New here, never actually raced, but...

[pkeegs]

race aficionado: You're welcome for my part in that, haha.

John: You're right about that one--autocross would probably drive me a little insane, because it's such a short course and you can't really go that fast.

MrJan: You're also right; driving the course would be pretty exciting, even if I only got the car up to about 70 mph. My issue would be that I would have about five minutes of seat time total in the whole day at an autocross, maybe even less. If it's the only option, I'll do it, but I'd rather do kart racing or something. Just... money. Gah.

driveace: I can post a picture of my ID up here (with my ID number scrambled or blacked out, of course).

MrJan and Mark: Thanks.

Zico: I'm glad they haven't, because if they did it thinking I was this Wade dude, they'd be incorrect.
And I do want to try a shifter. I'm going to contact LIKA--Long Island Karting Association--to see if they have a course I could take to learn.

Whatever happens, I want to make a living out of driving, and I believe I can do it if I try hard enough. It will take a long time, lots of effort, and every cent I have, but I believe it's possible.

[MrJan]

MrJan: You're also right; driving the course would be pretty exciting, even if I only got the car up to about 70 mph. My issue would be that I would have about five minutes of seat time total in the whole day at an autocross, maybe even less. If it's the only option, I'll do it, but I'd rather do kart racing or something. Just... money. Gah.

I do sprinting/hillclimbs (autocross) and I've done karting, it's two completely different things. Karting is a laugh but the buzz you get from being in a proper car is a world away. Trust me, the andrenaline rush you get from even 30 seconds in the car at 100% is worth the extra cash and the fact that you get much less seat time. Given the choice between paying £30 (or whatever) for 40 minutes seat time in a kart and paying £90 for 4 minutes seat time on a hillclimb I will always opt for the latter.

[MrJan]

Whatever happens, I want to make a living out of driving, and I believe I can do it if I try hard enough. It will take a long time, lots of effort, and every cent I have, but I believe it's possible.

You better learn how to drive a truck or a cab then, because you will not be a racing driver. As someone who has followed motorsport for 20+ years I guarantee you that you will not be able to get into motor racing and get paid to do it to the extent where you don't need another job. People do not earn money racing cars unless they are very very talented and picked up from an early age. It's harsh but you are already way too old to fit into that category.

[schmenke]

You better learn how to drive a truck or a cab then, because you will not be a racing driver. As someone who has followed motorsport for 20+ years I guarantee you that you will not be able to get into motor racing and get paid to do it to the extent where you don't need another job. People do not earn money racing cars unless they are very very talented and picked up from an early age. It's harsh but you are already way too old to fit into that category.

Indeed. As an example, my eldest daughter is only 7 and I’ve recently started inquiring about local karting clubs for her (minimum age is 8 here ).
And even entry-level karting can be a financial commitment of several thousand $’s per year

[MrJan]

Indeed. As an example, my eldest daughter is only 7 and I’ve recently started inquiring about local karting clubs for her (minimum age is 8 here ).
And even entry-level karting can be a financial commitment of several thousand $’s per year

Yup, at ther age of about 15 I had to admit to myself that I was already too old for a career in motorsport to be anything but a dream...in truth I'd probably been too old a few years before that.

The problem is that there is a lot of competition for a very, very small percentage of paid seats, even the 24 guys in F1 aren't all there purely on driving merit. A big national series like the British Touring Car Championship consists mostly of chequebook racers and as for rallying...well there's only about 4 in the World Championship that take a wage...and one of them had to fund himself last season.

[Mark]

Indeed even in Formula 1 how much of the field actually earn money in their own right and how many are 'ride buyers', mostly because they have the backing of a major sponsor, but the fact is that they aren't employed on merit.

Certainly true about BTCC too. There might be a couple who get paid, at most. Even the drivers at the top have to do other jobs such as being a racing instructor.

[janvanvurpa]

Yup, at ther age of about 15 I had to admit to myself that I was already too old for a career in motorsport to be anything but a dream...in truth I'd probably been too old a few years before that.

The problem is that there is a lot of competition for a very, very small percentage of paid seats, even the 24 guys in F1 aren't all there purely on driving merit. A big national series like the British Touring Car Championship consists mostly of chequebook racers and as for rallying...well there's only about 4 in the World Championship that take a wage...and one of them had to fund himself last season.

Too old for AUTO motorsports...some motorsports demand extremely high physical conditioning and that strength and endurance is overwhelmingly important...And oddly those motorsports paid in the past anyway pretty good Start money on the International level, it was in my time roughly 1/2 months wages for a skilled machinist. And at that time one could do from 5 to 7 events in a month...depending on how many National and Catholic holidays there were in a given month. I did 5 in on month and 6 in the next..
Better money than anything else I ever did.

Motorsports does include things other than CARS,