Posted: 6/25/2014 5:37:34 AM EDT
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My son (8) seems to have a desire to start racing. He hasn't done anything like this before ( just 4 wheelers, jet skis)
Has anyone been involved with the quarter midgets before that can give me some guidance on where to start? I do not know anyone who does this that can help. If I cant find anyone here I will just have to go to a race and hope for the best. Thanks for your time |
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My oldest son raced karts for a few years.
It's a good way to turn money into noise. And the more money you throw at it, the more you win, all else being equal. And there were ALWAYS people who would throw a lot more money at it than you. We raced at a small track, and we had people come in with their 9 year old son in a big RV with a trailer behind it with 5 different karts set up in the back. They'd race on brand new tires cut down so far they'd only be able to race one night with them and then they'd junk them... at $50+ a piece! Racing wasn't even an option with my youngest son. Just, NO. ETA: not to mention that the race is an all day thing... then you get to take the muddy mess home and disassemble it and clean it PERFECTLY... triFlow in all the bearings, cook the chain in motor oil, etc etc... rebuild the engine every 6 races or so (if you're not REALLY competitive... otherwise you only run an engine for a race or two and swap it out for a fresh one). If you race Saturday and Sunday, you're up all night prepping it for Sunday's race. If only Saturday, your Sunday is shot fixing and cleaning the thing. |
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They are called dwarves or little people. Midgits is the pejorative. Quoted:
They are called dwarves or little people. Midgits is the pejorative. OK thanks Quoted:
Are you rich? Nope, I always wanted him to do jr. dragsters but he seems to want to make some turns. What do you think for start up costs? Quoted:
Do not underestimate what this adventure is going to cost....... any idea on start up/ yearly? |
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My oldest son raced karts for a few years. It's a good way to turn money into noise. And the more money you throw at it, the more you win, all else being equal. And there were ALWAYS people who would throw a lot more money at it than you. We raced at a small track, and we had people come in with their 9 year old son in a big RV with a trailer behind it with 5 different karts set up in the back. They'd race on brand new tires cut down so far they'd only be able to race one night with them and then they'd junk them... at $50+ a piece! Racing wasn't even an option with my youngest son. Just, NO. that is what I originally looked at but his mother wants a bar around what he's driving. Where in Pa are you? |
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Only thing worse is horses for your daughter... That will put you in the fucking poor house QUICK Quoted:
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Do not underestimate what this adventure is going to cost....... Only thing worse is horses for your daughter... That will put you in the fucking poor house QUICK shes only 2 so I still have some time |
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that is what I originally looked at but his mother wants a bar around what he's driving. Where in Pa are you? Quoted:
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My oldest son raced karts for a few years. It's a good way to turn money into noise. And the more money you throw at it, the more you win, all else being equal. And there were ALWAYS people who would throw a lot more money at it than you. We raced at a small track, and we had people come in with their 9 year old son in a big RV with a trailer behind it with 5 different karts set up in the back. They'd race on brand new tires cut down so far they'd only be able to race one night with them and then they'd junk them... at $50+ a piece! Racing wasn't even an option with my youngest son. Just, NO. that is what I originally looked at but his mother wants a bar around what he's driving. Where in Pa are you? We're in western PA, mostly raced at Naugle Speedway in Findley Township, west of Pittsburgh. If you're going to burn money, look into the karts because they have a VERY low center of gravity. He's literally about 2 inches off the ground; very hard to flip those. The side bars protect from side impacts. The kids are on restrictor plates, I didn't see anyone get hurt racing them. The only person I saw get hurt was an adult non-driver who someone let drive their unrestricted kart after the races in Slippery Rock. He never made turn 3 and jumped the bank, flipping it at full throttle. Naugle is kind of like Nascar's Bristol... short track, rubbing/racing, no long straightaways to build up a lot of speed. |
I moonlight as a track official on weekends at two local racetracks. If you shoot me a list of questions, I'm friendly with several of the teams and drivers. Don't have a schedule in front of me, so I don't know when the midgets will be racing again (they don't run every weekend here) but I'll gladly ask the next time they are in town 
I'll say one thing about them: they seem to be far less likely to cheat than most of the other divisions. It's amazing what some of the pro stock and outlaw division teams try to pull to get a win  They appear to be in it more for the fun of it - you see far more family involved in that division. The son (or daughter) might be the driver, with Dad wrenching on the car in the pit. It's nice to see that.
