Fixed it for you.

Oh, and I think the answer to your original question is: The faster classes can cost LOTS of $$$ to be competitive, even for the older stuff.

The price of a new 2015 Drag Pak was $100K-$110K, if you wanted to jump into the deep end of the pool, and I have no idea how far off from being competitive one straight from the dealer's showroom is.

Buying a used stocker you really have to do your homework. Some cars are for sale because the combo got hammered with horsepower. Also, the year end reviews are about to come out and you can see if the combo you're looking at is going to get whacked.

Also, you can check the archives on NHRA.com or DragRaceCentral and see if the owner is being honest or not.

Lastly, you have to remember that other than class or heads-up runs you are simply bracket racing.

SSSHHHHH!!! We don't anyone to get the right idea...

Expensive bracket racing at NHRA National Events were you show up Wednesday to get treated like crap and are the first to get bumped to Monday if the weather turns bad for a low payout


IHRA treated you a little better but now runs brackets only.

I live in Arizona and race in Division 7. We have to do a lot of traveling which costs serious money. It costs me about $1000. to run a divisional at Sonoma and Salt Lake City, and $600 to $700 to race at Las Vegas and Fontana. Phoenix is cheap at $350. Go to a National event and it costs $315 for the entry alone. I travel with a Ram pick up, a 24foot enclosed trailer and I stay in cheap motels.

My car(76 Dodge Aspen) runs in the middle of the pack (H/SA) and runs in the 11.3-11.4 range on a 12.15 index. I bought it from a friend who built it. I put a lot of money in it to get it to where it is today. I am getting the engine freshened right now and it will cost in the vicinity of $5000. It should be at least .1 faster. I think another $3000 to $4000 could get me a real fast car for my class, but I am running out of money.

I race with people that have lower class cars and they spend more money than me, and others that have less invested in their operation. I guess it depends on what you can afford.

Raul

There are only two times where money comes into play as far as the car, Indy, and a heads up run in eliminations.

That being said, you need to earn grade points to run a National, and even though the National will have a quota for entry, it is an all run field. The only place you have to worry about not qualifying is Indy.

I raced at five divisionals and one open this summer. I get to the track Thursday evening, and was home every Sunday evening. An average weekend cost me around $500 with my entry. Only one weekend was more than that, but most were less. I always viewed it this way, if I went away for three-four days on a "vacation", I'd spend around the same amount of money. Of course, it helps living in D-1 where I have four races within three hours of me.

In the end, it's all in what you want to do with your money. Some people like to go to their local track 20-30 miles away every weekend, some like to chase big money races, and some of us are content running half a dozen divisionals every year, with a little bracket racing mixed throughout. If you honestly want to learn more about class racing checkout Class Racer, or take a weekend and go to an Open or Divisional.

What's the entry and payout at a Divisional?

If I remember correctly, it's about $160-$170 entry & $1000 to win + contingency.

Contingency has dropped over the years. But it can add several hundred to a couple thousand or so. Some complain about issues getting paid, but the sponsors sometimes have specific guidelines you must follow: i.e.: register a product, receipts, product may qualify for only a limited amount of years, etc. It's frustrating when you buy a product one year, then they don't relist it for the following season.

I built a K/SA Aspen wagon a few years ago, but haven't run under the index consistently enough to be competitive. I chose K/SA, the heaviest that particular combo is legal for, because it seems like there are less K/SA cars to worry about getting into a heads-up race than in I/SA or J/SA. My car has good stuff in it, but not some of the high-end, "grey area" tricks. But I still thought that it should run 3-5 tenths under the index under the best conditions. Working on a Thermoquad has also been a steep learning curve. Still working the bugs out and hope to see if I fixed the problem soon at a test & tune.

As mentioned in a previous post, it's a bracket race until you run a like-classed car. Then it's heads-up. But you still have to run the index or faster to have a chance because you can't dial slower than your class index. (Minimum performance standard.)

Even if you buy a good, fast car, you have to have the resources AND knowledge how to keep the performance level up.

