Quote:
Originally Posted by Gene Franckowiak
Racig costs no more today that it ever did.....when I started racing in 1975 it took every penny I could get my hands on to race.....and now 47 years later it still takes every penny I can get my hands on to race.....see no change  |
I agree! Now I suspect that statement is made a little tongue-in-cheek, but when we talk about a Speedway Toyota "national engine" in a midget today costing upwards of $80-$100k, what did an Offy cost? Their "D-2" engines were V8-60 Fords or Continental L4 out of a Willys. Nothing different about that than an Ecotec or Kenyon motor. And before that, it was a race-built Miller over a Model A with a Cragar conversion head.
Relative to the cost of living or the standard wage, grass roots racing (on average) is no more or less expensive now than it's ever been.
Other than the cost of safety, it's all stayed about the same. And I consider TIG welding chromoly tubing to be a safety function. I know guys welded up their own chassis with a cracker box back in the day. We did it, too. But when you tumbled in one of those black pipe cars, you felt it a lot longer (assuming you got to feel anything afterward...)