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Start-up cost for a mini stock dirt track team in Northern Alabama?

I am looking into starting a race team for mini stock on dirt in Northern AL. I have a car, three car garage, tools, a potential crew, and a truck. (The car needs to be converted from a street car to a race car.) I need to know the price I am looking at for the rest of what needs to be done. -Trailer -Converting the car -Suit, Helmet, Shoes, Gloves -Seat I love dirt track racing and I want to get started in a small class and work my way up. I just need to know what I am looking at to start a team.

Public Comments

1. I don't know about in Alabama but around here there's not much involved as far as the car itself goes. There are no engine mods allowed so all we really do is take out the glass and most of the interior-door panels, seats, headliner and like that. Then we put in a racing seat, seat belts, a simple roll cage, move the battery inside the car and put a fuel cell in the trunk and go racing. So that's pretty much free if you do it yourself. The hardest part about that is the roll cage since the tubing has to be cut, bent and welded but after you do it a few times it's not that hard. If you don't have welding experience you should let someone else handle that part. Anyway-here are the prices I found on the Summit Racing web site... Driving suit $100-600 depending on size and style. Helmet $110 on up depending on size and style for a full face helmet-Don't forget your tear off posts and visor tear offs-You're gonna need 'em! LOL! Shoes $65. Gloves $40-60 depending on style. Seat $35 on up. Seat belts $145 for a 5 point harness. Battery relocation kit $80 comes with 2 gauge cable, battery box, hold downs and mount bracket. Circle track fuel cell $150 for a 12 gallon cell. As for a trailer, we can buy brand new 16 foot car trailers around here for less than $1000. They're just plain flat bed trailers but you can always add things like tool boxes and tire racks later as time and money allow. One of my trailers has a cross bed tool box for a pick up that I got at an auction for $10 bolted on the tongue and a tire rack that I built from iron pipe from a scrap yard and some plumbing fixtures from our local hardware store. It ain't pretty, but, I've had that trailer set up that way for over 20 years. Hope this is helpfull! Good luck and have fun doin' it in the dirt!!
2. If you're dead serious about being competitive, you'll also need a welder and learn how to use it. You can get a decent MIG welder for around $1500, maybe less. Don't scrimp, buy quality - Miller or Lincoln. I have a Miller 185 and can weld anything made out of steel on my race car. If you have never welded, take some classe. Hopefully you're near a school or know someone who can teach you properly. Once you learn to weld correctly, you can put in your own roll cages. That's a big expense for beginners. If you start with $10,000 you should be able to get to the track in a good car and still have a decent chunk of money left over. Getting a good quality race engine will probably be your biggest single expense. Trying to race with a crappy engine is a waste of time. You don't need serious power starting out. It just needs to run well and be very reliable. The car hauler and the trailer are big expenses, so it's nice to get them out of the way. Don't scrimp on safety equipment, either. It will pay for itself over the first season. If you're in this for the long haul, don't be cheap. Learn to build your own stuff.
3. you would need about 5 grand