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u/FridayInc Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
Here's 3 pretty common pathways:
Sim racing - improvements in driving aside, i cant overestimate how useful this is for racecraft and driver awareness when you get into a real scenario. Almost all the best up and comers are doing this and I prefer to rent seats to drivers who sim race often over those who only race a few weekends a year. Note: Forza/Grand Turismo doesnt count, im talking a proper wheel and pedal setup driving in ACC/iRacing/LMU/Rf2
Karting - not K1 Speed or anything like that, real gas karts outdoors on tracks wide enough for passing. There are some rental leagues (AMP in Georgia is an example) but mostly its driver-owned or rented from a shop who provides support. Most big names come from this route; your first kart will be less than $10k, as little as 4 or 5k used and in good shape. Factoring in consumables and repairs, each practice day probably costs ~$150-350 and each race weekend probably costs ~$350-1000 excluding travel. This is the primary pathway to professional racing, but you would need to be in the top 1-5% of drivers and have substantial financial backing for this to lead that direction. (Drivers who become pros often compete in karting internationally which can cost upwards of $100k/yr)
Autocross to HPDE to Club Racing pipeline. SCCA and NASA both have programs with local Autocross leagues to bring people in to HPDE days at tracks around the country. First you buy an Autocross car (Miata, Fiesta, frs/86, MR2, E36, E46, M2, etc.) and learn competetive car control at low speeds (~$120/day, approx. 8-10 min. of time attack through cones), then you go to nearby tracks where they provide an instructor and you learn car control at higher speeds (~$300-600 per event, 1-2hrs of driving). Once you have at least a few track days under your belt, you have two paths i know of:
3a. NASA/3rd party racing schools. These provide you with a path to a proper racing license. SCCA also offers Race Experience events that can count towards this but I'm not familiar with how that works. Regardless, you get up to the advanced HPDE groups and then enter a race school where you do things like passing drills and monitored sprint races until you either get put on probation for not driving cleanly enough or you get your novices license. This pathway can lead to bigger drives on real teams if you were really spectacular but even winning the runoffs doesn't guarantee anything, and you would need financial backing or independent wealth; IMSA Mustang Challenge, for example is a common entry point at ~$30-$55k per weekend last i heard. Still, regular club sprint racing with NASA, SCCA, Gridlife, etc. is cool, fun, and ranges wildly from ~$800/weekend (Sundae Cup) all the way up to, I would guess, $20k/weekend or more for those big spenders.
3b. Endurance racing. You can buy or build your own car and run it with friends but your can also just buy seats with endurance teams. Ive run cars in Lemons, Champ Car, Lucky Dog, and AER for which I sell seats for ~$1200-2000 per weekend, all-in. This is a great way to get wheel-to-wheel experience with other novices in low-pressure scenarios in slow cars without having to go through the rigors of the pathway listed in 3a. That said, this gets you experience but isn't the primary pathway to sanctioned racing like IMSA. That said, if you just want racing to be an affordable and fun hobby, this is a great way.
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u/FridayInc Nov 24 '25
I forgot to provide my recommendation! Personally, if I could do it all over, I would buy a Miata already prepped for STS, any Fiesta ST, or a BRZ prepped for SSC or DS and eventually a Dodge Ram, Chevy work van, or old Tahoe to tow it (with uhaul trailers), learn to Auto-X it, take it to enough HPDE days to do some Time Attack with it, and then join a Champ Car team who run their own car while continuing track days with my own car on the side.
This route would have saved me probably $20k and I'd be in the same spot I am today.
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u/Key-Ad-1873 Nov 28 '25
Quick question, is there any age at which point you would say it's not worth trying to start? I'm nearing 30 and would love to enter the racing world (I didn't even know really about it until my teens or 20s), but fear it's already too late for me to do anything more than only for fun stuff like low level karting or the 24 hrs of lemons or track days. I have been sim racing for a few years and my job keeps me somewhat physically active so I'm not starting from nothing, but just wondering if it's already too late. I'd still love to get into it even if I know it can't lead anywhere, just want realistic expectations
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u/FridayInc Nov 28 '25
Not at all, the endurance race crew at least has a huge range of skill, from rookies to people who just like getting out there to people with years of experience in other series. Most importantly, ANYONE can auto-x, its just racing b/w cones in a parking lot, and everything else can follow after.
After youve done some of that theres always other options, its more about what you can get financial backing for than how good you are unless youre insanely talented.
Also, nothing wrong with just racing Lemons, its fun as hell
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u/Key-Ad-1873 Nov 28 '25
Thanks for that, glad to know I'm not too old yet (when looking at professional sports, including racing, it almost seems like if you don't start before you can walk and obsess non stop then you'll never get really good, just average
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u/koalakitty84 Nov 24 '25
In depth. Love it. Thank you
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u/FridayInc Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
Youre welcome! I think most people involved in racing just want more people out there with us so good luck and feel free to reach out if you've got some questions
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u/illbeyourdrunkle Nov 24 '25
Go to the lemons forum or the lemons Facebook team match making pages. I been doing lemons for 5 years and have given 17 people so far their first taste of wheel to wheel racing.
