Cost to attend Baby Gators

Dan Lattimore · 03-12-2019, 01:37 AM

As a retired senior citizen wanting to still make a few races. ---Just curious as to average cost to attend the Points race in Gainsville or any points race for that matter. Expenses incurred from the time you leave home until you get back home. Truck fuel, race fuel , food , lodging , entry etc. I know it will vary depending on type of rig , proximity to race , McDonalds or Waldorf , just an idea in your case.

james schaechter · 03-12-2019, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Lattimore

As a retired senior citizen wanting to still make a few races. ---Just curious as to average cost to attend the Points race in Gainsville or any points race for that matter. Expenses incurred from the time you leave home until you get back home. Truck fuel, race fuel , food , lodging , entry etc. I know it will vary depending on type of rig , proximity to race , McDonalds or Waldorf , just an idea in your case.

I think you are better off calculating your current set up. There are so many variables, most wont apply. The things that will. Entry fee. You just need to consider your mpg on tow rig, fuel for race car, lodging, food can vary depending on your taste and frugality. It isn’t that hard to figure your own estimate.

The wild cards are maintenance for tow rig nd race car of course.

In our case, we tow with a older diesel pusher and stay at the track. We figure 7 mpg factoring diesel generator run time in there. Costco food binge to load up the fridge 200 dollars. Entry and pit passes and race fuel. Not counting any maintenance for racecar or rig. We just carry xx amount for unplanned events that can happen on the road and try to do proper pmi to prevent issues on road or the track.

T Ames · 03-12-2019, 06:32 AM

Roughly $1K.

Billy Nees · 03-12-2019, 07:30 AM

Well Danny, I would say roughly a grand. For me to go to the Numidia Div, I'm gonna spend roughly 5 hundred and that's my closest Div. race. Now if you're talking actually going to Gainesville from Virginia, then I'd have to say probably 15 hundred to 2 grand.
And I think you know that there aren't many Racers that are "cheaper" than me!
It's not just the entry and the racing gas, the price of Tequila just keeps on rising!

Mike Pearson · 03-12-2019, 08:03 AM

I figure 50 cents a mile for diesel fuel in my toter. Entry fee was $160. Crew pass was $60. 10 gals of race fuel if you go some rounds. I don’t really figure food as a race expense as the cost would be about the same if you stayed home. I used $150 in diesel fuel. $60 in race gas and $220 for entry for a grand total of $430 for the weekend. I only had to travel 150 miles to the track. We stay at the track in the toter.

jmcarter · 03-12-2019, 08:47 AM

All good responses; with James being absolutely correct in that it varies wildly based on your situation. I sold my diesel pusher this winter since we'll no longer be staying on the road for long periods of time and with a newer rig it's a wildly depreciating asset. Not to mention proper maintenance, storage, insurance, etc. on a MH is an expensive proposition. On the flip side staying in hotels close to the track is an expensive proposition. Since simply getting there and staying there is often the largest expense you have to decide just how important running a Divisional or National event is to you. If you need to watch your budget sticking to local bracket racing is the cheapest solution obviously but you need to decide that before investing in a class legal car. At the first of the year I budget a set amount of money for racing (and running it past my CFO) and then pick and choose to stay within that. Any winnings just increase the budget for more racing rather than offsetting planned budget. Also try to figure amortization of my setup over the period (i.e. figuring refresh every 150 runs, trailer over X number of events, etc) Ultimately though, it's a question of how much money are you willing to spend for the amount of enjoyment you derive from racing. If you're obsessing about $ then you're not having fun IMO.

Dan Lattimore · 03-12-2019, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

Well Danny, I would say roughly a grand. For me to go to the Numidia Div, I'm gonna spend roughly 5 hundred and that's my closest Div. race. Now if you're talking actually going to Gainesville from Virginia, then I'd have to say probably 15 hundred to 2 grand.
And I think you know that there aren't many Racers that are "cheaper" than me!
It's not just the entry and the racing gas, the price of Tequila just keeps on rising!

Billy --- That's kinda what I was thinking . The trailer with sleeping quarters would offset the fuel cost of my old dually with the 540 .