Wow, you’re getting a lot of good advice here, and in the case of Locomotion (Myron) a very experienced and successful racer who watches his checkbook in picking a class. When he gets his wagon sorted he still may not win every heads up race but will certainly hold his own. I raced 10.90 over the course of many years, often just not racing or infrequently due to family and/or job but never losing the “bug”. Entry into 10.90 will certainly introduce you to judging the stripe because some big $ cars in 10.90 can run big MPH. If by running brackets or 10.90 you know racing the finish line is a weakness then concentrate on improving that because there will always be runs against much faster cars. Staying at or below K will decrease your costs substantially...speed costs big time. In north IN you have proximity to some good combo associations and you can learn a whole lot from other competitors there.

And subscribe to Nitro Joe’s STATS to see who’s capable of running the big numbers. NHRA periodically releases the raw data in excel format that they use for adjusting ratings, and yes there will be some MOPAR “hits” coming out in another week or so based on what I’ve seen.

Based on my 2 years running Stock I think you’ll find some very helpful guys who will get you started and if you want to just ease into NHRA Divisionals and National Opens then try 10.90. Feel free to ask here or via PM if you have questions.

ive run stock and super stock for over 30 years, currently have a super stock car and am about 3/4 of the way to completing another stock eliminator car. the first thing you have to do is decide how fast you want to go, speed cost money, then pick a car and class that will satisfy your needs. unless you want to run a front wheel drive or in the lower classes P Q R T U these can be run at a leeser cost, some with small v/8 engines some with 6 cylinder engines, these combos still take time to get sorted out still takes time and money, im not trying to talk you out of this im just telling you it takes dedication and work, if you can do a lot on your own it much better if you have to pay someone its expensive carb modification cam specs lots of tricks and lots of rules I realy enjoy class racing but not every one does. keep asking questions and listen to the people that are actually racing not arm chair heros. best advice I can give you

[/i]And subscribe to Nitro Joe’s STATS to see who’s capable of running the big numbers.[i]

This is good advice, the 2018 stats are just coming out and you can get a copy"

From Classracer.com
[/i]"The Nitro Joe End of the Year Stats Books will be soon in production. Any US non-subscribers who would like one can reserve a copy for $25 and receive a copy when they are bulk mailed. Canada orders are $30.
You can paypal to bill@howellprinting.net or send a check to: Howell Printing, 345 Barnwell Ave., NW, Aiken, SC 29801. Be sure to include your mailing address.
If you want a complete yearly subscription, please contact Nitro Joe directly

Also, you can call us with credit card orders at 803-649-2545[i]"

http://www.nhraracer.com/archive.asp?offset=16

Look for NHRA Releases Stock / Super Stock Slow Averages Through CN-2 10/19/2018.

They list all the runs in the classes. Look for the combo you like and see how fast the others in that class are.

.....and whether or not they are in or near your division.

Looks like the traveling part is a great deal of the budget. When it comes to the cost of a competitive car in the upper classes, I'm starting to understand why index racing and NSS are popular.

If you can really waste 3-4 days of parking, wait for paint while you maybe get a chance to make 1 pass that day, then this what happens. If you desire to class race, get it done in a day, meet some really nice people and win a few bucks, then I strongly suggest racing in your divisional S/SS association group. You'll automatically save by not paying the NHRA event fees. DIV 1&2 have great assn.

That's why motorhomes and trailers with living quarters are popular with racers who travel a lot. It can save on hotel bills and travel time. But that's a big initial investment too. "IF" I can ever afford to do so, I'd like to be able to get a 42-44' gooseneck with a bathroom package and a sleeping area above the gooseneck to sleep at the track & truck stops. A small fridge and microwave would help but I always bring a BIG cooler filled with ice and food. You can still use a dually to go into town if time allows and is useful at home.

Thats why I have a diesel dually and a 43' with LQ but
I dont play with the stock or super stock.. just handy
to stay in the fifth wheel

Good info ,but I believe competitive class racing is well beyond my budget and I was just asking the question in general. I would probably be better off setting up my current car for NMCA Nostalgia Muscle Car or possibly building another car for NSS and staying close to home.
I'm 90 miles north of Indy, so there are a number of tracks/races within an 8 hour drive. This is just a hobby to me. As I get closer to retirement and my home is paid off, it could take up more of my time.