Race Cheap!

“You wanna run ’em?”

In a hundred different forms, that invitation is the bottom line in motorsports. If you think you have a quicker/faster/better machine than the guy in the next pit, racing gives you the opportunity to prove it. Unfortunately, racing is also outrageously expensive. Ask any racer, from drag racing’s elite to the local bracket bomber running his dad’s Oldsmobile, and they’ll all bemoan a lack of funds. No matter how much money you have, it’s never enough.

Despite the bleak chances of winning the next $10 billion state lottery, you still harbor that undeniable urge to go racing. We understand. Fortunately, there are a number of somewhat inexpensive and healthy releases to feed your competitive fire. We’ll assume the only way you can go racing is with your street driver. That brings with it the dangerous assumption that you won’t break the car, but in classic racer fashion, we’ll ignore that ridiculous notion.

If you’re willing to make that giant leap of faith, let’s take a look at all the different types of motorsport competition that will allow you to race while barely lightening your wallet. As you can see, it is possible to race competitively, even in an everyday street car.

Bracket Bashing

Bracket racing is the great equalizer class in drag racing. Basically, you can race anything in brackets, including your mom’s station wagon. (Please get her permission first, okay?) The reason any car is legal is because you pick the elapsed time (e.t.) the car will run. Your opponent chooses his e.t., and then the difference—called the handicap—is dialed into a difference in start time.

Bracket racing may look easy, but in reality there are some excellent drivers out there who are capable of cutting outrageously good lights race after race while driving cars that may be slow but extremely consistent. That’s the name of the game in bracket racing. If you can swallow your pride and drive a slow car that’s consistent, you can win races. Of course, fast cars can be consistent, too, but that generally comes at a much higher price. To learn all of the tricks of bracket racing, it’s best to start with a slow car and learn the ropes before investing in a more expensive, quicker car.

Autocrossing

Autocrossing is relatively low-speed racing on a downsized, one-lane, pylon-lined course set up on large, paved parking lots. The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is the largest national sanctioning body for autocrossing, but there are literally hundreds of local clubs doing it, too, many of which are affiliated with the SCCA.

Autocrossing is another motorsport where you can compete with virtually any kind of car. Since handling and driver skill are emphasized over brute power and speed, many small cars do very well in autocross competitions. There are many different classes, and it’s possible that your everyday driver might be competitive with very few changes. Autocrossing basically pits you and your car against the clock to pull off a quick lap time. During the course of a day-long race, you’ll usually get three or four shots at the track to improve your lap times.

The beauty of autocrossing is that there are a number of variations. For example, the basic SCCA class is Solo II. One step up from that is Pro Solo, where two cars run side by side (on separate, mirror-image courses) and leave against a dragstrip-style Christmas Tree, but they still race against the clock. The next level is Solo I, where more extensive safety equipment and an actual SCCA license are required to compete. That is because Solo I races are usually held on dedicated road courses, but the competition is still against the clock—not in a side-by-side race. Typically, the Solo I cars are better prepared and closer to real race cars but offer a step up to higher speeds from parking-lot racing. The Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs also holds a series of autocross/ Solo 1-style races for street cars at the 1.95-mile Blackhawk Farms Raceway in Rockton, Illinois, about 60 miles northwest of Chicago.

Triathlon

Combine drag, circle-track and road racing in one overall contest and you get the Automotive Triathlon, put on by John Green and Jeanine Hefflin of the Las Vegas Motorsports Association. The race is held twice a year and is open to literally any car. The rules are simple: You must run DOT-approved tires, and you cannot change gear ratios between the three events. It’s a great test of overall driving skill and vehicle performance. The next race is Memorial Day weekend, May 28-29, with another in December.

Oval Track

A novel concept that is becoming popular on paved ovals is what is accurately called the Ego Challenge. In Southern California, Saugus Speedway offers this challenge to street-driven cars. Bring your hot rod to the racetrack, and once you pass the technical and safety inspection and pay your entry fee, you can take your street car out on the track for a qualifying session and try and set fast time for the night. There are a few different classes, even for trucks, and it’s a way to feed your ego without buying your way into a race car. If your local track doesn’t have a program like this, ask them about creating one. Just make sure your street burner can turn left!

Blublocker Silver State Challenge

This is perhaps the ultimate top-speed street race of all time. And the best part is that it’s legal! Take a 90-mile stretch of Highway 318 in the Nevada desert, block it off with the help of the Nevada Highway Patrol and let hundreds of your closest friends run their cars flat out for top speed and low e.t. That’s what Indy 500 winner Rodger Ward’s Classic Auto Racing Society (CARS) sanctions twice a year with sponsorship from BluBlocker sunglasses.

There are 13 different classes arranged by speed, from a 100-mph average to the unlimited class. Two races are held each year: the Nevada 100 on May 15, and the Silver State Challenge September 18.

Associations For Racing

There are far more racing associations than we have room to publish here. The major organizations are listed in the Sources section below, so you can contact them for more information.