Quote Originally Posted by airshifter
But karts also take support equipment as well as the kart itself... you aren't driving it to the track are you?

Probably the cheapest thing to get into racing with is a street car that you can Autocross. The various classes are set up so that quite a few cheap cars have a very good chance of doing well. Drivers skill is very important, and if you find a class that allows very cheap cars that is also a plus.

At the end of the day think you are fast and knowing you are fast are two different things. Until you get to a track and compete against similar cars you really don't know.
Fair enough. I'm aware that karts also require extra equipment, which means more money. Thanks for the tip on Autocross, I'll probably end up pursuing that. And yeah, you're right, I don't actually know I'm fast in comparison to other racers. I have a strong feeling, based on what I know I can do in a cheap car in different circumstances than would occur in a race. I'll have to try and see what happens in the field, rather than racing on the streets.

Quote Originally Posted by janvanvurpa
You have near perfect skills----you wanna go "racing" but you don't have any money..

Go back and choose some richer parents and have them buy you nice karts till you're 16 then buy you a seat in some "team"...

That is how it's done...

There are two things that everyman and boy thinks he's better than average at.
Driving is the other one..

I assure you, you aren't probably even average at either. Guys that are good are analytical (and often not too bright---I speak from personal experience--I did full time professional motorsports for 2 sorta seasons--both shortened with injuries. Injuries which even 35 years later have led to 4 serious operations in the last 4 years and another scheduled) and they must be , even to be just a mid pack guy, realistic at analyzing situations.

You stated there's no money yet you dream...I am all for dreaming....my guiding quote was from a noted Englishman who said "The crime is not in failing, but in setting low aims". (Bonus points for knowing the speaker)

But car racing even amateur local yeee haw dirt track ovals requires money.

My motorsports I knew i could afford with just a steady middle working class income...and i was lucky to talk to a bunch of the guys referenced in this "How Good is your Geographic?" thread somewhere around here.....a whole gang of World Champions in a relaxed non track party.. I asked them "What should i do if i want to do what you are doing, drive full time all round the world"

The answer was "Give yourself 10 years serious training"..
It took 11...then 2 seasons and I was flat worn out...
Me "How long for serious condition?" "min 4 years if no serious injuries"
Never really had it---knees, knees knees arms knees.. I was Pro at taping knees for the different tears and detached ligaments...


In the end it was insanely hard work, way more fun to ratchet down and do clubbie events.

Anyway, go back and see if you can be born to the "Lucky Sperm Club", and then you can be like the guys we see on one side in US Presidential races :Born on Third base and they think they hit a home run"
Think you could have been a little more harsh? I know that I'm much better than the average lay driver, at the very, very least. My friends are the kind of people who own Golf GTIs, WRX STIs, plain old Imprezas, Eclipses and the like, and I've never, ever even come close to losing a race to them--bear in mind that I drive a 4-cylinder, 4-door 2007 Accord, and I'm going against those cars. And my friends are fantastic drivers. So I know I have some measure of skill. Training-wise, I'd say I have about three year's worth of experience, since I've had my license for about two and a half years now, and I had my learner's permit for a year beforehand. Controlling a car has never been a problem for me. I can buzz through gaps that most people wouldn't be willing to even try to ease through (static gaps between things like telephone poles and shopping carts, not gaps in traffic, I'm not that reckless). And I'm very analytical, for the most part. My situational awareness is ridiculous, due to my ADHD; nothing gets filtered out, ever. Being analytical is the very trait that led me to this forum. I know that many, if not all, of the doors to racing are closed to me at the moment, so I came here to gather knowledge and advice from people experienced in the industry. And keep in mind that I never said I have no money. I'm on a very tight budget, but I make around $500-$600 a month. So please, don't tell me to "go back and choose some richer parents". I'm here to learn, and maybe eventually contribute something useful; I'm certainly not here to be scoffed at.

Also, I invite you to sit in the passenger seat of my car and tell me I'm not a better than average driver. I promise I wouldn't wrap the car around a tree or anything. I'd just give you a ride better than you'd expect possible in that car.