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I moonlight as a track official on weekends at two local racetracks. If you shoot me a list of questions, I'm friendly with several of the teams and drivers. Don't have a schedule in front of me, so I don't know when the midgets will be racing again (they don't run every weekend here) but I'll gladly ask the next time they are in town
I'll say one thing about them: they seem to be far less likely to cheat than most of the other divisions. It's amazing what some of the pro stock and outlaw division teams try to pull to get a win They appear to be in it more for the fun of it - you see far more family involved in that division. The son (or daughter) might be the driver, with Dad wrenching on the car in the pit. It's nice to see that.Ill get a list together and send you a PM. Thanks for your time & help |
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Well if you are not rich...racing will be frustrating. It will be frustating for your kid as well. No matter how much money you throw at it there will be other Dads throwing more money at their kids. You will have a pickup truck and a small trailer and parked beside you will be a dually with a toy hauler and beside them will be a motorcoach with a 3 axle trailer. My Dad bought me a Margay kart when I was 8 and we did some dirt track racing in NC...it got really expensive and it divided my Mom and Dad...my Mom did not want her oldest son racing....we quit racing. If your son has the desire he will find opportunities to race as he gets older...my parents did not have the cash so I went out and found people who had money and raced for them. In 2004 I made it to SCCA World Challenge Pro racing.....it is not even on the scale of NASCAR and the owner I raced for spent close to a million dollars in 2004. Also be honest with yourself....do you want to race through your son...maybe relive your youth? Racing is a progression and every progression is more expensive than the other.....1/4 midgets - karts - legends - sprint cars - nascar |
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Well if you are not rich...racing will be frustrating. It will be frustating for your kid as well. No matter how much money you throw at it there will be other Dads throwing more money at their kids. You will have a pickup truck and a small trailer and parked beside you will be a dually with a toy hauler and beside them will be a motorcoach with a 3 axle trailer. I figured that would be the case. I just want him to have some fun if he is serious about doing this. My Dad bought me a Margay kart when I was 8 and we did some dirt track racing in NC...it got really expensive and it divided my Mom and Dad...my Mom did not want her oldest son racing....we quit racing. If your son has the desire he will find opportunities to race as he gets older...my parents did not have the cash so I went out and found people who had money and raced for them. In 2004 I made it to SCCA World Challenge Pro racing.....it is not even on the scale of NASCAR and the owner I raced for spent close to a million dollars in 2004. 
Also be honest with yourself....do you want to race through your son...maybe relive your youth? I always wanted him to race. I WILL not push him to do something he dos not want to do. Before I take him to the track and see what he is getting into I just wanted some cost figures and some guidance on where to go. Homework Racing is a progression and every progression is more expensive than the other.....1/4 midgets - karts - legends - sprint cars - nascar I was into drag racing and always wanted to "make some turns" I was looking at building myself a car and getting started but you know if you have kids that their needs/wants come first. |
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Ever thought about trying out one of those indoor karting places first to see how he likes that?
http://www.gforcekarts.com/ that is a place near me (probably have one near you also) Might be a cheap way to see if he likes turning. Could possible move to something like this for a while to see how it goes. http://summitpointkart.com/ I grew up around the drag strip got bored and recently started turning corners. Def isn't a cheap adventure 
but really nothing is so I do what I can. |
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I raced Karts starting at 12 years old. We sold my dirt bike and bought a 8 year old Emmick kart set up for yamaha kt100 class. I loved every second of it. Everything I did or cared about was karting. I was a big kid at a young age and was able to run the sportsman class with the adults. I cut my teeth for a year then went straight to piston port light. I dominated the class for 3 years won the points championship and had several podium finishes in the IKF regionals.
