Looking into F/SA, why spend $50k?

[Michael Beard]

Depends on where you are located. There are a ton of F cars in Div. 1 & 3. You'll spend a lot of time playing the ladder trying to dodge people. There are less in G, if you can add the weight.

Unless you're chasing a bucket list/Wally, quite honestly there is little value in class racing anymore. Tons of time off work and lots of travel for very little track time and poor financial return on investment anymore. There are a *lot* of big money bracket racing opportunities these days that provide more bang for the buck.

If it's something you want to do just for the sake of doing it, you'll find a lot of help and resources on this forum. Best of luck with your endeavor!

[extrahotsauce]

Originally Posted by Michael Beard

There are less in G, if you can add the weight.

Unless you're chasing a bucket list/Wally...If it's something you want to do just for the sake of doing it...

Sorry, it's a natural E. Unless I can add even more weight for G I was already expecting to not be able to diet the car enough.

And yeah, kind of those things. I tried 1/8 racing last year but I found I don't like it near as well as 1/4 racing and I wanted more of a challenge than ET sportsman (1/4 around here). I'm young enough where if I hate it I can say I tried it then go back to bracket.

I appreciate the responses.

[HR9121]

I ran 8 races last year and had 1 heads up run other than class eliminations. Some of those guys running middle or bottom of the ladder could be in the Top half of they wanted so don't be fooled. I built my car for under 25k, it's definitely not the fastest around but I don't necessarily worry about ducking a lot of people either. If you're considering turning your bracket car into a stocker I would say no unless your chassis is already kind of set up that way from the start, otherwise it may be much cheaper to buy a running car like you want. Good luck and have fun.

[doglover44]

Originally Posted by Michael Beard

Depends on where you are located. There are a ton of F cars in Div. 1 & 3. You'll spend a lot of time playing the ladder trying to dodge people. There are less in G, if you can add the weight.

Unless you're chasing a bucket list/Wally, quite honestly there is little value in class racing anymore. Tons of time off work and lots of travel for very little track time and poor financial return on investment anymore. There are a *lot* of big money bracket racing opportunities these days that provide more bang for the buck.

If it's something you want to do just for the sake of doing it, you'll find a lot of help and resources on this forum. Best of luck with your endeavor!

I agree with Michael seems to me that there are alot of big money footbrake/ No Box races out there that are more fun for your buck

[Dan Fahey]

$50,000 for F/SA from scratch.

First is to find a car that can run F/SA.
How much will that cost?

Estimate for a good body, suspension and interior at least $15,000
Transmission Converter and Shifter $3,000
Rear Suspension, Body, Driveshaft $4,000 properly upgraded.
Front Suspension, Line Lock, Cooling fans, stuff $1000
Roll Bar, Seat Belts, Seat, Jacket, Helmet about $2,000
Stock Eliminator Engine Competitive $10,000
Wheels and Tires $3,000
Electrical and Instrumentation $1,000
Paint and Body $2500
Everything else $1000
Personal time building it! Priceless !

Wife for Dinner and Shopping or Jewelry to explain why you are spending $50,000 on a car she cannot drive..? $10,000

Reliable Vehicle and Trailer to Tow with $30,000

YEAH I can see $50,000 or more investment to run F/SA!

Even if you get a ready-to-go car most for F/SA will be in the $35k range.
Still will need upgrades to keep it reliable.
Can run Brackets anywhere and Stock races are everywhere with NHRA, IHRA and Independent S/SS Series!

My 2 Cents

D

[Mike Jones]

Originally Posted by extrahotsauce

I need experienced Stock racers' opinions please. I've been reading a lot of the threads on here, specifically ones I search for about money to get into Stock or SS. Most every thread goes on and on about how you gotta spend $50k on a stocker to race it.

Thinking of getting into NHRA Stock (at the divisional level for now) from the bracket racing perspective and I see people winning from the bottom half of the qualifying sheet wondering why folks act like it's required to spend that kind of money to go Stock racing. Maybe I'm just naive, so I'm open to enlightenment please. With an average of 6 or 7 cars in f/sa per race out of 70-100 cars, how likely is it I run one? How often would you guys say you run someone in your class for heads up?

Assuming I'm decent bracket racer and can do okay every other time, those handful of races I go up against my own class are just part of the deal right? Surely some races I wouldn't hit another f/sa, yeah? And if I'm not the fastest f/sa anyway, why bother trying to go all out on it for now?

Two of the more interesting people to listen to are Billy Nees and Mark Yacavone. They build stockers on a budget that are competitive.


Mike A114 P/SA