Thoughts about cost....

Got some good info from Spank about the cost of LeMons racing...


Spank has been giving me hints along the way about how to survive in LeMons racing which I have been listening to but not had to deal with thus far. This is because I am spoiled by my dad who pretty much covers everything from the towing, food, new/used parts, and the collecting and paying of the team/drivers entry. I have just been handing him checks for the obvious things like my share of the entry fees and main costs like tires and welding work at the track. Otherwise the only things I pay for are oil, spark plugs, and some fuel for the races. He has covered the cost of all sorts of parts that I have never kept track of and never added up the costs but I am trying to change this. I asked my dad to send me the receipts for the things he purchases for the Spitfire; I took on the responsibility to get our 4th driver for Infineon; and I am forking out more money this year.. hopefully. We were not sure what to charge a new driver so my dad said to ask for $400 which caught someone’s eye the day I posted the offer. The $400 is way better then we would normally have to deal with which is a loss of $230 by only having three drivers, plus dividing the other expenses between only three people. Though, after this new break down of racing cost that Spank sent me, I am realizing that in the future we should be charging around $500 for arrive and drive people if we want to break even. The driver we found has experience and if he drives well while paying $400 then we will for sure be happy. For the race after Infineon it will be a different matter as we are upgrading from a 13” wheel to a 15” wheel so we’re picking up four wheels and tires. Now of course this led me to spending way to much time looking at tires trying to figure out how much they will cost us but I found out if we can run a 195/50/15 tire that would give us the best prices and more variety. There is also the possibility that my friend will rejoin the team as well.


Well I took the cost break down Spank sent me and modified it for my own team and this is how it breaks down for Infineon, haha breaks down (bad racing joke)


$500 Car entry
$400 Driver entry ($100 x 4 drivers)
$390.00 Tow vehicle fuel for the RV (1028mi Round trip @ 10 mpg towing =  103 gallons @ $3.80/gal)
$240 for 60gal on track fuel of 91 @ $4.00/gal  
$35 Oil and filters  (6qts oil VR1 @ $5/qt & 1 Filter $5ea)
$15 spark plugs
$33 Brake pads - we have used the same set for 3 races @ $50 pair
$275 Tires ($500 for 4 tires $50 mount/balance and they last 2 races so price reflected is 1/2)

$1,888 Total
$472 per driver-- and that's just our obvious out-of-pocket expenses.

Hidden costs for a season of racing ???
These things I have no Idea what was spent or will be spent on them - Motor Seals, Gaskets, General sprays glues lubes cleaners, Brake Master cylinder, Clutch Master & Slave cylinders, Clutch Plate, Motor Work, Brake rotors, nuts, bolts and other random hardware.... 


So I am thinking in the future we should be charging $500-$550 for the arrive and drive people depending on where the race is located and what we have done to the car.  For the other people that race with us it will all depend on how much work & money they put into the car, and what ever else they do for us like hauling spare motors and transmissions for example. But for this next race at Infineon my dad is working out a deal with our current 3rd driver and we already offered a new driver the spot for $400. This will do fine though as they both have the LeMon's racing experience we are looking for and otherwise we would be losing the money. So having both of them will be great and no one said racing is cheap. This is just less expensive racing....