During the IKF races guy’s would show up with full blown race rigs. 40 Ft trailers with multiple Karts hanging from the walls. We operated out of a 10 year old suburban. I kicked most of their asses. 
I had an offer and sponsor that wanted to send me to Portugal to race and represent the US. It was going to cost my family 5k to do it. Mom said no. Little did I know they were starting their divorce at the time. It can definitely be done on a shoe string budget. Do your research. Buy a used kart. Someone getting out of it with all their equipment. I’ve moved on as an adult to F2000 cars then Vintage GT. Looking at a Ford Spec racer in the coming years. I’m definitely planning for my girls to race in a couple of years. The discipline, car control and natural instinct has saved my life many times. I’ve only wreaked race cars. LOL! Good luck. |
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I got into PCA club racing, started with a 964 variant and then gutted a 1972 911e
I had some money as i was single and was decent a driving in my class...my car was a throw away and valued at $30k...if I wrecked it I wouldn't lose sleep, my house or daily drive car Then at one track a guy pulled up in a ferrari. I was like cool he will race a 456. Then his wife and daughter pulled behind in their Jag, and then a tractor trailer. Catering was set up soon after and his crew prepped his then 993 club sport My jack rode in the passenger seat....my catering was in a cooler with a summit point sticker from 1982. I knew then I wouldn't go any further. I read an article a few months later about a guy who took a similar 1972 and was $90k into mods and still going...I put that magazine down, pano or excellence, and listed my car for sale You race for fun or you race to win....and 99% of the time if you aren't Andretti or foyt, you need a ton of money to be competitive Make sure your kid wants to do it, and be ready to be beat by someone with deeper pockets Eta: I never really learned much. As I sold the race car and it didn't cover the electronics on our offshore boat. I quickly learned that racing pales in comparison to offshore fishing and planes. 
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Ever thought about trying out one of those indoor karting places first to see how he likes that? http://www.gforcekarts.com/ that is a place near me (probably have one near you also) Might be a cheap way to see if he likes turning. Could possible move to something like this for a while to see how it goes. http://summitpointkart.com/ I grew up around the drag strip got bored and recently started turning corners. Def isn't a cheap adventure
but really nothing is so I do what I can. This is a great idea. They have an indoor league at K1 in Irvine and Anaheim Ca. You will be able to see if he has the talent and hunger to win. |
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In 2004 I made it to SCCA World Challenge Pro racing.....it is not even on the scale of NASCAR and the owner I raced for spent close to a million dollars in 2004. No kidding? What a small world... I crewed a World Challenge car around the same time. Very small team, owner/driver funded. All operating costs factored in, we couldn't race for less than $10k per weekend and that's if we did NOT wad up the car. Or grenade a $6k transmission, or an $18k motor, or.......... Racing out of one's own pocket makes you do this 
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Quoted: Well if you are not rich...racing will be frustrating. It will be frustating for your kid as well. No matter how much money you throw at it there will be other Dads throwing more money at their kids. You will have a pickup truck and a small trailer and parked beside you will be a dually with a toy hauler and beside them will be a motorcoach with a 3 axle trailer. My Dad bought me a Margay kart when I was 8 and we did some dirt track racing in NC...it got really expensive and it divided my Mom and Dad...my Mom did not want her oldest son racing....we quit racing. If your son has the desire he will find opportunities to race as he gets older...my parents did not have the cash so I went out and found people who had money and raced for them. In 2004 I made it to SCCA World Challenge Pro racing.....it is not even on the scale of NASCAR and the owner I raced for spent close to a million dollars in 2004. Also be honest with yourself....do you want to race through your son...maybe relive your youth? Racing is a progression and every progression is more expensive than the other.....1/4 midgets - karts - legends - sprint cars - nascar