Looking to get into open wheel
 

I’m sure there are many posts over this, but I can’t find any that answer all my questions. I’m looking to get into sprints but don’t have 50k a year to spend on it. I’m reading about 305s, minis, micros, midgets, and don’t really know what is right for me. I have about 12 years racing experience from karting to pro woods sidexsides and quads. I’ve always wanted to race a V8 but don’t know if I have the budget in order to do it. Can anyone give me some info on what is the best fit for me? I’m racing on a budget but devote to a sport once I get in. I’m also considering sportbike racing but sprints are my first choice. My dad raced both in his day and I am fortunate to have a dad that has the infamous terry pletch on speed dial

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Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

Where do you live?

North of Indianapolis about 40 miles off of i65. South of Lafayette a little bit

If I told you my salary and owned raced wing 410's and was able to win at most every track I ran at you'd call me a liar. If you have the desire it is possible. Granted my time was 20 years ago but it's not hugely different today.

Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

In my opinion although it may not be what you want, but i'd at least say run a 305 or a mini sprint for a couple years to get familiar with a sprint car, before you get into a bigger horse power 360 or 410. Everyone I've talked to that went from atv or dirt bike racing and been doing it for 5-10 years said it was like they'd never raced a day in their life when they went to a mini sprint or sprint car. I've heard same from karting, but I can't say for sure. I started racing mini sprints.

Can adults race mini sprints? I only ever see kids racing those. Minis are 600cc, and midgets are 1000cc right?

Yes, definitely do not underestimate the competition in a 600. Some of the toughest racing there is for all ages.

Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

Originally Posted by Kjohns421:
Can adults race mini sprints? I only ever see kids racing those. Minis are 600cc, and midgets are 1000cc right?

JMHO, but I'd say spend some $ on pit passes to all the indoor races u can this winter & get an up-close look at everything...if you really wana jump into smthn, spend a little bit more (like a couple 1000, lol) and rent a car in any classes you can. That would be a good way to get a feel for things, & an inside look at how a those team goes about things.

I blv most 600s are called micros. 1000s/1200s are primarily mini-sprints (anyone can correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the way I understand it in certain parts of the country). You can run a 1000-1200 with some forms of midgets, but for the most part, some still call them a mini, even tho they can race with the midgets...ya, its a little confusing...lol (you can run less weight tho, so really, it is a pretty good way to go...& then you can run it with the mini-sprints only when you want too...). Study all the rule books you have time to peruse...

Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

the comments about buying a pit pass and just observing is the best answer. Also, once you decide what you want to do, I would spend a season working on some one's pit crew. You can learn about the car, the track, and everything else in the pits and not have to spend all of your money doing it. When you do this, it will also give you an instant friend the next year when you pull in with your own car.

If I were a young man, I would definitely look into a Micro (600). I have seen full grown men over 6 feet tall climb out of a micro. They put on a great show. They tend to have tracks built just for them which makes it even better. Finally, you are going to see all kind of trailers at a 600 track. You are going to see the open trailers with the Micro on the back all the way to the a hot shot rig with a 40 foot trailer. When I first went to the pits, I was completely blown away with all of the money people had in their trailers for a micro sprint.

Thank you guys for all the info. I’ve had a few pm me and say similar things. My questions are mostly answered, but of course are followed by new ones. What are the average weekend costs of each of these; minis (600cc), midgets (1000-1200cc), and 305? I’m really eyeing the 305 since it will be the V8 I’m so desperately after, but I don’t know the weekend costs. I already have a 3500 pickup from racing sxs and quads, and open trailers on the farm, with a good fuel supply thanks to my trucking company. The buy in costs are posted for sale, so I just want to get a ball park of weekend costs if that is ok

I run limiteds in Florida (similar to 305s), costs me -15-20 gallons in fuel- $40-60
- pit passes for me and my dad- $70-100
- tires (90% of the time I get 3-4 weekends out of a pair of tires) - $400ish
- misc weekly maintenance- $50-100
- diesel to get there- $40-80

If I don’t have to buy tires I usually spend about roughly 250-300 to run a weekend. Sometimes less sometimes more.

D2 midget costs were probably about 1/2 that cost.

Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

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Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

Originally Posted by Kjohns421:
Thank you guys for all the info. I’ve had a few pm me and say similar things. My questions are mostly answered, but of course are followed by new ones. What are the average weekend costs of each of these; minis (600cc), midgets (1000-1200cc), and 305? I’m really eyeing the 305 since it will be the V8 I’m so desperately after, but I don’t know the weekend costs. I already have a 3500 pickup from racing sxs and quads, and open trailers on the farm, with a good fuel supply thanks to my trucking company. The buy in costs are posted for sale, so I just want to get a ball park of weekend costs if that is ok

By "good fuel supply" I hope you mean for towing; most of the classes mentioned require Methanol and even if local rules don't mandate it, it is the fuel of choice for cooling and safety reasons.

Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

Been following your story, never listened to one who knew so little about "real racing", even if it's yard karts, or RC, the cost is usually measured by how much you have to spend, and sometimes, how well you want to do. Quad racing is fun, but it in no way compares to any other form of racing, IMHO, if you think you won't be happy, in anything that doesn't have a V8 in it, by all means buy one, or maybe better yet, go do what most folks are telling you, get on a team, and learn, I once sold a midget to a guy who wanted badly to race, and had the money to do it, but had no idea what it took to do it, his thought was go race, go home, go again next week, he made it 2 weeks I think, he had all the resourses in the world, nice big shop to work out of, a hauler, and just a little bit of knowledge, just enough that in two weeks, he had bought a pavement stock car of some sort, that he could race at ORP, take it home, and it was ready to go the next time, maybe, maybe not, I think he lasted about the same time in it. To be a good racer, you have to expend some energy, there is as much or more to be done before you go, than there is track side, and with little knowledge of either, a huge surprise awaits. And don't think that micro/mini racing isn't a challenge, hook up with someone for a month, sounds like you may be from the area, that not long ago, had so many of them, they couldn't get a lot done, they were overwhelmed , that would be the Fairgrounds at Lebanon, In, we went there a few times, and there were cars everywhere, nice facility, I thought, but I think the Fair board decided it was just too much, so they decided to move the track to another location on their ground, but I don't think it ever happened. Good advice is hard to come by, but the best is look before you leap!

Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

If it were me, I'd be looking most heavily at getting set up for 305 racing, because I would hope to make the jump to 410 non-wing at some point; and it'll be less cost overall if you just have to replace the motor, take off the wings and purchase a few components than buying a full mini-sprint outfit and having to sell out to jump up in class.

And with a 305, if you feel you are good enough and you can afford to, you can take off the wings at a place like Bloomington and run with the 410s for laps. You may not be head of class in a 305 but on a slicked up track you should get to race enough to make laps worth something.

If you decide to go the 305 route give me a call, I have a roller with spare parts that might interest you. My name is Mike 513-377-2999

If you want to run with the v8 sprints, I would recommend helping out with a team first. Make some connections. It's another full time job during the week maintaining them before going to the track. How much you want to spend is how fast do you want to go. It took me 4 years to finally get out. I had some stops along the way because I had no personal back ground in Sprint cars. I help out some teams as I was building my own and they help me out with parts and a whole lot of knowledge. Best of luck with it all!

The Baldwin car might be for sale

Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

That would answer all your prayers, and questions, just one, HOW MUCH!

Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

Originally Posted by TQ29m:
That would answer all your prayers, and questions, just one, HOW MUCH!

If you have to ask....................

Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

I posted a very similar post about a year ago. After a season getting ready, this is what I've learned. All this is coming from a guy that has Zero open wheel experience but racing experience.

1. Forget the 305 deal. Go 410 non-wing right off the rip. The 305 guys will tell you the same thing, just ask.
2. If you think you might win something quickly, you're not. These guys are bad ass and make it look easy. It's extremely difficult.
3. Buy everything used in the beginning. You will tear stuff up, might as well tear used stuff up.
4. ** Spend a year, yes, a whole season following one team or multiple teams. Get to know them. Start off being the guy who cleans the mud off the car for a while. Be humble and clean the mud off. Watch and learn. If you're mechanically inclined, you'll start doing other things. Air pressure, stagger, spacers, putting new tires on wheels, fuel ect.... What I found out this last year is that it is so important to learn HOW to run a team at the track. What goes where and why. There's reasons why the toolbox is where it is. Now, different teams do it different, but if I were you, and I was, go find you a USAC team you can follow around. They're the pros. You will find there's very little wasted movement in the pits. Then, find you a local team and follow them around for a while. Notice the difference. Not that one is better than the other, but one is more efficient. Go every weekend somewhere to race. Go say Hi to everyone. Most are super friendly. Fill up your cell phone with numbers. So, I would forget about driving a car for a year and spend a year learning how to race first. If after a year you still want to race, go start writing checks and using all those numbers you collected the past year. Make no mistake, owning a part time sprint car team and competing is a full time job.

Don't know if this helps, but this is my experience this past year doing exactly what I just suggested you do.

Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

I would look into this, Cory Kruseman's school, drive and learn. Take the trip to California and try it out.

Here is a link. https://kruseman.com/Default.aspx

Great advice Meeker. With the best being go straight to 410's. I don't see the appeal of 305's, a lot of your weekly expense is the same and you race for much less.

Re: Looking to get into open wheel
 

The question is, basically, what do you want to get out of your racing? 305's were not intended to be a starter class for people who wanted to race 410's. Way back in 2002-3, before I ever got a sprint car, I spoke to French Grimes, the founder of the class. French asked that question of me. My answer was "I want to race a sprint car and see how far I can go with it". French told me to skip the 305's. He said that they won't teach you what you need to know to be able to race competitively against 360's and 410's. The point of the class was to allow guys who had a regular job and a family to go race sprint cars without breaking the bank and having a 2nd job of race car maintenance.

I know that the 305's have that V-8 that you crave, but they are really underpowered for a car running a 25 square foot wing and a giant RR tire. I would go the 600 route before going 305 racing. For one thing, you don't need a quad to push you around the pits, it takes up way less space in the garage, you can run gasoline through them to get the alcohol out of the fuel system, and the methanol and tire cost is miniscule compared to the big car.

I have my own racing experience, and combined with my dads (raced sprints in the 90s) we have about 30 years of racing between us. The terry pletch I mentioned in the OP has over 30 years to himself in sprints alone. He had up to 5 cars running at one time, and he just retired from it in the mid 2000s. I am going to give him a call and talk to him soon. But that you for all the info everyone. I’m just trying to get the ropes before I drop all the cash

I know you. You were a decent kart racer. I know your dad and Pletch too. I’d say buy a micro. Run Logan or Peru for a year or two and see if you want to move up. You could get into micros for $10k and get most of your money back if you buy a decent car to start with. You’ll give up or go broke before you learn anything in 410’s around here. The competition is way too stiff. Buy a newer micro with a Suzuki in it and you can run 2 classes a night. Cheapest laps you’ll ever make. And you’ll find out if it’s worthwhile or you’re good enough to jump up to 410’s