As most would say, this sport is not for the $$$ averse crowd. The ones whom are literally addicted, myself included, choose to ignore it. I live 1000x more in my car on the track then doing much anything else (myself, not including family). At the end of the day, its still cheaper then folding up a porsche but just as fast, so thats how I look at it.

 

Good point. And I'd guess I'm more towards the end of not $$$ averse than most here, but its something Ive wondered about. The guys with newer Porsche's and Corvettes gotta really be thinking Eff it, just have fun.

 

$30,000 car with mods:

Single-event policy: $198
6-event policy: $959
9-event policy: $1274
12-event policy: $1500
15-event policy: $1688



Do you use this? I would probably add it if I was running the car on a track with little to no run-off or lots of walls.
Agree 100%, I tell my wife this all the time.
+1

I only run tracks that have enough room to cover for my mistakes. That just means I have to drive a bit farther to get to them, but that's fine with me. It's already saved my *** a few times.

In the end, I've made my peace with knowing that I may ruin a very expensive toy in the process. I figure I'll just repair what I can or part it out and buy something else.

 

I do a lot of track days with the Porsche Club in my region. Most of the guys that a serious about it have more money than you realize. I've found most Porsche owners are not, for the most part, as flashy as their incomes would lead on to. The guy I tag up with at the track has a 964 cup car, 993 cup car, 996 cup car, and a factory 993 GT2 racecar. You would never know it. Fun as hell playing with factory cup cars in the Evo.

 

I dont even ever crossed my mind, i ever have to justify it. Neither for myself or anybody.
I dont really understand how this question came up from the begin with.

 

Sort of like Rob said, I don't feel the need to "justify" it. I don't justify driving in the winter or at night, this isn't any different for me.

It's a calculated risk. The club I usually run with has very, very few incidents, and when they do occur they are generally minor. People that do go off and heavily damage/write off their cars are usually pushing very hard, and I'm not at the point yet. I still unconsciously leave myself a littel margin of error.

 

It will always be in the back of your mind, but you can't care. If you can't look at your car like it's a match stick then racing's not for you.

THIS! Could you light it on fire and walk away? You definitely have to have that type of attitude to own a racecar.

The bill isn't the part that hurts when you wad up a car. Most guys that race can afford the parts. What's the most costly is the time. What hurts the most is the snapshot of time you erase when you wreck. I live in fear of knowing it takes nearly 500 hours to put a quality track car together. No one I know can buy that kind of time. It's like owning a dog for years and years. If it dies you can buy a new one. The money to buy anotheris no bother, but the memory and time spent is.

I'm not privy on the rules of HPDE track insurance but I'm sure there's some red tape, fine print, and tiny writing that gives the insurance company an out if you don't ask the right questions and fill out the right forms that no insurance agent is going to ask you about.

 

For HPDE's depending on the peace of mind and the likelyhood of an incident, check out track insurance. I've run track insurance for HPDEs for peace of mind (www.ontrackinsurance.com) but I'll be doing only TT events next season which of course aren't covered. Otherwise, pretty much don't race what you can't afford to lose. It isn't much cheaper breaking motors, transmissions etc anyway.

If you want to track on the cheap, then a Miata is the ticket. If you fold it up you can just buy another one.

 

This is something that you have to come to grips with... growing up i got a chance to race a lot in rally and circuit and was always a little timid, mainly because i did the cardinal sin of working on my own cars. One person said to me "dont race anything you cant afford to crash and throw away (heavy jamaican accent)!!"

Basically what he ment was racing is not a poor mans hobby and you have to pay to play. If you want to play at the big boy level you have to learn how to keep your car in one piece while not caring if it falls apart.

 

honestly I don't remember if I ever thought about " WHAT IF " ... Like with everything else in life, you have to take good with bad. Once you start questioning yourself, there's no point of doing it.

 

Well said, and the same exact justification I use. It's what I do, it's where I can do and think for MYSELF. It's worth every cent.

If I wreck/blow up the car beyond salvage, oh well, I figure out how to get a new one.

 

It is actually very quite simple. Never race a car on the track that you will not/cannot walk away from. if you cannot afford to walk away from it, then you shouldnt be racing on the track.

 

This exactly. Aside from that, put it out of your mind. You simply cannot think that way on the track. Too timid can be much more dangerous than too aggressive. They say you can psych yourself into making mistakes, and I assure you, they are correct.

 

Go out with a club that puts a trained instructor in the car with you every minute until you are clear on the rules, track etiquette and feel comfortable at speed in your car. Find your limits from the bottom up and pick spots on the track to push them that have safe run off if you exceed them.

Maybe it’s just me but I feel more comfortable on track with other drivers I know are at the same experience level than I do in traffic on the way to the track.

Do the HPDE days not open track days until you are comfortable.

 

That's what mine tell me too! I'm up to two engines (one built, one stock) and a transfer case now.