by doing this for many years you will have become successful in business also. Hopefully by this time, you won't be burnt out or have ruined your health. If you aren't healthy all the rest dosen't matter. Try to encourage and help those who ask for it or that you think need help whether it is on their race car or their lawn mower.
This is just my experience. This is how I afford my racing hobby. I started out with street cars bought with lawn mowing money, advanced to worn out tow trucks and flatbed trailers, changed valve springs on the flat trailer at 3 in the morning with a light bulb in order to be at the track after a 8 hour drive and try to get teched. Slept in cars in the tech line at malls. I guess that is what they are talking about "paying your dues".
I also want to mention that I had a Great Man for a Father. My Dad didn't care much for race cars but he always taught me the skills that he knew, developed thru a carrer in the Army and many years in business after that. He was always there to give advice and his opinion if I asked for it.

Racing, or any competition, can be the biggest reward or source of satisfaction that there is. And some have it easier than others I guess. But if this is what you want to do and you intend to be successful in it I don't see any other way to do it than the ways I have outlined. The late Bill Jenkins, John Lingenfelter, Lee Sheperd to name a few, and many, many more still with us, did it this way.

I guess I really didn't answer the original posters question so I'm going to try to.
Some that can afford these new cars or just a really nice, quick S/SS are successful businessmen and owners of companies, some like myself, have just worked around racing for years and made decent money, some can get great sponsor deals, some are into illegal activities, some are outright crooks, some, like Julie said, spend money recklessly, some spend their retirements or morgage property, some have at some point held really good jobs with good pay, maybe some won a lottery, etc. etc.
As in other things in life, you spend what you know you can afford. I don't suggest borrowing money to go racing. I am as impressed when I see a well thought out "dime rocket" as I am a state of the art piece. Those who know how to really work these drag cars see things different than the average "car guy". I laugh at front end geometry so far out on a 200k car that it shouldn't be allowed to race. And I marvel at the slower stocker that you can push thru tech with one hand. I guess, starting out at an age of maybe 30 I would suggest buying a known good car at the track as was mentioned. But I would get to know that car inside and out before I put much thought in racing it. I have seen too many people buy a fast piece, race it for a couple of races, break it and never be fast again. Mainly because the previous owner knew how to not only build and race a fast S/SS but also knew how to fix it. Not too many got to start at the top as several of these posts have pointed out.

As was said earlier. Add in your entry, traveling, routine maintenence, testing costs into your racing budget. With todays artificially inflated prices, this alone can get really expensive. It is actually crazy the amount of costs just to pull into a race these days, vs. the payout both from santioning bodies and most manufacturers. I have had customers, a few years ago, that actually made some money chasing points and some that broke pretty close to even, however, the "touring" guys are having a hard time breaking even with rising costs and shrinking payouts/contingencys as is common in our sport today.

[philbilly]

Expensive!!!!!! And theres more work invovled than a fuel car would require. But I love it!!It would prolly be better to go ahead and choke up the 100k for one of them new cars but I decided to sink it slowly in a 1966