You don't want to keep a budget, it will simply make you weep. I know guys that are spending $20-$40k a year to run "cheap" spec series like Spec Miata. If you're not in a fresh, sub 10 hour motor and sticker Purple Crack, you ain't winnin'. Remember, thats a "cheap" series. You want to play with some of the big boys, you'll drop six figures in a year pretty easy. Fuel, tires, normal maintenance, fixing shit that breaks, entry fees, getting to/from the track, all that shit adds up quick. Here's a good example of my weekend: Fuel: $40 ($9/gal) Tuner: $75/hr, and thats the buddy rate Dyno: $100/hr, again, buddy rate Tow: $100ish in fuel round trip Probably 3 hours of dyno work minimum, so figure a nice round $700 for everything, and I haven't put the first wheel on track yet. Fu disclaimer: I'm one of "those" previously mentioned. If you can make it a family activity, great. Ive seen marriages dissolve over it otherwise. Its an expensive habit to feed  Edit: Ive never noticed that scootr29 is in SC. I'd bet money our paths have crossed at some point and we don't know it. The community is fairly small like that.  |
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FWIW, a $500 "24 Hours of LeMons" car, or $500 ChumpCar entry is actually about ~$5,000 (and up) once it's been turned into an actual race car. This is for "budget" racing, i.e. taking an absolute shitbox $500 Craigslist special, and making it safe for racing. Then there's radios, driving suits/helmets/gloves, dudes to work the pits, extra tires, fuel... It ain't cheap.
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Make sure you can handle this. This was a race at Adams the year before I started.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82wtJYBaC8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYyAET9J1Ug |
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No shit. I'd look around for a local kart track. If he's interested, start asking around and buy a used 4 stroke kart. Quoted:
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Are you rich? No shit. I'd look around for a local kart track. If he's interested, start asking around and buy a used 4 stroke kart. We used to go to FunCoLand in high school and just drive the electric go-karts. 10MPH-ish, just run it flat out even in the corners. Had a blast.
That cost $25/person-day in the late 90s. I thought that was a lot of money, and we didn't do it that often. I can't imagine what "real" racing costs, but it's nowhere close to any amount I'm willing to pay. |
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You don't want to keep a budget, it will simply make you weep. I know guys that are spending $20-$40k a year to run "cheap" spec series like Spec Miata. If you're not in a fresh, sub 10 hour motor and sticker Purple Crack, you ain't winnin'. Remember, thats a "cheap" series. You want to play with some of the big boys, you'll drop six figures in a year pretty easy. Fuel, tires, normal maintenance, fixing shit that breaks, entry fees, getting to/from the track, all that shit adds up quick. Here's a good example of my weekend: Fuel: $40 ($9/gal) Tuner: $75/hr, and thats the buddy rate Dyno: $100/hr, again, buddy rate Tow: $100ish in fuel round trip Probably 3 hours of dyno work minimum, so figure a nice round $700 for everything, and I haven't put the first wheel on track yet. Fu disclaimer: I'm one of "those" previously mentioned. If you can make it a family activity, great. Ive seen marriages dissolve over it otherwise. Its an expensive habit to feedhttp://s273.photobucket.com/user/cucamelsmd15/media/IMG_20140502_063907482.jpg.html Edit: Ive never noticed that scootr29 is in SC. I'd bet money our paths have crossed at some point and we don't know it. The community is fairly small like that. http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj240/cucamelsmd15/IMG_20140502_063907482.jpg I just started racing Spec Miata looking for an easy way to get my SCCA roadracing license. I realize a lot of guys are serious enough to go out on stickers every race, but people really dyno each weekend? For what purpose? And only ten hours on a motor? |
