![]() 11/09/2015 at 16:43 • Filed to: None | ![]() | ![]() |
As the end of the Autocross and HPDE season draws closer with each fallen leaf, I decided to run some numbers. I went through the results of my past autocrosses, ran through my DE videos, and logged the run times into an excel sheet. At first I just wanted to figure out how much seat time I actually had behind the wheel since this was my first real season, but then I added the cost info... I started to get a little carried away with all the possible metrics, but I discovered some interesting stats.
In my case, AutoX is almost twice as expensive as HPDE track days in terms of time behind the wheel per dollar, but is about a quarter to a third of the price per day. Autocross costs a little over $500 an hour, while HPDE costs about $275 an hour. I guess it’s cheaper to buy in bulk.
For what it’s worth, the Track day cost per minute for 2015 should be lower since at one event I had an issue with the FocuST. That day I decided to go home early after just one 15 minute run. If I was able to run the whole day (approx. another 45 minutes of track time), the 2015 cost per minute at HPDE would be around $4.25ish.
I didn’t include the cost of gas, tires or replacement maintenance parts for the Miata and FocuST mostly due to the fact that I don’t want to see how much I’ve actually spent.
Welp, time to save up for next season.
![]() 11/09/2015 at 17:07 |
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Here’s some more food for thought for you:
http://oppositelock.kinja.com/how-fast-do-yo…
http://oppositelock.kinja.com/how-fast-do-yo…
tl;dr: I came to the same conclusion. Autocross is much less expensive to enter, but track days are far more cost effective.
![]() 11/09/2015 at 17:19 |
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That was an awesome read! I never heard of COM before, I need to check them out next season. Do they run at NJMP or Pocono?
![]() 11/09/2015 at 17:22 |
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Thanks! I’m not sure all the tracks COM runs. They’re mainly New England based, but they do move around a little too.
![]() 11/09/2015 at 17:26 |
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And I completely forgot about Karting. I know englishtown raceway park has karting, but I don’t know if they have arrive and drive rentals. I need to look into this!
![]() 11/09/2015 at 18:04 |
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My accountant has strict instructions to never tell me how much money I’m blowing on cars and car related things. But I know it’s a lot.
![]() 11/09/2015 at 18:11 |
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The best advice I can give you is this: Get to be friends with the people who organize your local track days. Help them out as needed, and you usually get free or reduced price track time in return.
![]() 11/09/2015 at 21:11 |
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And mom complains my plane rental at $80/hr is an expensive hobby.
![]() 11/10/2015 at 10:06 |
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I’m starting to recognize people, but I still felt too much like a newbie to volunteer this year. Probably next season I’d be comfortable offering help, because now I sort of understand the operational procedures.
![]() 11/10/2015 at 10:11 |
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I think a track day rental for something like a spec miata, is around $1500 for the day. If you somehow get six 20 min sessions, that’s about $750/hr!
I remember hearing an old adage: “How do you become a millionaire racing cars? Start off a billionaire.”
![]() 11/10/2015 at 10:15 |
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I need figure out how to make a race team as an LLC or something, then write off all of the track days as losses.
![]() 11/10/2015 at 13:36 |
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Manufacture something simple and sell it online. Like shift knobs or something. Then write off racing as R&D.