Dan Lattimore · 03-12-2019, 08:46 AM

I'm sure the actual cost is all over the place depending on your individual set up . For me I'm thinking around a couple grand within say a 500 mile radius . Thanks everybody for your input -- Danny

03-12-2019, 01:37 AM	#1
Dan Lattimore Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Beaverdam, Va./ Port St. Lucie,Fla. Posts: 362 Likes: 177 Liked 154 Times in 37 Posts	Cost to attend Baby Gators As a retired senior citizen wanting to still make a few races. ---Just curious as to average cost to attend the Points race in Gainsville or any points race for that matter. Expenses incurred from the time you leave home until you get back home. Truck fuel, race fuel , food , lodging , entry etc. I know it will vary depending on type of rig , proximity to race , McDonalds or Waldorf , just an idea in your case. __________________ 66W30POST

03-12-2019, 06:32 AM	#3
T Ames Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: the Brazos Valley of TX Posts: 114 Likes: 161 Liked 125 Times in 33 Posts	Re: Cost to attend Baby Gators Roughly $1K.

03-12-2019, 07:30 AM	#4
Billy Nees VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: On a hilltop in Pa. Posts: 4,485 Likes: 3,587 Liked 7,682 Times in 1,730 Posts	Re: Cost to attend Baby Gators Well Danny, I would say roughly a grand. For me to go to the Numidia Div, I'm gonna spend roughly 5 hundred and that's my closest Div. race. Now if you're talking actually going to Gainesville from Virginia, then I'd have to say probably 15 hundred to 2 grand. And I think you know that there aren't many Racers that are "cheaper" than me! It's not just the entry and the racing gas, the price of Tequila just keeps on rising! __________________ Billy Nees 1188 STK, SS I'm not spending 100K to win 2K Last edited by Billy Nees; 03-12-2019 at 07:33 AM.

03-12-2019, 08:03 AM	#5
Mike Pearson VIP Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 2,443 Likes: 613 Liked 1,916 Times in 574 Posts	Re: Cost to attend Baby Gators I figure 50 cents a mile for diesel fuel in my toter. Entry fee was $160. Crew pass was $60. 10 gals of race fuel if you go some rounds. I don’t really figure food as a race expense as the cost would be about the same if you stayed home. I used $150 in diesel fuel. $60 in race gas and $220 for entry for a grand total of $430 for the weekend. I only had to travel 150 miles to the track. We stay at the track in the toter. __________________ Mike Pearson 2485 SS

03-12-2019, 08:47 AM	#6
jmcarter VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Richmond Hill GA (and Port Ludlow WA) Posts: 4,293 Likes: 2,368 Liked 3,170 Times in 970 Posts	Re: Cost to attend Baby Gators All good responses; with James being absolutely correct in that it varies wildly based on your situation. I sold my diesel pusher this winter since we'll no longer be staying on the road for long periods of time and with a newer rig it's a wildly depreciating asset. Not to mention proper maintenance, storage, insurance, etc. on a MH is an expensive proposition. On the flip side staying in hotels close to the track is an expensive proposition. Since simply getting there and staying there is often the largest expense you have to decide just how important running a Divisional or National event is to you. If you need to watch your budget sticking to local bracket racing is the cheapest solution obviously but you need to decide that before investing in a class legal car. At the first of the year I budget a set amount of money for racing (and running it past my CFO) and then pick and choose to stay within that. Any winnings just increase the budget for more racing rather than offsetting planned budget. Also try to figure amortization of my setup over the period (i.e. figuring refresh every 150 runs, trailer over X number of events, etc) Ultimately though, it's a question of how much money are you willing to spend for the amount of enjoyment you derive from racing. If you're obsessing about $ then you're not having fun IMO. __________________ Jim Carter 2340 Super Stock 2340 SST/2340 Stock Set another place at the table

03-12-2019, 08:46 AM	#8
Dan Lattimore Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Beaverdam, Va./ Port St. Lucie,Fla. Posts: 362 Likes: 177 Liked 154 Times in 37 Posts	Re: Cost to attend Baby Gators I'm sure the actual cost is all over the place depending on your individual set up . For me I'm thinking around a couple grand within say a 500 mile radius . Thanks everybody for your input -- Danny __________________ 66W30POST