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Quoted: I just started racing Spec Miata looking for an easy way to get my SCCA roadracing license. I realize a lot of guys are serious enough to go out on stickers every race, but people really dyno each weekend? For what purpose? And only ten hours on a motor? Quoted: Quoted: You don't want to keep a budget, it will simply make you weep. I know guys that are spending $20-$40k a year to run "cheap" spec series like Spec Miata. If you're not in a fresh, sub 10 hour motor and sticker Purple Crack, you ain't winnin'. Remember, thats a "cheap" series. You want to play with some of the big boys, you'll drop six figures in a year pretty easy. Fuel, tires, normal maintenance, fixing shit that breaks, entry fees, getting to/from the track, all that shit adds up quick. Here's a good example of my weekend: Fuel: $40 ($9/gal) Tuner: $75/hr, and thats the buddy rate Dyno: $100/hr, again, buddy rate Tow: $100ish in fuel round trip Probably 3 hours of dyno work minimum, so figure a nice round $700 for everything, and I haven't put the first wheel on track yet. Fu disclaimer: I'm one of "those" previously mentioned. If you can make it a family activity, great. Ive seen marriages dissolve over it otherwise. Its an expensive habit to feedhttp://s273.photobucket.com/user/cucamelsmd15/media/IMG_20140502_063907482.jpg.html Edit: Ive never noticed that scootr29 is in SC. I'd bet money our paths have crossed at some point and we don't know it. The community is fairly small like that. http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj240/cucamelsmd15/IMG_20140502_063907482.jpg I just started racing Spec Miata looking for an easy way to get my SCCA roadracing license. I realize a lot of guys are serious enough to go out on stickers every race, but people really dyno each weekend? For what purpose? And only ten hours on a motor? 10 hours is 3-5 race weekends depending on if you're doing test and tunes, and yeah, motors get replaced at that point for some folks. Some people show up to race and socialize with friends, some people show up to win. All depends on which camp youre in and how deep your pockets are.
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I just started racing Spec Miata looking for an easy way to get my SCCA roadracing license. I realize a lot of guys are serious enough to go out on stickers every race, but people really dyno each weekend? For what purpose? And only ten hours on a motor? Quoted:
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You don't want to keep a budget, it will simply make you weep. I know guys that are spending $20-$40k a year to run "cheap" spec series like Spec Miata. If you're not in a fresh, sub 10 hour motor and sticker Purple Crack, you ain't winnin'. Remember, thats a "cheap" series. You want to play with some of the big boys, you'll drop six figures in a year pretty easy. Fuel, tires, normal maintenance, fixing shit that breaks, entry fees, getting to/from the track, all that shit adds up quick. Here's a good example of my weekend: Fuel: $40 ($9/gal) Tuner: $75/hr, and thats the buddy rate Dyno: $100/hr, again, buddy rate Tow: $100ish in fuel round trip Probably 3 hours of dyno work minimum, so figure a nice round $700 for everything, and I haven't put the first wheel on track yet. Fu disclaimer: I'm one of "those" previously mentioned. If you can make it a family activity, great. Ive seen marriages dissolve over it otherwise. Its an expensive habit to feedhttp://s273.photobucket.com/user/cucamelsmd15/media/IMG_20140502_063907482.jpg.html Edit: Ive never noticed that scootr29 is in SC. I'd bet money our paths have crossed at some point and we don't know it. The community is fairly small like that. http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj240/cucamelsmd15/IMG_20140502_063907482.jpg I just started racing Spec Miata looking for an easy way to get my SCCA roadracing license. I realize a lot of guys are serious enough to go out on stickers every race, but people really dyno each weekend? For what purpose? And only ten hours on a motor? Funny, I just met a guy in SCCA comp school at summit point in march that was from ohio. I run spec miata as well. cucamelsmd15 : I think i've seen your car at the track a few times. Didn't realize so many on this forum were also racers around here |
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Funny, I just met a guy in SCCA comp school at summit point in march that was from ohio. I run spec miata as well. cucamelsmd15 : I think i've seen your car at the track a few times. Didn't realize so many on this forum were also racers around here I'm in an all black Miata, #42. Car is really an SM but I have been running in ITA because I don't have any ballast on hand. Come say hi if you see me, I think my next event will probably be either Road Atlanta or Watkins Glen in July. |
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Quoted: cucamelsmd15 : I think i've seen your car at the track a few times. Didn't realize so many on this forum were also racers around here |