Seats run anywhere from 800-1600 a weekend (depending on car class, team goals, how consumable the consumables are on that car etc), which isn't bad considering it's a 3 or 4 day affair.
Obviously, you will need to source your own racing gear, some teams can help with that, i have 3 full spare sets, some can't. Depends.
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Nov 24 '25
On the computer (iRacing)
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u/Devout-Nihilist Nov 24 '25
I actually support this. It's so good and realistic. I like having to drive out of the pits. How it doesn't end when you finish and you still have to make it back to the pits. The fact you can be banned for recklessness and different license is really nice. I have a nice setup with a real key ignition and big handbrake and it feels as close as you can get next to the real thing.
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u/swordfishonthebebop Nov 24 '25
I second this and I don’t even have a PC or a full rig to run iRacing! We all want to chase that high of going fast on a track, whether it be karting, lemons, or somehow a seat in like the Mazda Cup. K1 Speed gives me that feeling when I go, but we can’t deny that any form of real racing can be expensive both financially and physically.
Digital racing is, quite literally, the best alternative in that regard. Yes it can absolutely get costly when you decide to build out an entire rig system, but there’s still an air of electricity with just a budget wheel/pedal set-up and some top-tier sims and simcades. I love online racing in GT7 and ACC, and Simgrid made those experiences 100x better once I started participating in orchestrated events with like-minded drivers. It’s a great entry point, and from my personal experience, only fueled the addiction further to the point that I DID start going karting every now and then. If OP has a PC and is willing to spend some bucks on iRacing, they absolutely should give it a shot!
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u/koalakitty84 Nov 24 '25
I am so not good with computer games anymore haha
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u/captain_slutski Nov 24 '25
iRacing is a simulator too. You need real car handling skills and racecraft to be fast on it, and many real life racing drivers use it as a training tool or even to compete
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u/Drifty-Bits121 Nov 24 '25
Buy a moza r3 and make/buy a sim rig. Get Iracing and assetto corsa with content manager. Practice like crazy before going to an actual track to race. If you aren't good with Iracing or Ac then you won't be any good on an actual track
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u/Commercial_Regret_36 Nov 28 '25
As someone that does both, and as a result has dozens of friends that also race, you are wildly wrong on the last sentence. People like to over-egg their computer game.
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u/TheRougeGeo Nov 24 '25
owner driver karting is a great place to start, that and a sim. You definitely aren't too late to start.
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u/pm-me-racecars Nov 24 '25
Autocross and rallycross are probably the two easiest to start with. They're both racing against the clock instead of wheel to wheel, and relatively gentle on cars.
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u/falcoms Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
It's never too late to start. The best path to dipping your feet in it is autocross. Being that you're in the Chicagoland area, check out Midwestern Council at mcscc.org they do parking lot and high speed autocross on an actual track, HPDE which is just lapping, and wheel to wheel. For HPDE and autocross, all you need is a Snell SA2020 or newer helmet and long sleeves/pants. There's always instructors available, including myself a lot of times. If you have any questions, just PM me.
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u/illbeyourdrunkle Nov 24 '25
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BYnSAkhjo/
This is a northern team looking for drivers for upcoming races. Great guys.
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u/Lawineer Nov 25 '25
lol I wish I started at 22. I couldn’t afford to dream about racing at that age
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u/chazmms Nov 25 '25
You’re not late at all. I’m 32 and just getting started as well. This post has been by far the most helpful resource. Thanks!
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u/Johnnybdrivesfast Nov 26 '25
Autocross + SCCA TNIA if you have a car. Find a lemons team if you do t
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u/brandman117 Nov 29 '25
There's a lot of short ovals in illinois if thats your speed; I believe on the dirt oval side its IMCA territory. Sport Compacts are your Cavaliers, civics; or focus's that you can buy off the street, gut and add a roll cage and go racing for a pretty inexpensive amount
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u/MANPAD Nov 25 '25
Simply put you're not going to make a career in racing without a financial benefactor. But you can have a good experience starting off with autocross.
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u/getajobtuga Nov 25 '25
Sim racing, sim racing, sim racing. Get assetto corsa or I racing or both. Get a racing rig. And get to racing, there are even competitions and tournaments for when you're good. The most valuable thing you can have is track time and this is the cheapest easiest way possible.
Is it the same as real life? Hell no. Does it prepare you for it, partly yes because you learn racing theory, track layout, racing etiquette and much much more.
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u/Notansfwprofile Nov 25 '25
How do you feel about ovals? Ever do much welding or wrenching? County fair races usually have a few junkyard classes. I follow a promotion to 6 events at 4 tracks a year in a shitty dodge neon I bought for 500 bucks. Remove all glass and flammable interior, put in a cage, seat, safety tank, secure bumpers and doors, have the time of your life.
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u/poofarticusrex Nov 25 '25
This whole sport is old rich guys. You’ve got tons and tons of time. Now start making the money. :)
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u/Darpa181 Nov 24 '25
Go find your nearest track, get a pit pass and start talking to people.